Tacoed Tundra project

Might get lucky and find one with 4.10 or 4.30 gears. That would benefit you a lot. LSD too, if you don't already have one. Probably more beneficial than healers and duals.

 

Like this?

 

I have a Pioneer touch screen like that. 2 actually. But that one looks newer than mine.

 

I can’t take credit, not my pics https://www.tundras.com/threads/1st-gen-lunch-table-general-discussion.60450/page-1740#post-3331812

 

I currently do have 4.10 gears! I was tempted to go with a LSD when i swapped in my 4.10s, but after talking with one of my friends, he told me that i wouldn’t be very happy with a LSD in this truck. Reason being is that he knows i have a whole bunch of lockers and LSDs in my various rigs. I conceded that he was right so i simply left my diff open until i save up enough $$$$ for an ARB or E locker. I’d rather have a winch and winch bumper first though.

 

Definitely not as aesthetically pleasing as the short bed, but definitely LOTS more useful for hauling shtuff.

 

Sounds like you gotta good plan. In that case, go for the headers and duals when ready. Stay the course

 

I'm a bit jealous of that wood you have stockpiled there. I didn't get to go cut this year because of baby, and the price for a cord is outrageous ($550).

 

Fuuuuufifty?!!! Whole-lee smokes! I had absolutely no idea wood costs that much.
Then again if i add up the fuel cost for the drive there and back, cost of chainsaws (because you can’t have just one saw, and i recently placed an order for yet another new saw), sharpening chains, log splitter, 2T oil, E free gas, advil, and a masseuse. Luckily for me this wood is only located about 20 miles away from where i live...AND that it’s easily accessible.

 

Nice kit! I'm amateur level, only getting 2 cords a year. I only have one saw but team up and usually someone has a spare if needed. I do love my Stihl though.
No kidding. Prices are insane. I'm just gonna have to burn through my whole stash sparingly. I thought I found a "deal" on some wood for $400 delivered and the stuff looked like they grabbed it out of the dump. I made them stop unloading and take it back.

 

I brought home another load of wood today. After i loaded up the trailer, i took a detour to go visit one of my friends...and to see if i could scope out any more down trees while i was at it. I didn’t take any pics, but his neighbor literally got decimated by the winter storm last month! There a bunch of different tree services out working in his area. Like really big equipment. I’m getting in just the small neighborhood that he lives in, there’s probably over 100 trees that blew over. LOTS and LOTS of houses got crushed, including a few houses that i’ve done remodel projects on in the past. Some houses had multiple trees fall on them!

Turns out a free also fell on my friend’s rental house (that’s next door to his own house). Another tree also fell on his boat. And another tree on his shop...and his van, and his trailer, ect.

The best story that he told me was-
a tree at one end of the block fell over and took out the power lines...while at the same time the tree’s root ball then ruptured the natural gas line. The power line created sparks which ignited the nature gas, which then exploded underground, blowing a 7” hole through the pavement (up from 8’ underground)...which then caused the gas meter head to blow off from his neighbor who was located on the other side of his house. Well needless to say, that meter head caught on fire as well. Since the meter was facing the neighbor’s house, it was essentially a flamethrower blasting directly at that house! Luckily the fire department was already there to put out the first fire at the other end of the block, so all they had to do was drive another 50 meters to put out the house fire.

Yeah, i should have taken pics, but i was a bit too gobsmacked at the time.

 

This is awesome

 

I see you're running a 660, what are the other two? Must be newer since no plate on the filter cover?

 

MS660 with a Bark Box muffler and a full wrap handle, MS362 with a full wrap handle, and a itty bitty lil' MS180. All three saws are the carb version. The 660 i usually have a 25" bar on it, but i have longer ones too. The 362 usually has a 20" bar, but sometimes i use a 25". The ms180 is REALLY handy for limbing some of the small stuff off the trees. My favorite saw has to be the 362. I just really like the power to weight ratio. I ordered up a new MS261 (carb version) from my local saw shop with a shorty 14" bar, but for some reason it hasn't shown up yet...and that was months ago. I've checked in with them a few times about it too. I wonder if i just have to break down and purchase the M-tronic version instead? Seems like people are either for it or against it. I have zero experience with it and i just want something that's reliable. My plan is to use the 261 in place of the light duty 180.

