This is my very favorite rig... I call it "Vera"

MightyP

Observer
As Vera sits today (05/16/18)

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The Build:

I love ExPo, but have avoided putting a build/exploration thread on here because I have so many other threads on the same topic on other forums. Further, 4runner builds, and even 4th Gen specific builds, are a dime a dozen. What finally convinced me to make a thread here was realizing just how much my build is an exercise in balance and building on a budget, but without sacrificing the creature comforts my suburbia, middle-class family has come to expect. I'll admit I haven't read all 300 pages of Toyota builds, let alone the hundreds of threads for other manufacturers, but this kind of build is few and far between. So I decided I might as well do the build/exploration thread.

Previous vehicle was an '08 STi 5-door, built for track days. When I knocked up my wife the second time, I decided I needed something I could put a rear-facing car seat in and something with a bit more trunk space. Sold the STi and bought a VW Passat. That is what I call “The Dark Time”, so I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say, I had it less than a year and bought the 4runner.

The "Grocery Getter"
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"Schnitzel"
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I can't say what exactly I was thinking when I bought the Passat, but I built my new requirements list from scratch when I decided to get rid of it. First, I came up with what my new vehicle needed to do. Then I set requirements so the next vehicle would be able to achieve my goals. At that point I started looking at vehicles and obviously ended up purchasing my 4runner.

What does this vehicle need to do?
- Last at least 5 years without significant maintenance cost.
- Function as the vehicle of choice for family road trips.
- Handle well in snow and adverse weather
- Have appropriate comfort features for the daily commute
- Be interesting enough that I'm not going to start shopping for something new in 2 years (historically when I get tired of a particular vehicle)

Those needs became the following requirements:
- Objective data showing the specific model/year vehicle are extremely reliable
- Popular enough of a vehicle that there will be ample How To's online on maintenance and repairs.
- Solid online community, including forums.
- Minimal scheduled maintenance (many recommended changing spark plugs at every oil change for the Passat)
- Large enough back seats to comfortably fit a rear-facing car seat
- Large enough cargo area/trunk to comfortably fit all our crap for a week-long family vacation
- Reasonably smooth and quiet ride (my STi had neither)
- Comfortable front seats
- Enough power to reasonably accelerate into traffic and pass slow moving cars.
- Appropriate mpg and tank size that I get at least 300 miles per tank
- Automatic climate control (tri-zone preferred)
- Automatic transmission
- AWD or 4WD
- Looks good
- Appropriate aftermarket support
- Fun to drive
- Under $18k
- No body rust and minimal/surface-only frame rust (this is HARD to find in Minnesota!)
- Reasonable maintenance records
- Clean accident history

I then put together a list of vehicles that, at first brush, met the requirements and eliminated them until I settled on a 4runner or GX470. I would have preferred a V8 4runner or GX, but couldn't find any in my price range that weren't rusting out. Then I came across what is now my V6 4runner and loved it. Bought it a couple days later and have been happy ever since.

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MightyP

Observer
Being that I'm a tinkerer, I started looking at what I would change before I even bought it. As I mentioned at the beginning, I'm on a budget. We're a 1-income family and lost a good chunk of change getting out of the Passat, so high-cost upgrades (tires, suspension, etc) were going to have to wait until the OEM stuff wore out or I found a ridiculous deal. Big-ticket accessories/gear would only happen as I saved my pennies AND found a good deal. So I started looking at lower cost things to do.

Suspension: Being that the KDSS didn't show any signs of going out when I bought it, suspension wasn't going to happen for a while. But I did want to lift the ride height a bit, so I bought a Daystar 2.5/1.5 lift. Install was straight forward and I've been very happy with it. One thing I didn't like was the reverse rake I had when the 4runner was fully loaded. Sometime later, someone told me about AirLift. I researched it, bought it and installed it. It's been great and completely eliminated sagging.

Once the stock X-REAS goes out, I'll upgrade to either OME or Toytec Boss. Since I'm close to 150k miles now, it's only a matter of time…

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Showing the sag

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Airlift 1000 Setup

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MightyP

Observer
Wheels and Tires: “Vera” had brand new Geolander H/T 265/65R17 tires when I bought her. Again, I planned to just deal with having H/Ts until they went out, but I got a great deal on some take-off Terra Grapplers in 265/70R17s from another member of Texas Overland and pulled the trigger. When it's time to buy new tires, I'll go bigger, but the stock TRD Pro tires are solid.

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Going forward, I can't decide what size. Pretty sure I'm set on Cooper ST Maxx, but whether it'll be 285/70R17, 255/80R17, or maybe 275/70R17, I'm not sure.

I like the basic design of the Sport Edition wheels, but I really like black wheels on a dark grey vehicle and I'd rather they be flush to the fenders. Friend found a set of used Spydertrax spacers to flush the wheels, plus, VHT has a nice black paint with matte clear.


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MightyP

Observer
Exterior:

Hit all the chrome pieces (including the grill) with PlastiDip and added a hitch-mounted recovery shackle. Removed the badges in the back. Still might remove the badges on the doors...

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I picked up a set of CBI ditch light brackets and some cheap cubes. Rocked those for a bit until another Texas Overland member sold me his used Rigids for a great price.

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Replaced the license plate bulbs and reverse bulbs with brighter LEDs. Much brighter than before, but still not as bright as I'd like in a completely dark area, so I'm working on mounting the cheap cubes to the back to use as additional rear light when necessary.

