What have you done to your 2.5 gen Tundra today?

She’s here. Now do I go gun metal or black powder coat??

 

d556 couplers in dark tint, yes sir!

 

Gun metal! Black would just blend into everything else.

 

Agreed, keep the red accents!

 

Fender Flare test installation, what do you think?

The black grille now gets some black compagnions

 

How 'bout MGM???

 

What is the rear camera always on mod? Different from frac?

 

Not installed yet but, I just ordered Go Rhino RB20 running boards and a TruXedo Lo Pro QT Tonneau cover.

 

Poor man’s FRAC.

 

Howd ya do it?

 

Ok...so as noted in the last post here below are some more detail/pics on the passenger-side, grab handle suede and leather wrap.

@Cfincke and @Pudge
Just tagging you two gents since you asked about the handle detail.

First, I wrapped the passenger pillar. The prep for the pillar was same as in the last post. On to the handle, below....




For the handles:

I started by making a pattern from blue painters tape. I cut the leather a little bigger, then trimmed it for a tight fit on the handle.
I then skived the ends. While the outside of the leather has a great finish and look, the underside was unfinished and had a lot of fibers. This makes it a bit thicker and more difficult for tucking in around the small gaps of the handle once reattached. Trick is, not to go too thin...basically going for a thick suede feel. Here's the basic shape cut and after a little skiving (note the color difference).



Next was the stitching. Pretty simple, over-under stitch from one end to the next. Then back from the end to the beginning, stitching the opposite gaps. Used the same needle and (spool) red thread that came with the steering wheel cover.





As noted, I cut it so it was relatively tight to the handle. With the center area being a bit thicker leather (because it wasn't skived), it didn't stretch as well. A little warm water to dampen the leather gave it just enough flexibility. Once test fitted, I applied the contact cement, starting at the center line on one side, working around to the other. Important for being able to reinstall; I only glued the handle around the middle, and on the inside line where the stitch lines meet.





Glued and starting cross-hatching, just like the steering wheel pattern...Double thread, looping into every other stitch, one side to the other.



All done, until reinstall. I leave the ends unglued to access the caps/ bolts.
Once reinstalled in the truck, I'll glue the leather down, trim the edges to allow about 1/8" - 3/16" to tuck under the edge of the handle.







Reinstalling this evening...I'll post a final pic when done.

 

Wow man that's a lot of work really looks great. Nice custom touch

 

Thanks bud!
Second time around was obviously a lot quicker. Made for a easy Sunday afternoon project.

 

Installed Bilstein 5100 rear shocks and SDHQ ABS guards. Holy crap, I cannot believe the difference in how the truck rides compared to my 60k mile yellow TRD shocks. I've had the Radflo/Toytec front coilovers for a couple months but hadn't taken the time to change the rears. Feels like a totally different truck. Much more stable at speed and a lot smoother over bumps.

 

Same here. I am super happy with the WeatherTech in-channels. They help keep my truck a little cooler when I am parked in the 110

Same here. I am super happy with the WeatherTech in-channels. They help keep my truck a little cooler when I am parked in the 110 AZ heat believe it or not and they are really clean looking on the truck

 

Recoat the front bumper and add new lettering to the grill.

 

Nice do you have a like for that?

 

Like and a link.
https://www.lundinternational.com/n...tors+and+hood+protectors/color-match+aeroskin

 

My kid’s summer swim team is over for the season so I unloaded all of the gear that I have been hauling around all summer:

• 6 camp chairs
• roll-up table
• camp cot (for the 2-day meets)
• lightspeed instant pop-up sun shelter
• 10’ x 10’ pop-up canopy
• folding wagon
• picnic blanket

 

My powder coat guy doesn’t think he could match it. I would definitely go MGM if I could!

 

Ahh...Didn't catch that you were powder coating. Being under the truck, I bet the gun-metal will look close to the MGM.

Do you have the front TRD sway?

 

Took my boy and his friend out to the pratice track in the back 40.

 

Nice, I was thinking about doing the same red accents, brakes and tow hooks. Looks good !!!!

 

That's what I did.

 

Got my yodagan stickers on.

 

Did a little steering wheel detail work over the weekend. Did vinyl on the plastic trim pieces and GF stitched the leather cover on. She said it was fairly easy with the trim and airbag out, and tucking in was super super easy when putting the trim pieces back in. Volume button is sticky now but I rarely use it, and I think it's almost better this way as I can press it and it holds it down to really crank up the sound.

 

I really like that.

 

Nope. Heard it didn’t make a huge difference.

 

Got her a little dirty in the Sam Houston National forest with the Houston Overland group.

 

Installed SwingCase today on passenger side. I have the Extang SolidFold 2.0 and I had to trim the handle about an inch plus the screw that is inside of the handle via a hacksaw. Put the bolt back on the screw that holds the spring in place giving it tension and added some locktite to it. Wrapped the handle with some electrical tape to beef it up a bit so it sticks back into the cover like it did prior to me trimming it.

BTW: I got this at AutoAnything. Ping @eccracer104 for a great deal.




This is about how much I needed to trim (actually cut twice... since I needed a little more).




Still has full function for the handle and keeps the cover on tight