*Rickashay's 04' Tundra* - A build of Compromises
- Thread starter rickashay
- Start date
seanpistol
Explorer
Lardeau River is on my trout slay list
mscuiletti
Observer
Absolutely stunning photographs and beautiful truck!
Adventurous
Explorer
If you don't have one you so need an Instagram.
I'm a bit curious. After having owned so many modified Toyotas and pledging to take this build slowly, what is your overall goal/future plans? I'm curious to know where you envision this build going and differing from some of your others.
I'm a bit curious. After having owned so many modified Toyotas and pledging to take this build slowly, what is your overall goal/future plans? I'm curious to know where you envision this build going and differing from some of your others.
rickashay
Explorer
Yah it's pretty rad getting out with my old man. Funny though as he had never done it until I started getting into the "truck scene". He's always loved Toyotas and he's for sure a car-guy but interesting how it all unfolds. My dad actually had an 04' Limited Tundra that he bought new and it was one of the household vehicles I learned to drive on when I was getting my license. Hell, it was even a white one!
What rig are you getting?!!? Where in BC are you headed?
Nailed it Jose, Fridge ******!
No problem! Seattle is awesome too. Take the ferry from there to Vancouver Island if you get the chance. The US exchange rate is definitely in your favor!
For good reason.
Thanks! I shoot mostly with a Canon 6D and 24-105L f/4 and my Tokina 16-28 f2.8. My wife has a Canon G16 that I'll use sometimes as well.
Thanks you kindly!
I do have an Instagram account. I'm not as active as I should be but planning on getting stuff on there more often. I do update it but should just do it more...Follow me on IG: "r_addison"
Good question. I think I have stuck to my original plan for the most part, in modding it "slow". At least it has been a way slower process than my last build of the LX450. My takeaway is even now, I consider my Tundra quite capable but I have really come to appreciate the finer details of the truck. Still to this day it rides like a stock 04' Tundra (actually better) despite the slight negative effect of the extra weight and big tires. The gears and headers helped me real it back in to a stock-ish level of drivability in terms of power. Keeping the suspension low keeps the ride quality high and makes for less stress on all the driveline components. The end result is a very capable truck that drives close to a stock 04 Tundra. Appreciating the simplicity and comfort of the truck in it's stock form for so many kms (remember, this used to be my work-highway rig) makes you more visible to the negative effects of the mod-bug. I truly consider each modification and how it relates to my priorities and overall goals for the truck. I think I've done a good job of maintaining balance between drivability and capability. Some might argue that a 33" tire would suite me fine, and I would agree. BUT I do admittedly place a lot of value on aesthetics (I must be shallow? lol) and enjoy driving my truck out for a nice dinner with my wife after a good detail. I really want this thing to do EVERYTHING, from the peaks of BC to the city streets of Calgary. To compare to my previous builds I would say my black 95' Pickup was the "realization phase" and opened up the doors to my love for the outdoors in conjunction with my passion for Toyotas. My 4Runner was the "growth stage" where I began to fine tune my needs for a rig to a large degree and also grow my skill as a technical driver and DIY mechanic. The LX450 was the lustful "youth stage" where I realized my childhood dreams of buying an 80 and wanted a capable rig at no expense ( I was planning on linking it when I sold it too...). The Tundra is the step back I took to produce the ultimate do-it-all rig. I consider it "the maturity" or adulthood of everything previous.
Futre plans for the truck? Keep the same mindset but keep it evolving forward. I still love the truck and don't have thoughts of selling it, so I MUST be on the right track. FWIW I've never owned a vehicle as long as I have this Tundra. My current plans will have the truck with front and rear bumpers by summer of next year, as well as some proper skids. Skids will be aluminum and bumpers will focus on simplicity to keep weight down. Chevy 63's are also on the list for my Spring project. After that I honestly don't know. Maybe a Crawlbox if I see the need? Maybe spend the mod money on more adventures? Baja and the Yukon/Alaska are definitely on my radar!
Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
Seriously would NOT run Aluminum skids man. I know the weight savings is tempting, but you'll have to run much much thicker skids to comparable to a steel in terms of strength so in the long run, you won't be saving anything. And you run the risk of just cracking the skids clean in half. Stick with steel.
Derek24
Explorer
Well, you learned from the best and so did your old man from you, win win. I'll be getting a 2007 tundra dcab in the next month or two. Our good friend is getting a four door jeep to drive to his property instead of the big tundra. It only has 70k miles and it is fully loaded, has a campershell and brand new toyo Mts, spacer lift on it will go the next day I get it. I was panning on getting another 1st gen, new ones are huge, but for $10k I can't pass it up, keep it forever....
Oh and the GF and I are planning to drive up to the coast of BC then head over to whistler area, stops in between of course. Then head down into glacier NP and continue to Arizona and all around the west and back home. Thinking three weeks off should do.
Oh and the GF and I are planning to drive up to the coast of BC then head over to whistler area, stops in between of course. Then head down into glacier NP and continue to Arizona and all around the west and back home. Thinking three weeks off should do.
Adventurous
Explorer
Thank you for the insight. As someone who is building their first true offered focused vehicle (still a DD for me too) I am always keen to hear the experiences of those people who have been there and done that. It is very easy to catch the mod bug and build something beyond what needs dictate. I appreciate the insight and look forward to continue following along as your build progresses. It serves as a great model for how to do things correctly and cleanly.
The aesthetics thing is funny. I chalk it up not to vanity, but to a mental sense of the way things should be. I often look at things and want to make them a certain way because in my mind everything else just looks wrong. Nothing wrong with that at all.
seanpistol
Explorer
This is your motto! :coffeedrink:
Derek24
Explorer
I knew this was coming lol! Forever is not what it means
theBullfrog125
Adventurer
Next time you make it down to Oregon hit me up! I'd love to see the Tundy in person and I know a lot of awesome places to explore. The Oregon landscape is very diverse and most have no idea the incredible places to be seen east of the Cascades.
wrenchMonkey_
Adventurer
Still looking foward to that write up. One question, for the Fox fronts, any issues with the R/R hose rubbing the UCA or the tower bucker or anything? Lots of issues with the non DSC ones.
rickashay
Explorer
Sounds like a plan! I would love to explore more down in Oregon, it's awesome. I still need to return to Bend one of these days. I passed through it on my way home from NorCal in the LX450 last year and knew I would be back.... just need that US exchange rate to drop a tad for more trips to the US.
Been so busy at work.... but nonetheless, see below! haha
In summary, I installed the following before departing on my roadtrip to Oregon.
- Fox 2.5 Coilovers with DSC adjusters
- Total Chaos UCA's
- Pulled spindles and welded on TC spindle gussets
- new OEM replacement Lower control arms and OEM mounting hardware
- Fox IFP rear shocks in a 10" stroke. Not a Tundra-spec rear shock FWIW
The install was kind of a nightmare. Mostly due to the seized OEM LCA alignment hardware. Other than that, the issues with installation were as follows:
- Coil bucket tower rubs the spindle gussets at full bump, had to grind down the lip on the coil bucket to clear UCA under articulation
- brake hardline needs to be bent and maneuvered with the spindle gussets now in place as the mounting has slightly changed
Front suspension: The Fox 2.5's went in at their "factory" height setting. This looked (didnt measure my height before, like I should have) to be a little lower than the 3rd notch on the Bilsteins. I bounced on the bumper a few times also. However, I was originally driving the truck to the alignment shop and two blocks down the road heard some rubbing. Got out and looked under the front to find that they had drastically settled from the very very short and slow commute. My UCA's were pointed upwards, so I figure I was lower than a factory height Tundra. Back to the garage I went and began my hunt for a spanner wrench that would work in the Fox coilovers. There is an allen head bolt on the threaded coilover retaining for when your adjusting the preload on the coilovers. With the coilovers now installed I was disappointed to find the allen head bolt facing rearwards on the one shock. This meant removal of the coilover to loosten the allen bolt and