Another new guy, hello

It's like third grade, and the teacher is shoving me to the front of the classroom to tell my fellow students my name, the color of my bike, that I like fishing and climbing trees.
So, here goes: I've owned several Tacomas, one of recent vintage and pretty tricked out, but even with the towing package they lacked the towing ability a V8 would give. It is true that I nearly went with a Dodge Ram, having driven one last year that got 24 MPG up and down the Sierra Madres for a week. The Sierra Madres are the huge mountains in California, and they are either straight up or straight down. For a four-door V8 pickup to get 24 MPG in those conditions was nearly a religious experience. Impressive performance by Dodge Ram, gotta say. Kudos!
However, there is more to owning a pickup truck than just MPG, and one of those other things is reliability. Our family just buys new Toyotas, runs them until we've had enough fun, and then we buy another Toyota replacement. We have never been let down buying Toyotas, despite the recalls for incredibly picayune, tiny things that are hard to believe a successful manufacturer like Toyota would screw up. And so it was that I returned once again to a Toyota pickup truck. Mister Reliability.
The newest family member is a 2017 Tundra SR5 TRD Crewmax.
We all like it a lot. The back window rolling down is dope as heck. Except when I left it down during a rain storm two days after bringing it home. That was dopey, not dope.
So far it has a Rugged bed liner (eh), an AMP bed extender (nice), a second set of winter wheels that are stock Tundra OEM steel with the Falken Wild Peak AT3s, WeatherTech front floor mats (pretty good, could be better), Mossy Oak seat covers (nice), and a BAK Flip hard top tonneau cover over the short bed.
Next up are subtle sliders\step bars (still shopping), a mix-n-match of skid plates from both RCI and BudBuilt, the SDHQ winch mount and Warn 8000 winch, an AC power receptacle in the bed, and possibly an ARB rear differential locker.
You know what I like about the ARB diff locker? The compressor. That is what I like, because it's always nice to have air on hand, wherever I am. What I do not like about the ARB diff locker is the very high price and the even higher install price. Seems like overkill, because the Tundra is now set up with an in-effect posi-lock system, which is pretty good.
OK, now that I am several thousand dollars poorer it is time to quit, before more things are added to the list.
Last thought: Sitting outside the Toyota dealership the day I bought this truck, I called Toyota HQ and pleaded for the next generation of Tundras to be big Tacomas. What I liked about my Tacomas, especially the recent one, was how much stuff was made to put on them, and how well it all worked. But my brand new Tundra doesn't even have under-seat storage in back. That's screwy, Toyota.

 

Welcome from eastern CO! You planning on lifting it as well I assume?

 

I can certainly tell you, that's not the first time i've heard that exact story on this forum.....including myself. The only difference is that i'm in the high Rockies and you're talking about the Sierra Madres

Welcome to this forum and a bunch of people that traded Tacomas out for Tundras for the same reason, but wish they had the accessories they used to

 

Welcome from GA.

 

Well said, Almaboy: Loved those Tacomas. Really functional and rugged. But dangit, just not enough oomph for the bigger projects. If only Toyota would make the Tundra a bigger version of the Taco...Heaven

 

Probably not any higher than it is already. Doesn't the TRD work lift it a bit? I think so. High lift trucks scare me, because I am a bad driver. I am also not nearly cool enough to get away with driving one. Your recommendations are most welcome

 

Thank you! I whitewater rafted in Georgia a long time ago. The Chatahoochee, I think. It was a lot of fun. Never would I have guessed there'd be nice trout water in Georgia, but there it was. Nice place.

 

Welcome from WI

 

Thank you! Greetings back from Steelers country!

 

Welcome from Colorado. Sounds like you're on your way to your own build page

 

Welcome bud

 

Unfortunately, I think you are correct. But I know you guys will give me lots of support. And encouragement

 

Hopefully you were up in north GA mountains if you were in the 'hooch?! I'd be careful of any fish from it south of the mountains, and wouldn't get in it south of Atlanta!

 

Thank you, Joonbug!

 

Yes, you are correct, we were up north. Man that is pretty country. Not the humid, hot, festering blazing madness of Atlanta etc down below

 

Indeed it is. All my family's from north GA, so I've spent many days in them hills.

 

Welcome from AZ!

 

Thank you, Batman!

 

Welcome from AZ

 

New member!!! Bienvenidos de Tejas! Good God got sleepy after few sentences...I believe i speak for all of us on here we wana see your ride!!!

 

Welcome from the sweat stain known as Florida!!!!! We need pictures of your new ride........It's how we roll around here. LOL

 

Nope it doesn't provide any lift, only the PRO shocks have any additional height to em. Just figured since you were adding sliders and armor you were gonna be off-roading.

 

Thank you, Sean! Colorado is a beautiful state.

 

Thank you, Blue, I have yet to get to AZ, but I am headed there next year, with the Tundra.

 

Yeah, Ramirez, it was a long post ...if ya can't fool em with facts, just pile it high until everyone gives up. That's what I did Pics coming of the new Tundra, I promise. Right now those aggressive Falkens are on separate winter wheels, and not on the truck. They do look like they will get the job done

 

Yinzer! Love it. Pics comin

 

JF, Florida is too damned hot for me, although I do enjoy fishing the Everglades every other year. I am a Northeast mountain man, and the colder it is the better I like it. I hunt and trap, so I wait for that cold snowy weather all year...and then it is gone...thank you for the welcome!

 

welcome from TN!

 

Z, I did not know that. Already you guys are helping me, thanks. This truck is a TRD, not the TRD Pro, and I guess I am still learning the differences, though when I am done with this project it'll be at or close to that Pro performance level. Because I am in the land, timber, mining, gas etc natural resources business, I am outdoors and in the woods a lot. Timber haul roads, skid trails, ATV trails, old overgrown farm lanes, you name it, we drive through it. Believe it or not, I do not enjoy off-roading, but it is a fact of my life that I always have to be prepared for, and I have had hairy experiences and butt-ugly stupid moments where buddies had to come get me out, so as I am a slow learner it has taken a very long time to figure out that to avoid these situations, it is now best to simply have the vehicle prepared ahead of time. Having run multiple generations of Tacomas for a long time, I enjoyed their high performance in rough conditions. There is not a better woods truck anywhere than a Tacoma TRD, even the newer bigger Tacoma. But I was really struggling with the Tacoma's limited towing capacity, which got better and better with each generation, but still was not up to what we need. Enter the Tundra, which I will say nearly lost to the Dodge Ram just on MPG alone, and the positive testimonials of my buddies who drive Rams (but they do admit Rams are not nearly as reliable as the Toyotas, and they put up with a 50,000-mile breakdown threshold that no Toyota owner could ever imagine).
Yes, I do use an ATV for those really steep, remote, rough places, and I do not enjoy that either.
As Ramirez is my newly appointed word police, I am done for now.
Pics coming.