New, Used Tundra Owner SEATTLE, WA

Hello all,

I purchased a 2014 SR5 Tundra CrewMax with 47k on it in this past April when the girlfriend and I decided to leave our jobs and go on a road trip for a couple months! The Tundra preformed as expected on the trip and I enjoyed testing the off-road capabilities. We started in Seattle, drove down the coast 101 to Santa Barbara, then inland through NV, AZ, UT, CO (for the Alpine Loop which was my highlight), WY, MT, ID, and back to Seattle 8,000 miles later. The GF made me do an Instagram for the trip.... which turned out to be all photos of the dog or truck (trundrafuel if anyone wants to see photos on Instagram).

Now that I'm back in Seattle I'm interested in upgrading the suspension. I'm interested in the TRD Pro, King, Fox, or Icon 2.5" with remote reservoirs. I would do the TRD Pro Suspension today if it were rebuildable. I know there are numerous threads on this and it seems everyone has their own preference. I'd like to see these in person and ideally go for a ride along but couldn't find a local Tundra Meetup. If anyone in the Seattle area has one of these lifts and is willing to meet for coffee and give me a ride please reach out and it would be much appreciated!

I grew up using my parents 2001 Limited Sequioa for all my adventure that now has ~240k miles on it. The reliability of our Sequoia made choosing a Tundra out of the other pickup manufactures an easy decision for me. Below are my initial impressions.

Personal Pros:
-Easily the best looking pickup once chrome is paint matched (personal preference)
-5.7 V8 is pretty fun even for someone coming from a 3 series.
-Very solid feeling compared to other pickups manufactures I test drove.
-Great reliability
-I like the size and fit of the interior. Everything is big and I like it.
-Love the super sized seats.
-ENTIRE REAR WINDOW slides down! Why doesn't every pickup do this?! This alone sold me on the truck.
-Rear leg room. I'm the shortest in my family at 6'4".
-4 wheel drive system is pretty impressive. It can go many places our old Sequoia could not without risking damage. I've always been a big fan of mechanical LSD or Lockers, but A-Trac works good enough. Favorite moments are when I can flex a tire off the ground or sliding the truck around gravel roads! Can't wait for winter snow drifting!

Personal Cons:
-Paint. The white looks great from a distance but I wish I did more research before buying white. Our 2001 Sequoia Silver paint looks awesome after all these years. After reading about the water based, clear coat mixed white paint, I'm worried about it's longevity and durability. The truck seems to scratch very easily and I'm 100% OCD when it comes to vehicle paint.
-MPG. Okay I said it! Take it easy on me! I know it's a truck and I should expect that going into it but I'm still adjusting to watching the needle move as I drive it
-Entune system. It's sad how little this system can do when compared to the competition. I drive with the screen turned off most of the time. Fortunately people like @TundraTex are working to improve this system. THANK YOU!
-Interior has too much black plastic that seemed to scratch easily, especially from previous owner.


Desired Upgrades Still Considering:
-Remote Start
-Bed Liner. LineX or BedRug? Will water sit under the Bedrug? Will dirt get under it and act like sandpaper?
-2.5" leveling. Spacer or upgraded suspension? Trd Pro, King, Icon, Fox?
-Trd Pro Skid Plate to cover oil pan
-275/70/r18 Tires for an 1" larger tire. Leaning towards the Nito Terra Grapplers G2.
-Rear Sway Bar?
-Bed Tie Down Rails
-Trd Pro Grill paint matched
-Paint matched bumper corners (currently Plasti Dipped white including the grill)
-Front/ground clearance camera
-Light Bar Behind Grill

 

good looking truck. welcome from Texas! like your list of mods. i personally have a spray in liner so can't tell ya about the bedrug.

 

Welcome from Longview

 

Truck looks good, welcome from AZ...
Few of the members here have @ToyTec Lifts systems which they seem to like. As for the bed I have a spray on bed-liner and it's great.

 

Great pics from what sounds like a great adventure! Welcome again, from Texas.

 

Bienvenidos de Houston Tejas!

 

Welcome from Delaware!!

 

From TN!

 

Welcome. There's a lot to choose from in the suspension dept. I'm a fan of ADS but the new Icon 3.0 looks good too. Just depends on what you're after and how much you wanna spend. I wouldn't recommend the spacer you mentioned if you're going off road, and it looks like you do.

 

Thanks and good tip. I'm still learning the pros and cons to the suspension game. Why are spacers not as good off road? I assumed it would preform the same as it currently does as the spacer goes on top of the front strut, but I'd have an additional 2 inchs of ground clearance in the front?

Interesting point. Isn't the stock TRD Pro 2.5" higher in the front with 275/65/r18 tires? I'd be lifting it to match the TRD Pro and then putting 1" larger tires on. I'd like to go with taller and wider tires but can't imagine paying more in fuel . I'm still new to the truck world and still adjusting to the MPG.

I didn't know you could add the Sequoia Front sway bar for the rear of the Tundra. I'll have to look into this. Thanks!

 

Welcome from CO!
New white Tundra in Seattle, I'll stand for that.
Don't like the white , I'll sit down.
LOL!

 

Welcome! I am also in seattle and just picked up a new Tundra. Sounds like there are a couple of us on the forum

 

Nice truck!! Welcome from Missouri!!

 

nice truck, neighbor! I'm just on the other side of the lake in the Renton area.