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Beehive Tundra

Discussion in '2nd Gen Builds (2007-2013)' started by beehivetundra, May 24, 2022.

  1. May 24, 2022 at 8:38 PM
    #1
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Sup y’all, some of you will probably recognize me from insta with the same handle @beehivetundra

    I haven’t been much for forums in the past several years, figured it was just one more thing to keep track of but I have some downtime and figure why not!

    My truck is a 2013 Crewmax that I bought new. I kept it stock for a long time since I always had other Toyotas to wheel, I started out with an 86 Toyota 4x4 pickup wheeling it in high school. Then I went through (3) 88 4Runners as I figured out IFS vs SA, V6 vs 22RE etc. Then I moved onto a 99 4Runner, followed by an 09 GX470. They all got wheeled and they were all a blast, but as the family grew and we went on more family off road and camping trips, the rigs felt smaller so eventually in 2020 I decided to mod the Tundra for wheeling and stop messing with the other platforms.

    So I bought an OME kit with light/medium duty springs up front and Heavy Duty Dakar leafs for the rear. I knew the wheelbase would be a bigger issue than any of my past vehicles and knowing my offroad style I would want the most ground clearance so I purchased 37” Cooper STT Pro’s and put the kit on over the weekend.
    [​IMG]


    Following that I took it on a brief shakedown to get a feel of the suspension and flex clearance

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2022
  2. May 24, 2022 at 9:06 PM
    #2
    Cruzer

    Cruzer Wheeling Full Size

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    Hahahah you made it brotha! Welcome!
     
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  3. May 24, 2022 at 9:15 PM
    #3
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Following that I took it out to Moab for a proper break-in and see how it handled the red rocks. Ran top of the world and decided the next upgrade was rock sliders and on-board air so I could comfortably air down without driving back out of the trail to camp or the city on marshmallow tires.


    After returning home I purchased a set of sliders that weren't quite up to par for the Tundra so I cut them up, extended them and modified to make them work.


    Next, I had to work on setting up on-board air. There were a few companies at the time already starting to make brackets to mount air compressors under the hood but I wasn't completely convinced with their mounting locations and I wanted to minimize the footprint, so I made my own bracket.

     
  4. May 24, 2022 at 9:16 PM
    #4
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Heck yeah! But uploading photos is proving more work than I thought! I haven't figured out an easy way to do it, so I'm just adding them to my media album lol.
     
  5. May 24, 2022 at 9:20 PM
    #5
    Cruzer

    Cruzer Wheeling Full Size

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    Use your computer to just copy and paste them in.
     
  6. May 24, 2022 at 9:30 PM
    #6
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Following those upgrades, I went back out again to Moab to run a few more trails, I decided to explore Chicken Corners which was a super long trail with not alot of of excitement so I checked out Fins n Things the next day, that trail was entertaining and it had nice steep climbs but nothing serious. Despite the fact I was taking it easy, my power steering rack decided to fail me and break on optional obstacle #4 of Fins n Things. I had to muscle my way off the trail and call it a trip.



    When I got back home I ordered a steering rack from Rack Doctor as there was countless positive reviews on their warranty and the racks themselves, figured this could happen again so I thought why not. The rack was suppose to ship out within 3 days. That was a total mistake, after I ordered and processed my payment, it was about 4 weeks of back and forth phone calls with the owner as to why my rack hadn't gone out. After two promises of a refund I got my money back and I purchased an OEM rack from the dealership the same day and installed it over the weekend. At the same time, I upgraded to coachbuilder outer tie rods.

     
  7. May 24, 2022 at 9:39 PM
    #7
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Thereafter, I decided it was time to lock the rear end and upgrade to 5.29's, so I got together with a local shop to install the Nitro gears and an Eaton E-Locker for the rear. I took off the front and rear differentials one day, dropped them off the next morning, and he had them ready for pick up the following morning.

     
    Peeeheeuuu and Vizsla like this.
  8. May 24, 2022 at 9:58 PM
    #8
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    The next set of upgrades came after I went to Sedona, AZ for T2S 2022 and I ran a trail with @Cruzer called Smasher Canyon. The truck did great, but my bumper was getting in the way completely from being able to take some of the harder lines. To say my bumper was bashed in and rubbing on my tire was an understatement, so we had to pull it out mid trail just to keep going. Then back at camp I had to cut some of the metal that was still hitting my tire.




    I always had the intention of building my own bumper because I've not been happy with the offerings for the 2nd Gen Tundra, but I tried to get away with running the stock one as long as I could, but enough was enough. So as soon as I returned back home I took off the factory piece and began building my own design. I call it the Beehive Bumper. trademarked ;) lol



    In addition to the bumper, I had also experienced symptoms of my power steering acting up while on the trail, and realized that going 2 mph for 4 hours, aired down, and continous movement of the steering was overheating my PS fluid. So in addition to the bumper I replaced the factory power steering cooler that sits behind the bumper. I upgraded it to a larger unit with larger surface area and I mounted it directly in front of the condenser. This way it will have air drawn in from the engine fan and also have more direct air access behind the grill.


