Tundra CrewMax

Gallowbraid said:
Can't wait to see the photos of the fall colors...I need to get out to Colorado to see them for myself. Truck is looking fantastic, love that bumper!
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We'll see how it goes on color. It's really just getting started. Another week or two from now it'll be pretty epic but, I'm hitting the road again so this is really our only chance. I'll be sure to post up some photos later.

Dave said:
The Tundra is looking really sexy - well done!
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Thanks Dave.
 
Nice work Sean.. I imagine the gears will make a big difference in CO.. lockers at same time would also make sense.. save those pennies and hit me up when ready:)
 
Lifted Adventures said:
Nice work Sean.. I imagine the gears will make a big difference in CO.. lockers at same time would also make sense.. save those pennies and hit me up when ready:)
Click to expand...

Thanks Justin. Doing the gears and locker is a wee bit out of my comfort zone. No, not a wee bit. A huge bit. I think I may suck this one up and have a shop do it. However, I have a small list of stuff that I think you can help me with. I'll be in touch.
 
A few photos of her from the trail last weekend.

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A couple of days ago, I was cleaning the truck up and Piper came outside to help dry.

P: We need to name the truck.
Me: We do?
P: Yes. And it needs to be a girls' name.
Me: Ok.
P: It looks like Darth Vader but he's a boy.
Me: So what would you like?
P: Dara Vader. Now, paint some buttons on the side.

Sliders from Demello arrived yesterday. Need a new 1/2" drill bit to put a couple of holes in the frame and then I'll get them mounted.

Along with getting the sliders mounted, I need to mount the Blue Sea fuse block, hard wire the CB and plan out the HAM install. My FT-270 HT performed more than adequately on the trail last weekend but it'll be nice to have a full radio. I spent some time down the street at HRO the other day and decided to go with the FTM-400. I had really liked the 350 in my FJ and none of the current HF radios have APRS capability.

Expedition One let me know that the rear bumper should be ready by the end of the month. That's going to be a beast and I'm considering throwing a bumper mounting party. Hopefully, the winch will arrive at the same time. Sounds like they've been having some supply issues from Superwinch.

Still haven't found a rack I like so I'm probably going to have one made. Piece for the topper and a piece for the cab. Spare tire and gas will be on the bumper and I'm not an RTT guy, until I can afford a trailer, so the rack really just needs to hold water, solar panels and misc stuff that may not fit in the bed.

I do have to say that when I see her sitting in the driveway or out on the trail by herself, she doesn't look big. Then I start driving. After school pickups are fun... :D
 
Got a couple of small things done today before the rain started. Mounted up SDHQ's ABS guards on all 4 corners for a little extra insurance.

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Also, got the Demello sliders mostly mounted. They still are not weight bearing for the truck yet as I think I may have to trim the ends a little to give the rear flares a little extra breathing room. It's a bit of a tight fit. Once I angle them off on the back, I'll weld the bottom supports to the frame rather than bolt them.

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Finished off a couple of little things over the weekend.

Wrapped the rear grab handles with a 2 color cobra weave.

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Bec has now asked me to knit her a sweater. Driver side grab handle is on order. Once that arrives, I'll wrap the fronts.

Wired up the Blue Sea block up front. There was just enough space on the fuse box lid to put it on there. Since the run is so short, I used 8 gauge wire with a 100 amp fuse.

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Then, I wired in the CB to the first slot. Still need to figure out the antenna. The splitter box I bought only works with antenna cords that have an RCA plug on it. Stock head unit does not connect that way so I can't use the splitter. Spent a little bit of time exploring behind the dash but can't find any place to run the coax out into the engine bay. I guess I could cut the end off, feed it through the firewall plug then recrimp a new connector. Might need to borrow some coax tools from someone. For now, I'll just use it with the attached stubby while I try to figure out what to do with 18' of coax. I need to put a mic clip on the dash.
 
Sean Slavin said:
Then, I wired in the CB to the first slot. Still need to figure out the antenna. The splitter box I bought only works with antenna cords that have an RCA plug on it. Stock head unit does not connect that way so I can't use the splitter. Spent a little bit of time exploring behind the dash but can't find any place to run the coax out into the engine bay. I guess I could cut the end off, feed it through the firewall plug then recrimp a new connector. Might need to borrow some coax tools from someone. For now, I'll just use it with the attached stubby while I try to figure out what to do with 18' of coax. I need to put a mic clip on the dash.
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Crimp on coax connectors work pretty well these days, although die hard HAM guys will make fun of you for not soldering and for having a chicken band radio too. Ask me how I know. :D

Shortest antenna runs possible are usually a good idea and try to keep them on the opposite side of the vehicle from any power runs to prevent interference. Most cabling is fairly well shielded these days but the separation never hurts. If you end up with extra coax you'll inevitably run into the "don't coil your excess cable" debate. There are two sides, those who claim a coil of cable between the radio and antenna creates extra impedance and affects swr, and those who say the only thing it does is damage the cable (if wound too tightly) causing the shielding to fail and a short to develop (also affecting swr). Best plan, short direct coax run with no coil: avoid the debate.
 