I did buy on of the last MS440 saws after stihl rereleased them years ago. Turned out i didn't like that saw at all. I used it for maybe a couple cords then resold it on craigslist (for pretty much what i paid for it). It was actually a pretty crazy event when i sold the saw. I met some random craiglist guy at a gas station next to a pancake shop. But right before the buyer showed up, some random haggard old timer walked right up to me face and started half yelling, half slurring. I literally couldn't understand one word. I think he was 100% drunk and 100% metal case! Anyhow he snatches the saw right out of my hands and started waving it around in the air. I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but i felt safe and was thoroughly entertained at the same time. Finally his speech slowed down a little bit and i could understand what he was saying..."YER CUTCH YER DANG BALLZ ORFF!!!" He had a huge grin on his face and then he brought up his hand...his two fingered hand. Everyone had a great laugh after that. I'm sure that guy must have been an old time logger and appreciated seeing a nice chainsaw. About two minutes later the buyer showed up. End of story.

 

Haha that's a great story. Those old school loggers and forestry guys really made it through some wild stuff, if they made it through. I'm an arborist and it's still very dangerous work, but way safer than it was. I have older friends that all have seen serious injuries or lost friends or both.

Sounds like a good all around setup. I have no experience with the m-tronic 261s, but we run plenty of 362s and 201s with it, and a couple 661s, and for the most part they are pretty reliable. You have to do a factory reset every once in a while but that, and other routine maintenance, usually covers it. Only downside is they aren't as easy to work on yourself if something goes wrong. We have both a 362 and 460 on our truck - my older buddy always grabs the 460 because that's what he used for ever, but I prefer the 362 all day. Lighter, better balanced, and power difference is almost unnoticeable. Never run a 261 but I have an older 260 that has been a good saw for around the house stuff.

Anyways. Thanks for sharing, I always get excited to see saws.

 

@whodatschrome
Been meaning to ask you how the long term shake-down is going on your build.
By now you've gotten a few miles on her.... how is she taking to the big transition?

 

I’m liking pretty much everything about the truck.The only down side is the v8 fuel economy. When compared to a full sized american pick’em up truck, the 1st gen is somewhat diminutive in comparison, yet gets about the same fuel mileage. Like that’s my only grip. I do drive VERY conservatively, but i do have larger 265/75-16 BFG AT’s, and that’s what is drinking the fuel.

I really like my suspension height...which is stock. I hate lifted work trucks because that means the bed sides are that much harder to reach over, and the bed floor is that much higher off the ground. My truck does see a decent about of offroad work, but i don’t need the extra height from a lift kit to get me through where i’m going. Just oversized tires to give my axles some more ground clearance underneath them.

I do want to add more steel to my headache rack sometime this summer. Currently there’s no protection for the back glass. I’d also like to install a winch and winch bumper too. It would be a tool that would get used frequently on this truck. I do like the Tacoma’s ARB version the best. I have zero need for a high clearance front bumper, and a lower clearance bumper would actually give the truck a bit more protection from a deer strike.

I was driving the truck this afternoon in the lovely sunny weather, and i’m really digging the whole bat wing extending sun visors...a LOT. The seat feels comfy as well. Sometimes it’s the little things that really stand out. Since i have a center console, it’s actually at the perfect height for resting my right arm. in fact it’s waaay better than the seat’s armrest.

I still have the stock radio/cd player installed. The cd player doesn’t eject discs, so i don’t ever use it. I usually just mellow out to classical music when driving. That or some jazz funk, which was playing on the fm station today. At least for me, it’s difficult to drive aggressively when listening to non aggressive music. Plus i enjoy just having a mellow drive. If someone wants to cut me off on the highway, go right ahead. It don’t faze me none. i just that sort of monkey business go. I got better things in life to focus on rather than someone i’ll never see again.

I’m liking both ABS and swaybar delete. And that’s coming from a guy who severely overloads the bed with weight.

