New Truck Time - 2020 Tundra.

[Java230]

Yes fuck off, its a crew cab short bed. Now that that is out of the way.....

To start, I have never bought a new truck. Coming from a 4runner with 275k miles this is nice.

Debated a lot, front runners were GX460, Colorado zr2, and the Tundra. GX is too much $$ used even and small V8, Colorado is really unknown reliability, but good MPG, Tundra won out. Old school 6speed means shitty MPG, but the big V8 and Toyota reliability and here we are.

Anyway, new truck, picked up with a whopping 7 miles on it.

Grey on Grey interior. I was actually expecting black (I didn't read specs close enough I guess. Also the TRD Package).... But this is good. Grown on me greatly.

500 miles later we are home. It EATS highway. Loving it.

First Mod

Friends are enablers..... Ordered a whole pile of parts before I even owned the truck.....

Mod #2, Lamin X on the OE Fogs. TRD Package includes black LED headlights, and LED fogs as well.

Have RCI Sliders and a canopy on order as well..... Looking at storage options for the bed, bed slide (half width) or drawer? Options.... But Excited for a new (mild) build. The 4runner is sticking around as backup car and beater to leave at trail heads when we backpack.

 

[Aggie06]

FIL has a 14 Tundra with around 240K on it. He does basic maintenance, and that’s about it. It’s still on stock struts and shocks, but they’ve been dead for a while. I had a 14 for a couple of years, and never had any real issues.

You can turn off the nanny traction controls by holding the TC button down for a few seconds. You can cycle through different options that way.

I read that Toyota did away with the transmission cooler on the newer trucks. May be something to think about if you tow much.

The decked storage units seem nice but are $$$. There is a pretty nice lockable storage unit that you can install before the rear seat. Requires cutting the carpet and matting to install. Don’t remember the name, but it should be easy to find on Google.

Edit: It may be different being your truck has the TRD package, but the factory front skid plate on mine and my FILs truck sucked. They’re light weight metal and bend pretty easy. I think the TRD package has a heavier skid plate with a oil filter cartridge access hole cut into it, but I could be wrong about that.

 

[94toytruck]

I have a 16 SR5 in the same color. Great truck but I mainly just use it for towing my trail rig around, it's pretty much stock. Congrats on the new truck,

 

[Slander]

When's the SAS and roll cage?

 

[TRINDU]

When's the SAS and roll cage?

No shit.

Welcome to instaface-overlander.con

 

[Java230]

FIL has a 14 Tundra with around 240K on it. He does basic maintenance, and that’s about it. It’s still on stock struts and shocks, but they’ve been dead for a while. I had a 14 for a couple of years, and never had any real issues.

You can turn off the nanny traction controls by holding the TC button down for a few seconds. You can cycle through different options that way.

I read that Toyota did away with the transmission cooler on the newer trucks. May be something to think about if you tow much.

The decked storage units seem nice but are $$$. There is a pretty nice lockable storage unit that you can install before the rear seat. Requires cutting the carpet and matting to install. Don’t remember the name, but it should be easy to find on Google.

Edit: It may be different being your truck has the TRD package, but the factory front skid plate on mine and my FILs truck sucked. They’re light weight metal and bend pretty easy. I think the TRD package has a heavier skid plate with a oil filter cartridge access hole cut into it, but I could be wrong about that.

I hope this one lasts well. Yep, no cooler, I may add one, the factory parts are available and bolt to the tans easy. Then aftermarket cooler.

Skid plate is garbage... Its on the list.

No shit.

Welcome to instaface-overlander.con

Right this is a DD/Mild wheeler.... sorry its not hardcore enough. :rolleyes:

Started on the drawer for the bed.

Exterior grade MDO. Inside will get lacquered, exterior will be bedliner.

Whipped up a quick clamp/square jig since I had some extra wrong sized parts....

Sides are on. Screwed and waterproof glued. Top will get nailed and screwed. Needs to resist the upward force when the drawer is pulled out.

Will set it in the bed before the top goes on. Drill up from under for Tnuts. Then it will be bolted in place from below for final install.

Laid out for L track. Its not going full length as I expect the dog to be at the front most of the time (and this was an 8' piece

)

Pocket routered out.

