What have you done to your 2.5 gen Tundra today?

we got 20" in one storm on Friday night/Saturday morning, took 3 hours to dig out!

 

Yikes! Too soon for that much snow!

 

I agree. I’ve done my share of off-camber 3 and 4 diamond trails in a 1st gen Tacoma, an old Willys and even a fullsize Bronco. It’s not the width of the Tundra that makes it my least preferred vehicle for tight, wooded trails - it’s the long wheelbase. And that’s not even including the excessive weight of our Tundras adding to the challenge.

I wouldn’t say these Tundras are unsuitable for off-road. They’re capable enough despite the limiting weight and wheelbase. But they’re more suited for basic 1/2 ton pickup truck duty - light, occasional hauling and towing - than the Rubicon-style rockcrawling on shorter wheel-based, front solid axle vehicles where a sway bar would hinder its performance in really off-camber trails.

I use mine for its intended purpose, towing a light trailer and bed cargo on occasion, kid transport and relatively easy dirt trails. And for that a rear sway bar makes much more sense for me than the setup I had on my old Willys, for instance.

 

Normally I wouldn't put a political bumper sticker on, but it's time..

(Might have to reorder it since I moved it from the back window, but its still holding for now)

 

I'm not sure I agree with this. I see a TON of f150s and 1500s out on the forest trails where I wheel. Whole lot of Raptors and 3/4 tons as well. I wheel in CO and we have pretty standard mountain trails. They can get tight, are quite rocky and have off-camber situations. We all do just fine. It's not about your truck, it's how you drive it. I probably wouldn't recommend it as a first off-roader, but if you've got some experience, you'll be fine. Places like the Rubicon, Farmington, etc are very niche as far as vehicle selection, but general use trails up from moderate to advanced (with armor and suspension) are quite enjoyable.

 

Montana is so beautiful when it snows though. I was in Great Falls from 92-96 when I was stationed there.

 

Well put.

 

I’m not familiar with Colorado trails, although I’m interested in doing Engineer Pass in my Tundra one of these days. Our Tundras can definitely do 1 and 2 diamond rated trails at Bridgeport, Barnwell Mountain and Hot Springs OHV Parks. But in my 20 years of visiting these parks, and even competing one year at the Mega Run event, I’ve noticed newer model fullsize trucks are rare at those parks. I do see older, “fullsize” trucks, more dedicated for off-roading with swapped in 1-ton axles, at these parks. But the wheelbase on most of those is shorter than the newer crew-cab like trucks such as what you’ll find in our Tundras. As for newer 3/4 and 1-ton trucks, they’re even more rare. In fact, I saw a lifted F350 crewcab get stuck in light mud on flat ground at the now closed Shiloh Ridge OHV Park at the very first Mega Run event around 2001. I was easily able to go through that same patch of mud in my 1st gen Tacoma in 2 wheel drive - weight kills when off-roading.

Again, I’m not that familiar with Colorado trails, but the harder trails (3 and 4 diamond rated), here in Texas and Arkansas are tightly wooded with sharper turns. While still doable with an experienced driver and the right mud terrains at 20 psi or less, they’re relatively more easy to do in a narrower, shorter wheel-based vehicle, like a 4Runner, Jeep or Tacoma, for instance. Hence, my observation that I rarely see newer fullsize trucks on those kinds of trails.

Here’s an example at Katemcy Rocks in Mason, TX:
https://youtu.be/VaXShIuxvfw

I was there. I only saw a couple more Tundras, and both of those were towing dedicated trail vehicles. Mine was the only one on the trails, and no, I didn’t do that trail - lol. I stayed on the easy trails. I kept the sway bar on but removed the steps, which I view as worse for off-roading than a sway bar at that park. But most trails at Katemcy are not suited for Tundras, F150s, or newer 3/4 or 1-ton pickups. Now, you’ll see Jeeps with 1-ton axle swaps, but that’s apples and oranges.

Here in Texas, we don’t have public lands with forest trails like you might find in Colorado or some of the other western states, with the exception of dirt roads at Big Bend or National Forests. The dedicated, privately owned off-road parks do offer 1 and 2 diamond trails, but due to the limits on acreage, most folks prefer the challenge of the harder trails at these parks. So while you’ll see newer Tundras and F150s on the 1 and 2 rated trails, you’ll rarely, if ever, see them on the 3 to 5 rated trails, lest they break an axle or don’t mind extensive body damage. The 3 rated trails are still doable, but when you’re in a group of 10 with mostly Jeeps, FJ’s, etc., the Tundra will have to navigate them more slowly, which in turn slows the whole group down. So again, not my preferred vehicle to use in these kinds of trails with the Tundra’s weight and long wheelbase.

Just my humble opinion, though.

 

I feel you. Yes, absolutely, there are better vehicles for off-roading. If you're looking to crawl, something small like a fully locked and lifted Wrangler is amazing. The best would be a tube buggy on tons.

For the average person that doesn't want to drop 10-15k on a beater trail truck, getting out to the public, general use trails doesn't take much more than a stock truck, some AT tires and a driver mod. That's really all you need to get out there. If you want to roll with the big boys, yeah, Tundra isn't for you and I don't think it's even suitable as a regular tow platform.

 

I agree. Tundra does fine on relatively easy trails or out in the desert out West. And yeah, it’s not the greatest tow vehicle. I tow a trailer with it occasionally, but only fairly light loads.

 

Been pretty busy lately, but finally got my truck wrapped. Love how it turned out.

 

HOLY WHITE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah, we got 24" and it was glorious! Instantly reminded me to throw some sand bags in the back...Sorry it took so long to dig out! At least it's consistent here!

 

Matte black tailgate letters

LED license plate lights

OEM door sill protectors with TVD decals

LED cargo lights

TRD shift knob

and interior LEDs

 

And so it begins lol. I see you took the easier things first, I don't blame ya, I like to do the same and get a couple easier ones done under my belt so I can build momentum into the harder ones. Good luck with everything, looks like you gonna be busy for a while.

 

For the garage. Bummed out that orange was out of stock but the blue works for me.

 

Thanks. Was gonna throw in the console safe and wireless charger but I got hungry and wanted to watch the World Series game. I'll get those done tomorrow along with ripping the dash apart for the chrome delete with cement accents.

 

Looks great, those magnetic bolt dishes are the best, aren't they?

 

Installed the powered tailgate lock, works great. Learned I’m too fat to be crawling under pickup trucks, especially with a torn rotator cuff. Also install a little TRD bling on the grill.

 

Couldn’t have asked for a better quality headunit!

 

They are so friggin cool. I did my annual snowblower maintenance today and I didn’t lose any bolts!

 

Toyota is weird. My 2020 SR5 came from the factory with license plate and interior leds. Now get some SEM and get rid of the chrome and silver inside.

 

Installed my TRD front sway bar today.

 

First ride in the snow the other day, she does good!

 

You are getting snow already and I got sunburned today cutting the grass. FL sucks lol.

 

Chrome and silver inside will be gone tomorrow with black door handles and AJT chrome delete kit in cement.

 

Nice. I had to get rid of mine because the sun would hit it and blind you.

 

Georgia sucks too. Late October and still in the high 70s.