Jake’s 1st Gen Tundra Camping Build & Trips

[SportsmanJake]

2006 Toyota Tundra Access Cab


Purchased in December ’17 with 82k miles

Why the Tundra?
My previous vehicle was a 98 F150. Eventually I spent more time fixing things then I spent driving. I wanted a Toyota for the reliability. I also wanted a vehicle smaller than my F150. I’ve also always been a truck guy so I really only had three options given my budget. 2nd gen Tacoma, 1st gen Tundra, and 2nd gen Tundra.

1st Gen Tundra Access Cab
Pros: 4.7l V8, attractive design, good size
Cons: Frames are lower quality steel, dated interior, limited aftermarket

Ultimately it came down to 2nd gen Tacoma vs 1st Gen Tundra. The Tacoma checks almost all the boxes and is a great truck, but I went Tundra for the V8 and higher tow rating. It’s also fun doing something a little different.

Why am I posting this?
I love reading other people’s build threads. You defiantly see some common elements, but everyone always adds their own flavor to it. The 1st gen Tundra is now 12 years old. It’s an old platform. But many of us don’t drive new vehicles. Maybe someone will benefit from what I record.

Thanks to my favorite builds on the site and one of the reasons I got a 1st gen Tundra.
Kpack
Rickashay
SeanPistol
Toyotech

Objective:
Make a few modifications that increase offroad capability and camping comfort while maintaining a high level of quality and reliability.

Current modifications/equipment as of 09/2018

• Cabin: Sony XAV-100 Headunit, Scangauge 2, Viofo A119 dash cam
• Armor/Recovery: BFF Winch Bumper with Smittybilt 9500, BFF Slider/Steps
• Tires: 255/75r17 Goodyear Duratrac
• Engine Bay: ARB air compressor, 2x Odyssey Extreme 34r, Blue Sea ML-ACR
• Suspension: OME
• Bed: ARE DCU Cap

 

[SportsmanJake]

A rough ordered list of the smaller items from the past year:

Cleaning
I pulled the interior and did a deep clean that first week of ownership.


Sony XAV-AX100
This was the first mod if I remember correctly. Crutchfield is a local store and I picked up a Sony XAV-AX100 and 2 new front door speakers. It is a bare bones simple unit but it always works and offers Apple's Carplay.


255/75r17 Goodyear Duratracs
I had picked up a set of 4 Duratracs around mid-2017. I ended up stealing the 17 inch wheels of my brothers 4Runner to mount these and put them underneath the Tundra.

LED interior lights
Ordered from SuperBrightLEDs.com

• 1x 3022-CWHP4-V2: Cool White 5630 SMD
• 2x 3610-CW27-CB: Cool White
• 2x 194-CWHP5: Cool White

Scangauge 2
More info coming.

Headlights
I bought new Eagle Eye headlight assemblies that were supposed to be OEM. Very poor light diffusion. Current plan is to swap the lenses from the new headlights with the body from the original Toyota ones.

Painting front grill
I decided to get rid of the chrome strips on the front. Automotivetouchup.com


ARE Truck Cap
Picked up locally for $300. It's not perfect but is a good starting point. I have a lot planned for this thing.

 

[SportsmanJake]

I have been camping about 3 nights a month so far this year and am eager to up those numbers.

Some pictures I took this year:

Flagpole Knob
Too cloudy to see anything.


Bald Mountain
I ran this trail for the first time after heavy rains (and subsequent local flooding). Fun trail. No good camping spots though.



GWNF
We had spent the day in Shenandoah National Park and then headed to the national forest to find some dispersed camping.
Cooked a delicious Chicken Curry.



Carova
I spent the day hiking in Cape Fear state park and then had a few beers on the beach near the VA/NC border. Beautiful day.

 

[Claytonburns]

nice truck! I'm a huge fan of the organization on the side of the camper shell

 

[tennesseewj]

Painting front grill
I decided to get rid of the chrome strips on the front. Automotivetouchup.com

I see you have the mirror caps up there as well - do they just pop off?

I picked my first gen up around the same time with similar mileage. I like it overall but the chrome SR5 grilles and mirror caps are a huge detractor.


Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[SportsmanJake]

I see you have the mirror caps up there as well - do they just pop off?

I was able to use a trim panel tool to remove them. There are 4 or 5 tabs that are holding it on. I accidentally broke one tab on one side but it still snaps back into place.

I put 258,000 trouble free miles on my 1st gen. I absolutely loved that truck. If my family had not grown beyond what it could comfortably hold, I'd still have it.