Nice tight fit. I took a lot of material out of the ply, and wanted to be able to add that structure back with the track.

System Three G-Flex epoxy. I have used this stuff before and its amazingly strong and flexible. Designed for fixing aluminum boats. You can literally bend the thin coat left behind in the mixing cup without it fracturing at all. Should hold up well to vibration and material movements with temps.

Clamp it up and leave it alone.

A little foil tape on the ends keeps the track from filling.

Kreg screws are always just a touch proud, since I will be using UHMW PE for slides, I need smooth walls. 120 grit flap disk works great.

Now the hard part, holes in the new truck.... 7 to be exact because I screwed up one location. Luckily it was just an 1/8" bit so easy to fix.... 4 in the back 1/3, two in the front.

Back side get 4 recessed 5/15" T Nuts. They will be bolted from below.

Front gets two Riv nuts, to be installed from the top.

Top goes on, glue and 18ga nails, plus some screws in select locations.

No shiners or glue dribble on the inside, so back can go on. All the nails and screws holes were filled with plastic wood putty.

 

[Java230]

Its big. Sand the edges so glue will bond.

Recessed the latch

It fits!

Slides well on the UHMW, may need to add air holes.... Its got some suction

Added an aluminum strike and catch for the latch

Glued the slides in place

 

[Java230]

I no longer drive a turd.

And if your ever doing vinyl stuff, get yourself this. A friend who does vinyl wraps recommended it, it works amazing.

Canopy on! Sungtop rebel. Not bad.

Remove one more sticker....

All masked off for bedliner.

Sprayed! I used a Scholtz gun I had, It's for bedliner and undercoating, but Raptor's gun must be much smaller orifice. Holy crap did I go thru it QUICK. Its only one coat, but does seem to be well coated.... 4 liters are supposed to do a full size truck bed, two coats.... I used two on this.


Wait till it just sets up a little and peel tape!

​

 

[Java230]

And drawer is installed! It fits great, my filler panel fits, and its not super heavy. Id bet 100lbs maybe. I can move it myself reasonably easy, its just awkward.

First I had to finish the latch and strike. Glued and screwed in place. Latch is offset to add a webbing pull on the other side.

Then added some brackets to hold the filler panel, just some scrape aluminum.

Four bolts in the back, sealant on them, then a coat of paint for good measure too. Two in the front, from the top, didn't take pic...

And WaLa! Works great!!

Filler fits good.

Cubby below, house battery will likely go there.

Tight to the tail gate. About 1/8" there.

Oh and new DFG Made in the USA aluminum slide. Nice little piece.

Let me just start hat I get it, canopy installs are done by the low paid employees..... But holy shit. I hate sloppy installers....

Issue 1, the canopy pinches the factory tie downs, they moved them a little, and put the canopy on. They are now fixed in place...... Ask me if I want to just remove them!
Issue 2. Vampire taps. Really???? And get the wring wire the first time and leave a bite in the wire?
Issue 3. There is a "fuse box" and disconnect in the corner. The door on the fuse box is supposed to be able to open.... It was at a funky angle and hit the side, cant open. Once pried open is has USB ports?! But guess what isn't connected to anything.....
Annnnd they ran a wire to the cab for the lock, and used exactly ZERO zip ties..... Its just running along under the bed, supported kinda by some cross members, across hard edges, etc. Tha'ts gonna take some doing....

Come on, at least add some tape??

Fixed.

A little spacer and moving the bracket up a bit made the fuse box usable. Ill wire the usb up once I get my house battery figured out.

 

[Java230]

Fridge is in the back.... Cut starboard spacers, get it up over the ridges, and the tailgate. Latch barely drags on the tailgate now. May add a little more spacer if needed.

Install day finally came! Had a bit of help and it took us 5 hours 58 minutes from the time the truck got pulled in. We weren't really rushing, but the heat killed us.

Working on a new truck is AMAZING. No rust, not much road grime even! Once the fastener was loose you could spin it off by hand even! Clean threads are amazing.

Font In, taking the upper UCA off made it easy to drop the in CO in. Swapped to the SPC ones. Had to disconnect the sway bar to get just a wee bit more droop.

