What are your favorite mods/improvements?

I LOVE my Compustar autostart. It's killer in the winter.

Also, my Android phone and Torque Pro to monitor temperatures and the data.

 

Yes. I made them myself. It's for a first gen though.

 

@Brown Bear I think that small pin is a bit too much of a weak point. But I suppose if you're not one to corner hard/fast, it's probably not going to be an issue. Looking at it just bothers me lol.

Stud for the bottom heim with a spring retaining clip or pin like yours to keep it from sliding off until ready to remove and a wing nut at the top to remove completely from the control arm & swaybar. My Taco has a setup like this since 02 or 03.

Anyways, just my unasked for 2 cents.


_______________________________________________


On topic, probably the remote start/alarm. That may change though.

 

Pretty slick!

 

It's a 1/4 inch pin and is strong enough for what it does. I do drive very windy roads almost every time I drive the truck. Half the time I'm towing as well. I have had the same pins for the last 2 1/2 years. They are still nice and smooth, no marks or wear spots. I know there are other ways to do it. But this works great for me and has been operating flawlessly.

 

Faves from my 2005 DC SR5...
I really miss that truck..


Retrax, even though it rattled on the road with the rear window down.
I've heard they fixed that issue.



Full Bedrug..



Pioneer SuperTuner with an XM tuner.
3 old school Fosgate amps (front, rear, and sub) and a custom removable 10" Fosgate Punch sub enclosure.

 

For those of you that updated to led headlights, did you have an issue where the fog lamps no longer work and the brights indicator doesn't show on your dash when you install them?

 

Jesus Christ its crazy to me how quick tech becomes obsolete. It seems like yesterday when I used to install those disc holder dash kits.

Thank god for bluetooth.

 

What are your favorite mods/improvements?

Brown Bear, what an excellent build! Do you have any more info on your build? What is the weight of that boat? Those got to be some heavy duty shocks. I have an 8 ft. Mini bass boat that I put on my truck and would like to build something such as this. I also noticed your in No. Cal. I am to, if I’m close enough I would love to be able to check it out in person.

 

Very clever!

 

Posted elsewhere, but this is MY favorite mod.

 

Im in Auburn area. I have a build page but I haven't really done a write up on the boat rack since I rebuilt it. https://www.tundras.com/threads/my-03-build.16259/ I used two 140lb gas struts. I could have gone with a 150lb to get a little more lift. But I didn't want it to be to hard to close if the boat is not on it. My boat is a 10 foot tracker topper 10 it weighs 87lb. Its the perfect size for the back of the truck. I can even fit a second one under it in the bed.

 

Thanks Brown Bear for the link to the other pics to your rack. Really helped to visualize in my head what I want to do. I’m going to have it lift from front of bed to back so my small boat will just slide off. I’m in Napa so a little far to see in person but I appreciate the help.

 

It's gonna be a tie between the head unit / bluetooth / backup camera upgrade and the toolbox addition. Suspension stuff and wheels and tires are cool, but this truck likely was capable of anything I'll throw at it from the factory. The factory radio just plain sucked. And as often as I hook up to a trailer, the backup camera has been an invaluable time saver. These trucks come with practically zero storage so the toolbox has been so handy to be able to keep things like jumper cables, tools, tire pump, tarp and bed net, camp chair, shovel, and of course a cooler. And it's lockable. The inside of my truck is now clean and uncluttered and all of the seats are useable.

 

Aesthetically, my favorite is the lift and wheel/tire setup. No one really noticed my truck before except for die hard Yota guys. After the new setup, I get compliments on it from a lot more people. The discount tire boys loved it and I saw all the guys at the alignment shop gathering/walking around it. After he was done and brought me my keys, he said “that’s a cool little truck bro” lol. The most handy upgrades would probably be the remote start and camper shell. Never have to get into cold truck again and the shell has been more useful than I ever thought. How it looks now is how I imagined it to look when I first bought. I happy to say, I’ve finally got it there.

 

My remote start for me too. LOL.

 

What lift and tire size are you running ?

