Preacherman's 5th gen 4runner build

[preacherman]

So I thought I would start a thread about my new 4runner build. I picked up a 2013 4runner SR5 a few weeks ago. I really wanted a trail edition but my dealer said it was a 6-8 week wait. He made me a good deal on an SR5 so I bit. I hated the stock wheel and tire however so my first stop was to the tire store for wheels and tires. I stuck with the stock size 265/75/16. I really like the 265 size and I wanted an off road tire not necessarily a bigger tire. I went with a Hancook AT and I am very happy.

ODO less than 100 miles


Then we went on a 200 mile Big Bend off road trip. There is something about 200 of the first 600 of your miles being off road.

ODO 600 miles


The truck did well. We got something like 15.3 miles per gallon pulling the fully loaded trailer with 4 MTB bikes and 4 people. I was impressed. One thing I was not impressed with was the stance. This baby needs to go higher...So I installed a 3" toytec lift.

ODO 1,500 miles


Much better. Another thing I did not like on the trip was the cargo area was jammed full of crap and I had to use my handheld ham radio. Next up a cargo drawer system and a full ham install.

 

[ebg18t]

looks good.

 

[dorton]

Looks nice. I like the 62 behind it too.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[preacherman]

Believe it or not I had no problem getting rid of new tires (I sold them on craigslist) or the suspension. Cutting into the dash to install a ham radio however I was uneasy about.

Here is the fresh dash...Where to put a radio??


After sitting in the truck for a while I figured out the best way to mount my ham with very little cutting. (One little hole). I run a yeasu ft7900r with a remote mount head unit.



It fits very nice and I am happy with the install. I also mounted an external speaker under the driver’s seat with some zip ties.

Next up I needed to turn my attention to the cargo area. With a 12v fridge I had two problems I needed to solve. First was the 4runners only have 12v hot and no constant. It was easy to wire it hot on the 3rd and 4th gens but the 5th gen made it hard. I wanted a 12v constant for my fridge so I ran wires straight from the battery. I use an inline fuse near the battery terminal and 10 gauge wires. The plug turned out great but I had another issue. I only have the one battery for starting and to run the battery. I wanted a way to see what my volts where so I would know (quickly) if I needed to let the car run to recharge the battery while camping.

Here is what I came up with....



The 12v on the top is the factory one. The one on the bottom is the 12v constant I wired on for the fridge. The 12v is always hot. The switch is just to turn the volt meter on and off. I did this because the volt meter is lit and has a slight amp draw. I didn’t want anything more draining the battery so I came up with the switch as a way to quickly check the amps without a constant amp draw.

 

[preacherman]

Looks nice. I like the 62 behind it too.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

The 62 was susposed to be on the mod list first but we are taking the 4runner on a big summer trip so its getting all the attention...plus momma drives the 4runner sooo.......

 

[preacherman]

Now to the cargo area. When we were in Big Bend the cargo area began to catch all things junk. It made my skin crawl. On the way back I started thinking about what I wanted out of a cargo drawer system. My requirements where:

1. Orginization
2. Keep things safe in case of an accident
3. A fridge slide (that is also safe in case of an accident)
4. Modular (meaning removable, easy to get in and out of truck)
5. Uses space/pounds wisely, meaning uses every available space and does not waste much (and does not weigh much)

I am not finished yet but here is what I did today.


I am not finished I still have to skin the drawer, paint it, secure it, install the fridge straps etc. but you get the idea.

 

[Sport43537]

Nice looking rig! I'm looking forward to the rear cargo build since I just purchased a '13 4Runner and have the same need for improved cargo storage.

 

[PaintRock]

That looks good! How do you like the ToyTec lift so far? Any problems with the install?

 

[preacherman]

That looks good! How do you like the ToyTec lift so far? Any problems with the install?

So far I like it but I have yet to take it off road. It was very easy to install and had good directions with it. They actually have the directions on their website so you can look them over before you buy to get an idea of what's involved. I really like the rear springs, they say they are good for 10% more load capacity which is nice when fully loaded. I may end up getting longer rear shocks, they recommend it but its not necessary. I think it would get more rear travel with the new longer shocks.

 

[tip]

The switch is just to turn the volt meter on and off. I did this because the volt meter is lit and has a slight amp draw. I didn't want anything more draining the battery so I came up with the switch as a way to quickly check the amps without a constant amp draw.

Is this a Blue Seas display or? Very nice. Am I understanding from your post that it also can be switched to an ammeter?

 

[FactoryWRX]

HI. What wheels are you running?