Cabin Fever 2005 double cab Tundra "build"

[Cassiooohh]

Things are a little slow over at the ol' Tundra forum so decided to move it over here. Plus my interest in more general overlanding has me searching through these forums pretty often.

....

I'm very fortunate to be able to continue working from home during this time. However this is usually around the time I start thinking about summer time in Colorado. As an educator with summers off and an avid fly angler summer is the time for my annual pilgrimage from San Antonio, Texas to the Rocky Mountains. This thread will document the build up of my 2005 Tundra as my daily driver adventure mobile. But lets go back a couple years...

After a few memorable trips in my Volvo awd wagon it was time for something more capable and reliable. Toyota 4x4 it had to be.

I considered a Tacoma, I had a 1st gen pre runner in the past and really enjoyed the truck. However some major factors steered me towards a 1st gen Tundra. First was cost; same year, mileage and features the tundra often sells for less. Power; one of the things I remembered about my stock Tacoma was that it felt under powered (should have gotten a manual trans). I knew with the hopes of a boat in my future I wanted more. Cabin size; for long drives both in my own and in friend's Tacomas I just felt cramped. One of the biggest factor however was the ability to sleep in the bed. At 6'3" tall not many modern trucks allow me to sleep in the bed.

The Tundra met all these requirements and then some. The hunt began, I looked for over 5 months for what I was looking for: 05-06 Dbl Cab, 4x4, Tow package with LSD, Leather but no sun roof, no modifications, maintenance records, no accidents, one owner, no rust, under 150k miles, and it couldn't be black. Okay maybe I was a little picky but it paid off! Found one only 4hrs away!

The dealer add had no photos, a salesman sent me these photos. After verifying some info I took off a couple days later to pick up my new truck.

 

[Cassiooohh]

This truck was everything I was looking for and the dealership gave me a great deal on my Volvo as a trade in. One of the biggest selling points, one owner truck with intensive maintenance records. I'm not exaggerating on the records...

Still took care of replacing all fluids with appropriate synthetics, replaced master cylinder, pads and rotors. Cleaned, adjusted and greased drum brakes. Used OE Toyota parts.

First mod was removing those god awful side steps! I'm tall, all they did was stick out and get my pants dirty when getting in to the truck. One beer later they were off and sold to someone else by the end of the day.

Next was the Thule roof rack install onto the cap. I have no photos of the process but lets just say it was stressful drilling 12 holes into your new truck. 5 beers later it turned out great and on went my Rod Vault. Holds 3 fly rods all strung up and ready to go.

Finally some quick measurements and a trip to Home Depot had a platform built in the bed. A quality inflatable mattress fits perfect with room to spare.

The truck was ready for its first trip up to the mountains!

 

[Cassiooohh]

$1200 was recently deposited into my account. Tires and shocks ordered.

Suspension
I did my due diligence and researched all my options. Went back and forth and had many considerations. In the end I just couldn't justify anything beyond 5100's. Almost pulled the trigger on the 6112's. However reliability and drive ability on long road trips was my focus and the 5100's will get the job done. The front of my truck is 1.5" lower than the rear, even with the cap. I'll set the shocks on the middle setting get the 1.07" I'm after to level it (with a slight rake) and not stress anything else in the suspension or steering. Ordered OEM lower ball joints and new kyb upper mounts to go along with it.

With just a 1" lift can anyone justify a diff drop or cv boot mod?

Tires
Two words, PIZZA CUTTERS! I ordered Falken Wildpeak at3W in 255/80r17. Why? I did not want to sacrifice as mentioned before reliability or drive ability. The extra weight and size of 285 just had more cons for me than pros. The 255 on stock wheels will just maintain far less stress on suspension and steering components. To me not having a part fail in the middle of nowhere far out weights any possible benefit of the wider tire. Plus I'm in the camp that I think the skinnier tire looks actually more rugged and believe it will outperform a wider tire in the situations I will typically be in.

 

[ITTOG]

That is a very nice looking truck for the age. Congratulations. I had an '07 Tundra and loved it. They are great trucks.

 

[GTV]

Do not diff drop, they only put the driveshaft at a funky angle and do almost nothing to the CV angle.

 

[FJR Colorado]

I would not do the diff drop for 1" of total lift.

However, you may want to change CV boots. Old boots get real cranky with even a slight change in angle. Consider high angle new boots. Could save you from chucking grease and ruining an otherwise great trip.

 

[FJR Colorado]

Truck looks great

 

[Cassiooohh]

I would not do the diff drop for 1" of total lift.

However, you may want to change CV boots. Old boots get real cranky with even a slight change in angle. Consider high angle new boots. Could save you from chucking grease and ruining an otherwise great trip.

