Additional photos by Andrew Westerhaus
As both a daily driver and our primary tow vehicle for the travel trailer, we’re interested in building a functional, capable, and efficient truck.
What can we say about the Toyota Tundra that hasn’t been stated? The 5.7L with 381hp/401lb-ft has plenty of power for towing, hauling, or anything else we need. We’ve loved the CrewMax since the TCT Explorer and now that the kids are a little older, it’s clear that this is the best platform for our family. Sure, we wish the gas consumption was a little more efficient, but by holding of on a lift for a while, we regularly see over 18mpg on longer trips.
We found this gem very lightly used at Mountain States Toyota with less than 5,000 miles on the clock. The Sport trim is not usually our first choice, but the sway bars help a lot when towing. The hoot scoop and fully tinted windows combined with the body-colored bumpers and mirrors also make the Super White truck really pop.
Of course the first order of business were new wheels & tires. The OEM 20” wheels with low-profile tires would not last long in the wild, so they were replaced within a week. We found great OEM 18” take-off wheels locally, and hit up Discount Tire Direct for a set of Falken Wildpeak AT/3 LT275/65R18 shoes. We clearly have no problem tackling some fun dirt with this setup =) .
When we sold the GX-460 Project 4 Adventure, we did remove a few of the upgrades. The ARB Dual Compressor is one of our favorite additions, so we sourced the Rago Fabrication under-hood mount and got it quickly installed. The Yaesu 400XD took its place on the dash, and I mounted the 1000w inverter under the seat, as it was on the last Tundra.
You may have seen our first article covering interior storage, and now that we have more than 6 months using this setup, we couldn’t be happier. The ESP Truck
Accessories rear seat storage is perfect, and the Victory 4x4 center console racks are holding up very well.
The bed of the truck is really where we’ve spent a lot of time (and most of our initial budget) on the AlpineExpress. Rago 4x4 also makes a great Hi-Lift mount that uses the OEM tie-down rails, so we installed that soon after getting the truck. It has sense been moved to the side rack due to the roll-top cover. The UnderCover SwingCase on the drivers side holds recovery gear, tie down straps, and our Adventure Tool Company tool roll.
Speaking of the cover…this roll-top from Retrax is amazing! We opted for the aluminum RetraxPro XR that includes T-Slots for cross bars. The T-Slot is compatible with Rhino-Rack, Yakima, Thule, and many other crossbar manufacturers. This system uses the OEM tie-down rails with special clamps to hold the side rails for the cover, which makes it a very easy install. This project really is one of the most painless mods for a Tundra truck bed, clocking in at less than 2 hours.
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Since the T-slots on the Retrax are designed to work with multiple rack systems, so we sourced CoreBars and the required Skyline Towers + Landing Pads from Yakima. I was also able to adapt our MAXTRAX Mounting pins to work with the CoreBars thanks to the universal MightyMounts.
Winter is upon us, and our AlpineExpress will be hauling our family of 4 and all of our snow gear to the high country pretty much every weekend. With the Retrax cover keeping our ski bags nice and dry, the Yakima Fat Cat Evo 6 will hold our skis & boards perfectly. One quick side note about Yakima: in the last couple of years they’ve leaned heavily into the overland market, most recently with their acquisition of RoadShower. We expect more great vehicle based adventure gear from the Oregon based company in the future.
So far this truck is meeting every need our family has for exploring and adventure. At less than 20k miles on a 2018 model, we’re expecting to spend plenty of time in this CrewMax over the next couple of years. The platform has been proven time and time again since the 2nd Gen Tundra was released over 12 years ago, so for our family, it really is the perfect exploration vehicle.
So what’s next? We already have a few items on the list for 2020, the first of which is a remote start kit from Tech12Volts. Of course armor, a modest suspension upgrade, and performance upgrades will be coming soon.
Special Note:
In many of the photos you’ll see of the AlpineExpress, you may notice a Magnetic Gray Metallic truck. This 2019 model belongs to our friend Andy Westerhaus (See [FRAMED] page 30) Andy and his family join us on many alpine adventures throughout the Rocky Mountains. His 2019 truck will see its fair share of upgrades in the future, so keep an eye on TCTMag.me for update on that rig.
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