     
  9. May 24, 2022 at 10:14 PM
    #9
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    Hey !! Welcome!! I see you on i80 everyone in awhile. I live out in stansbury
     
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  10. May 24, 2022 at 10:16 PM
    #10
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Then in classic Beehive Tundra fashion, it was right back to Moab again to test out the new upgrades and see how it all worked. Needless to say the bumper was fantastic, I could hit all the hard lines, my bumper was clearing damn near everything and tire approach was fantastic. It truly made my trip having that 'full range of motion' for lack of a better description. The icing on the cake was the power steering; I spent 4 hr 40 min on Flat Iron Mesa friday afternoon and never once did the steering give me a single issue. Then an additional 4 hours in Poison Spider trail on a hot day and again, it ran fantastic! I was stoked.


     
  11. May 24, 2022 at 10:18 PM
    #11
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Oh cool! Yeah I go down that area from time to time to the west desert or if I'm just hitting up the Tractor Supply. We'll have to get together and do some wheeling!
     
  12. May 24, 2022 at 10:21 PM
    #12
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    I'm down brother !! I have a dji mini 2 I can get some cool shots for your you tube lol thats how I know your truck. I'm down for wheeling or even wrenching. I like it all
     
  13. May 24, 2022 at 10:26 PM
    #13
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Oh nice! that's cool that you've seen the channel. I try and post all my trips on there so the community can grow and get more active doing crazy shit hahaha. But that's badass, I'll let you know next time I'm headnig out if you wanna roll with!
     
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  14. May 24, 2022 at 10:28 PM
    #14
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    Absolutely, I'm not from Utah so i don't really have any wheeling buddies here
     
  15. May 24, 2022 at 10:28 PM
    #15
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    That brings us up to speed with the Tundra's progression, and currently on my list of things to do is build a high clearance rear bumper for it. I am probably going to attempt to make a tire carrier for it, and I have an idea that might work for my intent and purpose but we'll see if it can function as such. In addition, I'll probably be upgrading the tires to 38's sooner than later, but those aren't a priority at this time.
     
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  16. May 24, 2022 at 10:29 PM
    #16
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Oh I see, where are you from? There's tons of local wheeling spots to hit up too, some are seasonal and others are year round. Not sure how much you've had a chance to explore, but always happy to get out and show you around.
     
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  17. May 24, 2022 at 10:30 PM
    #17
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    Yea I saw the last video that toasted your stock bumper lol
     
  18. May 24, 2022 at 10:32 PM
    #18
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    I'm from Texas. I get out and explore when i can . I sometimes limit myself because when I'm solo I don't want to screw myself over but I'm working up to bigger stuff.
     
  19. May 24, 2022 at 10:34 PM
    #19
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    :D I sure did, it was a good excuse to get going on the new one!
     
  20. May 24, 2022 at 10:34 PM
    #20
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    That was a TIGHT trail for the Tundra lol
     
  21. May 24, 2022 at 10:36 PM
    #21
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Yeah it was, some careful spotting got us through the squeeze but sadly not unscathed from the trail overall. There's more footage of it out there that I'm waiting on it to be released :monocle: @Cruzer
     
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  22. May 25, 2022 at 6:08 AM
    #22
    Cruzer

    Cruzer Wheeling Full Size

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    Working on it. Trying to get that Rubicon footage out there too :D
     
  23. May 25, 2022 at 6:13 AM
    #23
    Cruzer

    Cruzer Wheeling Full Size

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    Actually, we need a do over of Smasher Canyon to record it properly. Next T2S? I’ll probably need new tires to win by then :rofl:
     
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  24. May 25, 2022 at 6:40 AM
    #24
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    A do-over sounds pretty good to me. Maybe more trucks will join by then.
     
  25. May 25, 2022 at 8:13 AM
    #25
    Cruzer

    Cruzer Wheeling Full Size

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    I've been wanting to add a bigger PS cooler. You're gonna have to hook me up with the same treatment :D
     
  26. May 25, 2022 at 8:15 AM
    #26
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    I am changing mine out to a heat sink, its a bigger cooling element than stock but still just a dual pass but after seeing beehives setup, I'm second guessing if I made the right choice
     
  27. May 25, 2022 at 8:34 AM
    #27
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Let’s do it! It was a night and day difference in consistency, especially noticeable when you gotta Austin powers a turn on the rocks.
     
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  28. May 25, 2022 at 8:36 AM
    #28
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    You’ll have to let me know how that works out. I wanted the largest surface area to cool down and it also increased my capacity by nearly an additional quart of PS fluid.
     
  29. Oct 4, 2022 at 12:55 PM
    #29
    beehivetundra

    beehivetundra [OP] New Member

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    Had some down time after a recent trip to Moab and decided it was time to remove the factory bumper and hitch and make a high clearance bumper.

    Started out with removing the factory bumper cover and my bumper support would be the factory setup, laid out a straight piece of DOM to get an idea of how high it would sit then bent the two top hoops with a full wrap around the bedsides. There was never a question about cutting the bedsides for more clearance, so I chopped off about 8 inches of sheet metal, possibly more. I gave the bumper a dovetail look for a sportier look in my opinion. I added support legs to the wrap around pieces that connect into the bumper supports so the entire bumper is removable and rigid as hell.

    I still need to add side guards that will go above the wrap around pieces but I've not yet been satisfied with my templates, but it gets inspiration from the old Marlin Crawler bumpers but won't be exactly the same. All in all, I've gained a substantial amount of ground clearance and it does not stick out any further than the factory one did, I made sure of that. Will be going back to the testing grounds in Moab later this month for new action shots and R&D.




     
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  30. Oct 4, 2022 at 1:07 PM
    #30
    Wahayes

    Wahayes Older I get the wiser I realize my dad was

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    When you headed back to Moab?
     

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