Welcome to the Official SoCal BS/ Shenanigans, Tundras and NEW GUY JOINED TO FIND MEET-UP Thread

Hello all!! Is this the right place to find somewhere that I can get my truck dirty?! My name is Aaron. I just joined the forums last week. I recently upgraded from a 2020 Tacoma to a 2024 Tundra SR5!! I’m located in Southern California and am looking for cool trails to drive around with my lady and our puppies. Here is the beast itself.. thank you all!!

 

It is a good plsce to start.... where in socal are you

@powerofsoulband

 

I am located in Riverside. I should probably make sure my truck is well-equipped for a trail before taking any chances! I believe I have a massive spacer lift on this beauty. I bought the truck used, only 10,000 miles on it. But the previous owner had the lift done and it worries me because I see giant spacers on top of my shocks in the front. Anyways, good to meet you @SAGE63

 

ugh... a big no from me for spacer lifts...

and thanks welcome to the crew

 

no spacers ever. get some eibach on there asap. throw those steps in the trash, too

 

@grave i need the steps to get in though.. im 5’7 and the truck sits at over 7’ high thanks for the tips!! I’ll be looking into the Eibach suspension.

 

Bilstien 6150s and 5160s are a good setup also if any spacers/shims go with coach builder 2 driver 1 passenger. will get you an extra inch and get rid of the driverside lean our tundras have

 

yes get rid of the pinch weld mounted steps. go with frame mounted rock sliders.

 

7 inches... do you have a drop bracket lift in there also..



edit: Now I see ypu have a 3rd gen. I am not sure how they get 7" out of that

 

@powerofsoulband Welcome to the forum and hello from San Diego! If you reach out to Colton aka @memario1214 he knows Tundras better than most and is a vendor on the forum. If you give him an idea of what you have in mind/what you want to do with your truck; he’ll get you all situated. Hope to see you out on the trails. And every year there’s a Tundra pilgrimage to Sedona. Next one won’t be until Fall 2026 but it’s a great time and something to look forward to

 

Like the others have said, that spacer lift won't serve you well on the trails.

Out in your direction you got big bear, there's plenty of fire roads out there to explore and take it easy on. When it cools off later in the year and desert season starts, Stoddard Wells OHV is a fun option closer to you. Large variety of open desert stuff out there with a fair amount of people around as plenty go out their to ride bikes, quads, utvs etc. There's also a trail in the cajon pass called Cleghorn. That trail has a main road that's easy, and plenty of offshoots that range from crawling over some rocks tooooo you don't wanna go here haha. Stick to the main road on that one and it's a couple hour ride maybe.

 

I think the lift itself is about 4-6” inches. I measured the spacers on top of my shocks and they measure about 5”. My biggest concern is that since the crossmember was chopped to be able to install this lift, I am both reading and hearing that I cannot lower the truck anymore. I’d be happy with a 3” lift.. I probably should have kept looking for a more basic setup to begin with LOL.

 

hey thanks so much! I appreciate all of the kindness and suggestions. I will definitely reach out to Colton soon. I just got this truck about a month ago and it looks sweet BUT I’d rather invest into making it more reliable for longevity and light off-roading stuff. I’m on a 6” lift with 37” tires and I know that’s asking for trouble down the road.. I’m hoping there is a way to downsize the lift and run 35’s on a 3” lift with much better suspension than what I currently have. It’s a mix of Rough County suspension in the back and the stock Hitachi black shocks with spacers in the front.. I’m new to trucks but even I know that’s not really a good idea. Good thing she is just a pavement princess for now.. also, the pilgrimage sounds like a blast!! Looking forward to seeing you all at an event sometime in the near future.

 

Your best bet is to go to Fox/King/Icon and look for longer shocks that are meant to work with your drop bracket lift. These would eliminate the spacers on top of your shocks, but also allow you to have a full 7" lift. The longer shocks ideally will be adjusted 0-3" on top of your 4" drop bracket lift. The drop bracket lift manufacturer might have a part number for Fox/King/Icon shocks that are compatible, but hard telling since the 3rd gen is still relatively new.

@memario1214 might even have a lead on shocks that would work with your drop bracket lift.

