How long did it take to get in touch and get the bumpers from BFF. I can't seem to get an email or call back from them.
OldmanTan Sequoia
- Thread starter OldManTan
- Start date
Never had any trouble getting in touch with him until after the parts all arrived. Had a question about the gas can lock and could never get a response. Ended up “winging it” but plan to make a better design to keep them from rattling on the trails.
A few small updates. Got the rock sliders finally on and coated (also recoated the front bumper using the full on Raptor Liner kit). Sold off the 23 Zero tent and got a year old James Baroud Grand Raid with awning. And have finally finished rebuilding my wheels, fitting the 315/75 R16 KM3s, and finished the 04+ front spindle/ball joint setup along with new bump stops, camburg UCAs etc... Also found out I have a factory LSD fitted to the truck (happy surprise I didn’t know was offered), and have a TON of cutting to do to the firewall to fit the tires properly. Merry Christmas to myself and everyone fitting big ass tires. Afterward it’s time for a regear.
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The 35s are a bit troublesome. My Fox struts are another month out (5-6 months since I ordered) and I’m having to modify the firewall a good bit more.
The 23Zero tent is great, unless you’re heavily lifted as it makes it more tedious to set up and take down. We actually just sold it and got a James Baroud Grand Raid so I can setup camp in 20 seconds and pack it in 35.
The 23Zero tent is great, unless you’re heavily lifted as it makes it more tedious to set up and take down. We actually just sold it and got a James Baroud Grand Raid so I can setup camp in 20 seconds and pack it in 35.
This truck is giving me some hope. In the market for a sequoia, coming from a clapped out 3rd gen 4runner, and i can mostly only find the tan versions in the 05-07.
I haven’t been updating much, but the tan isn’t bad at all. Good at hiding a lot of the mud and dirt.
Few update photos
Fox struts go in tonight, and she goes into the shop for a regear to 4.88 gears and an ARB rear locker mid March for our Moab trip in April.
I have a variation of a "silver" Pacifica which is every bit tan in most lights and rarely silver. I love that for a daily it hides the dust and dirt. I have mostly had Black vehicles and I dont care to have another as you cant hide the smallest imperfection. Being a JDM and wheel guy, I appreciate the detail put into your wheel selection. Whether it be a sequoia or GX470, ill be taking the 5th gen 4runner wheels off of my dilapidated 4runner and installing.
Finally getting around to updating this. Been planning for our trip to Moab and the Grand Canyon coming up these coming weeks and wanted to post the updates.
Traded out the soft top 23Zero for a CVT/Busch Alpha tent which is absolutely amazing and also grabbed the CVT 99” awning with built in LED lights. Also finished the front end upgrade; 04+ spindles, new bearings, tie rod ends, Camburg UCAs, Durobump bump stops, and the Fox struts also finally made an appearance. Still need to modify the firewall for full stuff but I’ve had bigger fish to fry. Purchased some trailing arms about a year back that were absolute trash quality. Finally got around to fixing them via some Johnny Joints. The lower joint for perfect but I had to modify the the upper a tad to fit the smaller diameter upper mounting tab on the diff.
While I was at it I decided to go ahead and be prepared and bought a new starter from Toyota. 9 hours later and the job was done. Had a ton of oil built up and just sitting in the manifold so I’ll also be adding two small oil catches to the pvc system soon to keep things cleaner.
The last bit of the puzzle before we head to Moab is the regear to 4.88 along with an ARB rear locker. The truck has been an absolute dog on the stock gearing and 35” tires so I knew this was a must before any long trip and just to keep me sane in daily stop and go traffic. Will be going into the shop next week for that to be installed so in the meantime just finishing up some small little pieces for comfort and water supply. Hopefully ill update a bit more of the build this time around.
Traded out the soft top 23Zero for a CVT/Busch Alpha tent which is absolutely amazing and also grabbed the CVT 99” awning with built in LED lights. Also finished the front end upgrade; 04+ spindles, new bearings, tie rod ends, Camburg UCAs, Durobump bump stops, and the Fox struts also finally made an appearance. Still need to modify the firewall for full stuff but I’ve had bigger fish to fry. Purchased some trailing arms about a year back that were absolute trash quality. Finally got around to fixing them via some Johnny Joints. The lower joint for perfect but I had to modify the the upper a tad to fit the smaller diameter upper mounting tab on the diff.