Added a driver side grab handle and some cordage. Not sure why Toyota didn't just put this in there to begin with.

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I also made a pretty expensive mistakes on the skids. I hate making mistakes. Especially expensive ones. When I first ordered skids from Bud, I didn't ask about the 38 gallon gas tank then realized what I had done as I was trying to make the crossmember fit for the transfer case skid. I talked to Bud about it and he was incredibly accommodating. Told me send them back for an exchange and he'd have new transfer and tank skids, along with the crossmember, out to me in a couple of weeks. The lady at the UPS store started measuring and weighing then looked at me... :eek: All I could do was shrug and wince internally.

Also, buffed the truck out yesterday with some Adam's Paint Sealant to get through the winter. It's been a warm weekend but tomorrow is only supposed to be in the 30s with a snowfall prediction of 3-5". I had been using this sealant from Collinite but I'm a huge fan of Adam's as everything else I use is from them. Been using them for years and I love the fact that they are just up the road from the house. I was curious about Adam's sealant so we'll see how it holds up. Bec's car has the Collinite on it so it'll be a good comparison.
 
Sean Slavin said:
Also, buffed the truck out yesterday with some Adam's Paint Sealant to get through the winter. It's been a warm weekend but tomorrow is only supposed to be in the 30s with a snowfall prediction of 3-5". I had been using this sealant from Collinite but I'm a huge fan of Adam's as everything else I use is from them. Been using them for years and I love the fact that they are just up the road from the house. I was curious about Adam's sealant so we'll see how it holds up. Bec's car has the Collinite on it so it'll be a good comparison.
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I use nothing but Adams as well and have for years. Love their products.
 
Been on the road a lot lately so haven't gotten to do too much. However, Christmas came early and my Expedition One rear bumper arrived last Friday. 4 months of patiently waiting but it was so worth it. Got it mounted up over the weekend and I am super stoked by it. Piper of course left her mark on the passenger side of the truck. As always.

rear bumper 02.jpg
rear bumper 03.jpg


The bumper is solid. The guys at Expedition One really nailed it. I had a few clearance issues but after some emails and a couple of phone calls, I was able to get all worked out. At a minimum, there's a 1/2" between the swing outs and the tail gate but the swing outs aren't going anywhere. Once they are locked in, they are incredibly solid. I've got some lug nuts on order to mount the spare and there's a RotoPax mount (4 cans) coming for the other side.

@Lifted Adventures, I haven't forgotten about you. Day job has had me buried but I'll be ordering those cans from you, either today or tomorrow.

The Kuat rack still has plenty of room but I haven't tried it yet with the spare mounted. I may only be able to get 3 bikes on instead of 4 but we'll see.

I have a set of Baja Design Squadron Sports for the rear light ports. They are in the work/flood configuration and should provide plenty of reverse light. I will probably wire those up over the weekend. That's going to be quite the wire run. It's a loooong way from the bumper to the engine bay...
 
That is a pretty nice rear bumper that offers a high level of scalability and flexibility... the new front "Storm Trooper" model is pretty nice as well. Spent a lot of time on the phone this week with Roger and Robert IRT that front bumper... LOL.

Almost makes me want to get rid of the LS1 Tacoma and go Tundra.
 
TangoBlue said:
That is a pretty nice rear bumper that offers a high level of scalability and flexibility... the new front "Storm Trooper" model is pretty nice as well. Spent a lot of time on the phone this week with Roger and Robert IRT that front bumper... LOL.

Almost makes me want to get rid of the LS1 Tacoma and go Tundra.
Click to expand...

Roger is fantastic. I've spent a ton of time on the phone with him the past few months. I like that I'll have the ability to do gas and spare or two spares. It's a great setup.

I have the 'storm trooper' model on the front. Winch was a bit of a tight fit but it's in there. Had to do a little tweaking to the BD brackets for the light bar to fit on the bumper and to get a front plate to work. Nothing major and totally expected.

Really happy with how good they've been to me. They always answer the phone and are more than happy to talk.
 
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