1st gen Tundra questions?

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Squatch

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I'm throwing around the idea of a 1st gen Tundra to mount my Eagle shell on. I found a 2001 at a decent price with under 100k miles. It's an SR5 TRD with Tow package. It's had the frame recall inspection and spray. Anything else I should be aware of? Other than the huge turning radius. Pro's and con's with a 4WC. Upgrades needed. I like the idea of the light camper on a V8 truck. I think it should also be able to pull my Aluminum bass boat which is under 2k lbs.
 
Should be a great set up!!

Firestone ride right airbags, bill stein 5100 shocks and you're down the road..Plenty of power in the truck but the suspension needs a little help

You may have o2 sensor failure on that truck..happened to my '02 a couple of times, have heard it is a common problem. Check engine light will come on, but truck will run fine.. I have heard that cracked exhaust manifolds are a common problem as well.. Never experienced this myself..

Good luck!!

TT
 
I also upgraded from a Ford Ranger to a 02 Tundra to carry my ATC Bobcat.
It's a AC cab 4x4 Limited TRD,I think it has every option except the sun roof.
We really like it plenty of power and actually I get 15/16 MPG.I can live with that.
I added Firestone air bags that gives me the option to level it side to side.

Has the truck had it's 90k service,timing belt? You might check into that.Also the MAF sensor might need to be cleaned.
A shop wants an hour worth of time to DYI in 10 minutes.

I purchased mine with 122k miles and in almost 4 years I have put 22k more with no problems.
I did have a full fluid change and inspect, auto trans,transfer case,front and read diff.
Well worth the $250 Toyota charged me. The only part replacement I have had yo do was the driver side front half shaft for the 4x4.
It's an easy DYI.

Good luck with your "new" truck.
Frank
 
You should have plenty of power with the 4.7 mine has the 4.0 and it does ok, not a lot of power to spare though. As mentioned rear suspension will need to be beefed up. Some people love the air systems, I used super springs on mine and they work pretty well. If I had it to do over, I would get custom H.D. spring packs installed, on rare occasions the super springs will bottom out. Get heavy duty shocks also.
 
Big Red flag came up on the one I was looking at after emailing with the guy. I still like the concept though. For now I'll continue on with what I have and keep my eyes open.

Thanks for the feed back.
 
Another 1st gen happy owner here! 2006 AC cab 4x4 with Ride Rites and sway bar. Has worked great. Having a V8 offers plenty of power for passing if needed. Like Frank I can get 15/16 mpg, but when four wheeling, I've seen it go down to 10mpg. Turning radius is wide, as you have noted.
 
Squatch said:
I'm throwing around the idea of a 1st gen Tundra to mount my Eagle shell on. I found a 2001 at a decent price with under 100k miles. It's an SR5 TRD with Tow package. It's had the frame recall inspection and spray. Anything else I should be aware of? Other than the huge turning radius. Pro's and con's with a 4WC. Upgrades needed. I like the idea of the light camper on a V8 truck. I think it should also be able to pull my Aluminum bass boat which is under 2k lbs.
Click to expand...
You should have plenty of power with a Tundra for an Eagle shell. I had an Eagle shell on my 3.4 Tacoma and it did fine. Shells are super light.
 
At that mileage you will want to make sure the timing belt is replaced. The Transmission service is done. You will want to make sure the front rotors are not warped. The early 2000;s had a issue with that.
 
2005 Tundra bought at 80K, have 115K, carry an Ocelot. Echoing the others basically. Had an 05 Tacoma that we loved, but the extra room and V8 power to carry a camper have been great. Get 15/16 with the camper on. Can roll at 70 easily on the interstate with lower mileage. I think if you keep looking and might be willing to travel, you can find a very good 1st gen Tundra with decent miles on it.
Ride Rights are great and E rated tires.
 
1st gen tundra with an eagle shell would be an awesome combination. the eagle fits really tight and clean in the 1st gen, my neighbor has that set up (eagle camper though). I had a hawk in my 02 AC for years (hawk is a little big looking to the truck) and it was a great combo, i did just upgrade my camper truck to a RAM2500, but i kept my 02 tundra and returned it to daily driver/shop truck duty and sold my shop truck 99 Tacoma. the 1st gen tundra IMHO is the best truck Toyota made to date.

for sure ride right air bags at a minimum (even though it is a shell, still will need them you will find) and since shocs probably need replacing anyway after 100K, i would look at bilsteen 5100 with rear add a leaf (slightly higher stance) which is what i did. but set my neighbor up with old man emu and add a leaf. if i did my own truck over, id go old man emu
 
I have a 2005 Tundra TRD AC with a 2013 Hawk. If you are looking try to find a 2005 or 2006 Tundra with the variable valve timing. I bought mine new, if I used my 20/20 hind sight I would have got a double cab. Grandkids are getting bigger and would like a full double cab. Next truck will be a 3/4 ton double cab; I wish Toyota would make one. Lot's of information on First generation Tundras here. My Hawk does set high on the AC, but I plan on having the camper longer than the Tundra. Must have's are air bags, E tires and a Helwig sway bar.
 
