[RRzxter]

I wouldn't pick a Tundra to build a serious trail or off-road rig. And if picking from all the Tundra platforms, a loaded CM would be the last pick.
I get it, it's not about anything other than a truck to showcase products and get people who own a Tundra to go ooohh-aahhh and whip out their wallet for a bunch of crap they will never realistically have a use for.
Just being a dick.
The Tundra is built to be a work truck. It's already large and heavy. Adding to the weight and raising the center of gravity with lift kits, over sized tires, heavy add-ons, etc, in my mind just handicaps the truck. It amazes me, how much money people spend for that "off-road look" and their truck will never see conditions that a stock truck can't handle with ease. But that's what keeps these companies in business, I guess.
I love the Tundra, but if I had to build a vehicle for serious off-road chores, I'd pick a much smaller, more versatile and capable vehicle for the task. And certainly wouldn't pick the "limited" or "platinum" trim level.
BTW, I tried finding videos of modified Tundras doing extreme off-roading. I only found vids of people with mall crawler lifts and ghetto-fabulous wheels, doing donuts on the beach,....or traversing the raging rapids of a 4" deep stream.
Oh, and a few vids of some RC car Tundras :laugh:
There's a reason a Tundra isn't the first choice for real overland/trail/rock crawling rig, etc. Same reason for not picking any of the other full-size trucks. Full size trucks are set up to either be a work truck, or a luxury daily commuter. Not the best platform for an off-road rig.
They're a great billboard for selling products though.

 

[Hicklebunny]

I wouldn't pick a Tundra to build a serious trail or off-road rig. And if picking from all the Tundra platforms, a loaded CM would be the last pick.
I get it, it's not about anything other than a truck to showcase products and get people who own a Tundra to go ooohh-aahhh and whip out their wallet for a bunch of crap they will never realistically have a use for.
Just being a dick.
The Tundra is built to be a work truck. It's already large and heavy. Adding to the weight and raising the center of gravity with lift kits, over sized tires, heavy add-ons, etc, in my mind just handicaps the truck. It amazes me, how much money people spend for that "off-road look" and their truck will never see conditions that a stock truck can't handle with ease. But that's what keeps these companies in business, I guess.
I love the Tundra, but if I had to build a vehicle for serious off-road chores, I'd pick a much smaller, more versatile and capable vehicle for the task. And certainly wouldn't pick the "limited" or "platinum" trim level.
BTW, I tried finding videos of modified Tundras doing extreme off-roading. I only found vids of people with mall crawler lifts and ghetto-fabulous wheels, doing donuts on the beach,....or traversing the raging rapids of a 4" deep stream.
Oh, and a few vids of some RC car Tundras <img src="http://tundratalk.net/forums/images/TundraTalk_net/smilies/tango_face_smile_big.png" border="0" alt="" title="Laugh" class="inlineimg" />
There's a reason a Tundra isn't the first choice for real overland/trail/rock crawling rig, etc. Same reason for not picking any of the other full-size trucks. Full size trucks are set up to either be a work truck, or a luxury daily commuter. Not the best platform for an off-road rig.
They're a great billboard for selling products though.

Toyota is one of their sponsors. They have already modified other Toyota products, i think the Tundra was a logical choice in the company line-up, but not logical for off-road tight trails.

 

[RRzxter]

Toyota is one of their sponsors. They have already modified other Toyota products, i think the Tundra was a logical choice in the company line-up, but not logical for off-road tight trails.

Right. There was a whole segment of customers they were not capitalizing on. I get it.

 

[Hicklebunny]

the trip to south America wasn't exactly hard core. They chose AT tires rather than MT, i think a winch was used twice.
Compare that to previous adventures and it appears they are becoming soft to appeal to a larger audience.

https://youtu.be/TO5hQ6ShDYI

 

[RRzxter]

That whole video was of everything but wheelin footage.
And the tiny portion of it that did show soft core off-roading,....90% of it was showing them trying to get unstuck from 3" of mud! :laugh:

General did a poor job of finding a bunch of mooyuks to sponsor and advertise their tires. Here's a vid of us NOT being able to get through mild mud in our sponsor's tires. Brilliant.

I liked the other vid of the aussies off-roading. None of them had full-size trucks,....or mall-crawler A/T tires.

