The War Wagon: A 2005 Toyota Tundra AC's transformation to Overlanding Rig

CrewServed

"That" guy
I sometimes wish I had just gotten a Tacoma! So much easier to build.
I heard that. BUT, it's so much fun figuring out how to get it done!

I bolted on a couple more things today. I'd zeroed in on the Thule Xsporter fairly early in the concept stage of my build after considering a custom-fabricated rack. I may still ditch the Thule and fab up a cantilever style bed and roof rack for this rig, but I have to take a welding class first. This build is just as much about learning things along the way as it is about the final product. I've gathered, however, that these overlanding rigs are never quite finished.

Anyway, I chose the Thule because it's got a dynamic load limit of 450 lbs. As I understand it, that means that I can jam 450 lbs. up there, and then knock it around without fear of the whole thing falling to pieces. That, as I've gathered, also means that the static load limit is greater than 450 lbs, which means that an awning, a RTT, and a couple of people will be A-OK up there.

And speaking of awnings, I originally wanted a Rhino Rack Foxwing Awning, but then I realized that the stored length is 2' longer than my bed length, and that means that the rear P/S door would not be able to open if the Thule rack is set lower than cab height. So I started shopping around, and found the Rhino Rack Sunseeker II. This fella is 2 meters long, and is almost exactly the length of the bed.

I was working in heat and humidity today, so I ran into a couple of user-induced errors, but I was able to work through them with no problem.

3qBxTryh.jpg

Here's the War Wagon with the Xsporter and Sunseeker II installed.

04D9Iujh.jpg

A closer look at the Sunseeker in its stowed configuration.

4iTrYQkh.jpg

Here's a look at at the War Wagon with the awning deployed.

One issue I did encounter was with the T-bolts that came with the awning. The T-bolts are meant to interface with the rails in Rhino's own racks, so they're a touch wider than the rails in the Thule rack. Observe:

OO7untIl.jpg

The width of the groove in the Thule rack is a shade under .825".

hAVGfFpl.jpg

The width of the T-bolt head is a shade under .850". A little work with a vice and a file, and it fit nicely. Tight, even.

Setting up the awning isn't terribly difficult. The first time I did the test run was a little awkward, but that's mostly because I'd only ever seen it in videos on the web. It's actually quite easy and only took a couple of minutes, even with my befuddlement.

As for the Thule, it feels solid as all get-out. I stood in the bed of the truck and shoved it around, both forward and aft, and then laterally, to see how much play or slop there might be. The mounting clamps have what look like 3/8" dia. bolts pushing into the underside of the bed rails, so I'm not super confident in their ability to hold everything still without causing some sort of failure in that relatively thin piece of sheet metal under there. I'm thinking I'll reinforce the bolts with a flanged nut, or maybe just sandwich a piece of Delrin or some such material between the bolts and the bedrail to spread out the load.
 

Ichimonji

New member
Looking good dood!

13 years ago, I had a 2000 Tundra with a Fabtech 2.0 (I think, Fox branded coil-overs) in the front and add-a-leaf lift in the rear. I had 285/65/16's on stock tundra wheels and it rubbed really bad when it was dialed all the way up. I ran it at about 1.5" of lift and it only rubbed at full lock. Not ideal but I didn't want to buy new rims. With your overlanding plans, you want to get that thing dialed in.

Hey, you want to sell those nerf bars?
 

Stone_Blue

Adventurer
I sometimes wish I had just gotten a Tacoma! So much easier to build.

Hmmm..How so?
The 1st/2nd Gen Taco are pretty much the same suspension and most of the drivetrain-wise...
Unless you are talking about the plethora and abundant availability of aftermarket parts for the Taco, over the lack there-of for the Tundra?...
 

stclair

Adventurer
"the plethora and abundant availability of aftermarket parts for the Taco, over the lack there-of for the Tundra?..."

Yes!!! I just wanna put it together and drive it. If it was a Tacoma, the only limitation would be $$$.
 

CrewServed

"That" guy
I just spent more than a grand on suspension stuff. Bilstein 5100's on all four corners, OME 886 springs to compensate for the additional weight of a bumper and winch, coil isolators, and - this is the rough part - the Camburg UCA's.

Major buyer's remorse right now, but I'll be happy the first time I ride with the new suspension and the absence of a crappy, bumpy from worn out springs and dampers.
 

Stone_Blue

Adventurer
^ that's the setup I have... you'll absolutely love it.

I see another Tundra on your street.