And this was the only issue with the kit. The resi line must run outboard and forward on the CO's. They were both assembled the same way, so one needed to be flipped. Was not possible without breaking the flex line, so the top cap had to be removed. Off to the store for a 12mm Allen wrench, but simple.

Rear end all free. Leafs are heavy. I am not super wild about how the OME kits does the brake line extensions, it simply raises them up off the axle. Seems like a spot to catch sticks etc..... Maybe find some longer replacement hoses.

Forgot to take pics.... But all back together.

Now onto the wheels. More sidewall is better IMO, so I downsized to a 17". They clear, but barely. They have a bit less backspace than I anticipated, but I think I can live with it. Make a bit more rubbing in the front, and a little more poke than I would normally run, but it was the only BS option in the 17"

Wee bit of poke...

Great time hanging out with some old friends this weekend. First time in the dirt for the new truck. It worked great! No real complaints other than the canopy is rubbing on the tailgate. The layout worked well, and the truck just disappears gear into it. The 4runner was always stuffed to the gills!

Ate a lot of dust. Drove up to the highest point you can drive in WA.

 

[350TacoZilla]

Good looking DD and trail truck man! Personally never liked a rim over 17" unless your up in the 40" territory on tires, really like the combo you picked out.

 

[Java230]

Good looking DD and trail truck man! Personally never liked a rim over 17" unless your up in the 40" territory on tires, really like the combo you picked out.

Yeah it came with bigger wheels.... I like some sidewall. Cant go any smaller than those on this truck. The stick on wheel weights rubbed on the calipers

 

[Aggie06]

Yeah it came with bigger wheels.... I like some sidewall. Cant go any smaller than those on this truck. The stick on wheel weights rubbed on the calipers

Same thing with my Chevy. Moved from a 20 to a 17 also.

 

[jhama78]

what Backspacing/offset on the wheels? truck looks good, Itll be time for my tundra to get new sneakers and some suspension work next winter and dont mind the way those wheels and tires look.

 

[Java230]

what Backspacing/offset on the wheels? truck looks good, Itll be time for my tundra to get new sneakers and some suspension work next winter and dont mind the way those wheels and tires look.

17x8.5 zero offset. If they were tucked in a bit more (don't remebr BS vs offset lol) they would rub the body mount less. But no other offset made in that size and bolt pattern

 

[rockmup]

Nice truck, I love my 2019, rides like a dream.

 

[gozuki]

Can't see the house behind the pile of cash...

 

[Java230]

Can't see the house behind the pile of cash...

LOL it wasn't cheap, but also 0% interest..... And is a company truck

 

[Java230]

Body mount chop parts came in. I am thoroughly impressed. for $25, they cut and bend the plates, and send a laser cut template with them. Line the hole in the template up with an existing bolt and outline. Cannot get better! They are from SDHQ

Roof rack finally!

Using 8020 profile. Had to make some angled spacer blocks, man a mill would be nice. Flap disk worked. Just making up for the curve in the roof.

Spacer, and everything all bolted up.

Tight to the roof, and added zero height. The shark fun antenna is still taller.

Added a rubber strip to the top.

Got the ditch lights on.

And it looks like I need to drop a little pressure. Only the centers of the tires touch on dirty pavement.

These finally showed up! RCI sliders, ordered May 18th..... They are pretty nice though, and super beef.

Bolts at the back edge, next to the gas tank sucked. A lot. Probably 45 mins on one stupid bolt..... Hydraulic lift table is awesome tho.

 

[Java230]

Well look what showed up!

Seems well built. But I hit all the edges with a flap disk, they were super sharp from cutting. Powdercoat doesn't hold up well on sharp edges.

Now to figure out TSS sensor relocation.

Bumper is back from powdercoat.

Service position. Note the grill is supposed to be put back on before bumper goes on..... I didn't....

Comeup 12.5rs and fog lights installed.

Bumper on!

Reinforcement brackets that bolt into the stock tow points. IMO good not to just rely on the frame horns.

Wiring in the rain....