 

RCD 6 inch lift in the front, custom made leaf pack with 4 inch lift in the rear, 35 inch tires.

 

You will need to add a resistor to the headlights for the dogs to work. Where in NC are you located?

 

I'm a little south of Raleigh but likely to be moving to the mountains here soon! Thanks for the tip, I ended up ordering just the resistors for the head lights and from your comment and another older post I ended up finding I feel a bit safer in my choice!

 

Probably my front bumper lift and tires

 

Currently I think I have to say the center console swap from a 05 sequoia to my 03 AC. But, hard to say cuz I'm not done yet.

 

You’ll love it.

 

I already do, and thanks for the help on that; whether you knew it or not, your threads helped me getting that figured out.

What I meant above is that I'm not done making modifications yet.

 

When i got my truck in march the first thing i did was bandaid the brake problems and bed bounce with a load of roadside workbench. Worked like a champ.

 

-I enjoy my Flowmaster muffler every time I drive it.
-The stereo upgrade is also nice.
-Backup camera is awesome.
-led interior light conversion.
-headlight harness and bulb upgrade
-toolbox in the bed is awesome. Like having a backpack for my truck that locks.
-looks wise, the level with 5100’s and bigger wheels and tires is nice. Don’t use the functionality of them often. But looks better.

 

For a mostly street driven 1st gen my favorite mod to date is the Addco rear sway. Cheap, compliments the stock front sway, and relatively easy to install.

It has completely changed the road manners of this truck for the better. Much more confident in the corners and feels so much more secure and stable.

Second place are the headers and exhaust. Only reason they're not first is how much it hit my wallet. But the increase of 30tq in the low end does put a smile on my face.

 

Sdtrucksprings.com's site states: "We always recommend you install sway bars in pairs to ensure maximum steering and cornering performance. Check out the Front 2176 Addco stabilizer bar for the complete anti-sway package."

How critical is it to put on both at the same time? I haven't looked yet, but the former owner of my truck did rig it up to pull his travel trailer all over the Western U.S. for years. As you can see from my profile photo, I also pull a g/n horsetrailer with my tundra, and it really does well. Not the pulling power of a PowerStroke of course, but it's not intended to be in the same league as the beefy rigs. For occasional hard work though, my 4.7 LTD tundra really delivers.

Might be hard to justify at nearly $300 for the front if it's doing good enough for this long... ya? There may already be one on my truck, but I don't see one on a quick lookaround underneath the front.

 

You should already have a factory front bar, depending on year and model I think they come in different thicknesses. I have an 06 DC TRD Off Road and the factory front bar is 27mm. The Addco rear bar from Summit is only 19mm. On a street driven vehicle you want a smaller rear bar than your front. It will keep you in the safe zone and understeer at the limit. If your rear bar were larger than the front it could cause snap oversteer or lift-off throttle oversteer. Neither situation is fun if you're not expecting it.

Hellwig is the only other bar manufacturer I know of for the 1st gen. Buying both their front and rear bars adds up to about $700. Just the Addco rear cost me around $130. For the price I got the Addco rear and keep the front stock bar. The Hellwig pieces are overkill for normal high profile all season truck tires.

I can't say enough about how happy I was with just this cheap mod.

 

In no particular order I enjoy the following that I have added or modified over the years.

Android Auto Kenwood Double DIN Stereo
Backup Camera (Not the highest quality but its tucked in the tailgate handle for good view angle) (Tried wireless first, too much lag, poor image, tiny screen included)
Retrofitted Mini D2S 5.0 Morimoto projectors with HID - Let there be light!!! (Retrofit all the things!)
LED bulbs front/back/interior - Nice and bright and crispy
Amplifiers/Subwoofer - Thump, even small thump, add so much to music enjoyment.
Seat covers - Nice and comfy and have saved seats from minor spills
Remote Start - half working. LOL
Tailgate Assist - I wonder if there is enough room to install a second one on the passenger side that would allow the tailgate to fall on its own nice and sloooooow like my Ferd? Hmmmm