New to Toyota, any advice?

Hey guys,

As the title states, I am a new owner of a 2017 Toyota Tundra Limited TRD 4x4. I will be picking it up on Friday. Previously, I had been a Jeep guy (I know, I'll take the roasts) and have enjoyed building them, wheeling them and just doing fun things. I've had several jeeps (2 YJ's, 3 Tj's and 2 JKU Rubicons) and wanted another one to hit trails with the kids since they loved doing that in the Jeep, and also get into overlanding. I recently sold my TJ and my Silverado 2500 due to life's upcoming events. I thought about getting another JKU Rubicon, but for personal and professional preferences with my mowing business, I need/prefer a truck. I began looking at a Tacoma and I can't justify spending that much money on a truck with minimal towing capabilities or interior space for the family. I was checking out the Tundra's and couldn't ever find one in my price range in good shape or lower miles. I didn't want to get into another heavy duty truck since there's not a huge market for them offroad (RAM is the most sought out platform). I recently found one and went to look and drive it last week and fell in love. It's got a ton of room for the family, all of the creature comforts, very reliable and durable and has a lot of aftermarket support to help with building into a good offroad/overland rig that will last for many years. It definitely won't be able to crawl on rocks, but at least it can take me most anywhere I want / need to go with comfortability and all the room we will need for supplies.

I'm looking to get some advice from any offroaders/overlanders on what I will need for both styles. I don't want to buy cheap parts, but I also don't want to buy anything that I really don't need. Want to keep it simple, but usefule.

Any information on general maintenance that should be performed besides oil changes, I'd love to get some input!

Hope to learn a lot from you all and can't wait to start the adventure!

 

Hey, Im a past jeep guy too!

5k mi oil changes
do the diffs, xfer case, trans at 30-50k intervals.....just drain and fills, no flush!
Coolant is due for your year, then every 50k I think

and then the usual maintenance like plugs, filters and all. Change that cabin filter!!

I think your year has driveline zerk fittings....grease them and the ujoints.

Skip any spacer lifts, if you want to mod it, do it right with coilovers the first time.

Check out desert does it seat jackers....you will want one for at least the driver seat huge impact on comfort.

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Welcome from San Diego.

You should find a hobby, something to occupy all that time you won't be spending repairing your truck now!

When you do need to maintain something, Toyotas seem to be pickier than most about using OEM parts. (usually Denso)

Let's see the new rig!! We like pictures

 

Go out and have fun as is, if needed start from the tires and work your way in. Great ground clearance and turn radius in these trucks makes up for their full size at least a bit off road. Have fun!

 

Welcome from New Hampshire and congrats on your new truck!

 

Welcome from VA. Best advice is drive the truck, enjoy not having to fix it all the time, and get off this forum. You’ll spend more money on stuff you didn’t know you needed in no time. Congrats on the truck.

 

Last two vehicles were Grand Cherokees. The '96 with the 4.0 inline was indestructible, but the 2011 5.7L Hemi gave me a ton of issues.
Went and got my Tundra a year ago, and so far glad I pulled the trigger.

Great towing vehicle for my needs. First truck instead of an SUV.

 

I appreciate the advice and welcoming from everyone! I'm excited to hear from you guys that have one, how durable they are! I'm tired of always wrenching on some of these vehicles! Sounds like the former Jeep guys know! lol I appreciate the feedback and am looking forward to getting out there and having some fun!

With that said, anyone have any cool places they recommend visiting? I live in Kansas, so I'm always open to put some road time in! Btw, Hey everyone from Kansas!

Also, send some pictures of your guys' Tundras! I love seeing others builds!

Here's the truck I will be picking up on Friday! Appears to be completely stock (for now).

 

I came from a 4Runner and originally had the same though you did. I wanted a Tacoma. Then I sat in one. There's a 0% chance that would work for my family. It's not a 4Runner with a bed; it's a Camry with a bed. I get why people love them, but it won't work for my family of 5 plus a 60lb dog.

Been in a '21 Tundra since Sept '20. It's great, and I use mine in about the same ways you describe using yours. Check out my thread in my signature (if you're on your phone, you'll have to turn it sideways to see user signatures). As you'll see, you can really do a lot with minimal mods. I put a transmission cooler and ran an extension for the rear axle breather up to the taillight housing. I installed a nice suspension lift that added 2" up front so I could fit skinny 35s (285/75R18). No cutting or trimming needed. With the lift and tires alone, we took the truck to Colorado and rode some of the passes and shelf roads near Telluride.

Now, I have the roadmaster active suspension (RAS) system in the rear along with Total Chaos bed stiffeners and a simple (and cheap) dual battery system that I wired up. Other than some color-matching (which does nothing for functionality), this truck has tow mirrors, skid plates, a console safe, and an ESP long storage box under the rear seats.

 

Oh man, yeah you definitely need the room as well! Tacoma's are good for all around offroading and camping, but a little impractical for a family. 4 Runners are really cool. Tried to get my wife into one, but again, couldn't find one in our budget. Instead we bought her a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with 4x4, has all the bells and whistles and can comfortably fit out little family. Unfortunately, it will never see offroad lol How was the 4 Runner?

