New Off Road Maniac

I had a 2019 ZR2 I bought new and did a bunch of mods to, including BDS 4" and Falken 35" MTs. I sold it reluctantly back in April. Rather than internet search everything on Tundra Mods ( I've done some )..........
Does it come factory with a steel drive shaft?

If not, is there a place where I can order one with factory specs? I prefer to avoid any ole shop fabricating one. That's just my pickiness.

What do you see as the best maker of skid plates? Are plates made for the Rear Dif and where it joins the Drive Shaft, Fuel Tank, Transfer Case, Transmission, and Oil Pan?

I'm planning to do a BDS 7" and 37" rubber. On a Tundra with BDS does the offset of the wheels change? Needed 0 offset on my ZR2. Ran spacers for a while, and hated the feeling of "what ifs". Is there a so called better suspension option than BDS for these Yots?

What are the factory gears and what gear upgrade do you recommend for a good combo of off-roading and pavement use with 37"s?

I'll end my yaking for now. Hoping to find a Quick Sand colored one with a Moonroof and leather.

 

Welcome

 

Welcome!

Don’t think you need a driveshaft upgrade. No real issues with it from those who hardcore offroad.

Skid plate wise there’s a few out there- Rci or cbi offroad has some options

Lift wise you don’t need 7” lift to fit 37s

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Stock driveshaft should be fine.

I believe a lot of people with 37s upgrade to 5.29 gears and that gets them close to stock ratio. Some people keep factory gears but I wouldn't recommend it personally. For pavement and high speed use and overall driving experience as well as transmission longevity, it is best to keep shift points at least close to stock. This will of course also work well offroad.

Can't comment on brands of skid plates but some makers of cat shields make extra thick ones that double as skid plates. Whatever you get, make sure 100% that it covers your cats or you will regret it.

 

A good coilover lift will give you ~ 3” of lift and, with bit of body mount chop, you can fit 37’s. Backspacing of your wheels will determine whether or not you’ll need to run spacers. A lot of us run hub-centric spacers like BORA or Spidertrax without problem.

 

If you plan to go 37s, check out this thread. These will be your people, and they will have way more info than most.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/dirty-seven-club.40397/

 

If it has an Aluminum drive shaft, then I don't want that rubbish underneath mine getting bent. I'll do some internet searches for a steel drive shaft.

 

@Cruzer Wheels harder than anyone. What kind of shaft you got cruzer? lol

 

I have a steel shaft now that I got made from a reputable shop. OP you can check out Tom Woods driveshafts online, they are very well known in the offroad community.
I gave the OEM aluminum driveshaft a thorough beating before it gave up the ghost - I'd recommend you give it a try and hold onto your cash as long as you can.

My truck is on a 7" BDS up front with 6" custom leafsprings at the rear rolling on zero offset wheels and 40s (used to have 39s, and 37s). Do get the body mount chopped (BMC).

"What do you see as the best maker of skid plates? Are plates made for the Rear Dif and where it joins the Drive Shaft, Fuel Tank, Transfer Case, Transmission, and Oil Pan?"

Oil skid: The BDS comes with a skid to protect the oil pan - mines all fucked up but it still does the job - I will eventually replace it with a custom piece of the same shape but just thicker.
Trannsmission: I have the 3/16th Valhalla skid (cat protection) with BDS adapter (I've wheeled for years without a transmission skid only because nobody made one for a BDS lift and that I've never even touched the pan on anything because it's literally tucked way up in the belly because of the bracket lift.
Fuel tank: Victory4x4 hands down
Rear diff: RCI (nobody makes an off the shelf skid that also protects the 3rd member)
TC: Budbuilt (will require some trimming to play nice with the Victory gas skid)

Go with 5.29s - if you're going to do some serious wheeling then you're going to want the torque you get back from the 5.29s. Runs great on the road too.

Click on my build page (click on signature below) to see what I've bought over the years so that you don't make the same co$tly mistakes I made.

EDIT: do get the Victory4x4 rear shock guards

 

I'd listen to this guy ^

 

Outstanding! Thanks man. Any hacking / cutting on the front with the BDS 7" and 40"s to eliminate rubbing? Or, no rubbing?
The front bumper in your pic is the one I'd get. I haven't seen that one yet in my searches. Who makes it?
Do you have a transfer case skid plate?

 

Where are u located? Several friends in SoCal run steel drive lines. The guy they use is well known in the racing community for his drive lines. Personally, I'm not changing mine 'til I need to...... If it ain't broke......

 

I had to trim the fenders near the firewall side and have just enough positive caster to move the wheel forward. Don't go 40s unless you want to spend the money in beefing up the drivetrain.

Bumper is from Demello Offroad.

My TC skid is made by Budbuilt
https://budbuilt.com/Transfer-Case-Skid-Plate-and-Crossmember-2007-2021-Tundra_p_650.html

Also, the driveshaft is a 2 piece, you'll only need the 2nd half replaced with a steel one since the 1st half never sees any damage - well, not much at least.

 

What terrain will you frequent the most?

 

I'm moving to the area of Mountain Home ID. Will be going miles off road in places to camp and fish. It'll vary with amounts of trees.

 

Thanks again man!! Excellent helpful info! I sincerely appreciate it.