[wileetundra]

My 2007 Tundra is just a few weeks old and like any new vehicle owner I am scrambling to load it up with the must-have accesories. I don't mean the common items which were factory options, since we could have ordered a truck with those in the first place, I am talking about the small things which Toyota overlooked in the vehicle design. Here is a partial list so far based on my experience:

• Vinyl door-edge guards to protect from chipped paint when you open your door into another car or something else in the parking lot (usually because some idiot parked too close to you). I needed 3 sets of these from Walmart to do all 4 doors on my Double Cab, total cost about $10. They come in chrome and black but I liked black the best as it is nearly invisible in the door seam with my Pyrite Mica color.
• An LED light for inside the center console which comes on when you open the lid. This is a big dark space which makes it impossible to see what you are looking for in there without some kind of light, especially at night. I found an amber LED marker light at Walmart which can be removed from the exterior mounting plate and stuck on with surface mount tape, then wired into the existing lighting circuit. I will add a pressure switch from Radio Shack to turn it on when the lid opens. Total cost about $10 for both parts and it looks factory.
• Clear plastic divider trays for storing small stuff inside the center console. I picked up 3 Plano units with latching lids from Walmart for $3.50 each, the kind that you put fishing tackle in. They only fill half of the console but they hold a lot of stuff and it is easy to pull each one out separately. The black plastic container with the sliding lid from the factory was virtually useless so I removed it.
• A simple trash bag or bin. I have a thin black bag-style leftover from my Tacoma that I will hang from the lip of the drink holder on the back of the center console. It is narrow enough not to bother rear passengers but easy to reach from both front seats.
• Stainless metal valve stem caps for the tires. The factory units are cheap gray plastic!! I got my set from Walmart for $3.
• A good quality tire gauge with round glass dial, gold metal body, and an air release valve. $8 at Walmart.

Any other good ideas out there?

 

[Tornado 23]

Thanks can't beat Walmart mods......

 

[blackgts2002]

My valve stems caps are metal.. maybe this is a TRD package add on?

 

[StatCoder]

My valve stems caps are metal.. maybe this is a TRD package add on?

OMG! - Don't give them any ideas:

Stainless Steel Valve Stem Caps $65

 

[Tchapin]

My valve stems caps are metal.. maybe this is a TRD package add on?

Those are the air pressure sensors that inform you when your driving on a flat.A standard feature on '07s

 

[blackgts2002]

Those are the air pressure sensors that inform you when your driving on a flat.A standard feature on '07s

ok so why were his plastic? my valve stems AND caps are SS

 

[FEARTOY]

Valve caps are plastic on the tpms ( valve stem)

The Chrome caps corrode.

Dave

 

[wileetundra]

My 2007 Tundra is a Limited and was fully loaded so I expected it to at least have decent valve caps. Maybe not elaborate designs or gold-plated caps but at least something in basic stainless or chrome with hex heads.

These are a low cost item so there is absolutely no good reason why Toyota didn't provide them, other than to try and boost the sale of the TRD caps which they sell. StatCoder is correct, the stainless caps alone can go as high as $65 without any pressure sensors - here is a link to prove it.

I got a decent set of 4 plain stainless caps with rubber o-rings from Walmart for less than $5 but it irked me that I even had to buy them on this kind of vehicle. When you buy the best vehicle on the lot and you pay 3% above invoice you don't expect to find cheap little parts installed, or find very basic items missing from the vehicle.

The horn is another thing I was disappointed in. There are two horns just inside the front grill but they are puny and don't sound any louder than your average car or small truck. Totally out of place on a big strong truck like this. When I hit the horn I want it to move people out of the way, not make them look around to see who is making that irritating buzzing noise. I am looking for suggestions on the best horn to install. So far I am leaning towards a kit from HornBlasters.com which sells loud-as-hell-train-horn kits just like you find on real trains. Anyone have some other good ideas? Can a horn (not a siren) be considered so loud that it might be illegal in some places?

 

[FEARTOY]

TPMS stems are made of aluminum. Aftermarket valve caps some times use
brass or other metals. When you screw a brass/chrome cap on a aluminum stem you will get a GALVANIC CORROSION . Over time it could fuse together or make it real hard to take off. Then what do we do Blame the tire guy thinking he put them on too tight and we get a pair of plyers and try to remove the cap and guess what !!!! you snap off the end of the stem!

just my .02

 

[wileetundra]

TPMS stems are made of aluminum. Aftermarket valve caps some times use
brass or other metals. When you screw a brass/chrome cap on a aluminum stem you will get a GALVANIC CORROSION . Over time it could fuse together or make it real hard to take off. Then what do we do Blame the tire guy thinking he put them on too tight and we get a pair of plyers and try to remove the cap and guess what !!!! you snap off the end of the stem!

just my .02

Great point. So it is not enough to get just any metal caps, you have to make sure they are made of the same metal as the valve stem otherwise there is a risk of galvanic corrosion. The actual risk is determined by the similarity of the metals as explained here and here.

What is odd is that Toyota doesn't mention this in the manual, which would seem like a good idea since there are so many aftermarket caps out there that could pose a problem.

There are some good photos and an overview of the TPMS system parts here.

 

[SC105B]

Those horns gotta be illegal in some places...:devil:

But they sure look like fun...

Would come in handy driving through NYC...

 

[Ubob]

My other car is a Mazda Miata - little car, little beep-beep horn. I won a set of airhorns for the Miata at a local event, so I replaced the OEM with them. There have been one or two occasions in 4 years where I wanted and appreciated the loud peircing blast from these horns. There have been dozens of times when I just wanted to give somebody a simple, short, non-heart-stopping beep... It can't be done with the airhorns. A short quick hit of the horn button isn't enough to sound them, and any longer hit blasts at full volume. If it wasn't so much of a pain to swap them back, I would have done it long ago.

If you really want big horns, wire them to a separate switch and keep the OEM.

 

[jasonlee16]

To funny. I am waiting on my Tundra to ship and already have a horn kit from Hornblasters waiting. It's something I wanted to do on my Tacoma but figured I'd wait til I got a Tundra because I knew my tacoma would have to go bye bye.

The kit itself is pretty stinkin big, with the air tank, compressor, and tripple horns... I am not sure where I'll even put the damn thing but I'll find a way to make it fit.

 

[richcrest]

Dear Wileetundra

If you still have your grey plastic valve caps, I will give you $2 apiece for them.

Richcrest

 

[Desert Freedom]

A year and a half later... haha

 

[wileetundra]

Dear Wileetundra

If you still have your grey plastic valve caps, I will give you $2 apiece for them.

Richcrest

I probably have them somewhere in the garage. Will have to look. Can't you just buy another set locally for the same or less?