Tundra for Disaster Response

Hi all,

A bit of background: I’m a member of a volunteer disaster response organization, Sheep Dog Impact Assistance, a national non-profit comprised of military and first responders. We do search and rescue, route clearing, building muck-outs, food/water/supply delivery, whatever is needed to help after disasters. We recently returned from the flooding in eastern Kentucky, where I had my 2001 GMC Yukon with 234,000 miles on it. It did ok, but I’m not sure how many more of these missions it can safely and reliably handle, and the last thing I need is for my response vehicle to fail on a mission. It now has a nice big hole in the muffler from bottoming out on a makeshift bridge and, from it’s time in the northeast, nearly more rust than good metal. At least it sounds nice and throaty...

I’m also a resident physician (read: all the hours and demands of a full doctor, just without the pay...) and part of my job on these missions has become not only all of the above, but also medical welfare checks on people up in the hollers and hard-to-reach places, and emergent responses and patient transport (the town we were in, Fleming-Neon lost 3 out of 4 of its ambulances to the flood). With this in mind, I’m looking for a vehicle that is more capable, and young enough to handle rough terrain. It might also be used for pulling vehicles out of ditches, towing, clearing trees, et cetera.

My ideal vehicle would be something like a TRD Pro, lifted, larger/more aggressive tires, winch, skid plates and a fairly secure topper for all the kit that we inevitably need. The kicker, as always, is budget. This is a volunteer organization and while I work more than full time (salaried, so no overtime) in the hospital, I don’t make enough to afford a new model with everything on it. The question becomes: what is out there that would approach that ideal? This isn’t about asking for a handout, per se, but more for ideas, or people you know who have something for sale that could work. I’m trying to work out what my budget could be, so I’ll try to update that soon.

I’m in the early stages of this process, but I need to start looking now so I can be ready when this truck kicks it.

Thanks everyone!

DRT

 

No need for the TRD pro model. Grab an SR5 4x4 in cab and bed configuration of choice, add topper, lift, more aggressive tires and go. A rear locker would be a great addition and well worth the money. I would suggest the breather relocation for rear diff. I would extend all breather lines to the highest point on the firewall. If you’re gonna get dumb and ford really deep water, then a true sealed snorkel system may help. I would say turn around don’t drown in those situations though. These trucks sell high, finding a truck with around 100k miles will blunt the cost some, and these trucks go 250k and up miles regularly when maintained. Good luck with the search and thank you for your service to the community!

 

Welcome from NC

 

The Tundra is a legend. And Allyn is an amazing dude!
http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/12/story-allyn-pierce-pandra/

 

Buy a 12/13' Gen2 and build it.

Put this on the back.

https://pcor4x4.com/toyota-tundra/
There's another manufacturer as well.
Best of luck and welcome

 

If it were me I wouldn't spend the money on a Pro. They fetch a premium above what the other Tundra models bring. Most of the advantage of a Pro is the suspension and the TRD Pro skid plate. The other part that makes them popular is the name of the model and the stamping on the rear fenders and the second hood scoop. That stamping and hood scoop won't help you a bit. You can get another model and put on a much better suspension for less money than the extra dollars that you would buy a Pro for. You could save money by getting the Pro coil over shocks and putting them on another model.

I would also suggest a bumper with a 10k winch. I prefer the C-4 bumper but that all depends on what you require. I had to do some further mods to make the C-4 work the way I wanted it to. I had to buy a grill for a Pro so that I could use the higher bull bar. I also had to get the synthetic rope rather than the wire rope for the winch. The fairlead for the wire rope does not fit in the C-4 bumper. That means I have to be careful not to chafe the rope where I wouldn't have had to worry about it so much with a wire rope. You can easily double the pulling power of a winch with snatch blocks so a 10k winch would be sufficient for most anything. You can get a really good skid plate for a Tundra for less than the factory one. The bumper would also give you more clearance for your tires. Keep in mind that a lot of the after market bumpers are heavier than stock. That requires heavier springs on the front. A lot of after market coil over shocks come with heavier springs. I don't know what springs are on the Pro.

It comes down to planning and a lot of research to make sure the parts will fit with all the other parts.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your goal.

 

I grew up in Jackson KY (where my father worked with NOAA as a weatherman) and still have a lot of family near London/Corbin…thank you for what you do and have done for those up there! Also welcome to the forum

 

Thank you all for your replies so far! I’m on 24-hour call Saturday so hopefully I’ll get some time to look into those options then.

Allyn’s story is pretty amazing, and is just the sort of mindset our members have, which isn’t a recklessness, but a dedication to serving others. And I know Allyn didn’t do this for the media attention, but I’m glad he got the response that he did

 

It’s my pleasure!

We worked in Jackson for a bit while we were down there. They had a good amount of regional support with Lexington fire and other response groups so we moved to places that didn’t have any help and were still, to some degree, under water, but we were able to help the Judge Exec and police chief while there.

