With the departure of the 1998 Mitsubishi Montero from our fleet, the search for a suitable replacement vehicle began. The requirements: comfortably seat additional passengers, allow for ample payload capacity, boast proven reliability and parts availability, and of course must be capable off-road. After narrowing down other potential vehicles, we finally landed on the early second generation Toyota Tundra. Affordable, powerful, and most importantly reliable.
Tundra Rock Warrior: Transformation
Affordable, powerful, and most importantly reliable. The 2010 Toyota Tundra Rock Warrior was a no-brainer for our next touring rig.
Here it is, our 2010 Toyota Tundra Double Cab Rock Warrior edition build. Sporting 132k miles, we feel this truck is just barely broken in and has a long life ahead. Introduced in 2009, the Rock Warrior package was available on Tundras until 2013. Factory equipped Rock Warrior trucks boast the iconic TRD forged 17” Rock Warrior wheels with 33” tires, RW paint matched grille and bumpers, Bilstein off-road suspension, tow package with 4.30 gearing, LSD, and more.
In due time, we will sort through maintenance to get the Tundra mechanically sound. If we learned anything from our time with our beloved Mitsubishi Montero, it’s that maintenance and proper OEM replacement parts are key to a vehicles longevity.
While it may not be text book perfect, this truck is the ideal baseline for what we plan to use it for in the coming months and years. First things first, let’s clean it up and get the Rock Warrior up to par by tackling simple creature comforts. Modernizing any 12 year old vehicle is a simple task with CarPlay readily available for virtually any vehicle. Outfitting the Tundra with a new Pioneer head unit gained the truck access to OnX and Gaia mapping software seamlessly from the vehicle's stereo. Our next task for the interior was swapping the outdated factory Tekonsha trailer brake controller for a REDARC.
Available at Adventure Imports, the REDARC Tow-Pro Trailer Brake Controller comes in a factory looking package which eliminates your knee hitting any bulky controller. Available in the base Liberty model or the upgraded Elite version with off-road towing features.
Removing the heinous plastidip which covered the iconic wheels is priority number one for the truck. After hours of pressure washing, the wheels look virtually immaculate underneath, a massive relief.
Pro Tip: Using a pressure washer and Goo Gone, Plastidip can be removed with little effort.
Prior to our purchase of the Tundra, the previous owner has installed a leveling kit to give extra clearance to the trucks stance. While not ideal, the leveling kit allowed us to fit a 35x12.50r17 Falken Wildpeak AT3W to the truck for a safe and extremely capable tire option off-road until we can later address the suspension. Installed by our trusted friends at Summit 4x4 Company, the new larger tires had little to no rubbing.
So what’s our game plan with this Tundra? Our aim is to create an era appropriate truck which will handle Baja at comfortable speeds, haul our gear with ease, and be the perfect platform for testing out new soon to be released products you’ll have to be on the lookout for!
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