I see TWO other Tundras on his street!!...lol

Yeah, the Camburgs can be a tough sell...I went through "should I or shouldnt I" for over a month...Unfortunately, I came across a "GOOD" deal on used Total Chaos arms...Yeah...NOT so good since they dont seem to fit my Tundie... Wish I HAD just pulled the trigger on new Camburgs...

So I hope you at least bought new on the Camburgs... :)
 

CrewServed

"That" guy
There are THREE other Tundras! Two are Gen 1's, the third is a Gen 2. I'm the only guy on my street dumb enough to try and modify mine the way I'm doing, though. :elkgrin:

I bought new on all the suspension parts at Wheeler's Off-Road. I figured it'd just be better to pull the trigger now while I've got some disposable cash laying around instead of sitting on it and regretting my decisions later if/when there's a failure that I could have prevented by just ponying up the money. I also figured that it'd be a very expensive mistake to skip on the complete refit. Geez, it's expensive to save money, ain't it?

Oh, another thing. I've been keeping track of all my expenses and links to the places where I've made my purchases on a Google Sheet. I'm thinking I'll link it in my sig line so that other know-nothings like me can benefit from all the homework I've done.
 

Stone_Blue

Adventurer
Well, at least you got it all in one order, and from Wheeler's...I spent about a month pricing pretty much the same exact stuff you got, and Wheeler's was just about the best prices, and had everything I needed...I found a couple places a LITTLE cheaper on the 5100s, but Wheelers had them instock, the others were on backorder...

They were also spot on on the delivery quote....I was told 7 full days, and EXACTLY 7 full days to the hour, later, a big, brown truck pulled up my driveway. :D

I've since ordered a couple times for small stuff with them, and may go with the 3pk AAL from them later...

Oh, and enjoy the candy :)
 

CrewServed

"That" guy
Santa in brown (John, the UPS guy) arrived last Thursday with a bevy of kit. All of the stuff I ordered from Wheeler's on Monday, along with my Stubbs Welding HD/SKO sliders came in. I also received a package from Amazon that includes a clamshell spring compressor and a nesting utensil set for the kitchen/chuck box (aka "The **************' Kitchen"). I'll make a separate post for the **************' Kitchen when it's complete.

Today's post is on the rattlecan job on the sliders.

Here they are, in all their raw steel glory:
kv4r16fh.jpg


Had to spray them down with some denatured alcohol to strip the WD-40 that Richard put on the sliders for transit. I also masked off the mounting plates to prevent paint contamination during the welding.

Now, I've done enough rattlecan jobs in the garage to know that there's value in doing something with the space besides leaving it be.

This will not do.
OqKKr1Yh.jpg


A little measuring, a little cutting, a little stapling, and the "paint booth" is done. Really, it's to keep overspray in, and not dust out.
66Rp6Igh.jpg


Red oxide primer and the first coat of Rustoleum black hammer finish is on.
R2oEhwsh.jpg


I was literally watching paint dry when I took this picture.
Ox5jKtth.jpg


-=-

This is easily the nicest rattlecan job I've ever done. The irony of the fact that I've done such a good job painting a set of sliders is not lost on me.

A few words on the Stubbs HD/SKO sliders. They're heavy. Heavy enough to make it a pain to hoist them up and dangle them from the rafters in the garage. Welds look good to my inexperienced eyes. There's no nasty splatter around the welds, and no obvious holes from rookie welders in the metal. Steel was banged up slightly, but that a)doesn't bother me and b)could be damage from transit. The two sliders were banded together and heavy as all get-out, so I don't blame John the UPS guy for banging them around a little bit. There was easily 300# worth of stuff that all arrived on the same day.

Richard, the owner of Stubbs Welding, suggested using the Rustoleum hammer finish paint on the sliders, so I figured I'd listen to the voice of experience. The finish on the paint is quite nice. There's a nice texture to them, and it sprays on nicely. Spray pattern is a vertical line, but the can is designed to be used in any orientation, so that was a plus when I was painting at weird angles. I've had one of these Comfort Grips for quite some time, and I highly recommend their use when doing big jobs. The can is more controllable and you won't suffer from muscle fatigue of your booger hooks.

One gripe about the paint, however, is that it's marked as being black. It's an unfortunate coincidence that their definition of "black" is, "almost the same flippin' color of Paul's truck." Almost. It just feels... vain that the sliders and the body should nearly match. Buuuut... #firstworldproblems, amiright?

