2017 Tundra Flatbed Build (2 Viewers)

[ExpoMax]

Hello mud, it's been a while. You may remember me from this 97 on 40s expo build or this The bishop. I guess I also have this one Ugliest 4th gen to date. Probably a couple of others that I cannot remember as well. But here we are back in a Toyota. After the bishop, I dived into minivan life then onto sports car life then somehow thought I'd be a cowboy and buy a diesel GMC canyon. Well after replacing the turbo at 100k on that thing it got traded for my tundra. Happy to say it's great to be in an outdated slow truck again (bit better than the cruisers speed wise but still feels old). Anyway, that is enough background. @Andrew Bluemel, I blame you for all this time I am about to spend building this thread. Should really be on tundras.com but I guess I am partial to mud.

For those of you with cruisers my dad @LC4LIFE is still running Huddexpo, go buy some stuff.

Plans for this truck include making it look cool, tires, wheels, winch bumper, custom flatbed, better suspension, coms, skids, the usual

To begin specs:
Found a 2017 Double Cab Tundra SR5 with the column shift with ~180k at a local toyota dealer. Exact spec I wanted minus the silver (I hate silver). But here we are.

Pure old man spec. I already took the side steps off and put a TRD exhaust on. Topper was next. Got de-badged at some point here too.

Gotta say having this truck makes pulling our boat easy. Put almost 100hrs on the boat this summer. It was a blast. Had six people in the truck on multiple occasions going to the lake. So much fun.

Next up was wheels and tires on a budget. I wanted to sell the OEM set for the same price I had into the new wheels and tires. Stuff is EXPENSIVE these days. Decided to go with OEM steel 18" wheels I sourced for $300 and the 35x12.5r18 Gladiator X-comp AT tires. I always wanted the ATs in the 40" size on the cruiser, so thought this was my chance to see what they were all about. Found them for a little over $200 a pop. Painted the steelies green because all tundras look the same and I'm trying to be different

35" spare fits easily underneath. Big trucks are COOOL. Found a used 35 for $80 that I could not pass up on. For some reason, I have always mounted my wheels and tires myself on all my trucks. This was no different. Wished I had thrown balancing beads in them though, Les Schwab did a sucky job at balancing them.

 

[ExpoMax]

Next up was a camping trip to Twin Lakes and then onto Lake Dillon for a night with a bunch of friends. It was a nice break from school.
The truck has gotten tow mirrors (later took these off) and color-matched door handles. Went with a 10" sub under the rear seats and kicker dash speakers as well.

After this trip, it was time to replace the original suspension. I went with Bilstein 6112 front coils (2.5" setting) and some 1.5" lift rear shackles. Rear 5160s and bump stops will come shorty. Tow mirrors only lasted a few weeks. Such a pain in the parking garage at school. OEM paint matched mirrors back on.
Truck looks great and I got it done just in time for a trip over Independence Pass to see my buddy who lives in Aspen. Always a good time over there.

 

[ExpoMax]

Aspen --> CB --> Telluride --> Albuquerque --> Salida

This truck and trailer combo is 34' long and Pearl Pass was tight. I have not found many reports of people towing over the pass down into CB, but the truck did great. However, any wider or longer would have been problematic.

This trip started the snowball of my goals for this truck. Before this, I was about done with the truck. Was going to be smart and just use it (but that is no fun now is it?)

New Goals:
Get rear shocks and bump stops
Winch
Coms (GMRS)
Snorkel
Flatbed build (winter things)
Camper build (spring things)
Gears, 37s (summer things)

Now, why the flatbed when I could just get a slide-in camper for the same price? So, I have this unhealthy desire to apparently make all my toyotas look crazy and function as such. I could do a bed chop and move the spare for more departure angle. Probably have to build a bumper in the process of this. That is just as much work as building an entire flatbed that will be more practical and way higher clearance, so that is what I am going with. Plus, based on my mediocre googling, it looks like the stock bed weighs like 400lbs, so it'll be a wash in the weight department.

What the flatbed allows me to accomplish:
Dual spares ( I OveRlAnd right?)
Headache rack (spares will be against cab and baja style lightbar shooting over the cab)
Toolboxes
Fuel storage
Modularity for a slide-on, slide-off micro camper (goal is the be similar interior size to the teardrop so room for cabinets and a queen bed).

