Brandon's Tundra.
2006 1st Gen + SET Camper Bed.

Brandon brought us a 1st gen Tundra that was already lifted six inches when it landed in the shop. He didn't want a lifted truck — he wanted a truck that drove well, took bigger brakes and shocks, controlled its body better, and could carry a slide-in camper on a flatbed conversion. The lift had to come out before any of that made sense.

We custom-fabricated a new front crossmember to bring the front differential mount and lower control arm pickups back to factory geometry. From there it was a full front-end rebuild: Lance Fab FR33 OEM-replacement spindles, fresh OEM steering shaft and yoke, SPC adjustable upper control arms, a Total Chaos lower uniball conversion, ADS Direct-Fit 2.5-inch adjustable race coilovers with remote reservoirs, and a Hellwig 1-1/4" front sway bar. Powerbrake's X-Line Stage-1 big brake kit went on at the same time — six-piston calipers on 13.7-inch one-piece rotors, the right brake to match the new wheel and tire combo.

Out back, custom Alcan leaf springs spec'd for 2.5 inches of usable lift and 2,700 pounds of additional load capacity (sized for the camper bed plus a slide-in plus gear), Archive Garage Hammer Hangers heavy-duty shackle hangers, fresh U-bolts, ADS 2.5-inch adjustable reservoir race shocks, and a Hellwig rear sway bar to keep the body composed under the camper. Wheels are 17×8.5 Nomad Convoys in satin black wrapped in 285/70R17 Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs — the right size for the first-gen platform, which clears 33s without trimming.

The camper bed is a Summit Expedition Trucks 7-foot Full Size base deck (84×80") configured for slide-in camper duty. Front and rear under-tray toolboxes, an 84-inch drop-tube storage box down each side that tucks under the camper shoulder, a 48-inch pull-out drawer, and a 12.5-gallon gravity-fed water tank tucked in front of the drawer. Brandon optioned out of the standard headboard and into a custom 13-inch-wide front storage box — uses the cab gap better and puts the camper closer to the rear deck. The bed is sized to fit a Four Wheel Campers slide-in (Hawk, Fleet, Raven, or any of the FWC slide-in models) without modification, with Torklift Glowstep five-step scissor stairs for camper access. Once the camper is bolted down, it's a daily driver and a slide-in rig in one — and it sits two inches lower than the lift it walked in on.