 

I agree on not getting the Pro. Not really have enough clearance for big tires.
--Get a Tundra with big gas tank.
--Suspension lift to accommodate big tires and provide more ground clearance.
--Re-gear to 5.29 for more torque
--Rear locker.
--No supercharger-requires high octane gas which may not be available
--Less automated feature is desireable imo. Less sensors that can go bezerk and render the truck inoperable or go limp mode. i.e. lane departure, pre collision, parking assist
--2021 and older model. I prefer non-ffv.
--Transmission cooler--you can add this if Tundra is not equipped.

Of course, this is along with the other suggestions here.

 

I'd suggest an SR5 TRD Off Road 4x4 with the 6.5ft long bed (I believe, with the long bed, it can be configured in either a double cab or CrewMax cab). The TRD Pro is nice, I suppose; It looks nice and holds resale value really well. You're mostly paying for the name, the off road tech, and the suspension AND you can't get the larger bed. The FOX shocks will be obsolete when you swap suspension, and all its off road tech (Crawl Control, rear locker, Multi-Terrain select) can also be found in a TRD off road package.

Underbody armor (skid plates and sliders), lift, tires, truck cap, and you're basically good to go

Thanks for all the work you do!!


EDIT: I'm talking about the 2022+ Tundras

 

Double cab with the longer bed. You won't need the cavernous interior space of the CrewMax but you WILL need the extra bed space of the double cab.

 

Winch bumpers are cool, but since budget is a concern, you can also just put a front receiver on ($150) and then use a winch on a cradle for a total investment of maybe $1,000 or less.

 

Hi everyone, thank you all for the ideas! Lots to think about here. Sorry for the delay in responding. I’m a resident physician and my schedule is a bit busy these days.

As much as I’d love to build out a new ‘22 or ‘23, my budget is more like “drag something from the scrap pile and hope it runs.” Or maybe I could afford something dredged up out of the flood waters… I heard someone say that residents earn about $6/hr when you add up all the hours we work compared to our pay rate… ah well.

I like the idea of an older model that can be upgraded to fit the needs, which I can do over time. Ideally I’d find that older model already upgraded to some degree- I know they’re out there, just gotta find ‘em. I’ve recorded/noted all the ideas listed here and will put those into play as I go.

So thank you all again!

DRT

 

As a Pro owner, I also not recommend getting one if you're planning to upgrade. I'd get a basic trim, mid-teens truck (one with a transmission cooler) with low miles and build it out. Spend the money on gear and not on higher trims or fancy shocks you'll be removing.

And for the record, the mods are never done. So don't bother trying to make an all-inclusive list and doing it at once. Figure out what you need as a minimum and go for it.

 

First off and most importantly, thank you for what you do. Sincerely. I’m in the CG Reserve and have spent lots of time deployed to natural and man made disasters, and will continue to be every year until I retire (probably a few short years from now). But I get paid when they deploy me. Not a lot, but paid nonetheless. It takes unbelievable commitment to do this kind of work for free. Thank you. Wish the world had more people like you.

That said, I have some personal and intimate understanding of your use case, FWIW. And I’d have to agree with @KNABORES. Skip the TRD Pro. You’re right to look at those capabilities for this purpose, but the TRd Pro are not only hard to find, they sell at quite a premium even used. And that was true even before this insane market we’re in right now. A lower trim will be a lower purchase price on an already high-resale truck, and yet just as capable with some relatively minor modifications — tires, lift, etc.

Personally, I would not go down to an SR5 with the kind of work you do. I’d aim for a Limited or better. Not so much for capability but for driving comforts and features. But that’s me. Any of them would do fine and be a reliable truck for years if you maintain it well.

 

Thank you all, and thank you Shadowfax1 for the work you do as well. I appreciate the kind words!

From what all of you have said, I’ll avoid the PRO. Thank you for saving me from wasting money there!

I have a cradle winch already so the front receiver would work well, though I currently run some chains on the front for pulling stuff.

I’m not a huge creature comforts kind of guy, as long as it has AC/Heat for a break from the environment. More gadgets are just more to break, sometimes. That said, I do have to keep my family happy in it too, so something to think about in terms of trim packages.

So I guess my main goals are tires/wheels, lift/suspension, transmission cooler, topper for gear storage and skid plates. That will allow for most everything I need to do. Topper is essential as I run the truck as a quick response vehicle while not deployed.

Secondary goals are winch/front bumper upgrade, additional lighting (scene lighting, and emergency lighting, though I probably have enough of that right now . I’d also like to install a second battery, if possible- don’t know if there’s space for that in the engine compartment.

DRT

 

So, with the information you all have given in mind (I’m going to ask this here with the understanding that there is probably already a set of forums devoted to each topic which I will peruse in detail) with the theory that I’ll save some money on the truck itself, what are considered the high end and mid range options for suspension, wheels, and tires?