Wires from the solenoid pack to the winch itself were lice and long, and color coded too! Bolted the controller straight to the bumper next to the winch. T slots in the back made it easy! There is no good access to the controller. You can get to it from the front, barely. I figured if I was buried in a mud pit etc I really wouldn't want to try to plug the controller in under water. So all the wires got extended.

8 conductor marine tinned wire was used. Not much room to spread the splices out, so its a little ugly.

Goobered the back of the plug with dielectric grease and wrapped up.

Whip up a little aluminum bracket.

Now the plug is next to the washer bottle under the hood.

Weatherpacks on the OE wiring for the fog lights.

Off to find a Xmas tree! Got rejected right around the corner sadly... Rain on snow makes for some snotty stuff, and being alone I didn't want to push it too far.

 

[Kaptain]

Nice mild build, looks very capable. In the process of doing a similar build on my 19 Tacoma, no lift on 33’s

 

[4RunnerKid]

nice truck, i have a '19 and love it. i'll be watching the build

 

[Fishnbeer]

I dig the truck. I got a 2015 double cab I have been looking at doing some similar things. On the fence about the bumper, I want a winch for some tree work but I dont really do much wheeling with it other than 2 hunting trips a year. Wife hit a planter box a couple months ago so maybe I can have her buy the bumper haha

I want the RCI sliders now, I was dead set on the sliders from victory4x4 but the RCIs look great on yours. You should check out the RCI engine skid, I have it and it is rock solid and has a nifty access door so you dont have to drop it to change the oil. I like the idea of 8020 roof rack, had not considered that for the crossbars but I like the low profile. Did you make the mounts or buy them?

 

[montrose818]

No shit.

Welcome to instaface-overlander.con

werd.

 

[Java230]

I dig the truck. I got a 2015 double cab I have been looking at doing some similar things. On the fence about the bumper, I want a winch for some tree work but I dont really do much wheeling with it other than 2 hunting trips a year. Wife hit a planter box a couple months ago so maybe I can have her buy the bumper haha

I want the RCI sliders now, I was dead set on the sliders from victory4x4 but the RCIs look great on yours. You should check out the RCI engine skid, I have it and it is rock solid and has a nifty access door so you dont have to drop it to change the oil. I like the idea of 8020 roof rack, had not considered that for the crossbars but I like the low profile. Did you make the mounts or buy them?

Yeah winch isn't needed often, but when it is, its REALLY nice to have

The RCI stuff is nice, just don't expect any customer service or short lead times.... I ordered the sliders before I bought the truck! I do like their skids also, but don't have the $$ at the moment.

 

[Yotota]

I was initially going to give you some shit for the high school woodshop thread...

But this is definitely turning out to be a great daily driver mild build. My daily is due for a suspension overhaul and I'm gearing up for a similar bolt-on "build" in the spring.

 

[Java230]

I was initially going to give you some shit for the high school woodshop thread...

But this is definitely turning out to be a great daily driver mild build. My daily is due for a suspension overhaul and I'm gearing up for a similar bolt-on "build" in the spring.

Ha! Ill find smore more wood to cut up and post for you then!

Yeah its a great daily so far if you can deal with shit mpg's

 

[Yotota]

Ha! Ill find smore more wood to cut up and post for you then!

Yeah its a great daily so far if you can deal with shit mpg's

I bet your 5.7 is getting better than my 4.7! I'm down near 12/13mpg or so in my GX since I rarely go on the highway these days. V8 + AWD + 98% city driving = burning all the dead dinosaurs.

 

[Java230]

I bet your 5.7 is getting better than my 4.7! I'm down near 12/13mpg or so in my GX since I rarely go on the highway these days. V8 + AWD + 98% city driving = burning all the dead dinosaurs.

I drive 99% city.... ~11.5 ish seems to be about average for me. Unless I do a linger highway trip....

Going on a New Years trip with some buddies.... Was going to take the big truck, but Dunes+Big truck sounds like trouble.... So I have two days to get the tundra ready for winter camping.... Yikes. Need to get awning on, re mount the bumper lower.... BMC probably wont get done since my dad stole the welder!

Whipped up some awning brackets, playing with the new powder coater.

 

[Java230]

A little stainless hardware

Mounted. It feels solid.