In my line of work of owning a media company, Dusty Summit, having a capable off-road vehicle is an absolute must; the locations we shoot at, requires you to get from a remote location in the desert. Whether it be shooting a desert race or a commercial for a client, we are constantly scouting locations in unforgiving terrain. I recently sold my beloved 2007 Lexus GX470 that I lovingly beat on for the past two years. It was an incredible car that served its purpose as a daily driver and production vehicle. It started its life as a dedicated off-road adventure car that I would take into the mountains for camping, but when I launched Dusty Summit, it quickly snowballed into a car that would see hundreds of miles offroad. From the rock trails of Moab to the majestic beaches of Baja. It was a Swiss Army knife ready for any adventure I threw at it.
Enter the Toyota Tundra, a new project I am tackling to build out the ultimate media chase and overland vehicle. This truck will serve as a home base for our media productions in the foreseeable future. I purchase a single-owner 2008 Toyota Tundra 5.7L 4WD with a perfect maintenance record from Albuquerque, New Mexico. After some digging, I found out an 84-year-old woman bought it new, and her son kept every single receipt for the truck.
A few months later it has finally come time to get the Go Fast Camper GFC XL #3432. I picked it up in March and so far has performed flawlessly!
Honestly getting the Tundra Ready for the Camper was fairly easy. I went with Total Chaos Tubular Upper Control Arms with an Icon Stage 2 suspension package (it is not the best) that got me out on the trails and is still an upgrade over stock.
For now, I have 2.5 coil-overs that provide adequate performance while I wait for better shocks. These 4130 Chromoly tubular upper control arms utilize a 1” uniball and when mated with an extended coil-over, you can achieve 12 inches of wheel travel, which is a modest amount utilizing the stock control arms.
But honestly, without the GFC camper, there was almost no weight in the back. Once I installed the camper there was a dramatic difference in the way it handled off-road. I think it improved!
Things are finally coming together on it! After having the self-inflicted issues in San Felipe of a wheel hub, and axle I also had a bent spindle on the right side. So I opted for a Total Chaos Gusset kit and found some old spindles off of a 2018 Tundra, and had Lobo Race Works weld them up for me. So aside from the shocks, it finally feels like the front end is coming together.
Also, the left brake line failed on me coming down the Cajon pass, so that was a scary moment. I had to pull off, grabbed some vice grips, and pinched it off. I made it home with no issues… thankfully.
In addition to some new changes, I got a set of 35x12.5x17 General Grabber ATX tires. By far has been the best tire I have ever owned in terms of performance, road noise, and comfort. By switching to an all-terrain, I shed 13 pounds per corner, which is 52 pounds of weight savings. The General Grabber X3 was a good tire, but it was not a great daily driver tire for long highway trips. The only other tire I can compare it to is the Falken Wildpeak AT3W which are still heavier.
The rear is coming together in the Go Fast Camper. I have a full-size spare, two 5-gallon jerry cans, and Max Traxx, all securely mounted with the carpet kit but I don’t think I am going to keep the carpet kit for much longer.
Overall it is coming together well. The GFC for the Tundra has been a game-changer in Baja; hoping to get it dialed before the start of summer and sort out all the suspension - Shocks, deavers, etc.
Only some minor updates on the camper, hopefully, some more will be coming soon. But I recently installed the lighting kit from @Lobofabworks The results speak for themselves, it utilizes 4 Baja Designs rock lights and a custom wiring harness with full waterproof Deutsch connectors.