I hope I make it to 250k trouble free miles!

nice truck! I'm a huge fan of the organization on the side of the camper shell

The side boxes were an unexpected surprise. Very handy!

 

[MobileAndMonitoring]

Great truck! I too just got Brute Force bumpers and can't wait to put them on. I noticed you have some more wheel well sticking out in front of your front tires? Was that intentional or are you going to trim that back more?

 

[Kpack]

Great truck! I too just got Brute Force bumpers and can't wait to put them on. I noticed you have some more wheel well sticking out in front of your front tires? Was that intentional or are you going to trim that back more?

Good eye, I didn't see that until you pointed it out. If you haven't trimmed them yet a Dremel with a cut-off wheel works fine. If you need I can snap some pictures of how I trimmed mine. I'm curious to see how others did theirs as well.

Nice ARE topper. I'd love to find one of those. I really like having an open bed, but if I found a good topper with lift-up side hatches I'd be all over it.

 

[SportsmanJake]

Great truck! I too just got Brute Force bumpers and can't wait to put them on. I noticed you have some more wheel well sticking out in front of your front tires? Was that intentional or are you going to trim that back more?

That was round 1 of trimming so that it would stop rubbing the tire. I actually mounted the bumper and winch and then left the following weekend for a week at the beach.

Good eye, I didn't see that until you pointed it out. If you haven't trimmed them yet a Dremel with a cut-off wheel works fine. If you need I can snap some pictures of how I trimmed mine. I'm curious to see how others did theirs as well.

I chunked at mine with a box cutter to get it mostly off. You don't see it now unless you get on the ground.

Nice ARE topper. I'd love to find one of those. I really like having an open bed, but if I found a good topper with lift-up side hatches I'd be all over it.

I really like it. Biggest complaint is they used such thin aluminum. I'm trying to figure out a way to reinforce the skin (short of gluing more aluminum panels to it).
I pulled it lat week and it's getting prepped for paint and a few other modifications.

 

[SportsmanJake]

Lift and alignment are done. I went with the OME kit. I bought mine from Low Range Offroad.

The front is a little high for my liking, but it is not the end of the world. I thought the added weight of bumper, winch, and extra battery would affect the coils more. The assembled coil overs came with a 5mm coil over spacer installed.
I'm planning on a front suspension refresh at 100k so I will pull the spacer at that point.
I made sure to red loctite my 4 lower ball joint bolts and torque them to 70 ft-lbs. I also added a differential drop.

 

[Kpack]

Very nice. I wouldn't worry about the front height. Likely it will settle in a bit as you drive. And better to have a little room to spare on the lift, rather than sagging down. Personally I prefer the level look you have over a raked stance.

 

[SportsmanJake]

Very nice. I wouldn't worry about the front height. Likely it will settle in a bit as you drive. And better to have a little room to spare on the lift, rather than sagging down. Personally I prefer the level look you have over a raked stance.

I don't mind it. I am curious to see how much the rear drops when I put the cap back on and load all my every day carry stuff.

 

[SportsmanJake]

I had my sliders welded on this week. Definitely sized for a rig that is going to be wheeled.

 

[Kpack]

The Brute Force sliders with the rear kick out are designed to stick out a bit more. They are not see low profile as some sliders. The square tube sits right below the edge of the body, keeping it out of harm's way. The kick outs need to stick out past the fenders to protect them. I have put my sliders to good use recently, and the kick outs are an absolute life saver.

That being said, yours do look a little far out. I wonder if the connecting tubes are longer for a double cab? I guess it's possible they could have sent you longer connecting tubes by accident.

 

[SportsmanJake]

The Brute Force sliders with the rear kick out are designed to stick out a bit more. They are not see low profile as some sliders. The square tube sits right below the edge of the body, keeping it out of harm's way. The kick outs need to stick out past the fenders to protect them. I have put my sliders to good use recently, and the kick outs are an absolute life saver.

That being said, yours do look a little far out. I wonder if the connecting tubes are longer for a double cab? I guess it's possible they could have sent you longer connecting tubes by accident.

Thanks Kevin. I actually looked at your thread earlier this morning and saw how far yours stick out and it made me feel like mine are not so unusual. Maybe it just takes some getting used too. If I do ever pull them and cut them, I would only take off 3 inches from the connectors.

In other news, the front has settled and I am very pleased with my OME suspension. It is more harsh on-road then stock, but not by too much.
I hit a fire road in SNP this past weekend, but have not done any actual off roading yet. It was after dark and made me realize how bad my headlights are.