I won't be doing a diff drop. Boots actually look great, previous owner had all 4 boots replaced around 80k miles and they still look new. I'll keep an eye on them once the shocks go on.

 

[Cassiooohh]

So here's the skinny on the new tires!

I missed a $100 off deal by a day but the salesman at Discount tire Direct was able to knock off $15 each tire. Had the Falken's shipped to my door for $768. To sweeten the deal even more I sold my used Michelin's for $200 the next day!

Once again these are in the 255/80r17 size. Below I have it next to my 265/70r17 Michelin (both tires unmounted)

Once mounted and aired up they filled out nicely, giving the wheels plenty of protection. They are definitely skinny but don't look out of place by any means. Gives it that utilitarian look I was hopping for. The true 33" height really filled the the wheel wells, even at stock height it looks great.

 

[Cassiooohh]

What's to come..
5100's and oem LBJ's have arrived, waiting on kyb upper mounts to install on middle notch.
Ordered a 45L 12v fridge to go in back seat.
Upgrade battery/charging system to handle the fridge. (Any suggestions on keeping it minimal?)
Figure out removable roof basket for recovery gear and rotopax.
Complete rear deck and storage drawers (more on that later)

 

[tennesseewj]

Subscribed to this thread for sure. Excellent use of functional, tasteful mods so far.

What are your impressions of the 255/80/17 from a driving perspective? Any notable fuel mileage hits or perceived power loss?

I want to run the same size tire but the lack of selection is irritating and keeps pushing me away.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Cassiooohh]

Subscribed to this thread for sure. Excellent use of functional, tasteful mods so far.

What are your impressions of the 255/80/17 from a driving perspective? Any notable fuel mileage hits or perceived power loss?

Thanks for the sub and comment. The truck is my daily and has seen a lot of trips, so I'm now modding it based on actual needs.

So far I'm very happy with the size choice, I really just didn't want to mess with wider wheels or spacers. Wish there were more oem wheel options in the narrow 7.5 width but with lower offsets. Best I've found are the Sema TRD wheels.

I can't comment on gas mileage, need to use a GPS to try to get an accurate reading, maybe on the next long trip. Power wise the butt dyno can't tell the difference. Accelerating and stopping feel the same. I did notice that on loose gravel or dirt roads where my abs would typically engage, it isn't now. Better grip, more contact pressure? Biggest difference is the taller E rated tire feel. Even with stock suspension truck feels firmer, little less body roll and handles bumps better. So far ??

 

[bowhunter29]

Sweet truck! I have one just like it but mine's an '06 in silver. I did the exact same things to mine: 5100's and 255/80/17's on stock rims. I set my 5100's on the top setting but the ride is pretty harsh and I think it sits too tall. Are you getting any rubbing at stock height? I'm thinking of coming down at least one notch with mine but may go to the middle setting.

I also have a rod rack on mine . I had a custom rack built on my topper and I put a 10' long 6" SCH40 PVC pipe on it that I carry my musky rods in. Most of my rods are 9'-9'6" and one piece.

Thanks,
jeremy

 

[Cassiooohh]

Sweet truck! I have one just like it but mine's an '06 in silver. I did the exact same things to mine: 5100's and 255/80/17's on stock rims. I set my 5100's on the top setting but the ride is pretty harsh and I think it sits too tall. Are you getting any rubbing at stock height? I'm thinking of coming down at least one notch with mine but may go to the middle setting.

Thanks! So far I just have some very minor rubbing at full lock left turns on the frame. Nothing to worry about.

I’m placing my front 5100 on the middle notch. Hopefully it will give me the small lift and improved ride I’m after. Ome coils and 5100s on the bottom notch will be my next steps if I’m not happy with how the stock coils perform with the new shocks.

 

[Cassiooohh]

Still waiting on the KYB top hats to install the 5100's. In the mean time I got the rear deck and storage all finished up!

This is the basis of the frame. Toyota was smart to engineer the grooves in the bed to perfectly secure 2" wide lumber. With the tail gate closed these are completely secured as is, plus set screws in one of the cross slats for extra insurance.

That light pine really stood out against the black bed liner.

Much better!

Next were the drawers. They are pretty shallow, but with a regular topper I wanted to maximize head room. They are still deep enough for your typical under bed storage containers to fit. I added one divider to provide a quick access hatch with out having to pull the drawer out or open the tailgate.

The finished product:

Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect mattress. Luckily it measures the size of a short queen mattress (75"x60") however I'm looking for something with a more durable and NOT WHITE cover than the typical mattress toppers I'm finding. The amazon search continues.