Starting the Next Adventure in this Gen 1

Heyo!

I recently bought a 2005 Double Cab Tundra, TRD Off-Road. I have been in the market for quite a while and I am very pleased with settling for a gen 1 tundra, seems to be exactly what I could need! My plan is to live out of this truck full time. I lived out of a Jeep Compass for a while, so this will be a major upgrade in space and capability. I am an avid extreme outdoors sports guy, I do a good bit of off-roading to get to sweet dispersed campsites as well as more remote trailheads. I was worried about getting the DC for this reason, but ended up sacrificing the extra mobility for the opportunity to load up all my friends with vans who can't fit anyone in their vehicle nor go on many high clearance/4wd roads. This truck came with a great handful of aftermarket additions that I was already looking to add, and I have many more mods in mind. I am diving into the world of self-maintaining a vehicle, something completely new to me but I am exciting to save money and learn new things. I plan on doing any additions myself and keeping up with the general maintenance myself - any tips are super welcome. I will also add posts below addressing some questions I would love to hear more incite for. So excited to join the Tundra community!



Already has:
Icon Stage 2 kit w/ 700lbs springs
SPC upper control arms
Front diff drop kit
Brake proportioning valve extension
Brute Force Fab front bumper
Smittybuilt 10000 sealed winch w/ synthetic line
Rigid fog and flood lights
Black Toyota racing wheels with cooper discover trek tires
Roll up tonneau cover
Panasonic radio

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!

 

1.
The first thing I want to do ASAP is getting a new speaker system. I have been doing a lot of research on this to try and see what fits/what wattage to use/if I need an amp - I did not expect it to be so complicated. I am looking at using Crutchfield and getting a Pioneer speaker system with a 65 Watt RMS amp. Let me know if there is a better website out there to go through since this is pretty much the only place I have looked.

 

2.
As much as I respect the sleekness of the all black look, I want something a little different that would stand out. Ideally I would paint the whole truck the timberline green that I saw other tundras in. However, my understanding is that I could never get as protective or durable of paint as the factory paint. To spice it up, I have been researching cool decals or brainstorming small paint designs to stencil. My grandfather owned an autobody shop and still has most of his tools, so I would have access to more professional painting supplies. Let me know if anyone has any ideas!

 

3.
I am looking for a set up within the bed to live out of. I used an RTT on my past vehicle and still have this. Options I am looking at: a regular topper, a bed rack that would fit my RTT, a contractor topper with a rack on it, and the Lone Peak Camper Topper https://www.lonepeakoverland.com/products/lone-peak-camper

The lone peak would be most ideal, but obviously very expensive and as you may be able to infer by me living in this truck, money isn't overflowing for me right now. It is cheaper than the more popular Go Fast Campers. Even if I did get this, it would not be ready until at least September, and I need a setup for this spring and summer.

The bed rack I could find for the cheapest and easiest, but does not secure any belongings in the bed. Could be a good temporary option though.

Regular caps/camper toppers/whatever you want to call them seem like the best so that I could build out the inside with drawers and fun things, but the contractor caps I have been finding seem like an even better deal where I can get a guaranteed windoor/side access and many also come with a rack on top for extra storage. I would love to have the rack on top for my RTT and/or solar panels. Ideally, I would have it built out where I could sleep in the bed for stealth camping, but I would also have the RTT for more luxury, comfort, and fun while dispersed camping.

This all being said, I am struggling in the process of looking for any topper. The dimensions of the truck are listed everywhere differently and not many toppers seem to be made for this truck, especially the contractor tops. My understanding is that the dimensions of the topper need to fit closely if not perfectly with your bed. I am looking in the used market only, since ordering a new one I would rather just pay for the lone peak camper.

If anyone has any tips on how to find a topper that would fit a gen 1 tundra, please share. Any input on my thoughts above is very welcome as well!

 

4.
I have weird taste apparently, and would rather have the fake wood dash trim that comes with the limited tundras. I have seen that many people have went from the faux wood to the black trim. Options: trade my black trim for the wood trim, go to the junkyard and look for wood trimmed tundras/sequoias, or find somewhere that sells the parts. Trading sounds best to me, let me know if anyone is interested

 

5.
Since before getting the truck, I was already looking at rear bumpers to get, and really wanted a swing bumper. Brute Force Fab is the only place I've found to make a swing rear bumper for the gen 1 tundra. Seems pretty sweet to get the spare on the back and add recovery gear or gas cans. Then I would add either a trasharoo or bike rack onto the spare. More room for storage, keeps the smelly dirty things outside of my living space. Looks sick.

Then started thinking of the cons: price, weight, extra length on the truck (I came from a tiny SUV, this is hard). I also am planning on getting into the bed every night and closing the tailgate and (eventually) topper window behind me, how could I also close the swing? I have thought of a rope system where I could tether something to it to pull it in, but how could I push it back out in the morning? Any ideas are welcome or arguments for/against a rear bumper with a swing out.

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Did you ever find a solution to this problem? I’m currently looking at the brute force fab rears and was wondering the same thing. Most nights I’d be set up someplace I could leave it swung open but those nights where I have to be a little more stealthy I was wondering if there’s a work around.