 

[Hicklebunny]

That whole video was of everything but wheelin footage.
And the tiny portion of it that did show soft core off-roading,....90% of it was showing them trying to get unstuck from 3" of mud! <img src="http://tundratalk.net/forums/images/TundraTalk_net/smilies/tango_face_smile_big.png" border="0" alt="" title="Laugh" class="inlineimg" />

General did a poor job of finding a bunch of mooyuks to sponsor and advertise their tires. Here's a vid of us NOT being able to get through mild mud in our sponsor's tires. Brilliant.

I liked the other vid of the aussies off-roading. None of them had full-size trucks,....or mall-crawler A/T tires.

The Aussies break axles, roll their trucks over, drive through deep water, but sometimes I need to turn on subtitles.

 

[RRzxter]

While I was trying to find footage of the elusive hardcore off-roading Tundra, I buzzed through a vid that was just a slide show of all different modified Tundras.
One was lowered, had ghetto wheels and low profile street tires,..........and a deep water fording intake. I about pissed my pants. I'll try to find it again.

 

[Hicklebunny]

While I was trying to find footage of the elusive hardcore off-roading Tundra, I buzzed through a vid that was just a slide show of all different modified Tundras.
One was lowered, had ghetto wheels and low profile street tires,..........and a deep water fording intake. I about pissed my pants. I'll try to find it again.

Maybe it was owned by a prepper living in New Orleans, waiting for the next flood.

 

[polaris425]

They've built some interesting vehicles in that past for sure, pretty cool to see what they do with a tundra.

 

[RRzxter]

@ the 40 sec mark....

 

[SLOTundra]

I'm looking foward to see if they actually overland the Tundra on this adventure. It should be interesting to see how a tundra weighed down with thousands of pounds of accessories will do off road, thats if they get back into off-roading like they did in their earlier series.

 

[RRzxter]

That's why I'm pessimistic, judgmental and not very supportive or enthusiastic about stuff like this.
Some of these shows start out entertaining and somewhat authentic and by the 3rd season, all they are is a 30 min commercial for their sponsors with no real entertainment or educational value. Most shows simply start out that way now.
How many of us working slobs have the time and money to by a $50k loaded CM and put another $30k in mods into it and then overland it and trail it around the world?
It's all silly. Only these guys who are sponsored, have the time and money to build and use these vehicles. And they don't even really use them. They trailer them around to shows, to advertise all the product they bolted on. Then we ooh and ahh and maybe we buy a HD winch bumper, fender flares and a ghetto-fabulous "lift kit"......so the truck can sit in the driveway and the parking lot at work.
Leave the Tundra a work truck. Spend the money on a trailer, go buy an old jeep or FJ and take it out to the country and beat the crap out of it and have some fun. Put the winch and mud tires on the actual off-road vehicle.

 

[Hicklebunny]

That's why I'm pessimistic, judgmental and not very supportive or enthusiastic about stuff like this.
Some of these shows start out entertaining and somewhat authentic and by the 3rd season, all they are is a 30 min commercial for their sponsors with no real entertainment or educational value. Most shows simply start out that way now.
How many of us working slobs have the time and money to by a $50k loaded CM and put another $30k in mods into it and then overland it and trail it around the world?
It's all silly. Only these guys who are sponsored, have the time and money to build and use these vehicles. And they don't even really use them. They trailer them around to shows, to advertise all the product they bolted on. Then we ooh and ahh and maybe we buy a HD winch bumper, fender flares and a ghetto-fabulous "lift kit"......so the truck can sit in the driveway and the parking lot at work.
Leave the Tundra a work truck. Spend the money on a trailer, go buy an old jeep or FJ and take it out to the country and beat the crap out of it and have some fun. Put the winch and mud tires on the actual off-road vehicle.

Or an ATV.
I think it's amusing to see all the modifications that go into a pickup truck to go down a trail that an off the showroom floor ATV can handle with ease.

 

[RRzxter]

A guy I work with has a 2012 blacked out Harley edition Ford. Not sure if it's a 250 or 350, but it has the solid front axle.
Anyway, has a ridiculous lift on it, custom wheels, mud tires, the whole ghetto mall crawler 9 yards.
He got it stuck in some mud, dropping off a friend's boat (maybe a 20' open bow, not a big boat) at their father's farm for storage.
Blew up the tranny and front end, trying to get out.
All that money to jack it up in the air and fit bigger mud tires on it,.......to drive it around on pavement 99.9% of the time, because he thinks it looks cool. Then he actually tries using it in mud and it blows up. Cost another wad of cash to get it fixed so he could use that lift and big mud tires for blacktop again.

