Frank's 2002 RC LB V8

Thought I'd start a li'l ol' thread for my Tundra.
My dad bought this truck from a friend with ~120k on it in 2015. I was working at a Toyota dealership in MD at the time, so I replaced the timing belt, water pump and rear shocks right away for him. He daily drove the truck and used it for home renovation/heavy yard work when necessary. It had the cold weather frame CRC applied at some point before he owned it.

Fast forward to 2020, it now has 138k. He's been retired for a year now and I finally got him to sell it to me. So I flew home and we loaded it up with some remaining stuff and tools I had at the house and started our drive to CO. Prior to, though, I went to a friends shop and put it on a lift. Absolutely no fluid leaks which was a huge relief. I've never owned a leak free vehicle. I greased the U joints and did a general check of everything.

Frame wise, the CRC has done a relatively good job in the places it remains. However, five years of DDing in MD has definitely taken a toll. Lots of rusted parts underneath. Backing plates on the rear drums are rusted really bad. The leaf spring u bolts are also pretty dang bad. Spare tire carrier and spare wheel are FUBAR. So basically I'm planning to replace everything rusty on it, but with upgrades.

Can't explain how much I enjoy this truck.

My plan is to make it a solid overlanding truck. Build out the bed, put a modest lift on it, get lockers, JBA shorty headers, second set of 5 wheels with larger AT tires, fab stealth bumpers, new brake lines, front brake and rotor upgrade, etc. Oh, and fix the rusty wheel well.

What I've done so far is stock up on simple maintenance parts. Filters, fluids, plugs, belts, pulleys. I replaced the cracked rear tail lights, fixed the wiring to the bed cap brake light, got a new spare (I just got a fifth steel wheel to match the other four) and spare carrier and replaced the shocks with Bilstein 5100's. I also removed the top racks from the bed cap, because I don't intend to use them, honestly.

Here it is when I got home to drive it back west:

After installing 5100's with front perch at 3rd setting.

 

gotta love a simple ol reg cab! i've been enjoying mine since the bodyworks been done.. these things are great (other than the MPG)

 

Oh yeah. I was averaging around 16mpg for most of the trip until the last stretch of Kansas into Colorado. The wind took us down to almost 12mpg.

 

im mostly city right now. no big road trips. but with the cap lift and what not im getting 11-12 mpg. livable but its not as good as my little corolla or my avalon..
my taco was lucky to get 15-16 when it was running

 

Same, just using it in the city now. I also think I’m around 11-12 now, but I just went below half a tank, so I’ve got a little more gas to chug before I do the math and fill up again.

The highlander does about 16-18 and our neighbor just gave me a ‘90 trooper that’s rated similarly to the tundra

 

Those SR5 long bed V8 trucks of that era are awesome... I love mine.

 

I really love the color of your truck. Personally my favorite Tundra color. But I do like the white, because I’m planning to throw some large TRD stripes on mine soon.

 

The 2nd gen tundra trd stickers look good just so you know

 

This is the decal plan I have in mind for my tundra

 

Ah the retro stripes. Always a good choice on a white truck

 

Gotta work with what I got haha
I honestly wish I had your color. That truck looks perfect imo

 

It’s a solid year of work and a decent chunk of change. But as it sits I’m into it for what it’s worth. So I couldn’t do better if I tried

 

Grey and Thunder Grey Metallic are great colors, but my TGM looks like crap once the clear coat started to fail. White is my favorite color for any vehicle... my 2007 is Super White and there is no clear coat.

Here she is late last year before I removed the tail gate and installed the A.R.E. Hi-Wedge cap.

 

Sweet! Welcome man, I personally find myself only loving RCLBs when they’ve got the cap! Look forward to watching your build!

 

Wait, what's a "leak free" vehicle? I didn't know there was such a thing...

 

I never thought it was a thing! I got so nervous I just poured a quart of oil on the motor hahaha jk

thank ya kindly!

the next thing I plan to do is replace my leaf u bolts, because I don’t trust how rusty they are.

