2003 Access Cab 4x4 Daily Driver Bulletproof Fun Surfing Camp Paid For Truck

Hey all,

Sold my lovely 2014. Got rid of the payment, and bought a 2003 with the money I made from Carvana. They gave me more than I paid for my 2014 a year+ ago... hence, free new truck.

Anyway, this 2003 is...nice?? One owner, garage kept Houston truck. The owner didn't have any maintenance records and certainly had never heard of this site. For instance, the timing belt wasn't replaced until I bought it with 204,000 MILES. It isn't mint, has some beauty marks, but the frame is in good condition and after my polish and wax, the paint is in pretty good condition as well.

My goal for this truck: Bulletproof fun camping surf do it all truck. I need to be able to take this cross country. To camp on the beach in it. It wasn't expensive.

I like that I'll probably do all the mods I want to it. What I don't like is that it has 200k and modding a 200k truck can make one question their well being.

Maintenance:
-Front diff flush @205k
-Rear diff flush @205k
-Timing belt and pulleys replaced @205k
-Water pump replaced @205k
-LCA Bushings replaced @210k
-Cam Bolts replaced @210k

Mods:
-SCS F5 17x9 -38: GONE
-305/70/17 Ridge Grapplers: GONE
-TRD SEMA 17x8
-285/75/17 BFG KO2 Load C
-Front: Dobinson IFP Front Coilovers with 314 Springs and SPC UCA set to 164mm (stock coil height). Also, Energy Suspension adapter.
-JVC Single Din Head Unit
-Hertz Speakers
-Leer Camper Shell
-Prinsu Camper Rack

Future mods?:
Diode Dynamic Fogs
HELLA Spot/Floods
Water system in the bed for washing me/KTM/wetsuit whatever

Pic of the 2014 towing 2003:


Pic of 2014 towing 2003 2hr later:


Pic of the truck listed on FB:


Detailed it:





Took the horrendous chrome fender trim off and detailed some more (not the wheels):



Took it on the beach for a fire



Got Dobinson IFP Front Coilovers with 314 Springs and SPC UCA installed



Immediately romped 40mi down Padre Island, realizing I have little down travel due to my lack of steel bumper/weight up front. Kinda bummed, but guys at Dobinson are telling me this will be resolved when my bumper comes in...



Bought the SCS at 8:04PM after their 8PM drop because I am a loser. Wheels installed:





Yes, it is leaning like crazy. Yes, I am probably going to order rear suspension after I finish this post.

What do ya'll think?

 

That's a good looking rig man.

 

My next steps are ensuring LBJ, CV joints, etc are all taken care of.

Needs radiator replaced.

Needs tranny fluid and brake fluid flushed.

Needs muffler replaced. (to remain stock or not??? ) I want just a lil something something no drone or obnoxious noise.

 

Thanks!

 

Nice..! Looking forward to updates on this one. You’ve done well..

 

Excellent! No car payments = custom truck comin' up! Also looking forward to see where you take it.

 

Yep! Debt free Thank ya

 

@FirstGenVol do you know anybody who has bought the ICON 3 leaf AAL and was satisfied? You're about the only one I can find who has installed it. Just not sure if you are a one-off situation.

edit: your thread has helped me with some things so appreciate it.

 

Nice job on the truck! How are those surf breakers in Texas?

 

Thanks! We get some fun ones!!!

Edit: some of your posts have helped as well- thanks!

 

Congrats on the 1st Gen. I love when folks sell those other gens to buy an OG, 1st Gen. I don't want to be too critical, but this thread belongs here. Looking forward to seeing your build progress with lots of posts in the Trip Reports section too.

 

Nice truck! Adding either the icon or wheeler 3 leaf AAL is on my short list. So interested if anyone has feedback as well. With a canopy and gear I think it would be a good fit.

 

I haven't talked to anyone happy with the ICON AAL that I can remember. Several people have been happy with Wheelers though. That's the route I would go. Honestly though, these trucks are getting to the age it makes more sense just to do new leaf packs.

 

ah, sorry about that. And yes- the 2014 was nice and I LOVE the 5.7L but low cost is hard to beat.

