3rd gen tundra

Wahayes83

Member
What do you guys think about the prospect of a 3rd gen tundra as an overlanding rig? Most of the trails I go on width/ length is not an issue as I do it in a 95 f250 longbed reg cab right now, I just have been wanting something large enough for the whole family to off-road in comfortably. I would be hitting Moab and southern Utah frequently along with the Utah mountains. What do you guys think, is this a good idea? Also no rear locker on tundra unless going to arb which is something I've been thinking I don't like. What do you guys think.
 

Wahayes83

Member
Beautiful truck, what's your setup? What are your thoughts on the lid (edit: lsd not lid) vs locker vs factory ? What have your experiences been with the traction it provides? I would like to be able.to moderate trails like top of the world in Moab probably nothing much more technical than that
 

Trikebubble

Adventurer
Beautiful truck, what's your setup? What are your thoughts on the lid (edit: lsd not lid) vs locker vs factory ? What have your experiences been with the traction it provides? I would like to be able.to moderate trails like top of the world in Moab probably nothing much more technical than that

Thank you. A rear locker would have been nice to have (had one on my old Xterra) but it was far from a deal breaker. I wanted a truck with a double cab configuration (for the dogs, didn't need or want a full crew cab) with true doors that open on their own (not suicide doors that force you to open the front doors first), and #1 on my list was reliability, both short term and long term. I'm not Toyota fan-boy per say, this is my first Toyota. But in looking for a full size gas fed pickup everytime I looked elsewhere I kept getting pulled back to the Tundra reliability. I like the time proven and tested drivetrain of this truck. It's been around awhile now. It may not have the latest and grestest amenties that folks seem to be looking for but it has all the basics I require and i'm confident it will get me home each and every time.
I'll may probably eventually install a rear ARB locker, but so far I've been able to get up into place I have no place being....so I'm still not 100% sure on the locker for me. I have no experience with Moab type stuff, I live in BC, so the majority of my off-roading is on tight switchbacks, up and down mountains and lots of rocky and gravely stuff.
The camper is a Four Wheel Camper brand, Hawk model. It is the perfect compromise for us, between the rooftop tent and travel trailer we used to have. It has pretty much everything inside we require and we can easily live out of it for extended adventure (last year we took a 8500+km 3 week trip to the Arctic and back)
 

SoTxAg06

Active member
I had a CrewMax Toyota for 2 years before going back to a 3/4 ton. Honestly, if they offered the CrewMax with a bigger bed, I would have stuck with it.

As far as reliability, my FIL has around 200K on his 2014 Tundra CrewMax. They haven’t been easy miles by any degree. He has done little other than oil changes, brakes, and plugs after 100K.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Wahayes83

Member
Thank you. A rear locker would have been nice to have (had one on my old Xterra) but it was far from a deal breaker. I wanted a truck with a double cab configuration (for the dogs, didn't need or want a full crew cab) with true doors that open on their own (not suicide doors that force you to open the front doors first), and #1 on my list was reliability, both short term and long term. I'm not Toyota fan-boy per say, this is my first Toyota. But in looking for a full size gas fed pickup everytime I looked elsewhere I kept getting pulled back to the Tundra reliability. I like the time proven and tested drivetrain of this truck. It's been around awhile now. It may not have the latest and grestest amenties that folks seem to be looking for but it has all the basics I require and i'm confident it will get me home each and every time.
I'll may probably eventually install a rear ARB locker, but so far I've been able to get up into place I have no place being....so I'm still not 100% sure on the locker for me. I have no experience with Moab type stuff, I live in BC, so the majority of my off-roading is on tight switchbacks, up and down mountains and lots of rocky and gravely stuff.
The camper is a Four Wheel Camper brand, Hawk model. It is the perfect compromise for us, between the rooftop tent and travel trailer we used to have. It has pretty much everything inside we require and we can easily live out of it for extended adventure (last year we took a 8500+km 3 week trip to the Arctic and back)
Nice yeah I will be on plenty of the terrain you describe , in northern Utah and Colorado as well so that's good to know. I'm in salt lake City. Honestly what most people know as "Moab" is a small area, there is much more to the terrain than just slickrock in surrounding areas that are lesser know but only to the locals or regulars where I spend much more of my time. Sounds like if traction we're to become an issue an auburn lsd would likely be sufficient. What lift and tires do you run (sizes). I'm looking for the exact things you talk about. Double cab for kids (and dogs) the 6.5 ft bed and basic truck needs. I don't haul the kids+wife except for camping and adventures and she has a super crew for normal family duty so I don't feel I need a crew. The tundra fits the bill because I don't need all the bling stuff either. The tundra feels to me what trucks were before the soccer mom truck phase started with all the luxo packages to haul air. Also the areas near Moab I'm talking about are so remote you have to have a reliable ride.
 