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Then I replaced low beams, high beams and fogs with LED bulbs. Fog lights actually ended up too bright and I had to find dimmer LEDs. I'm working on mounting the cheap cubes in the rear, and will update this thread later on that. If I had it all to do again, I'd stick with regular low beams and fogs and only upgrade the high beams to LEDs.

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I already had a Yakima Loadwarrior from a previous SUV and bought some Quick Fists and mounting hardware from Lowes to mount a shovel. Decided to paint a shovel I already had to match before mounting it.

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If I have a complaint about the setup, it's that it's tall. Lift, tires, stock rails, Yakima rack and a shovel add up to being 6 ft, 11.5 in. I know this because it's exactly how high my old garage was...

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Most recently, after a trip to the beach, I decided I really needed an awning. The owner of Off-Road Ready sold me a lightly damaged one that had been a demo for a killer deal. Taught me that Home Economics class wasn't a total waste and I got shade for a great price!

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I happen to really enjoy coming up with my own solutions to things, especially when I can save myself lots of money in the process. This time it was figuring out how to mount my awning without spending as much on the mounting brackets as I did on the awning (I got a GREAT deal on the awning and clamp brackets are expensive). Ended up mounting the awning directly to my factory roof rail system, and was more excited than I probably should have been that I managed to make it look like it was still a part of the roof basket. Total cost was about $10. If I can get my hands on an angle grinder, I'll probably grind down the bottom of the brackets a little, but otherwise, it's perfect.

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MightyP

Observer
Interior:

One of the first things I do to a new vehicle is swap out the interior bulbs with LED bulbs. Since the stupid 4runner (it's not really a stupid 4runner. I love you, Vera...) doesn't have a dome light up front (who at Toyota missed that one???), this was extra important and I knew I might have to do some wiring to get the map lights to turn on with the doors. Bought a bunch of bulbs and got the interior bright enough I didn't even have to do the Map Light Mod. It probably cost $50-$60 to replace all the bulbs, but it was worth every penny.

Before
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After
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Other upgrades include...

Upgrading the stereo head unit (wanted Bluetooth and XM Radio), adding the Smoker's Kit to the center console (I don't smoke, but it gives you an extra 12V power source), USB adapter, all-weather floor mats, and phone/tablet mount.

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Dash cam

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Attic (and a patch or two)

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Fire extinguisher, first aid kit and a "Go Bag"

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MightyP

Observer
Gear: This is kinda my catch-all for the other stuff I bought so Vera can do her job, but really isn't something I consider part of the vehicle.

For recovery, I pre-ordered a set of Tred Pros. When Tred missed their expected arrival date by over 3 months, I bought a set of Traction Jacks. Traction Jack was having a sale where they threw in a collapsible pick/shovel combo. Already had a tow strap, but wanted to add some d-rings and a kinetic recovery rope. On September 1st, I got an email saying my Treds are on the way. We'll see if I keep them or turn around and sell them and just stick with the TJs.




I used to be on a Search & Rescue team, so I already had a pretty complete first aid kit and a Go Bag (changes of clothes, sleeping bag, food, OWB holster, extra ammo, fire starting stuff, hatchet and anything else I thought I'd need to spend a couple nights outside during a search).



I also picked up a tool roll and extra tools to keep in the 4runner. Other things that went in the back include an air compressor, tire pressure gauge, waterproof boots and spare socks, CB radio, towels, plate/cup, sun shade, jumper cables, 12V fan, rain gear, flashlight, ratchet straps, bungee cords, etc.






All the junk really was getting out of control and made me want a drawer system, but I could never figure out a way to get drawers to meet my needs, so I ended up buying a Plano box that has worked better than I had hoped. Everything in this picture, plus the Go Bag go inside the Plano box.




Recently, my cheap, red gas cans started to leak from the seams. I've kept 25+ gallons of fuel on-hand for emergencies since we lived in FL, but the leaking cheapo cans gave me an excuse to get nicer ones I could bring with me on trips. After some research, I decided I like the Scepter MFCs and I went about finding some for less than the $100/ea they're going for on eBay. I now have 2 new and 3 used Scepter cans, a metal donkey ******** and a syphon with 14 ft of hose. Once I test out my syphon setup, I'll post a picture. Basically, it's intended to let me fill my gas tank from the fuel cans without removing the cans from my roof rack.

 
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truman3

New member
I love that 4Runner.... on all of the forums and even Facebook too!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

MN4RNR

New member
Looks good MightyP. Enjoyed following the transformation. Wondering if the awning affects daily driving at all? Noise, etc.
 

MightyP

Observer
Thanks, everyone! I've updated the reserved posts with actual information and pictures!

Wondering if the awning affects daily driving at all? Noise, etc.

It really doesn't affect anything, as far as I can tell. It doesn't move or wobble. It doesn't weigh much. And the roof rack causes extra wind noise, but I can't hear a difference with the awning and the roof rack vs with only the roof rack. I guess the real test will be when I get on a narrow trail, but for daily driving, it's like it's not even there.

And I almost forgot to post up the collapsible shovel/pick from Traction Jack. It's actually pretty solid. I wasn't sure since it collapses like it does.

 
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MightyP

Observer
Curious about your mount method with awning to stock rack. What bracket is that?

The bracket is just a 5" mending plate. I measured where I needed holes and had to drill a couple. Used a 3/8" steel spring nut in the rail, then appropriate bolts and nylon nuts. I bought enough parts to do 3 mounting points, but decided to stick with 2 since it's plenty strong and the center bracket would be a pain.

 

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