"The Border Runner" build thread: '87 4runner built for epic PanAm journey

[nucktaco]

if you decide to go the hid route maybe consider ddm tuning. i have their HID's in my fogs(3000k) and headlights (4500k) and it cost 100 bucks CDN for both kits including shipping and tax.

now i have had one ballast burn out but at 30 bucks a kit it wouldnt be so bad to bring a spare ballast or 2 along on your trip.

[Toyotero]

are these bulbs any good or should I swap them with something different?

I say mount them, wire them up and see how they glow :-D

FYI, in case you are not familiar with this kind of electronics, you should buy/build a harness kind of like this one.. fused with a relay:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...OnLineOrdering

[defrag4]

We dont plan to do much night driving but good foglamps are always nice to have. Plus if they get stolen off the truck you wont care too much.

[Ruined Adventures]

Sorry I've been really quiet on this thread lately...I gave up on the soft top ideas. It was becoming too complicated and it really distracted me from the more important tasks at hand. The time and money it would've taken to do all the fabrication just wasn't worth it. Moving on...

Installed the Old Man Emu suspension just before Christmas. You can read all about it on our latest post, where I also discuss the "Zuk coil mod" that I previously had, along with a comparison of the OME kit and the Zuk mod. As much as I'd like to enter all the info here, it seems a little pointless. I also posted the writeup on Yotatech. I put it there because I know that's where Toyota owners usually search for OME installs and the Zuk mod, plus it will be backed up on YT's servers in case our site ever goes down. Heaven forbid, right?



Also mounted 5 new 245/75r16 Warden AT's on 16" Tacoma steel wheels. Yes these are Treadwrights. Yes I've read the good and bad on their tires, including the Landcruiser that experienced a tire failure/rollover. I know that's been brought up frequently here on the Portal. After much debate I feel like this will not be an issue for us. We don't want to exceed 55 mph on this trip and chances are that our average speed in Latin America will be around 40-45 mph (gotta slow down for the topes!). We want to conserve fuel as much as we can, besides our 22RE 4runner doesn't exactly set land speed records. I'm not saying retreads are for everyone, I'm just saying they will be fine for our application.


Don't laugh too hard at the ugly tube bumper guard! It was $35 on craigslist and adds a little bit of radiator protection for minor fender benders. As tempted as I am to buy the ARB bumper that's been sitting on craigslist for $500, I really can't justify the cost or weight.

Speaking of weight, I took the 4runner to the scrapyard recently and put it on the scale...3800 lb. They paid me five bucks for my old leaf springs and they even guessed my weight! Subtract the weight of the Hannibal Rack, front bumper guard, fuel, and myself, and the 4runner's Curb Weight is around 3500 lb. (this is less than it should be because of the removed rear seats, cargo panels, and spare tire). Our GVW is 5080 lb, so we theoretically have 1500 lb of room for all of our gear, passengers, fuel, and water for this trip. I will hit the scales again after we load up and make sure that we're staying under the GVW. The max load for our tires is 3042 lb. (each), so distribute that weight evenly and we'll be well under the danger zone.

After closer inspection it looks like our tires have Goodyear Wrangler "carcasses" with the kevlar sidewalls, recapped with BFG AT style tread. The kevlar sidewalls along with the fact that these tires are 10-ply adds an extra 25 lbs to each tire! Ouch. Luckily the 16" tacoma wheels weighed the same as the original 15" steel that came on the 4runner. These are very beefy and appear well constructed after thorough examination. I feel confident that tire failure will not be a problem. The guy who mounted my tires had never seen anything like them, but he was impressed with how well they balanced. When I came back to mount the spare he grabbed the guy in the back and said "Hey check this out, these are those Treadwrights I was telling you about".



The rear storage/sleeping area is coming together nicely and we've been sleeping the past couple weeks in the back, just as a test run. One of my buddies from the fire academy helped me build the rear storage boxes out of 3/4" birch. I removed the factory cargo panels and these boxes are trimmed so that you can reach completely through and access all of the gear that is stached behind them. I will post more details on this setup once it's completely buttoned up. The top access hatch on the driver's side makes a nice countertop for setting the laptop or our backpacking stove on. This will be really nice when we're stuck inside on a rainy day.