then re-installation before I could begin adjusting the preload with the spanner wrench. After MUCH finicking, I am now close to where I was sitting with the Bilsteins. Surprisingly I had to preload the Fox's quite a bit to achieve only the ~1.25-1.5" of lift that I currently have them set at. The allen head bolt to lock the retaining ring is kind of a PITA and I would definitely prefer a second retainer ring to lock the primary in place but minor quam there. The Fox brackets for the DSC have them mounted to the factory front tow hook locations. This has the hose running down under the UCA and forward to the frame rails. At full lock my 35" tires (3.5 BS wheels 16x8) rub the resi line. Not optimal and I can still see a set of 33's rubbing here with a lower offset of rim than I run. These will have to be relocated elseware, I just am not sure where as it's pretty tight in there with the 35's and minimal lift. I am definitely getting more articulation, and surprisingly more uptravel ( I thought my gains would be all downtravel, but boy was I wrong). With the added uptravel in the front the tires now make contact with the fender opening and I popped my flares off while on the trail. I will be cutting the radious of the fender open larger as per Sean Pistol, and my current plan is to remove the rear flares also. I will fill the holes and am planning a color matched lineX trim along the entire lower edge of the body to clean up the appearance and reduce further chips on the rockers. 33's Probably would not make contact as it is quite minimal.
I got the alignment done and nailed the factory specs with ease. Truck drove excellent with less wander than previous with the new arms installed. I was closer to the firewall than before as I lessened my castor with the alignment, but this is something I am going to change on the next alignment. I did not initially have time to check the length of the rear shocks and see if the compressed length was too short, as I opted for a 10" stroke which has a longer shock body. We then hit the road to BC for my wedding.
Upon arriving at my folks place in BC I was able to somewhat flex the truck out and check the rear shocks as I didn't want to have them bottom out before the bump stops made contact, and ruin the shocks.
IMG_4997.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
IMG_4995.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
I have not fully drooped the rear yet but I was more after compression with this test:
IMG_4999.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
Pretty much perfect!
IMG_5001.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
My only concern is the slight rubbing in the rear still, but when I do the Chevy swap I will move the axle back 1/2" or so and it should get rid of the problem. I also don't have any more room for uptravel as it stands now without opening up the rear wheel wells:
IMG_4996.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
After some fast logging road runs in the truck here are my thoughts:
- The rear is fine for now. Might even postpone my chevy swap another year if it droops out as much as I hope it will. Honestly I'd like another 1" of height in the rear but my garage won't allow it anyway.
- The truck rides astonishingly better on the Fox's. The DSC adjusters are amazing for on the fly tuning and the ability to go highway to trail with a few simple clicks.
- I am not pleased with the suggested reservoir mounting and wish this was better designed
- Quality of the Fox and total Chaos stuff is superb
- Regarding the front coils, I was hoping for another 1" of lift in the front to sit just over 2". I am not willing to preload the shocks any more than I have them currently. My choice to tub the truck was to run large tires and also keep the coilovers with minimal preload to retain ride characteristics. I'm currently exploring a longer coil option that will allow this to happen.
- I would also 100% either ask for stiffer valving out of the box or a stiffer spring. The 650lb spring doesn't cut it IMO even with the stock front bumper. I'm thinking a longer 700lb spring will be my solution and I will update as I explore these options
If I missed anything, let me know! Overall I'm very pleased but there are just a few more tweaks I need to make to be truly satisfied with this setup.
Just before the flare ejected:
IMG_5021.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
toyotech
Expedition Leader
Awesome feedback. The adjustability of a coil over is nice but over time I think the treads will get to a point where you will have hard time adjusting if needed. Truck looks good and impressive with the travel you got out of the front. What are the factory springs rated at?
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