 

[ExpoMax]

Winch bumper

I made a custom winch tray built into the factory bumper (thanks harbor freight). Had a parking lot sale the same weekend I did this so I also picked up one of their 12k winches.

 

[ExpoMax]

Coms 1st and snorkel 2nd

This $91 china special fits great and seems better quality than the chinese fj80 snorkels I have experience with. Install only took a couple of hours, and I think it looks great. These pictures showcase the front bumper chop I did last week as well (should note that I also chopped the trd exhaust to exit right in front of the spare tire. It got pushed up into the body a couple times on Pearl pass and I want to avoid that in the future.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Got here late, exactly what topper was that? 6.5' bed? Make? I'm looking

 

[ExpoMax]

Got here late, exactly what topper was that? 6.5' bed? Make? I'm looking

It was made by snugtop, I am not sure of the model number. And yeah it’s for the 6.5’ bed but is unfortunately long gone.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I get the colour thing, I won’t buy white. My truck is silver. Can almost live with it.
3-4 months of west coast snow I want a cap, too much snow otherwise.
I’ve been in touch with Travis, he builds the best high clearance bumper for the rear.
Fender trimming required.

TOYOTA TUNDRA

Custom made high clearance bumpers for Toyota, Ram, Ford, and Jeep vehicles.

sobfabrication.com

I went with Coastal Offroad front, but you’ve already done your front

 

[ExpoMax]

Flatbed Build:

I'm planning on taking the bed off the truck in the next week or two. Just got the main frame welding together yesterday so it should come together quick.

Still needing:
Undertray storage boxes
Rear winch
Rear drawer
2nd battery mounting location
Dual spare headache rack mount
Plywood decking
License plate light and mount
Side marker lights

 

[Jetboy]

Looks like a great project!

I've built and owned a few flatbeds. A few suggestions: incorporate sides and rear gate into the design from the beginning. I found that 99% of the time I preferred to have sides and a tailgate on vs an actual open deck. The Unimog style bed sides are probably the best design I've seen for them. If I were building another one I'd go for that style bed sides with quick release hinges. I'm not a huge fan of the typical stake pocket and wood sides. They're just kind of crapy to use regularly and the wood sides don't last very long.

Lots of ways to do undermount storage boxes. HIGHLY recommend boxes with water tight sealed doors. Non-sealed doors end up with all your stuff covered in road grime and water. In one of my last truck's side boxes I had a retracting air hose reel attached through the box to a compressor tank for tires - super handy to have it built on a spring reel, but it does add more weight and bulk.

I'm not sure a second spare is all that useful. I can't think of any time in 30 years of doing this that I needed a second spare tire. I don't even carry a spare on my FJ40 or my SxS. Might save a lot of weight and cost by just carrying a spare innertube and some parachute cord to stitch up a sidewall as an alternative to a second spare. Maybe you travel in places where you ruin a lot of tires?

I would go with a steel deck if possible, then dimensional lumber, plywood would be one of my last choices. It doesn't hold up very well in my experience. The only place I've had some long term success is the base of a teardrop trailer I build and I coated the full underside with roofing tar. It stinks. It's messy. But it does last okay on the bottom of a trailer. The top is still an issue. Any type of harder wood dimensional lumber holds up better even untreated. I think mostly because it can drain out easily and doesn't trap moisture between the layers. And it's easier to swap out individual boards and seems to hold better if you need to use lag screws to attach things to the deck.

Good luck with the project. Should be pretty great! The hidden winch setup looks good.

Just my .02.

 

[ExpoMax]

Looks like a great project!

I've built and owned a few flatbeds. A few suggestions: incorporate sides and rear gate into the design from the beginning. I found that 99% of the time I preferred to have sides and a tailgate on vs an actual open deck. The Unimog style bed sides are probably the best design I've seen for them. If I were building another one I'd go for that style bed sides with quick release hinges. I'm not a huge fan of the typical stake pocket and wood sides. They're just kind of crapy to use regularly and the wood sides don't last very long.

Lots of ways to do undermount storage boxes. HIGHLY recommend boxes with water tight sealed doors. Non-sealed doors end up with all your stuff covered in road grime and water. In one of my last truck's side boxes I had a retracting air hose reel attached through the box to a compressor tank for tires - super handy to have it built on a spring reel, but it does add more weight and bulk.

I'm not sure a second spare is all that useful. I can't think of any time in 30 years of doing this that I needed a second spare tire. I don't even carry a spare on my FJ40 or my SxS. Might save a lot of weight and cost by just carrying a spare innertube and some parachute cord to stitch up a sidewall as an alternative to a second spare. Maybe you travel in places where you ruin a lot of tires?

