Atticus, a 2001 Tundra build

[TravelsWithRalph]

Looks like my lack of experience here is showing. The suspension is in: Icon front coil overs with 700lb springs (for bumper weight when mounted) and Alcan rear leaf springs with Icon shocks. Light Racing UCA's with Ball Joints. T case lowering kit and brake proportional relocation kit. Ride is great.
However, it's not any higher than the stock ride I had last week on OEM stuff. Rears were ordered with 1.5" lift and 300 lbs extra capacity. The fronts, I thought, were preset to 2.5 inch lift. But, my measurements are same as before. SO, maybe what I was told about preset to 2.5" lift and 1.5 inch lift on rears is not accurate. Fronts easy enough. But for the back, am I stuck using blocks with my new $800 springs? Maybe the question is, 2.5/1.5 inch lift from what starting point.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

Sunday 8/7/16. Rallied the kids to give a hand hoisting this ARB bumper into place. First off, ARB's bumper is awesome. The paint is really good too. But, the directions are pretty vague. First step is to remove the truck's original bumper. Didn't say if that meant the impact bar too but it does. Save your factory bolts you're gonna need some of them.
Now the week before I had assembled the bumper with the winch, chrome tube, fog lights and other bits so it was ready to bolt on. I bolted on the supports and the kids (26 and 32) hoisted up the bumper. Hmm. can't get it between the brackets to bolt it up. After several different attempts I used a ratchet strap on one side, hooked it to my jeep and pulled it out the 1/4 inch needed to fit. Worked great. All bolted up and ready to go.

 

[IS-RIDER]

Just found your build thread, truck is coming together nice job! Hey I'm in CT as well, up in the quiet corner about 20mins from Superwinch headquarters.


Ride it like you stole it!

 

[AaronK]

Impact bar took me a while to figure out, too. Should have mentioned it in my previous posts. Glad it came together!

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

superwinch all hooked up, Fog Lights hooked up and alignment done. Time to get ready for MidAtlantic Overland Festival.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

Just found your build thread, truck is coming together nice job! Hey I'm in CT as well, up in the quiet corner about 20mins from Superwinch headquarters.


Ride it like you stole it!

Flatlander's unite.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

Impact bar took me a while to figure out, too. Should have mentioned it in my previous posts. Glad it came together!

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.

No worries. your input has been instrumental. Thanks

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

My son and I took the Tundra out to the MidAtlantic Overland Festival in PA last week. Had a blast hanging with friends and comparing rigs. While doing some of the simple field driving I had some banging going on when in 4x4, mostly when in low range and kind of working the front end. Either turning or going down a steep hill. It didn't sound like the CV joints which is more of a clicking/clacking sound. This was a crunching/thumping sound that could be felt as much as heard. Almost as if the actuator wasn't engaging all the way and the gears were slipping.
Short remedy was to not go wheeling.
When I got home I crawled under and inspected all the visible rotating parts, beginning with the front drive shaft. There I found where the drive shaft knuckles at the ujoints had been hitting a bolt on the front differential.



Here's my presumption: When we installed the suspension, I was told by Icon that the fronts were preset at 2.5". After install my measurements were about were they were before. So my lift isn't, at this time, 2.5". Closer to 1 inch . At the same time we installed the Diff drop kit. I'm guessing the lack of height in the lift and caused a negative change in the pinion angle and when torqued, there was enough shift for the bolts to make contact.

I've since taken off the Diff Drop kit and there seems to be more clearance between the drive shaft and that bolt. Tested it in the yard and problem seems to have been resolved.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

Fast forward. With Midatlantic Overland Festival done and some repairs/adjustments made to the Tundra, it all seems to be coming together. The ride is excellent and with September came out trip to Utah. Over 5,000 miles were driven. Highway, back roads, dirt roads and trails. If counting just miles, Highway driving was clearly the most. Here, we're just outside of Sanduski Ohio.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

We headed south from I-80 in Wyoming into Northern Utah. Beautiful area with tons of remotes camp options. But, we had a time schedule to keep so had to keep moving.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

And this is what all this work was about. We arrived in Springville Utah on Labor Day, 2016 and the following AM went over to Moby1 Extreme Trailers to pick up our new XTR trailer, AKA Scout. Here we have Atticus and Scout together for the first time. From here we're headed to the store from some provisioning then south to Goblin Valley State Park for some southern Utah experiences. Moby1 staff made sure the water tank was full, the duel batteries were fully chargers and got the brake controller adjusted for us. First impressions of Scout is WOW! The cabinet work is excellent, the frame and suspension awesome. The truck tows it beautifully both on and off road. And that night was the best sleep we had the entire trip.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

Because this was our first night with the new trailer we figured we stay somewhat near civilization just in case we mess up badly.
. The next day we moved over to Natural Bridges
Out to Muley Point for the day, The Trailer's back at natural bridges.
No trip to Utah is complete without going to Moab.
On the way home we stopped at Colorado National Monument for an overnight. because of the road slope we parked the opposite direction of the one way signs. Don't think the campground host was too happy with us but, we never unhooked and pulled out at 0600 before anyone was awake. Down the hill to the truck stop for gas and a great breakfast. Then it was all highway back to CT. The trailer towed great. Everything from a slow crawl to 80 mph. We did find it slow going over the Rockies but that's to be expected.

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

Fast Forward to 2020. Bought this truck used in 2009 for my son to drive. First thing was timing belt, brakes and tires. Once he went to College in Boston and couldn't have a car there, I began driving it. (and he never got it back) That's when Toyota Replaced the frame. With it came lower control arms, lower ball joints, shocks, brake lines, and body mounts. At that time, while the engine was sitting on a pallet, I had JBA headers installed. At that point
Since then it's become my camping and exploration rig.
Upgrades and changes include: Icon 2.0 front suspension, Icon 2.0 rear shocks, Light Racing UCA, SPC ball joints, Alcan Custom rear springs +600lbs and 2.5 inch lift. Firestone airbags, 275/70/17 tires on Procomp wheels. Brake upgrade to 2006 parts, SS brake lines, ARB front bumper, Superwinch Talon 9.5 synthetic, White Knuckle Rock Sliders, Scan Guage, Axel Breather extension, Trailer hitch, Trailer brake controller, Magnaflow Exhaust with Cats, Skid plates, ARE Cap,
4.56 Gears and Harrup E Locker (rear).
Maintenance items are many but here's the highlights. Timing belt twice, water pump, Rack and Pinion, All wheel bearings, Brake calipers several times, Brake drums, brake backing plates, bell crank levers, Wheel cylinders, Front Hubs, Brake Proportional valve, Rear spring hangers, OEM style rear bumper, CV Axels (OEM), Lower ball joints.
Off roading in Mojave, Death Valley, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Beaches of Texas and Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Beaches of Martha's Vineyard (MA), Tows a Moby1 XTR Teardrop all over the country. (22K miles so far).
Electrical. Brake controller, Off switch for winch power under the hood, Scan Gauge, CB, GMRS, JVC stereo, Extra plug sockets under passenger seat, Power to bed with fused buss bar for Engle fridge. (still on single battery)
255,500 miles and counting.