While I was at it I decided to go ahead and be prepared and bought a new starter from Toyota. 9 hours later and the job was done. Had a ton of oil built up and just sitting in the manifold so I’ll also be adding two small oil catches to the pvc system soon to keep things cleaner.
The last bit of the puzzle before we head to Moab is the regear to 4.88 along with an ARB rear locker. The truck has been an absolute dog on the stock gearing and 35” tires so I knew this was a must before any long trip and just to keep me sane in daily stop and go traffic. Will be going into the shop next week for that to be installed so in the meantime just finishing up some small little pieces for comfort and water supply. Hopefully ill update a bit more of the build this time around.
I'm pry a little late to the party but you should definitely add the Total Chaos gusset to the spindle. Those spindles aren't known to be the strongest and I have personally broken one. With that being said, it was a different animal and a different rodeo. Desert pre-running and 4x4 are two different worlds but from the looks of how serious your rig is I would want that peace of mind now with "real" coilovers and heim UCAs. Love your truck though and enjoy the thread. Sincerely a new Sequoia owner! First timer...
I agree so much with you that I actually have had them for months. They haven’t been installed to make sure I wouldn’t have any clearance issues (which I currently would have), but with me fixing some clearance issues with my 35’s and the external reservoir lines I shouldn’t have the issue and will be adding the gussets soon.
We broke the driver side right at the top of the neck where the UCA bolts into. I think to my understanding that is the most common spot for them to break and you can see why. It gets really skinny there. The worst part for us that day. We were in Mexico and had to leave my truck there for a week and take a bus/shuttle back to Phoenix. I bought another pull a part spindle from Ebay from a surrounding state, I believe it was CA to insure quick shipping and non-salt part. I worked M-F that week and on Saturday my buddy and I drove my daily driver 99 Honda Civic down there with the new spindle and put it together. Had some beers, stared at the beautiful Sea of Cortez, caught some shut eye at a friends house that happen to be there that weekend and the next day we drove both cars back to the good ol US of Az.
I can't remember if the Tundy spindle is the exact same part or exact same design and like an inch taller???? Nevertheless, I've read they're all the same in that you should have the gusset. The truck in my avatar is a desert prerunner, 99 Toyota Tacoma 3.4. All of my experience comes from that so some of it may not be completely relatable. A lot more ENERGY going through the suspension and frame when you're going 60mph through 2ft deep whoops than crawling over some light rock down a goat trail.
Nonetheless, I would definitely go spindle 100%. We plan on going a similar route without the bumpers however. We're using our new 04 as a tow vehicle/camping/overlanding. Because we need it for highway towing as well I don't wan't to complete ruin the aero package. Driving the prerunner going 80mph is like driving an open parachute...
So, despite all my attempts and effort we did not end up making it in time for our trip to Moab and settled on going to Land Between the Lakes Turkey Bay instead. I was pretty bummed but it was probably for the best seeing how the rig needed some testing with all the new bits and also so I could “perfect” some our interior storage.
The holdup was the gear/locker install. Got the truck back from the shop a week after it was initially promised due and didn’t have any safe or feasible way to finish the 500 mile diff break-in to make it to Moab in time. So, the wife and I settled on somewhere closer to test out the truck, get away from the city, and to relax. We chose Turkey Bay OHV and were very happy we did. Great trail system that let me test out the new suspension, my trailing arms, as well as our new tent and how the vehicle would handle on off-camber situations for when we do finally make it for our week in Moab later in the year. It also presented the last little snags we’ve found with our setup; interior storage. So that is what we have been working on, starting with a new kitchen setup, and a single drawer system with a fridge/cooler slide (I don’t need a fridge yet since our trips last 9 days and the cooler is still filled with ice by the last day).
A few shots of the rig in it’s natural habitat and a few testing out the new flex with the 35’s equipped and the new Johnny Jointed trailing arms.
Flexy but not max stuffed in these images
And a few shots of the new camp setup that I couldn’t be happier with minus our kitchen setup and the storage.
