DeMello Offroad 2013 Toyota Tundra – Featured Vehicle
Tim Esterdahl | Aug 09, 2013 | Comments 6
While a stock Toyota Tundra will do OK on off-road, it can be vastly improved. Improved like this sweet, off-road monster 2013 Toyota Tundra from DeMello Offroad. This is what happens when an offroad company modifies a truck for their own purposes.
This Toyota Tundra is ready to play!
This truck was a long time coming explains Jason with DeMello.
When Toyota introduced the new Tundra in 2006-2007 model year I already had a 2005 F250 SD D that pulled our vehicles to events and many times was a daily driver for me. Instantly I was compelled to sell the Ford (which I loved) and buy a new Tundra. But be it as it may the economy crashing around all of us, I thought it wise to wait. I still sold the ford, but never purchased my dream truck, till now.
They say good things come to those that wait, I say great things come to those that work for them!
What’s great about this truck is that it isn’t just a pretty offroad truck that is only driven on pavement (see: Rich Raptor Owner). This thing hauls his crew to different events and gets dirty. It truly is a “work” offroad truck.
How it all started.
This truck screams cool sitting still.
Modifications include:
- Icon Vehicle dynamics
- Falken tire
- Level 8 wheels/discount tire
- TRD parts 4U Iron man
- Acro lights and ELS lights
These are some sweet wheels.
Really cool running boards.
It pays to be prepared.
We found out about this truck over at FJCruiserForums.com. You can check out Jason’s company at Demello-Offroad.com.
What do you think? Does it give you some ideas for your truck?
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Filed Under: Featured Vehicles
One bad CM offroad.
Off Road?
This is all interesting. Over the weekend I was camping in the Uinta Mountain of Utah with friends. To get away from the crowds, we went 2 miles up a washed out rough road. More like a worn path over the rocks snaking around trees. 1 MPH stuff where you have to step over big rocks and some times one wheel goes down 6 inches while the other goes up. No possible way to tow in a big trailer/5th wheel, that’s was the whole point of us going there. A 4 door long bed would have made it but had a more difficult time turning around to make it out. These is kind of the limit for that size truck. The trucks at the site were my standard cab T100, a 4 door short bed Tacoma, 1 monster diesel 4 door F250, and a brand new Ford Raptor 4 door with only 130 miles on it.
The raptor is way cool. Wider, what looked to be a good suspension with more vertical travel on each wheel. Big wide tires 6.2L gas motor with lots of power. It could go very slow and step over the bad spots.
But,,,,,, all these trucks have one problem. They are just too big. Many of these washed out places have tight turns around trees big rocks etc. Lots of these places are just not suited to the big trucks. The Tacoma was the nimble one for this stuff. I have been places to get to fishing access etc where I had to walk the last mile where a jeep would make it. Some times we need to stop and camp just because it gets too tight to get a big truck through. Next day a jeep goes by and goes another mile. Dirt bikse go almost anywhere.
Years ago I drove a 1970 Ford Bronco out to the Maze in Canyon Lands NP, out the route to the “land of standing rocks”. It took all day to go that 50 miles, 3 speed manual trans and NO POWER STEERING, that wasn’t fun. We had 1 big Ford truck. The driver had a much more difficult time then the rest of us. A wider Ford Raptor would have the same troubles. There is also no way to do that trip with out scraping the juniper trees in places. So, your 50,000 dollar truck starts getting hammered.
Anyway, A nimble truck which can get you to places that you really want to go is not the same Off road thing we see racing down desert roads at 60. Not sure what kind of off road use this is? The truck which is the subject or this thread can get us where? I know for sure that my next full size truck will not be able to get to some of the places I want to go.
The same for a rancher who works cattle in high elevation places with snow and mud. I wonder how many who really need to work in remote places where then will spend a few days away from home would buy something like a Raptor truck. Will they buy a Raptor or modified Tundra to tow the horses till the road ends? Seems we will see more of them in the city then up in the mountains or out on the salt flats. At some point they become to big to reach the destination.
Just some thoughts. There are cool looking.
Larry,
Good thoughts and I think this off-road vehicle is not well suited for the terrain you describe. They do, though, have a 4Runner that would be perfect for what you describe. I’ll see if I can’t write up a post on it.
-Tim
Tim,
This is a story of a 4Runner. I know it’s not Tundra but it says a lot about Toyota. My T100 was built up from the same engine, transmission and drive components used on the 4Runner and Tacoma. I bolted on free hubs from an old 4Runner so I could disable my ADD which has never worked properly when the temps go below 10F.
A friend works for a wilderness preservation group here in Utah. He does field research all over the state often living in the back country for weeks at a time. This individual has seen more of remote sections of Utah the any person who has ever lived and did much of it in a 90’s 4Runner. V6 5 Speed manual trans, completely stock. I wouldn’t want to run my 250 Honda dirt bike in some of these places. I once drove from Salt Lake to Lee’s Ferry in it towing a boat and packed to the roof with stuff for a Grand Canyon trip. The suspension was bottomed out all the way down and back home. He ran it this way all over the place on the worst roads I have ever seen.
I can bet that the majority of Toyotas ever used here in the US have not seen the harsh use this thing has seen for even 1 day. My guess is 40 – 50 thousand miles of driving in washes, desert sand and 50 MPH over washboarded dirt. After more then 200,000 thousand miles of total use, the differential housing developed a crack. He got another 4Runner and gave the old one to someone else who fixed and it’s still going. We were going to have a wake for that 4Runner but it won’t die.
Now I don’t know if a Tundra is built that well but, I have never talked to a Tundra owner who has had troubles and if Toyota made an effort to build the Tundra 1/2 as good as the older 4Runners and Tacomas there is no way the big 3 are in the same category.
Larry,
I’m currently driving a 4Runner as a press vehicle and I can really see this SUV taking a beating and living to talk about it. It is rugged and strong although I wish it had more horsepower.
You’re story above really demonstrates how Toyota’s brand was built!
-Tim
Larry,
I have actually taken my 2011 Tundra to similar places you just described in the Uinta Mountains doing elk scouting. You are right though it is too big for some stuff but sometimes you just have to find a way around an obstacle.
Josh