SEMA Preview: TRD builds a heavy-duty Toyota Tundra
Everybody had a good laugh at Toyota's expense when Jalopnik posted photos of a Chevy Silverado HD lugging the Toyota Tundra race team's transporter to the Texas State Fair. If the mean-lookin' SEMA concept shown above is an indication, however, maybe Toyota isn't planning on having to wipe egg from its face much longer. The image comes from a print ad running in the current issue of AutoWeek, and the rig pulling the race trailer is a Tundra Double Cab prepared by TRD for heavy hauling. It boasts a custom suspension, 17" wheels wrapped in 37-inch tires, a front end graced by a custom bumper with an integrated winch, and a revised grille surround that deletes that silly fake intake the production Tundras come with. Power comes from a blown version of the truck's 5.7L V8 making 500 horses, and TRD hopes to have that supercharger available as a dealer-installed accessory soon. Mike Levine at PickupTruck.com has also heard rumors of a dually HD Tundra concept, but that's not mentioned in the ad, which you can see a full scan of at TundraSolutions.com. We'll just have to wait and see what else Toyota brings to SEMA on the truck side of things, and our crack squad of bloggers on-site will bring you tons of coverage from the show floor.
[Source: PickupTruck.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
david 9:58AM (10/21/2007)
Don't be sorry you bought your Tundra too soon. Judging by Toyota's recent quality issues, by the time the HD is released yours will be junk yard ready.
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Paul 10:43AM (10/21/2007)
Still, no diesel....
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Quick 10:49AM (10/21/2007)
Well it seems Toyota can't even build a tailgate correctly that can stand normal wear and tear...
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/tundra/114436-tundra-tailate-failures-i-am-club/
I wouldn't trust them for actually pulling a substantial load.
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david 11:27AM (10/21/2007)
Thanks to the first poster, Tundra Forums, I went to that web site and took a look at the other problems Tundra owners experience. Holy Crap Batman. Glad I bought a Chevy. Maybe they should start over or go to
even Dodge for some major tweaking.
No wonder Toy execs are jumping ship.
konchita 1:45PM (10/21/2007)
The tailgate is a common problem with the assisted lift. Any bump and it will raise the tailgate to ~45 degrees where the release point is for the tailgate. There is a warning in the owner manual. The new SuperDuty has the same issue and the same warning in the manual.
Every assisted tailgate will have the same problem until the release mechanism moves from the notched swivel point that is commonly used.
Guenther 1:00PM (10/22/2007)
No way is this caused by the assist. No excuse for having this happen. We've loaded all sorts of stupidity in my 03 Tundra, without damaging it.
drstrangegun 11:15AM (10/21/2007)
*sigh*
I wonder if anyone reading realizes that 37" tires, a blower, and a raised suspension do not do any favors to the standard truck as to towing?
To tow, you need bigger brakes, tires with a better load rating, full floating axles, an engine that can pull from low RPM without pinging, and coolers on everything.
Heck, 37" tires should make it *worse* by increasing the leverage on the swept area of the brakes.
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Zach 1:04PM (10/21/2007)
Oh my God I know what you are talking about.
We have 37'' tires on our Jeep thats TOWED by our dodge diesel,
not the other way around
tekdemon 1:48AM (10/22/2007)
I don't think the only suspension modification was raising the suspension (in fact, I'm not even sure they raised it at all). I suspect they beefed up some suspension components so the truck could tow heavier loads.
The blower might kick in at fairly low revs though, and it's not like Toyota can do design a new engine in a couple of weeks, so what else do you expect? Blower is still better than no blower. My only guess for the huge tires is that it's either just for looks (it's SEMA after all), or they wanted wider tires and had to go bigger at the same time (probably just for looks though).
drstrangegun 6:05AM (10/22/2007)
"Blower is still better than no blower. "
Not for towing. You can't turn it off, and it does little at low revs but raise air charge temperature and risk detonation. In fact, I bet they have a ping sensor so it'll dial back ignition timing when it does, raising exhaust gas temps....
A blower on a small V8 used to tow a very heavy load is a recipe for torched exhaust valves.
KCurtis 10:51AM (10/21/2007)
Well, there ya go. This could not have come soon enough! lol
*sits waiting for Toyota haters*
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Austin 10:55AM (10/21/2007)
I wonder how fast it will take for the camshaft to brake on this one.
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5 Watt 11:19AM (10/21/2007)
Although it looks cool it shows that Toyota may not know what the HD truck buyer wants. It looks more like an off road package than a towing truck. Put a dully on it and tell us it has a diesel.
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racerx 11:35AM (10/21/2007)
Is it just me are the trailers front stands extended to the ground? I may be wrong but it looks like the trailer is parked and they just backed the Tundra up to it but it's not really even connected. Maybe my eyes are playing a trick on me...
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drstrangegun 11:39AM (10/21/2007)
Your eyes don't seem to be playing any tricks... I see trailer jacks on the ground.
Besides, isn't the nose of that 5'th wheel a little close to the bed on that truck?
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Bryan 2:33PM (10/21/2007)
So Toyota backs a truck up to a trailer, adds a different paint scheme, bigger tires, and a winch and this is supposed to do more than the original POS they make? LMAO.
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Rob 3:46PM (10/21/2007)
Putting big tires an a blower on a 1/2 ton truck does not make it heavy duty. Get a clue Toyota. This truck probady doesnt even have a 5th wheel setup. Not only are the jack stands obviously on the ground, the front of the trailer is too close to the sides of the truck bed to prevent it from bending the sides on slight off cambers. It also looks like the front of the trailer would smash into the cab on a sharp turn. They should just call it an off-road package because thats all the mods amount too. I like the look of the truck but the notion of this being heavy duty or heavy hauling (5th wheel) is just silly.
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Phillip 4:10PM (10/21/2007)
This shows nothing, its purely a show truck. This thing is going to bleed out the Jugular if they produced it. And the Toy fan boys wont realize what hit them."OMFG, wurs da lyft kit n bmperzzzz"
You get my idea. Toyota, HD buyers arent wowed by this, if your going to release a production HD version, make your concept atleast some-what similar to it.
Then again, this is SEMA, so this really isn't an instance to release a concept...
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Robert Ryan 7:32PM (10/21/2007)
As an Australian , I am completely mystified by what the fuss is about towing a fairly light 5th wheel trailer?
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FrankRizzo 10:22PM (10/21/2007)
Whats funnier is that this "bad ass" tuck is backed up to a dual axle trailer. The Chevy mentioned earlier is hauling a Toyota's trailer that has 3 axles. Alot more weight that can be packed in there over the 2 axle.
Is Toyota really puffing it's chest out and showcasing a SEMA truck? What about the truck at the dealer lot. That's what the Silverado was. Nothing special.. A dealer lot heavy duty. Something Toyota is not showcasing much knowledge in.
Why don't they just rebrand a Hino? Then they could create some competition to the big three.