Trikebubble

Adventurer
I had a CrewMax Toyota for 2 years before going back to a 3/4 ton. Honestly, if they offered the CrewMax with a bigger bed, I would have stuck with it.
As far as reliability, my FIL has around 200K on his 2014 Tundra CrewMax. They haven’t been easy miles by any degree. He has done little other than oil changes, brakes, and plugs after 100K.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i didn't know the CrewMax even had a bed? J/K...... my sister has one and the back seats in it are better than sitting in a limo. It's about the only vehicle I've ever been in where the back seats have more legroom than the front.
 

Trikebubble

Adventurer
Nice yeah I will be on plenty of the terrain you describe , in northern Utah and Colorado as well so that's good to know. I'm in salt lake City. Honestly what most people know as "Moab" is a small area, there is much more to the terrain than just slickrock in surrounding areas that are lesser know but only to the locals or regulars where I spend much more of my time. Sounds like if traction we're to become an issue an auburn lsd would likely be sufficient. What lift and tires do you run (sizes). I'm looking for the exact things you talk about. Double cab for kids (and dogs) the 6.5 ft bed and basic truck needs. I don't haul the kids+wife except for camping and adventures and she has a super crew for normal family duty so I don't feel I need a crew. The tundra fits the bill because I don't need all the bling stuff either. The tundra feels to me what trucks were before the soccer mom truck phase started with all the luxo packages to haul air. Also the areas near Moab I'm talking about are so remote you have to have a reliable ride.

I'm running a mid travel suspension set-up. I net about 3.5" or so. Its a combination of ADS Racing shocks (kind of overkill, but I do like their ability to deal with hundreds of miles of washboard logging roads without giving up), along with MCM Fab uca's, and OME Dakar rear leaf packs (I do have an additional Dakar leaf and airbags to deal with the added weight of the camper) Tires are 295 18"s, though I should have just gone with 35"s to start. I'll be moving up to 35"s next time for sure. I'm 6'2" and could sit in the back seat for a couple hours, but wouldn't consider it roomy by any means for my size. Having said that, I removed the back seat altogether and built a dog bed platform and storage in it's place. Far better use of the space for us with the dogs.
 

Wahayes83

Member
Was that suspension a kit or was that something you pieced together from what you found works? KIMG0917.JPG this was one of the areas we went last time out in southern Utah. I'm getting the itch to get out again.
 

Attachments

  • KIMG0961.JPG
    KIMG0961.JPG
    2 MB · Views: 10
  • KIMG0924.JPG
    KIMG0924.JPG
    2.8 MB · Views: 10

Trikebubble

Adventurer
Was that suspension a kit or was that something you pieced together from what you found works? View attachment 515491 this was one of the areas we went last time out in southern Utah. I'm getting the itch to get out again.
I ordered my mid travel setup from MCM Fabrication. He does have leaf pack options, but it was cost prohibitive to ship those up here to Canada, so he recommended I sourse the Dakar leaf packs up here.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,527
Messages
2,875,534
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles

Members online

Top