Front mask and bug shield on 2005 Work Truck

[cookiemech]

Has anyone else noticed the dearth of OEM accessories available for the work truck, and how poorly they fit if you do find them? Knowing how bad the paint is, I immediately purchased both the hood protector and front end mask from Toyota (yes, I know that they can't both be used at the same time without cutting up the mask, but I wanted to see which I liked better). The hood protector was unreasonably expensive and poorly engineered. I never found a satisfactory fit for the clamps used to tie the outboard ends to the hood; the earlier models simply used screws to attach the ends to the hood (you had to drill them, but I did this on my friend's Tundra years ago with no problem).

The front end mask is supposed to be the correct one for the work truck (oval fog lights), but the upper part that fits the hood really doesn't fit well. The lower edge has clips that cannot possibly fit the bottom of the grille. I have it attached with wire ties.

I have quite a few years' experience working with Toyotas in general and their pickups in specific, and this is the worst accessory situation I've seen. Is it just me? Since there are no running boards available from anyone (and I mean ANYONE) to fit between the wheel wells (rather than just along the cab), I bought some generic ones that were the correct length and fabricated the brackets. They look fine, but still don't compare with the beautiful OEM ones I bought for my T100.

Does Toyota just hate the people who buy the work trucks, or do they figure that these trucks are just going to be abused on some job site somewhere? I bought mine because I like the clean look and prefer a long bed, not because I couldn't afford something else.

[Himself]

Hmmmm.....I thought the paint work should be good on Imports?

Anyway, I am in the market for hood protectors/bug shields too. So where should I get them and what should I get since you had some bad experience with them now.

[cookiemech]

This Tundra has the worst (softest and most easily chipped) paint on anything I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong; even if all the paint fell off, I wouldn't own anything but a Honda or Toyota. But I have to be nearly the most obsessive Tundra owner around. I still have my 1993 T100 with 14,000 miles that doesn't know the meaning of the word "salt". My pickups sit in a climate-controlled garage virtually all the time. But the new Tundra has several chips and marks in the paint from merely brushing against it (I mean that the chips came from the road and the other marks from just barely touching it).

I wish someone could be held accountable for the terrible paint quality. When my wife gave away her 1989 Honda with 125,000 miles, it had maybe five stone chips and the paint was otherwise excellent.

And no, I don't know where to buy a good mask or hood protector (only where to buy the bad ones ).

[wleslie]

I just installed a front bra from Colgan on my 05 DC Tundra. It fit great and looks good too. Call Colgan direct. Mine was about $135.00 and it took me about a half hour to install it. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of it installed to post.