 

[RRzxter]

Another moronic thing about the lift kit phenomenon,....and his truck is the perfect example,....
His truck is probably a good 12" higher off the ground than stock,....just to fit tires that are a few inches taller and an inch wider.
But his differentials are only an inch or 2 higher than they were when the truck was stock.
All that money for a 1.5" gain in actual ground clearance and his truck looks like it would flip over in a fast turn.
Idiotic.

 

[GEOTundra]

I don't really understand the opinions here. Have you not read any of the other forum sections about suspension and offroad? Where do I start?

Cost of this build - There are tons of people with the cash to take a loaded CM and do it up properly. Most of them just have a $40,000 camper they pull behind it. I hate trailers. So I built my Tundra as an "overland" camper. As much as I don't like saying I "overland", I use my truck for work and play, and I don't want to pull a trailer when I'm at work, and I get a chance for a few days of remote camping and exploring.

Overland - I wouldn't say its "offloading" as much as exploring the backcountry and backroads and trails of more remote locations. I didn't take my Tundra on Metal Masher or Pritchett Canyon in Moab last week, but we did drive the White Rim and half way to The Maze, Lathrop Canyon, and Taylor Canyon. Not improved roads, and not for a stock vehicle in MANY spots.

I have a 2016 CM Platinum. I want sliders and front and rear bumpers for amor and higher clearance, and a tighter spare tire carrier. I run the Wilco Hitchgate at the moment, but it does extend out a foot or so and adds leverage to the rear leaf pack I'm running. I want higher clearance approach and departure angles for tighter trails. and honestly, I don't need a winch, but it'll be handy and I had my Fox front done with heavier coils to take the weight when I add it. Sliders are nice to avoid damage, and I'll be going to Baja and back to Moab in the next 12 months. I want to run Hells Revenge when I'm back to see if it fits, so sliders will be handy.

If I was building a trailer queen rock Jeep or Buggy, those are different animals. As a field geologist and prospector (amateur) I am often out in remote areas with my truck, and with a RTT, canopy, shower, GZ 1400 powerset and solar panels, recovery gear including a large floor jack, camping gear, and work gear, I'm at or over rated weight already. And Probably not much off the build in the videos. My truck does just fine on Alberta forestry and oil roads, mountain trails, and in 4 Low crawling around tippy ledge roads and climbing gravely slick rock. I just need heavier springs for the weight. I'm running ultralight with my gear right now to make the Icon springs work until Deavers get here.

And as I mentioned, I don't like calling my Tundra an "overland" build, because I don't do the 6 month vacations I would think "overland" is meant for. But I have built a more capable exploring rig with built in camping gear out of my truck, and the recent "overland" vernacular best describes it to people.

I like this build and the videos. Interesting stuff and some good ideas, also some I don't really agree with.

 

[RRzxter]

Sir, you don't have to justify anything you do to your truck. I'm just a crabass with an opinion.
Besides, if you modify your truck and actually make use of those mods and aren't just doing it for a "look", so you can post pics of it sitting in your driveway, then you aren't the people I'm picking on.

 

[GEOTundra]

Sir, you don't have to justify anything you do to your truck. I'm just a crabass with an opinion.
Besides, if you modify your truck and actually make use of those mods and aren't just doing it for a "look", so you can post pics of it sitting in your driveway, then you aren't the people I'm picking on.

I get that. And all good! LMAO! Just saying we do exist. I know a ton of people that do the "look thing". My neighbour has a 7 inch BDS lift with 37 inch tires and he builds kitchens. In the city. And tows a trailer on days off. In the mountains. On highways.

I got over the "lift" thing years ago when I built my first Carli equipped Ram with quality suspension. The same reason I sold the 20's off my truck to install the 17" wheels. Performance over bling. (although I do like the bling factor of these wheels more anyway).

 

[Hicklebunny]

Sir, you don't have to justify anything you do to your truck. I'm just a crabass with an opinion.
Besides, if you modify your truck and actually make use of those mods and aren't just doing it for a "look", so you can post pics of it sitting in your driveway, then you aren't the people I'm picking on.

You don't need to buy bigger tires but airing down for pothole season might be wise.

 

[mts6175]

Man, some of y'all are bitter......