And a few shots of part of the solution to our kitchen setup. Got tired of carrying around the Coleman Kitchen table. It’s not bad, but the setup can be frustrating and I’m trying to reduce clutter. Took a gamble on the FrontRunner tailgate table as the site says it’s .2” too large for the mounting location on the BFF swing arm, but it fits like it belonged there to begin with.
Next up will be a single 40’ LandShark drawer with wing, the cooler slide, CampChef Mountaineer (if they ever make it back in stock), swingarm mounted 5lb propane tank, and some molle storage on the rear windows and rear lift gate for cooking supplies and some lighter safety gear.
The holdup was the gear/locker install. Got the truck back from the shop a week after it was initially promised due and didn’t have any safe or feasible way to finish the 500 mile diff break-in to make it to Moab in time. So, the wife and I settled on somewhere closer to test out the truck, get away from the city, and to relax. We chose Turkey Bay OHV and were very happy we did. Great trail system that let me test out the new suspension, my trailing arms, as well as our new tent and how the vehicle would handle on off-camber situations for when we do finally make it for our week in Moab later in the year. It also presented the last little snags we’ve found with our setup; interior storage. So that is what we have been working on, starting with a new kitchen setup, and a single drawer system with a fridge/cooler slide (I don’t need a fridge yet since our trips last 9 days and the cooler is still filled with ice by the last day).
A few shots of the rig in it’s natural habitat and a few testing out the new flex with the 35’s equipped and the new Johnny Jointed trailing arms.
Flexy but not max stuffed in these images
And a few shots of the new camp setup that I couldn’t be happier with minus our kitchen setup and the storage.
And a few shots of part of the solution to our kitchen setup. Got tired of carrying around the Coleman Kitchen table. It’s not bad, but the setup can be frustrating and I’m trying to reduce clutter. Took a gamble on the FrontRunner tailgate table as the site says it’s .2” too large for the mounting location on the BFF swing arm, but it fits like it belonged there to begin with.
Next up will be a single 40’ LandShark drawer with wing, the cooler slide, CampChef Mountaineer (if they ever make it back in stock), swingarm mounted 5lb propane tank, and some molle storage on the rear windows and rear lift gate for cooking supplies and some lighter safety gear.
So, despite all my attempts and effort we did not end up making it in time for our trip to Moab and settled on going to Land Between the Lakes Turkey Bay instead. I was pretty bummed but it was probably for the best seeing how the rig needed some testing with all the new bits and also so I could “perfect” some our interior storage.
The holdup was the gear/locker install. Got the truck back from the shop a week after it was initially promised due and didn’t have any safe or feasible way to finish the 500 mile diff break-in to make it to Moab in time. So, the wife and I settled on somewhere closer to test out the truck, get away from the city, and to relax. We chose Turkey Bay OHV and were very happy we did. Great trail system that let me test out the new suspension, my trailing arms, as well as our new tent and how the vehicle would handle on off-camber situations for when we do finally make it for our week in Moab later in the year. It also presented the last little snags we’ve found with our setup; interior storage. So that is what we have been working on, starting with a new kitchen setup, and a single drawer system with a fridge/cooler slide (I don’t need a fridge yet since our trips last 9 days and the cooler is still filled with ice by the last day).
A few shots of the rig in it’s natural habitat and a few testing out the new flex with the 35’s equipped and the new Johnny Jointed trailing arms.
Flexy but not max stuffed in these images
And a few shots of the new camp setup that I couldn’t be happier with minus our kitchen setup and the storage.
And a few shots of part of the solution to our kitchen setup. Got tired of carrying around the Coleman Kitchen table. It’s not bad, but the setup can be frustrating and I’m trying to reduce clutter. Took a gamble on the FrontRunner tailgate table as the site says it’s .2” too large for the mounting location on the BFF swing arm, but it fits like it belonged there to begin with.
Next up will be a single 40’ LandShark drawer with wing, the cooler slide, CampChef Mountaineer (if they ever make it back in stock), swingarm mounted 5lb propane tank, and some molle storage on the rear windows and rear lift gate for cooking supplies and some lighter safety gear.
