Exploring Cascadia - '22 1794 TRD-Offroad + Longbed

After a six month wait, I found my truck, which turned out to be a '22 Tundra in 1794 trim with TRD-Offroad and the 6.5' bed. I'm coming from a 2008 FJ Cruiser, and my wife's car is a 2007 Sequoia.

Since I'm lucky enough to be able to work remotely (I manage software engineers for a big local coffee company), the truck isn't needed for the ~60 mi round trip commute, so I can make it more of a weekend explorer. Light off-roading / light overlanding, mostly weekend camping and similar stuff will be our focus.

Here's the day we bought the truck (from Marysville (WA) Toyota - sales guy Dave Koshak was a pleasure to work with). MSRP, no required add ons.



That's my wife and my almost-16-year-old son (and chief mechanic); my 19-1/2 year old daughter didn't join us for this trip.

The build sheet was: Blueprint and cream leather; 1794 with TRD Off-road package and the 6.5' bed (those plus the panoramic sunroof and crewmax were my requirements for either a Limited or 1794), and they'd done a bedliner spray, black tailgate badge inserts and the emergency assistance kit. I bought the "Northwest protection package", which is paint and interior protection, not so much because I believe it'll work but because it gives me a warranty over some chips and some leather stains... that cream leather will be thoroughly put to the test over the years.

My plans are for a truck that can handle long road trips with 3-4 adult-sized people, some weekend camping and occasional longer camping trips.

I thought it'd be fun to start a build thread for a truck being used for this purpose, and to provide some more links for other owners to follow.

A recent photo:



Mods Done

• "Northwest protection package" for paint and interior
• Westcott 3/1 collar lift [Vendor]
• Method 705s in 18x9 wheels, 18mm backspace. I used @RevereOverland's discount code.
• Maxxis RAZR AT 295/70R18 tires
• TVD Vinyl Decal inserts for front bumper (black) and grille (red) [Vendor]
• ScreenProtech screen covers in matte [Vendor]
• 1Up USA 2" Super Duty Double bike rack [Vendor]
• Swapped out the mirror caps from chrome to black [Part]
• Rexing V5 Plus dash camera [
  REXING V5 Dash Cam 4K Modular Capabilities 3840x2160@30fps UHD WiFi GPS Car Camera Recorder Night Vision,Loop Recording,Parking Monitor,Supercapacitor,Support 256GB Max,Voice Control (2021) (Dash Cam)
  Amazon link]
• WeatherTech floor liners [Vendor]

Planned

• RetraxPRO XR tonneau cover [Vendor]
• KB Voodoo bed rack
• CVT Mt Hood rooftop tent
• Sliders + steps
• Winch bumper
• Armor

 

I wanted to be able to run 34s-35s, partly for ground clearance and partly for looks. I decided on Method 705 wheels in 18"x9" and 18mm backspace, and titanium finish.

These got mounted with Maxxis RAZR ATs in 295/70r18 for a bit over 34" tires. I went with Maxxis largely because they're the AT tire that the local Les Schwab tire store stocked, and since they're just a few blocks away I can get regular tire rotations without scheduleing or driving each way. I'll say that the shop guys had some frustration mounting the tires on the Methods, and it took a lot of pressure to get the tires to seat correctly, due to the way Method rims implement bead grip. And probably some of that frustration was due to the fact that I didn't buy wheels from them, just the tires and mounting (and moving over the TPMS sensors from the stock wheels).

Before I did the Westcott collar lift, I had tires rubbing on the liner close to full lock, but since I only had a couple days' wait to get the lift installed, I just took it easy on turns. It's not like this truck has a tight turning radius in the best of cases anyway.


On the way to get the new shoes:


And done


Poke is now this:

 

I was on the waitlist for the Westcott 3/1 collar lift for a few weeks but found a forum user here selling his uninstalled, and black anodized, kit for a good price. So I grabbed that and got an appointment at my nearby dealer to install the lift and do the alignment.

Pre-lift


Post-lift


Before the lift and with the Methods+RAZRs on, the lower part of the front fenders were around 38" and rear fenders were around 39-1/2".

After the lift, we're 40-1/4" on all four corners.

The front mudflaps still rub a bit on full turn, so they're removed now.

Stance is now looking great to my eye.



I'm 5'11, thicc, in my early 50s, and recovering from a hernia surgery.. so it's worthwhile noting that it takes a bit of effort to climb into the truck now . My wife at 5'7 is also taking some effort to get in. I grabbed a plastic step stool for my 70s and 5'3 mom to climb in

 

I’m also in the Seattle-ish area, is there a good place to go for maintenance up here? I had a bad experience with Toyota of Kirkland.

 

I missed this response - sorry @DBWA . I've so far been using Marysville Toyota for factory service interval stuff, and I used Michael's Toyota in Bellevue for the Westcott install. No problems with either.

 

Hey was looking at that lift too, any ride quality difference like they claim? How much was the install and alignment at Michael’s if you don’t mind me asking.

 

It's a bit rougher / stiffer, but with tire pressure adjustments on rougher roads or patience on busted highways, it's fine.

I don't have the invoice handy, but I think the lift and align was under $900, if I recall right. That was a year ago though, so it may have changed.

 

thanks for getting back! That’s not too bad. Called around and a shop in Kirkland was 1400… we’ll see still on the fence but heard nothing but good things especially for the price