I would go with a steel deck if possible, then dimensional lumber, plywood would be one of my last choices. It doesn't hold up very well in my experience. The only place I've had some long term success is the base of a teardrop trailer I build and I coated the full underside with roofing tar. It stinks. It's messy. But it does last okay on the bottom of a trailer. The top is still an issue. Any type of harder wood dimensional lumber holds up better even untreated. I think mostly because it can drain out easily and doesn't trap moisture between the layers. And it's easier to swap out individual boards and seems to hold better if you need to use lag screws to attach things to the deck.

Good luck with the project. Should be pretty great! The hidden winch setup looks good.

Just my .02.

That is some good insight, thanks! I have had a lot of fun starting this build and designing everything.

 

[ExpoMax]

I got started on building everything this week. So far everything is coming together well and like I planned. I ran out of metal and welding gas today so I will finish the headache rack and hitch next week. The total weight as it sits is 280lbs.

I cannot easily fit a winch and a large drawer like I want, so I will forgo the rear winch for now. The drawer is going to be 40"x7"x60". The drawer is the last "hurdle" I have to figure out before I can pull it off for final welding and paint.

I had to notch the undertray box to fit the fuel filler. Used a rubber mat to seal it up. Lights are wired into the factory plugs, but I am not happy with the reverse bulbs, so will be upgrading soon. I also relocated the backup camera onto the tray. Lastly, the hitch built into the tray is for my bike rack.


Perfect timing for CO to have a snowstorm

 

[Jetboy]

That's looking great. I really like the low deck height. The aluminum side boxes look good too! Matching the truck body profile is always tricky.

These Chinese truck boxes are often pretty cheap and might be something worth looking at as a box that you could drop on the bed for camping and pop off for using the truck as a daily diver. If I had a flatbed - I'd look pretty hard at one for a camping gear setup.

I have one of the toppers I ordered directly from the manufacturer. It took about 60 days to arrive if I remember correctly - but that also included delivery to a freight forward company and then my logistics to get it to me in Alaska. All-in I was right at $1k. I think the shipping cost more than the product by the time it actually made it to my freight depot to pickup.

 

[plainjanefjc]

That's looking great. I really like the low deck height. The aluminum side boxes look good too! Matching the truck body profile is always tricky.

These Chinese truck boxes are often pretty cheap and might be something worth looking at as a box that you could drop on the bed for camping and pop off for using the truck as a daily diver. If I had a flatbed - I'd look pretty hard at one for a camping gear setup.
View attachment 3795566
I have one of the toppers I ordered directly from the manufacturer. It took about 60 days to arrive if I remember correctly - but that also included delivery to a freight forward company and then my logistics to get it to me in Alaska. All-in I was right at $1k. I think the shipping cost more than the product by the time it actually made it to my freight depot to pickup.

Link to manufacturer?

 

[Jetboy]

Link to manufacturer?

I'll send a PM. I don't want to derail this thread. But anyone who's interested I'm happy to send the info or start a different thread to share.

 

[devilzdriver]

This is badass, I have wanted to do a flatbed swap on my tundra for a minute. I remember seeing utes in Australia and thought they were so practical especially with box additions.

 

[ExpoMax]

Current progress. Will update later with more details

 

[LX Cruiser]

Tundra build thread catching up in coolness factor

 

[LaFlamaBlanca]

Great thread so far.

 

[ExpoMax]

List of mods in the last few weeks

• Sy-Klone Prefilter
• RTT
• Better flatbed lighting
• Dual batteries (2nd battery is under the flatbed)
• Diesel heater
• Ironman4x4 sliders
• Hyperspot fog lights

I also have new wheels and tires showing up (37s). I ditched the dual spare idea because I wanted the tent at the same height as the cab. I would have had to run both of them behind the tent, and that is too much weight too far back, in my opinion. Will instead run just one 35 as my spare behind the tent.

Still to finish:

• Hitch
• Highlift mount
• Spare tire mount
• Cam tab gussets
• Spindle gussets
• Raise the front of the flatbed
• Weld on sliders
• Speedo correction

If I have not previously mentioned, all this effort is for a 40-day Alaska trip I am doing with @Andrew Bluemel this summer. It should be a good 10,000 miles to run this truck through its paces.