Looking good!
So, despite all my attempts and effort we did not end up making it in time for our trip to Moab and settled on going to Land Between the Lakes Turkey Bay instead. I was pretty bummed but it was probably for the best seeing how the rig needed some testing with all the new bits and also so I could “perfect” some our interior storage.
The holdup was the gear/locker install. Got the truck back from the shop a week after it was initially promised due and didn’t have any safe or feasible way to finish the 500 mile diff break-in to make it to Moab in time. So, the wife and I settled on somewhere closer to test out the truck, get away from the city, and to relax. We chose Turkey Bay OHV and were very happy we did. Great trail system that let me test out the new suspension, my trailing arms, as well as our new tent and how the vehicle would handle on off-camber situations for when we do finally make it for our week in Moab later in the year. It also presented the last little snags we’ve found with our setup; interior storage. So that is what we have been working on, starting with a new kitchen setup, and a single drawer system with a fridge/cooler slide (I don’t need a fridge yet since our trips last 9 days and the cooler is still filled with ice by the last day).
A few shots of the rig in it’s natural habitat and a few testing out the new flex with the 35’s equipped and the new Johnny Jointed trailing arms.
Flexy but not max stuffed in these images
And a few shots of the new camp setup that I couldn’t be happier with minus our kitchen setup and the storage.
And a few shots of part of the solution to our kitchen setup. Got tired of carrying around the Coleman Kitchen table. It’s not bad, but the setup can be frustrating and I’m trying to reduce clutter. Took a gamble on the FrontRunner tailgate table as the site says it’s .2” too large for the mounting location on the BFF swing arm, but it fits like it belonged there to begin with.
Next up will be a single 40’ LandShark drawer with wing, the cooler slide, CampChef Mountaineer (if they ever make it back in stock), swingarm mounted 5lb propane tank, and some molle storage on the rear windows and rear lift gate for cooking supplies and some lighter safety gear.
Are you locked up front and back or just back??? Also, I forgot if you have re-geared with the 35's. My apologies if you already mentioned it. I have a Lock Right locker with 4:88 carrier that I was going to put in the Tacoma after swapping to a Tundra/Sequoia rear end but I may put it in the Sequoia instead. I would like to be fully locked but pretty new to this 4x4 game so not sure what options I have for the front diff. I'd like to stay away from air lockers but if it's the only way to go then I guess it has to be...
If I recall at 2,500 RPMs we’re at 71 MPH. This is off a few apps since the speedo is off (obviously).
So no pictures to update yet, but went ahead and decided to finish up the last bit of the build.
Coming in the next few days;
Dometic CFX3 75DZ
Tembo Tusk Jumbo Fridge Slide
Renogy 200W Solar Kit, 100 aH battery, and 1000W Pure Sine Inverter
Camp Chef Mountaineer
Land Shark Outfitters Reef 40 with Wing kit
and a 5lb Propane Tank with Mount.
Figured it was time to just go "Go anywhere and do anything" and just enjoy camping almost every weekend.
Coming in the next few days;
Dometic CFX3 75DZ
Tembo Tusk Jumbo Fridge Slide
Renogy 200W Solar Kit, 100 aH battery, and 1000W Pure Sine Inverter
Camp Chef Mountaineer
Land Shark Outfitters Reef 40 with Wing kit
and a 5lb Propane Tank with Mount.
Figured it was time to just go "Go anywhere and do anything" and just enjoy camping almost every weekend.
Got the LandShark Outfitters Reef 40 drawer built today and got a decent mock up of the new rear setup with the kitchen. Started raining so couldn’t go much further but I’m waiting to finish after the rear window molle panels arrive, and after the solar kit arrives so I can make sure everything works right. Then it’s finishing the drawer wing kit for a finished look and a bit more storage.
Got the LandShark Outfitters Reef 40 drawer built today and got a decent mock up of the new rear setup with the kitchen. Started raining so couldn’t go much further but I’m waiting to finish after the rear window molle panels arrive, and after the solar kit arrives so I can make sure everything works right. Then it’s finishing the drawer wing kit for a finished look and a bit more storage.
That thing is huge!