The bed is the same dimensions as a twin mattress, but luckily Shannon is so tiny that it works out great for us. It's actually just as comfortable as our full size mattress in our bedroom! We cut up our old mattress pad and added a 2.5" gel foam pad, giving us 5" of pure heaven to sleep on. It feels like you're laying on the pillowy beard of Zeus himself. Sorry, Shannon wouldn't let me try the wine-glass/bouncy test.



This is obviously enough room for my tiny fiancé, but if you look past the beautiful woman you can tell that there's a gap between the storage bench and the bucket seats. This not only allows the front seats to recline, but I can sit directly behind the bucket seats and my feet can fully stretch out (perpendicular to the truck) while in a semi-reclined position. Just place a pillow behind your back and you're ready to fall asleep while watching my favorite episodes of Gilmore Girls on Netflix...what's that? No, I clearly said old episodes of the A-Team.

I'm working on some mounting points behind the bucket seats so that we can secure our mini-Engel there while we're driving. This thing is the perfect size for our trip! When we're parked and using the rear "living room", the Engel fits in front of the passenger side bucket seat. This is the only thing that we will have to move when going to bed. Everything fits so well that I sometimes wonder if we planned it that way

[Ruined Adventures]

By the way, here's a free upgrade for your overland vehicle:


Just carefully insert your tasty beverage at an angle like so...apply leverage in a downward fashion...and enjoy. Don't forget to catch the cap and Tread Lightly. Now give thanks to the Japanese engineers who surely designed this as a hidden treasure for us to enjoy...and yes, you have 2 of these on your tailgate and one at each door!

Big thanks to James of Home On The Highway who let me in on this secret...that's no longer a secret. I now get a grin everytime I open a beer...uhhh, I mean soda.

[marcus469]

Nice one Brenton and Shannon, I like the look of your truck. I just did a round trip to Costa Rica and back in my 89 4runner. It was great. A word of support on your tires, I've got 31" mtr treadwrites and they did just fine, loaded and doing 80mph at times, not a problem. Fuel economy was pretty bad especially at altitude in the hills but the truck was really solid.

Went down in 11 days from Tucson, far too quick but had to meet my wife and daughter off the plane. Came back in 2weeks with an expo member, Steve, who responded to a post on here. We had a fun time. Never got round to doing a report on here but if you want any info I'd be happy to tell you what I can.

Try to check out El Salvador, it was a revelation. Ruta Lenca in Honduras too if you can.

Cheers

Marcus

[Ruined Adventures]

Thanks for the tips Marcus! La Ruta Lenca looks pretty awesome, I hope we swing thru that neck of the woods.

I believe I saw some of Steve's report from your trip, looked pretty awesome and I remember admiring your 4runner. Hopefully you'll keep up with our trip and shoot us ideas and recommendations when they come to you.

We're getting really close to departure (January 29th) and being away from the 4runner is driving me insane! There's still so much to do before we leave.

[Elliot Press]

Loving this thread and your posting style
Pretty girls don't hurt either.

[tanglefoot]

For lighting, I had some aux lights mounted on the front (but never HID--way too expensive, as you mentioned) but I never really thought they were very helpful until I moved them to the sides. I put my cheap pair ($20) of clear fogs (nice, diffuse flood pattern) up inside the front fender wells pointed to the sides. You can barely see them when they're off but at night in remote and forested areas, they really add scope and reduce that tunnel vision by nicely illuminating the areas on both sides of the truck. They always give me the warm fuzzies when I'm on the trail at night and I flip them on.

Unless you need to drive 60 mph through the desert at night, I've never found extra front lighting to be much of a help, myself. They mainly just blind everyone and make the natives grumpy.

The 4Runner's looking great! I love the OME springs and shocks on the '85--they really transformed the character of the rig--much more civilized! I really like your interior design!

[Ruined Adventures]

Thanks Elliot, you made Shannon blush! (I assume you were referring to her?)

I put my cheap pair ($20) of clear fogs (nice, diffuse flood pattern) up inside the front fender wells pointed to the sides. You can barely see them when they're off but at night in remote and forested areas, they really add scope and reduce that tunnel vision by nicely illuminating the areas on both sides of the truck.

Cool idea! I may have to try something like that if we have time...

On another note, I got a little carried away today in the shop. Something's brewing...I can only give you a teaser pic for now.