Tomorrow I've got plans to install the new suspension parts. Steel wheels are on order, and I'll be purchasing and mounting the new BFG's when the wheels come in. I figure I'll get the alignment at the same time as the mounting, to maybe talk the shop down a little bit by grouping services together. In the meantime, I'll be driving my commuter vehicle around (2001 Toyota Celica GT-S with 234k miles on it!!!).
 
Last edited:

CrewServed

"That" guy
The kitchen box is complete... for now. The last item I was waiting on was a set of nesting pots and pans from REI. This post is pic-heavy. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

Without further ado, the **************' Kitchen!

The whole thing is contained inside of an old Pelican 1550 case that I've had for years, but haven't been using to its full potential.
iKtCoPoh.jpg


Open sesame.
u16rCfnh.jpg


The organizer rack. It started life as an Infinite Divider Box from the Container Store. The small containers within are Nalgene bottles and a flask. The salt and pepper shakers also came from the Container Store and are made of glass. That was less than ideal for my uses, but it was the right size for the job. We'll see how it shakes out.
ViXyswUh.jpg


I cut away one of the ribs that ran the width of the box using a Dremel so I could fit the 8 oz. oil flask. I cleaned up as best I could with a chisel and then got lazy, because it was already pretty late at that point.
W5lX1t6h.jpg


The entire box is held in place with some heavy-duty 3M hook and loop fastener. I've used this velcro before, and it's really, really good stuff. The hook and loop holds on for all it's worth, and the adhesive will hang on for years, even when left out in the weather.
nymEqDQh.jpg


This cool little pouch is big enough to fit two butane canisters, and a few rolled-up plastic trash bags. It is attached to the elastic band that secures the stove beneath it.
6AFT3Izh.jpg


A closer look at the side release buckle and elastic band. I mounted this by drilling holes in the bottom of the case for t-nuts, and then fastened the band using some small, allen-head machine bolts. I'll put some silicone down to seal the holes to fix the ruined ingress protection caused by drilling the holes.
SyAee9nh.jpg


Beneath the buckle and pouch are the stove, an Orikaso folding bowl, and a Snowpeak Ti spork.
nATGBuDh.jpg


An unobstructed view of the GasOne butane stove. I chose this stove because of its size, and also the size of the fuel canisters. The canisters can be removed between uses and for transport, so that's pretty shweet. Haven't used it yet. I'm looking forward to seeing if it's the stuff on my shakedown run in October.
2yB7c5Ih.jpg


The stowed Joseph Joseph nesting kitchen utensils. The stuff sack and velcro strap were my own addition.
jh4txgQh.jpg


Here's what it all comes with.
R3qToD7h.jpg


The Stansport 3-person cook Set, nested and stowed in the included mesh bag.
fZEXaIlh.jpg


Same cook set, just laid out on the table.
TNwsW5Ah.jpg


And finally, the MSR Alpine camp knife. This was chosen for no particular reason aside from the fact that it comes with a sheath, and seems to be a good compromise for size. It's mounted at an angle to keep it from sliding out, and even if it does slide out, it'd hit the inside of the case before coming fully unsheathed.
j4OILIEh.jpg


Speaking of mounting, the knife is mounted to the inside of the case using the same high speed, low drag, ultra-cool-guy velcro that I used to mount the organizer rack.
If0ne3bh.jpg


Still on the lookout for a smallish plastic cutting board to put beneath the stove. I don't know how most of this kit will hold up yet. I did my best to choose everything with price, usefulness, and ruggedness in balance. I suppose we'll soon see if I made the right choices.

What do you guys think of the kitchen box and my gear choices? Constructive criticism is very much welcome.
 
Last edited:

CrewServed

"That" guy
I'm not sure what to do back there just yet. I'm unclear what the previous owner did, if anything, and should probably get some advice before I go doing anything unnecessary.

What's the added value in doing the AAL upgrade/mod, anyway?
 

stclair

Adventurer
I'm only considering it because we plan to add a FWC, and a swing-away bumper for another spare and some cans. I'd like to stay away from the air bags. Also, I want to add just a bit of level/lift/clearance. I'll continue to get parts as I can. Right now I only have an ARB compressor, and a set of 4 1st Gen Tundra 16hole steelies. So...a long way to go. Also plan on getting a rear locker. Like you, I'm kinda new to this. We had a Syncro Westy that we way over built. Trying to keep this simple and reliable.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,539
Messages
2,875,662
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top