FGT featured in Outside Magazine

Story in Outside about the quest to buy a first-gen Tundra...

https://www.outsideonline.com/2424685/best-truck-all-time

 

There is another guy from that company that has a blue first gen on youtube.

 

Are you the author or did you create an account here just to post this article...? Is the author here....according the the article....

"I plunged into the FGT forums.."

 

I am the author

 

Let's see your new truck.

 

Here it is, taken the morning after the transaction, as I was departing KY to head back home to NM...

 

Welcome from NY.

 

I enjoyed the writing style, a little hint of Gonzo in it. Well done. Hopefully you stick around here as a member.

 

This is my 02AC, with new suspension, wheels, and tires. As mentioned in the piece, I've had it since 2005, purchased w/ around 80K on it. Now at 286K and still going strong. (Body could use a little work...)

 

Thank you! Yeah, I've read the forum for a while and would like to participate more. Lots of great insight, stories, and knowledge here.

 

Still working my way through the article but I'm really enjoying it. Thanks for sharing. I'm happy you knew about the frame rust. Sadly, we've had a lot of members join the forum after they purchased a FGT and didn't bother to check the frame, only to discover it's toast.

I sort of like the dents on your 02 and the fact that you've had it so long. Those are just battle scars at this point.

 

Agreed. I was going to sell it after I found the '06, but we've been through so much together—literally, it has outlasted jobs, homes, and relationships—I think I'll never be able to part with it.

 

Loved the article and you've made me feel guilty for acquiring my truck from a good friend for a box of trout flies. You've got a couple of beauties there and you certainly appreciate them. Welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome to the dark side.

 

I feel your pain.

Now why cant I drive them both at the same time?

 

Nice trucks! I have real soft spot for the single-cab longbeds. Very cool.

 

@jnhitf I know your pain with getting burned on the search for a FGT. I drove all to DC from GA once after seeing multiple pics of the undercarriage of an 06 4WD DC with 66k miles and the 6” RCD lift on it. When I got there, turns out the dude had sprayed the frame recently with black spray paint to cover all the rust, there were even holes I could put my fist through in the exhaust. I drove 8-9 hours back defeated.

A few months later a beautiful 06 4WD DC with 50k original miles, clean Carfax, one owner popped up at a dealership about 1.5 hours away from me. It was listed on Sunday when the dealership was closed and I was there at 7:30 AM Monday morning with my hand on it like a hand on a hardbody competition. Did have a little bit of surface rust on the frame as it spent a few years is Wisconsin, but it had spent the past 8 years in SC where it never saw road salt again

I drove it home a short time later. Once I got it home I wire wheeled all the surface rust off the frame and coated it with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator plus and it will be in the family till my great grandchildren die.

 

Chubby double cabs are the Swiss army knife of the first gen world. Pick your own adventure. It's up for it.

What are your plans for this truck?

 

It absolutely cracks me up how you guys use FGT as the acronym to describe your truck

 

Wow. Looks MINT. Congrats. Love the color--Desert Sand Mica, right? Such a great feeling to land a good one. (I laughed out lout at this line, "I was there at 7:30 AM Monday morning with my hand on it like a hand on a hardbody competition.") I really did run into a lot of rusty trucks out there, and dealers who were happy to sell them to you. They get the cab and body looking sweet and then hope the buyer doesn't check the frame. Thanks for sharing. May you put many happy miles on that rig.

 

@onesojourner if you’re asking me, I’m saving up to drop around $5k all on suspension, wheel, tire set up. Basically replacing everything in the front suspension.

I already have a full brush guard Brute Force bumper ordered that won’t be here till September, so hoping to get all that done at once so that I’ll only have to do one alignment

 

@jnhitf its actually Phantom Pearl Gray, but I guess the way the sun is hitting it, it looks like the Desert Sand Mica

 

As in, improvements/mods? Or travel plans? When I first started looking, I was planning all kinds of upgrades, but now that I have it, I kind of want to keep it stock. It's really in fantastic condition inside and out. I did swap out the wheels for the OEM 17-inch alloys and a new set of Geolanders, which look great. Also found a (almost) matching ARE tonneau on Craigslist, and replaced the missing SR5 side-door badge. Other than that, just babying it. Travel-wise, gotta a long western road trip pending end of summer.

 

Huh. Interesting. Still looks great.

 

That was a great read and I appreciated it. I've been on a multi-year quest for the right land cruiser myself. The quest continues...

 

@Team4M Im sure that’s more difficult. Especially if you’re trying to find one under 200-300k miles.

I just saw one on bringatrailer.com that had 1k original miles and sat in a collection, it just sold for $134k

 

Nice article. Welcome from the rust belt...

 

Awesome. Beautifully painted picture. Appreciative of a good story in a life full of blogs and vlogs and crap pods. Keep on keepin' on

 

My stable: 2002 FGT and 2007 SGT single cab / long & short bed.

 

Annual get together upcoming….you’re not invited