Tundra Offroad Capability

Happens every year to someone!

 

I could be that guy/gal. But, AZ sounds very nice. Yew!

 

Thanks. That is really something. truly impressed.

 

Very capable. But shes a big girl, so be prepared to ruin your paint. Mine is covered in pinstripes. Just remember its not a Jeep and it'll do most of what you ask within reason.

 

Not offroad related, but my wife's jeep absolutely refuses to cooperate with me regarding many things. Shifting gears, activating the parking brake, deactivating the parking brake, closing the rear hatch (electric), opening ANY door (unless in park), hold onto its lubricating and cooling fluids..

It is fairly impressive offroad for being a non trailhawk cherokee (no low range). Mostly because 4x4 and its small enough to give you a lot of options. Definitely more of an around town vehicle at this point. Easier for older people to get in and out of, park in the city, etc.

WTF. Back to Tundras now.

 

Yea man, it wasn't too hard to put the 3rd member in, I was watching my shop did it but i know it always looks easier than it is lol

 

"Most people's defintion of offroading a fullsize on the east coast is doing donuts in a muddy field or going down a washed out gravel road to your favorite fishing spot. They wouldnt dare take it down a trail unless it was a dedicated wheelin rig."

I am from east coast, me and people I know and have interaction with who own fullsize and offroad fullsize trucks, we don't do donuts in a muddy field or going down a washed out gravel road, maybe it's most people in your area but most of people who offroad fullsize around me are serious offroaders.

 

it’s really not hard at all if you have an extra set of hands and you know what you’re doing. I helped a buddy swap in gears and LSD on his Tacoma from ECGS. Took us about 2 hours taking it super easy. Most of the work was up front. But I think ECGS quoted me about 3800 for the same setup and that’s including the core charge you’ll get back.

 

right, just keep in mind that the 3rd member on our tundras is way way heavier than the ones on the tacomas. haha

 

Forgot to mention we didn’t swap the third member and we had a lift. Just pulled the diff out and swapped it for the new one haha.

 

I swapped my third member with locker into a new housing. It's awkward and heavy but not difficult.

 

The cinders are fun to drive in but can be deceiving. Like sand, you need to be aired down and keep momentum especially in 2WD. I learned that the cinders are not very forgiving.

There are some sections with wide open spaces with whoops and bowls like in the video above, but once you get in the hills you can definitely end up going nowhere fast in a 2WD Tundy.

This was a fun little climb but 4-LO made it alot easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHf3BKzHyy4

This particular section was extra soft due to decomposed roots.

 

There's plenty of guys on here that own multiple brands of vehicles, not just fanboys tbh. My tundra is the first toyota I've ever owned. I also have a 84c10 with an ls swap, and recently a 99 nissan frontier. Prior to the tundra every truck I owned was a domestic either ford or gm. Even one of the mods on here drives a gm heavy duty I believe for towing @ColoradoTJ , i think.... Yes it's a toyota forum , but I feel it's way more of a melting pot here than others. With most domestics you find the I drive one because my daddy's daddy's daddy drove one kind of stuff. With the tundra , I feel most people kind of stumbled upon it and haven't turned back because we find it to be a phenomenal platform from experience.

 

The one negative I've seen mentioned a lot is size. If you still want reliability without the size of the 2nd/3rd gen Land Yachts, you could consider a first(best) gen. Mine is an Access Cab but if you wanted to haul passengers an 04-06 Double Can would be great.

Trails in Tennessee are sometimes more like a goat path and really not suitable for a bigger truck.

 

That looks like a crappy spot - did you drive out of that?

 

Nope, the truck is still stuck there.



It was tugged out.

 

Size is the big thing holding me back.

Right now my three choices are 1) stick with my FJ, which is of course the most capable and of course super reliable but overall has the least creature comforts. 2) Go with a Tundra which is my fav looks wise but is big on the trails and again is super reliable and has the creature comforts. Lose capability when compared to the FJ. 3) Ford F150 which is a comfortable as well and has a stock rear locker. It's a tad smaller so can squeeze through more trails (i'm in Ohio). Overall I like the look of the Tundra better but the Tundra is just huge.

I'm not sure which is going to be more capable between the Tundra and F150 but I am thinking the F150 with the rear locker?

 

Lol,

I totally missed the strap in the pic.

 

I'm not sure how much different f150vs tundra will be in size if anything. Certainly not enough difference to be discernable on the trail. We used to own a 2013 ecoboost supercrew and it was every bit as big as tundra when driving it. I think if size is the issue , you need to be considering a midsize not fullsize bc all fullsizes are generally gargantuan

 

We will get it next April.

 

After @Sunnier finally gets a winch at AutoZone like I asked.

 

Thread is straying a bit so I'll ask you this, why are you focused on getting a locker? Are there trails you're reading about that say lockers are required? Did your FJ have a locker and you used it a lot? Just genuinely curious on why you're placing importance on the locker off the bat, not that there's anything wrong with that. Assuming the Ford is a selectable locker, it's not like you're going to be driving with it on at all times.

You say you like the reliability of the Toyota aspect. I say go with the Toyota and decide down the line if you want to spend the extra to get the locker. You might find you don't need it.

I know you said you're looking at the '08-'13, but some of the first gens do come with an actual mechanical LSD rather than the ATRAC. The first gens are a little bit smaller in size. Food for thought.

 

I would never go the places I take my Tundra in a Ford. I come from a long line of irrationally devoted Ford drivers. Loads of issues, yet they keep coming back for more. I vastly prefer to drive, depend on, and wheel an unlocked Toyota. It is going to bring me home. Every. Time. I’m on TRD Fox suspension with 285/75R18 Duratracs. Aired down to 20psi, I’ve gone through everything with ease.

Pick the right line.
Keep momentum going through mud and on steep inclines.
Don’t underestimate your wheelbase.

Out of all the fullsize trucks, the 2nd gen Tundra has the best hood for visibility (it is short and sloping) and the best turning radius. It drives smaller than it is, although yeah you’re gonna get a few pinstripes on tighter trails in the woods.

 

Oh man. cinders is the most unforgiving place I've been to. Especially if you're carrying weight cause you'll dig that rear axle so fast if you're not paying attention. I want to go back that place was so fun though.

 

Where at in TN? And what trail is that? I've been to windrock and royal blue with my Tundra (got alot of crazy looks from people at royal blue, it's mainly a place for SxS and such)

If you're close, we can hit the trails sometime. I don't mind the scratches or dents

But let's wait til my parts come in (ordering soon)

 

I'm in Knoxville. That's a trail on the NC/TN border. Let me know next time you make it back to Tennessee!

 

I moved to TN at the end of April, just haven't updated my location yet. I'm an hour north of Knoxville, we'll have to get together sometime!

 

Yes, the F150 has a selectable rear locker. I always turn on my rear locker combined with ATRAC in my FJ before going through any iffy mud.

So in my FJ I will have maximum traction in the rear with the diff locked plus with ATRAC, power will be sent to the wheel with traction up the front if there is slippage.

With the F150, I will have maximum traction in the rear with the diff locked, then up front if a wheel starts spinning no power will be sent to the other wheel.

With Tundra of course, I can have all wheels slipping but one and power will be sent to that wheel with traction. However, from what I understand with the Tundra's ATRAC, I have to keep it within a certain RPM range for it to work and the engine will cut power if I go over that RPM range.

 

Take a look

 

The Tundra is a domestic.

Lol. Twice today you reminded me of stuff I remember differently. Didn’t happen.

This quip is pretty funny.