 

neat, thanks for the heads up!! What if I want to lower my truck though? 6” lift is too much!! Hahaha

 

Your drop bracket likely has a "minimum" lift of 4" that you would set it to via the preload adjustment on Fox/King/Icon shocks. Unfortunately if you want to go back to less than 4", you're going to have to hire a fabricator to reinstall a stock cross-member.

If you buy shocks meant to be used with your drop bracket, they won't work on your truck if the drop-bracket is ever removed.

 

Also with your stock shocks installed on the current drop bracket lift. It does need at least a 2" spacer puck on top of them. I am in the "spacers are bad" crowd, but stock shocks don't work on drop brackets without a 2" spacer to retain stock geometry and travel. Any spacer bigger than 2" on a drop bracket is where you get into no-no land.

The longer Fox/King/Icon shock eliminates the need for that 2" spacer.

 

Sooooo.. what I’m hearing you say is that basically, I bought the wrong truck eh? either that or ima need to take out another loan to get this thing sitting safely and comfortably!? Oh boy. I sure am glad I came to the right place for the knowledge though, thank you my friend. My first order of business should definitely be to find a much needed suspension upgrade right?
I apologize for the numerous questions also I don’t mean to hijack this thread. I am new to the truck world. I drove a 2000 Volvo V70R that took all of my patience, money and sanity before joining the Toyota universe. I used to do my own work on the wagon but this truck scares me lol

 

Eh, you can do light wheeling and camping with a drop bracket installed and the proper shocks, or if the stock shocks have a 2" spacer. You won't want to do as much high speed probably due to the increased center of gravity. Even as your truck sits now, there are plenty of easy fire roads in Big Bear/ Idyllwild areas your truck will be plenty fine to drive on. Drop brackets will generally allow you some more tire clearance for bigger tires, which on these trucks, bigger tires are the only way you can increase ground clearance.

I can't speak of ease of working on components that involve electronics/ technology on the new Tundras, but stuff like suspension and brake work should be pretty easy for you to accomplish if you have some prior wrenching experience.

This is @Cruzer on a 7" drop bracket with proper shocks, yes it's a 2.5 gen with leaf springs, but drop brackets don't mean the end of your truck. Only way they are the end of your truck is if you want lower than 4" of lift, or long-travel suspension (whole different beast)

 

you see a drop bracket lift on a truck you're looking to buy, you run away, yes you do

 

Don’t get scared @powerofsoulband We’re throwing a ton of info at you. Truck will be fine and will also be highly reliable, because.. well, it’s a Toyota. Cruz wheels his truck harder than 98% of people and it’s still ticking

 

if I only I had joined these forums two months ago!! Haha thanks for the tips dude.. I’ll be anxiously driving my truck for the rest of its days now.

 

I appreciate that, my brother! I’m going to start slow and be sure to look at proper suspension that works with this lift. I just took pictures of everything. I know for a fact that I need better shocks and struts. The spacers on the front shocks seem to be about 4” tall. Let me figure out how to upload them from my phone and see how badly I get roasted afterwards. Haha!

 

that’s a badass picture.. also, I’d probably not want to do anything that wild in my truck. I mainly got this thing for the added space in the bed for my band to fit all of our gear and drive up to Big Bear for shows without sacrificing power. My Tacoma felt sluggish with the bed loaded up and I figured I needed more truck. I should also mention that I snapped my drivers side CV boot axle the night that I bought the truck… I was reversing into my driveway with the 4WD engaged and I heard a loud pop then found a bearing in the floor. Needless to say, I’ve dreaded this lift kit ever since!!! Don’t know why I was in 4WD neither… I’m a mess!

 

Yes when you're buying... but unless it makes sense financially to trade the truck for one without a drop bracket and he can live with the minor inconveniences(?) of drop brackets, he can make do with what he has and still come out with a nice truck.

 

Most of my knowledge regarding brands is limited to first gens, but the front suspension on your truck will be very similar regardless so what I've shared should help you as you look for more 3rd-gen specific information.

The main difference between the 4" and 6" drop brackets should be the spacers circled in red. The steering knuckles, circled in blue, could be different, but from a cost perspective they likely use the same ones.

Been there, done that with the CV so I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. More the tire and being in 4WD than the drop bracket me thinks.

 

It csn be done but requires welding in a patch... as well as replacing the spindles. possibly new CVs if they put in extended ones.

 

Yeah


Cruz!