I have a 2012 Hawk on my '02 AC Tundra, 180K miles. Runs great!. Ditto all the above comments. Also, be aware of braking conditions. The brakes seem a little inferior when stopping with camper onboard. I think you can upgrade to larger brakes if you choose to. Like Bill, when the time comes I plan to upgrade to a 3/4 ton. The tundra handles the camper pretty good with air bags and E tires, but a 3/4 ton will (I believe) handle the weight much better. If Toyota made a 3/4 ton I would be first in line.
 
Ill add to the list of happy first gen Tundra owners. Sold my Dodge Cummins and bought my tuck cash with 165k miles on it. Like one other poster said, check the brakes as these were a weak link and upgraded in 2004. If the brakes need changing upgrade to the 2004 or up model year. The hardest part is trimming some of the brake shield.

Since you backed out of the deal you should really try to get a 2005 or 2006. This is the best model year IMO because you get the VVTI with extra power, better brakes, full dual cab if you want it and a great modern 5 speed transmission. It improves gas mileage and feels great.

Good luck on the hunt.



Oh ya. I went cheap using Timbrens and actually really like them.
 
I agree with the first gen brake issues, They were way under sized!

Once while driving in the Colorado mountains with a cab full of people (3 adults & 2 kids) I almost lost the brakes in my Tundra. They overheated, started shuddering and scared the crap out of me! Drove like my Grandma the rest of the way home!

Toyota even borrowed my truck at one point to drive it with Toyota engineers to test the brakes performance. Turned out I wasn't the only one having issues.
 
We love our 05 tundra with a used 03 Grandby shell. Bought truck new, just turned 75k! Only used for camping and hauling firewood. Now it's full time with camper. I had Firestone ride rites put on in 06 and IMHO they are a pita. They do the job but if I had to do it over again I'd go with add a leafs. I've had bags blow, bag shackles literally disintegrate until I installed aircraft grade bolts, air valves fail at least once a year....definitely not the most dependable. Might be that I take it places that are considered rough but plenty others on this forum do much, much worse. I wish Toyota made a 3/4 ton and then it just wouldn't be an issue. I rarely get over 14 mpg unlike other folks cuz the Grandby sticks up abit above the cab and I get abit of buffeting. I haven't gotten around to making an air dam yet. That and I have all kinds of crap hanging off of it....the proverbial Joad mobile!
 
My 03AC/97Ranger II combo has been good. Done a few tweaks and need to do some more. Bilstein 5100 shocks all around and 3pc wheelers HD add a leaf in the rear. Air bags are next, but happy with it all, gas mileage can always be better
 
Mushhuskies said:
We love our 05 tundra with a used 03 Grandby shell. Bought truck new, just turned 75k! Only used for camping and hauling firewood. Now it's full time with camper. I had Firestone ride rites put on in 06 and IMHO they are a pita. They do the job but if I had to do it over again I'd go with add a leafs. I've had bags blow, bag shackles literally disintegrate until I installed aircraft grade bolts, air valves fail at least once a year....definitely not the most dependable. Might be that I take it places that are considered rough but plenty others on this forum do much, much worse. I wish Toyota made a 3/4 ton and then it just wouldn't be an issue. I rarely get over 14 mpg unlike other folks cuz the Grandby sticks up abit above the cab and I get abit of buffeting. I haven't gotten around to making an air dam yet. That and I have all kinds of crap hanging off of it....the proverbial Joad mobile!
Click to expand...
I had the same experiences with bags. Installed Roadmaster Active Suspension and had zero problems. Not a bag fan because of the experienced failures.
 
I have a 2006 Tundra AC 4x4 TRD w/ towing package and a Skamper popup. I also have Happijack turnbuckles. How are you mounting your campers to your 1st gen Tundra Access cabs? Front and rear mounting points? I see the Torklift mounts (+/- $600). What other options are there? Anybody using Happijack universal bumper mounts?
 
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