The plush highway suspension is very nice...on the highway. The rear springs are waaaaay too soft for the loads i haul. But i already knew that all toyota trucks have soft rear springs.

I’ve been wanting to installed a pair of Firestone airbags since day one, but their kits seemed to have doubled in price in the 8 years. I remember back when you could buy an airbag kit for $230! I did have an epiphany a couple days ago...i realized that i had a pair of firestone airbags in the rear of my wrecked 12 valve dodge Cummins. With a quick google search, i found that i could buy all the Firestone brackets separately. And since the dodge and the tundra use the same airbag part number, i will be into piecemealing my airbag kit together for $165!

 

I hauled a couple more loads of wood both yesterday and today. It’s definitely time for some airbags! I was slightly tempted to just get heavier spring packs, but i absolutely do not want my truck lifted!





Check out the bumpstop. It’s squished tight to the frame. I just kept loading round after round of wood in the bed. In no time all i was bumpin. And then i loaded more wood..and then i hooked the trailer full of wood on the hitch. So yeah, just cruising down the highway the suspension was fully compressed the whole time.

 

Your in Oregon... I highly recommend Wheeler's off road progressive AAL. They are an Oregon based company and their AALs are the best, bar none. Just delete the stock overload and you won't gain but maybe 0.5". The Wheeler's AALs are 1mm thicker leafs than the icon AALs, so they can hold weight much better.
Also you'd be a good candidate to upgrade your stock bumpstops to SumoSprings.

 

S

I appreciate the recommendations. But since i already have the airbags i’m going to start out with using them first. Yes, the brackets did cost me $165, but it’s a fairly low buy in.

 

And i guess there’s no real rush anymore to weld in a rear window protector on my existing headache rack...

 

That sucks.
I have 2 of those on my permanent record, granted that's been over 38yrs in trades.

 

I know this is #2 with this truck too. The reason being is when i stripped out the entire interior (when i first bought the truck), there was TONS of broken chunks of glass hiding behind the rear seats and under the carpet. Almost as if all three sections were broken.

I did find a quick way to temporary fix the missing section of glass...well kinda fix. Now i just need to temporary patch the center portion of the glass.

 

Wait... I thought you only busted the right side. What happened to the center?

Edit: oh you put the center glass over to the right...

 

Yeah, i was being a smart alack. I ended up finding a sheet of 1/4” plexiglass in my shop. I caulked it i to place. It definitely give the tundra a “ghetto work truck” looks with patched. I’ll have to post up a pick. It’s pretty bad.

 

And as an update, i finally check what sort of fuel economy i get while hauling and towing...

First off, I normally drive very conservatively...whether the truck is empty or when i’m towing (55mph). Combined MPG while driving over to where i get my firewood and then back home loaded up to the gills in both the bed and trailer, i got 8.76 MPG on the last tank! Keep in mind that i also have to drive up and down hills to get home (sea level to 750’). So the tundra almost gets as good mpg as my 1977 ford lowboy 4x4 v8 460. And my 12 valve dodge cummins would probably get closer to 15mpg when towing that same weight.

 

Yeah that's a lot of weight you tow too.
I can't remember if you said you regeared.
I scored some 4.10's and ordered a TruTrac the other day. I can't wait to get it all installed.

Those diesels get great milage.
My 06 Tundra is only good for like 12mpg without towing anything. Armor and big tires though, plus 4.56's

 

yes, i have 4.10s. I’m purposefully trying to not armor up my truck just because i know just how fast the weight adds up!

 

So i got me a new saw...wanna see my saw? I’m pretty exited about it. It’s a MS261 (carb version) with a very short 16” bar and a narrow .325” .50ga RSC chain (with the yellow strap, NOT the green). I bought it a couple weeks ago and i finally got a chance to use it today and cut about a cord of wood with it. It has a pretty amazing power to weight ratio! I didn’t even bother to fire up my ms362 saw for some of the thicker trees. I especially wanted a light saw and a short bar for limbing downed trees. Yes, i could put a 20” bar on it, but then it would change the whole balance of the saw. So yeah, i’m REALLY loving the saw! The only downside is that since it’s lighter weight, i now get less of a workout....