Newbie Truck / 4x4 owner in the Mountains of Colorado

new Tundra owner -- just rolled it home from the dealer.

kinda wish I found this forum before purchasing, but here we are.

Silver, SR5 Off Road package, 5.7l V8, 6.5' bed, double cab, "convenience package", spray in liner, hard top, front skid plate added at the dealer so we could roll it all into financing

this is our first 4x4 and our first pickup. we're really fvcking excited.

We live in the mountains of Colorado with our home around 9000' (Coal Creek Canyon for those familiar with the area). It looks like both Colorado, my current home, and North Carolina, my previous home, are well represented on this forum.

Our other car is a 2014 Subaru Outback. The Tundra is replacing a Lexus that we moved here from Carolina

Our primary reasons for purchasing a 4x4 pickup, the Tundra specifically:
1. hauling. we live in the CO mountains about 9000' and need to haul trash and slash, as well as get stuff up to our house
2. off roading. we pushed the Subaru as far it goes in the four years we've had it (further, actually, by the body damage incurred during a creek crossing). we want to go further. I want all the mountain hiking/climbing trail-heads open to me, and we want to be able to do 4x4 roads that are not Subaruable. We considered a jeep but quickly settled on a more practical pickup. we want to do Engineer Pass/ Cinnamon Pass as well as White Rim Road in Canyonlands in the near future. The wife is just as excited about this as I am, maybe more as her knees don't allow her to hike to many of the areas that the kids and I regulary visit.
3. towing (actually, enabling future purchases of more toys). ATVs and snow mobiles and whatever, are all now on the possibility list.

The topics below are my first subjects of interest. if anyone wants to point me to the relevant threads here, or external resources for these, TIA.

1. beginners list of what gear to carry for early off roading adventures. gas cans, water jugs, shovel -- which models are preferred, preferred ways to mount them, what else do I need? I found a few sites listing essentials for off roading, but for Tundra owners on Colorado and Utah roads, what's most important?
2. what's most likely to break on off-roading adventures, i.e. what do I need to be prepared for?
3. I need a resource for basics of technical off road driving. I have a few friends who can come with us on some adventures, but finding some reference 'authority' on do's and don'ts for off-roading, as well as best practices, etc... would be nice. recommended websites? are these reasonable "intro" level 4WD routes, or do we need some practice first? also, the wife is ready to head to the San Juans like next weekend, so I sort of need a crash course.
4. Toolbox. maybe I didn't think this through getting the tri-fold Tonneau hard cover. I thought I wanted a toolbox but they don't seem compatible with the cover. tool bags are the solution?
5. Trailer. something to haul slash as well as the future pair of ATVs or sleds. Recos welcome on how to go about trailer shopping.
6. Second spare tire. some areas we've looked at strongly suggest this (they'll come after we get a few off roading skills developed). how many off roaders pack two spares? what is the preferred mounting scheme? do you rotate the spares on and off the truck as part of tire rotation?
7. Not necessarily looking for an answer but welcome any thoughts: we haven't 100% figured out our winter tire strategy. we currently put studded snow tires on the Outback from Oct - May and wear all-seasons the rest of the year. we don't need studs on two vehicles (last car we alternated between all-seasons and non-studded winter tires), but do need two vehicles to get around in normal winter conditions. thinking we might stick with putting studs on the Outback and using all-seasons year round on the Tundra, carrying chains for big snows, but not sure.
8. Future upgrades. what tires do I want when the stock one's wear out? what shocks?

pix to follow, and more questions too, I'm sure.

 

Welcome from CO. (Fountain), where are you at?

 

Welcome from Texas

 

Welcome from Gunnison.

 

Sharp truck!

 

yep, edited. thanks. biggest engine I've ever owned!

Coal Creek Canyon. nearest town is Pinecliffe, but I'm a few miles East of there.

 

WELCOME

 

Welcome from Texas!

 

Welcome from TX!!

These swing out boxes work with most covers.
https://www.undercoverinfo.com/i-30...senger-side-swingcase-truck-bed-tool-box.html

 

Get it lifted. Toytec makes a good coil over.

 

Welcome from CA

 

Welcome from Ohio!

 

Welcome to the party!!

 

Welcome aboard from another Coloradoan!

 

Welcome from NC!!!

 

Welcome from Arizona.

 

Welcome from an Aurora, CO flatlander at 5280ft!

 

First day, decided we needed to her out on a road that we wouldn't take the Subaru -- Switzerland Trail, near Nederland, CO.

Today, she's going to haul her first load of slash to the transfer station.

 

Great first post.

If you are planning on wheeling alone(single vehicle) I would absolutely add a winch. @sdhq_offroad makes a very nice hidden winch mount for our trucks if you are planning on keeping stock front bumper. Pick up their ABS guards for sure.

Tree-saver straps, shackles and snatch block. (Do your research and get a snatch block that can handle minimum of 2x your winch strength so you can double line pull if necessary.)

Traction boards (just get the ones off Amazon that are like $100)

Shovel, snow chains, basic first aid, fire extinguisher...

An anytime front camera would be nice if you do not have a spotter.

Tundras are big. So they scrape a lot on their belly and high center, full skid plates and rock sliders are needed pretty quickly once you get to any serious off-roading. A high clearance rear bumper also helps these truck a lot on trails due to their length.

A 2-3” coilover lift and 35” tires will help make the truck more capable as well.

Idk what those trails are like you mentioned so some of this stuff may be overkill, or it may not be enough. Depends on how tough the trails are and what you are going to ask the truck to do.

The next level would be gears/lockers. Big investment but if you plan to keep the truck for a long time it will be worth it.

If you are totally new to offroading I would spend a lot of time watching offroading vids on YouTube (Aussie four wheelers is a good channel) and watch how different vehicles/drivers tackle different obstacles.

Good luck.

 

A few of us here near Denver Metro hit the Nederland area. I go up to some nifty old mining road out of Rollinsville or above Central City depending on which direction you head from. Kingston Pass area, and the old Moffat Pass route.

 

Get lots of decent off road lights too. The more the merrier! Some hand held radios come in handy. A lot of us here in CO run with CB, Hams too. Sometimes there is zip for cell signals in these deep canyons we have here. A good cooler or two for extended stays.

 

Welcome from CO.

 

Welcome from Parker CO. Isn’t there a fire by Switzerland trail going on now? At least that’s what I’ve heard, maybe not.

GO CANES!!



Sorry, had to do that

 

Howdy from NM!
That is some sweet double cab goodness!
Bet it's awesome living up in the mountains at 9000'!

 

I saw your username on another thread and feared the worst. looks like I was right. at least you have better taste in trucks than in college teams. We should be able to make this a fun November around here -- even if you're a Cane, it's nice to find anyone in Colorado that actually cares about college sports (ACC! ACC! ACC!).

no fire around Nederland right now, but scary times here in the Colorado mountains.

looked at your sig links -- seriously, nice truck and nice mods.