 

Nice truck!

 

Looks nice so far. I would suggest lowering those coilovers though, your axles are running as if you're close to droop.

 

How do I move this to the right section?

Thanks for the input. Wheelers is out of stock which is why I was asking. Perhaps I will go with Toytec. More $$$ though. It is hard to swallow $1000 for leafs- I'm just not sure it would be worth it for me. I'll have to look into this.

Thanks man!

 

I was curious about this. I am no suspension guru- ANY help is appreciated. Customer service at Dobinsons advised set to 164mm (stock coil height), which has been done, otherwise the sway bar could bind. I will probably remove the sway bar tomorrow anyway. I'm curious if removing sway bar will make it ok to lower the seat? I'm showing my ignorance here.

Also, the springs are for the weight of a bumper/winch... neither of which I have yet. Dobinsons customer service told me that would alleviate the issue. It is unfair for me to find a verdict on the set up until I have the bumper.

I highly recommend @crikeymike, who has been beyond helpful. Thanks Mike!!! I actually owe him an email on this topic...

 

I'm not sure. Aren't there moderators that can do it? Anyone out there that can help?..........

 

I’ve been happy with the icon AAL. But you really need to watch the clamps and make sure they aren’t rubbing or you get a squeak from hell

 

Thanks for chiming in. Did you get the 1.5-2" of lift? PS... sweet truck, love the cement

 

We are all here to learn.

I would wager that if you measure from the center of your hub to the lip of your fender, you are probably in the ballpark of 24 inches, which is roughly 4 inches of lift. With any first gen, and 4x4 especially, you don't want more than 2 inches of lift ideally from a coilover. Going this high causes ball joints to wear quicker, you found that you don't have much down travel already, cv boots will tear, and it makes the ride a bit twitchy. My truck was once exactly like that.

You can carefully lower the spring perch to get that hub to fender down to the neighborhood of 22 inches. Then when you get a bumper you can adjust them back up.

Your truck will ride nicer. You might rub a bit more when you turn full lock, especially when in reverse, but thats normal for a 305 tire.

 

Here is a funny thread where we all measured up, for science
https://www.tundras.com/threads/how-big-is-yours-measure-up.46186/

 

You dog! Just measured. Its in the 23-24" range (hard to get an exact). I mirror your experience on the twitchiness (again, the set up is not how it should be and don't want to speak poorly of this set up because it isn't correct/ appropriate yet). I'm aware of wanting to stay in the 2" lift range- now I just need to adjust to make sure this happens.

I'll have to get with @crikeymike on the best way to do this.

Thanks everyone for the help! Love it

 

Roughly 1.5”-1.75”. Granted my leafs were pretty splayed so rearranging them also played into thag

 

The part to be careful of is cleaning the threads and lubing them before you even think of putting a spanner on them. Lifting the side that you are adjusting off the ground is a good idea.

Some guys pull the assembly and use a coil compressor to make turning the adjuster easier but I have never found that necessary.

By the way, I never knew they made 4x4 without the fender flares. That looks so killer.

 

Keep in mind that Empty left his overload spring in place which is exactly the opposite of what ICON tells us to do in their instructions. Without that overload spring you won't see any lift. This was one of my gripes as I felt they should have specified this in their instructions. They are advertising 1.5-2" of lift without the overload which is b.s.

 

Oh yea. I have the overload. They are 1.5” of lift in a taco. And would of been without the cap on my tundra.. access and double cabs will be less

 

I still think that leaf spring fatigue plays a big part in achieved lift with those 3 packs. Way back when these trucks were newer there were guys getting lift without the overload, but also without any added weight in the bed.

Now these trucks and those springs are pushing 20 years old so the safer bet is usually a new custom pack. The bad news is there is a lot of black magic calculations to be made to get the balance of lift/softness/weight capacity and you have to add in what extra weight you carry.

 

That's exactly right. When I talked to ICON on the phone they said they designed the AAL over 10 years ago. I'm sure at that time you probably could get 1-2" of lift. That's why I keep stressing to people to not waste their money. The AAL is a band aid.