My TuBdra build. Forging the Pale Horse.

Welcome to my extra mediocre build.

My truck is nothing special but I thought I would share to maybe give some inspiration to your average truck owner who might be interested in a modest budget build and doing as much he can DIY...

How the truck basically sits now:



-Fatbobs coilovers set at 3”(made in USA with a lifetime warranty) $500

-Tuff Country UCAs (made in USA with lifetime warranty)$320

-5100s rear +1” shackles

-35x12.5 radar renegade MT

-18x9 +18 TiS wheels

-12k Badlands ($200 w/ remote NIB on offer up)on sdhq hidden winch Mount.

-I think I am running a magnaflow muffler under there as well...

-Rear diff breather mod

I had to do all these mods at once because I got invited short notice to go on a wheeling trip, which is why I had to cut costs everywhere I could. A lot of these parts were not what I planned on using, but overall I am really happy with how everything has performed thus far...I will update and replace as parts fail/wearout.

I guess I will give some background. I have always wanted a Toyota 4x4 and finally took the plunge in 2013 after spending thousands to keep my old ford running. I truly wanted a Taco. I always had full size and 3/4 ton trucks and the practicality of a midsize really appealed to me, but I still needed a fullSize for work so I ‘settled’ on a tundra(soo happy i did). Always loved the 2nd gen body style, they just dropped the 3rd gen and I did not like it(it has grown on me for sure) so I was able to pick up a 2013 leftover 4x4 SR5 DC for cheap, it was on their storage lot and I believe I got it for 8.5k below MSRP since they were trying to clear it out.

Goodbye money pit:

Hello Money Pit:


Big plans for this truck over the year to come. Will
Update this thread with more in-depth on current and future mods/adventures...

 

Looking good
Amazing what rims, tires, and a little lift does for the Tundras.

 

Nice build so far. . .

 

I ran the truck bone stock until I needed new tires. Then I upgraded to 285/65 Nitto trails and the TIS wheels 18x9+18. Also added some cheap temporary side steps and found a used soft topper on the cheap.



Once I put the mud tires on, the itch to get the truck dirty continued to grow. made several trips out to play locally but it is just mud, sand and water crossings...




Although the truck was very capable stock, in order to keep up with the pack I was definitely going to need more ground clearance...

This was a pretty routine occurrence.


Some buddies invited me for a trip up north to some trails that had actual technical obstacles, hills, rocks etc... I knew I had to get the truck as ready as I could with what little budget that I had at the time

Which will bring me to the bulk of the mods thus far...

 

Good lookin ride man! Looks like you may need to do the rear diff breather mod...

 

Nice truck! Great start. Amazing how easy it is to spend money around here

 

Thanks man. Good looking out! I already did it but forgot to list it

 

Thanks man. Yea it is crazy because looking at where I want the truck to be, I feel like I haven’t even begun to really spend money.

Got invited to go on some out of state trips with friends and tentative plans for MOAB next year. So gears, lockers, better tires and full armor are all going to have to be done one way or another.

 

Had to get the tundra a bit more trail ready for my first trip.

Tried to go the spacer route but just wasn’t happy with the ride and at full drop stuff was binding, I just didn’t trust it for bouncing around on some rocks...

So I bought the fatbobs coilovers and Tuff country UCAs.

Also upgraded to 35”s and for some reason decided I wanted to mount them by hand, it’s a great way to waste a couple hours:



Had to get them balanced and the truck aligned:

Also had to install the sdhq hidden mount and winch:

Decided to just wheel it with the bumper off for the first trip:

A lot of the trails were for jeeps so there were a lot of tight spots:

Overall really happy with how the truck permormed.

I think this setup is good for light, occasional off-roading which was my initial plan, but I really got bit with the bug and want to build the truck to be a bit more capable...so I will keep this thread updated as I go...