I’m going to a U-Pull I visited not too long ago to pick up a set of alloy wheels for the city tires and then I’m planning to pick up 5 255/85r16’s to run on my steelies for off road driving. Also need to pick up another 5 spoke steelie to replace my rusty spare tire.

I took the truck out for it’s first camping trip and had a blast in it!

I started planning my build for the bed. I picked up a Dagger Agent 6.2 from my buddy, so I’d like to be able to store it in the bed while camping/kayaking. But it’s as tall as the bed rails and if I set the platform that high I’m going to be REALLY close to the top of the cap. So, I’m thinking about splitting it up and doing a bed platform that takes up a little over half of the width of the bed with a rolling drawer underneath. That way the kayak can slide in flat next to the bed platform. In the drawer I’ll store an emergency kit and all of my necessary camping gear as well as an essential tool kit. I’ve got a rolling tool stool that I’ll use for bicycle tools that’s easy to load in when needed.

additionally I found this:
https://kmcallister.github.io/skywave/2019/07/15/solar-battery.html
I’m going to do something similar and plan to charge the battery via 100w solar panel. I’ll use it to power any lights and/or accessories I decide to use.

I scored a swing out rear tire carrier from a u pull for $20. Planning to modify it into a mobile bicycle repair stand/spare carrier.

anywhosal, lotsa stuff.

 

Oh, also, driving it off road made me realize I have A LOT of steering play. That’s also priority at the moment. And For shits and gigs I bought a Gates serpentine belt. Gonna get the tensioner and pulley set and do all that soon.

 

energy suspension rack bushings will make a world of difference if nothing else has play in it

 

Thanks for the tip, I really appreciate that!

 

Having just put those black Energy Suspension bushings on I can say they are squishy feeling. They might be good for offroad etc, but to me they squish around. You can see it squish under the truck when someone turns the wheel. They feel squishy in hand compared to the other aftermarket ones I removed (should kept them on in retrospect as they were in good shape).

 

interesting. Also good to know, thanks for the input!

I’ll put ‘er up in the air this weekend and diagnose the slop and go from there. Looks like I’ll be searching and reading a lot. I was also curious about poly bushings, so I’ll be digging deeper into that as well.

 

If you have someone turn the wheel up above while you watch the rack, the rack shouldn’t move much

 

sounds like a six pack and a call to my buddy is in order.

 

Great truck and did I read right that your Dad drove it daily for 5 years and put less than 20k on it ?
Mine has been bulletproof too and also has no leaks that I have seen!
I also get through Denver a few times a year both as a Destination and a waypoint on the way to Gunnison where we have some property and boy do I love that area even with the "Shops" there now everywhere.
The Tundra does surprisingly well over the passes as long as I don't fall off of one!

Welcome!

 

Thank ya kindly! That’s awesome that yours is leak free as well! Feel free to give me a shout any time you’re passing through Denver! Maybe we can do a little off reading somewhere at some point.

Yeah, he used it to commute to the train station not far from the house, so it didn’t see many miles. Actually, the most miles he ever put on it was traveling up to Wisconsin for a fishing trip... well I guess the most is actually when I drove it west with him haha.

These 4.7’s kick some serious butt up the passes! I don’t know about you, but mine is happiest right around 70mph when the speed limit allows.

 

Thank you! It’s really a great feeling getting into this truck with all of the memories.

I haven’t and I have to thank you SO much for that suggestion! Definitely going to look into it and get some!

 

Took the bed cap off for moving purposes. My 1943 Snap On KR-300 wouldn't fit in the bed, upright, with the cap on. Big news is that I snagged some 4Runner/Tacoma wheels. Really enjoying them, especially considering I spent a whopping $128 for the wheelset. Gotta order a fifth and a new tire for the full sized spare. Going to find some off road tires to mount on my steel wheelset.

Work has been absolutely nuts, but I get Saturday off. Going to grab some compound and really clean the wheels up and wash the entire truck/put the cap back on.

 

Looks good with no top for sure but I need mine on regardless!

 

I'm itching to throw it back on. I like it way more with the cap on haha

 

Me too but the change is OK sometimes too