I have been over on the Toyota side of the forums but have a new rig and wanted to get a build thread started. Prior to the 4Runner I have built several Rovers.
I spent alot of time in the build of my 2014 4Runner but at the end of the day it just wasn't a big enough vehicle to suit our large family of five (three boys). To get all our gear in for travel the third row was useless on the 4Runner. Now I can comfortably fit 5 full grown adult males if I need too and still have a full truck bed for gear and the rack as well for lighter items and even tow a heavy trailer. I have been wanting a super duty diesel for long time and I found a great deal so a trade was in order.
The truck is my daily driver/work truck 75% of the time. The other percentage it is our travel vehicle so I am going to focus on a balanced approach which won't limit my towing ability for when I need that.
LEER Topper
I thought about how I wanted to securely protect the contents of the bed for quite a long time. I wasn't sold on getting a topper right away and was looking hard at either the Bakflip or the Bak Industries Roll-X covers. The problem is that our portable cooler is an 85L and it is taller than the bed rails of the truck. I had thought of selling it and getting the smaller ARB Fridge (45L), but I am a drummer and my kick drum was also taller than the bed rails. I got some quotes on new toppers but it was a staggering $2K - $3K for the styles I was looking at with the Thule rack options... money I wanted to put elsewhere in this build.
I started scouring craigslist but was having a hard time because I have a step tailgate. Finally I found the perfect one posted and it matched my truck. The dealer wanted $900 for it and it had come off an older 6.0 Super duty that was in trade. The fit was perfect and I can always take it off when I need to use a gooseneck trailer.
I have ordered a Ranch Hand Winch Bumper for protection and it is at powdercoat right now to match the King Ranch colors. To put in the winch bumper, I purchased a Superwinch Talon 12.5K.
Once installed I will post some more pics and specs/details for those interested.
I spent alot of time in the build of my 2014 4Runner but at the end of the day it just wasn't a big enough vehicle to suit our large family of five (three boys). To get all our gear in for travel the third row was useless on the 4Runner. Now I can comfortably fit 5 full grown adult males if I need too and still have a full truck bed for gear and the rack as well for lighter items and even tow a heavy trailer. I have been wanting a super duty diesel for long time and I found a great deal so a trade was in order.
The truck is my daily driver/work truck 75% of the time. The other percentage it is our travel vehicle so I am going to focus on a balanced approach which won't limit my towing ability for when I need that.
LEER Topper
I thought about how I wanted to securely protect the contents of the bed for quite a long time. I wasn't sold on getting a topper right away and was looking hard at either the Bakflip or the Bak Industries Roll-X covers. The problem is that our portable cooler is an 85L and it is taller than the bed rails of the truck. I had thought of selling it and getting the smaller ARB Fridge (45L), but I am a drummer and my kick drum was also taller than the bed rails. I got some quotes on new toppers but it was a staggering $2K - $3K for the styles I was looking at with the Thule rack options... money I wanted to put elsewhere in this build.
I started scouring craigslist but was having a hard time because I have a step tailgate. Finally I found the perfect one posted and it matched my truck. The dealer wanted $900 for it and it had come off an older 6.0 Super duty that was in trade. The fit was perfect and I can always take it off when I need to use a gooseneck trailer.
I have ordered a Ranch Hand Winch Bumper for protection and it is at powdercoat right now to match the King Ranch colors. To put in the winch bumper, I purchased a Superwinch Talon 12.5K.
Once installed I will post some more pics and specs/details for those interested.