I like the simplicity of what you said! Sounds functional and not overloaded with unnecessary equipment! How did the Tundra do on the shelf roads and passes? Super curious. I doubt I'll do black bear or anything in a full size, but from what you did, how did it handle it? Also, which transmission cooler did you go with? I'm definitely going to be adding one for extra support.

 

Also a former Jeep guy, I think youll be happy with your choice. Maintain it and get out and enjoy it. Ive had LJRs, JLURs, Gladiators, Grand cherokees etc.. Youll be happy with the Toyota reliability hahaha

 

Welcome to the right side of reliability, hope you don't mind having the same truck for decades

 

Drive it out to Tundras to Sedona at the end of next month. Huge gathering of Tundra owners from all across the country. Lots of wheeling, lots of fun!

 

It was fantastic. A 2012. I am a big fan. My only real complaint (other than the fact that we outgrew it) was that it didn't have rear air vents for the 3rd row. Wife is now in a 200 series (LX 570). I buy vehicles for the long term and could never trust a Jeep product other than my old '78 CJ7.

It did great. We went up Imogene (from the Ouray side) in hail and torrential rain. 100% confident the whole time.

It is a bit wide for forest service roads. I've earned some pinstripes hunting in Colorado. But they mostly buffed out.

Toyota stopped adding the external transmission radiator to the tow-package trucks in 2019. So yours already has one. Mine is a bigger Hayden unit that I used the OEM thermostat and hard lines to connect to. Very easy install.

 

Very nice!! Thats the color I thought I would be getting when I started shopping, but I found a CPO deal w/20K miles in SSM and the more I looked the more it grew on my. My wife pointed out that the lighter silver wouldn't show the dirt as much so we jumped on it.

That's a good lookin' Tundra! You're gonna' love it, and we'll be happy to help you spend your money!

Since mine is stock, (except for tires) plus it's my daily driver and usually when out in the desert it has to get my trailer home I really don't do any "serious" wheeling, but we do some exploring and play in the dirt a little and it has impressed me a lot.
Even without airing down from 50+ psi (towing inflation) it walked up stuff where I was expecting at least some wheelspin.

Yeah, she's a little thick for bushy trails, I just got my first real "desert pinstripes" on our Thanksgiving camping trip. I was kinda' bummed, but kinda' proud too.



I've had 4Runner and Tacoma and loved 'em both, but I love the roominess of this big girl. Not sure I could go back to something smaller now.

Eventually I'll do Bilsteins and maybe shackles for a little more clearance, and when these Toyo's wear out probably bump up to 33's but I don't wanna' go too big. (Well, part of me does, but I'm not willing to take the hit)

Pretty sure I found the limit of approach angle for a stock '19 Tundra without scraping. Departure angle still not sure obviously.

 

Man, hearing that coming from a religious Jeep guy, I'm excited! I looked into getting an LJR, but still couldn't justify. Been my dream jeep for awhile, but with kids, it's risky. I appreciate that! Can't wait to get out there and have fun! Hope to see you out trailing one day!

 

Oh sweet! But with your addition, I bet it's better quality then what OEM would be!

 

That sounds like a blast! I'll have to check it out! Thank you!

Do you go to those events?

 

The LJRs were great to build and wheel. I tried my second one when my daughter was 2 and it was really hard on her cause it got so hot in the backseat in Florida summers. I had a hardtop and bought a soft top to switch it out but the wife said listen I love it but I think a new Gladiator is a better idea and when the wife suggest a Jeep build you dont sit and wait on that offer hahaha.

 

Awesome looking truck! Simple and useful!

 

Ah, totally understand that! Especially in Florida heat, that's no joke, especially for kiddos! haha

And absolutely! If there's ever a compromise to agree with, it's that one! Sounds like you won regardless lmao

 

Haha thank you! And I'm excited to have a vehicle that will (hopefully) last for many years and adventures to come!

 

I've been to one, in '23. And it unfortunately happened in between the time when my first Tundra was totaled and my replacement Tundra arrived. So, we we're in my wife's pink Wrangler JL. Still had lots of fun. And plan to attend for a few days this year, too!

Check out the Tundras to Sedona thread. You'll learn all about it.

 

Thank you!

I'm trying to be somewhat sensible on what I do to it and not just let my inner 17-year-old go hog wild... Yet.

Though truth be told, he probably had some influence on picking the new head unit.

 

At least you still got out and had some fun! Sounds like with the Tundra and the Jeep, you've got the best of both worlds!

 

Haha, well might as well get wild with it! Never know how long we got, right!?

I love that head unit! What brand is it? Looks really cool!!!

 

Just saw this posted somewhere else.

When I mentioned earlier about my truck being stock, tow vehicle, and daily driver so not playing too hard in the dirt, this is pretty much what's always in my head. lol

 

Yeah, I would get a little more wild with truck mods but I'm poor and have other addictions to feed, and I gotta' keep the CFO happy.

It's a Kenwood DMX1057XR, I'm SUPER happy with it. Quite a few members on here have this unit. It was between this and Alpine but I wanted an actual volume knob.