[derpiful]

Originally Posted by steezemcqueen

Good wheeling with you!

You wheeled your open/open truck better than a lot of people did all locked up.

Thanks for helping me get through it all! Gold Bar Rim/Golden Spike was my favorite trail to run out of all the ones I did.

I honestly have no idea how I was able to get over some of those obstacles so easily being open/open. I was driving it a little harder than I should have been.. that might have helped a little bit!

[C-RAIG]

I must have just missed you today at work. I noticed your truck as I was leaving. Looks great!

[derpiful]

Originally Posted by C-RAIG

I must have just missed you today at work. I noticed your truck as I was leaving. Looks great!

Thanks Craig! Yep, you barely missed me, as I noticed you down on the track right as you were leaving... oh well, I'm sure I'll see you around!

Also, I'm really liking those new wheels you got, they look even better in person!!

[derpiful]

Finally went through the pictures! I reduced it down to 45 in total, all in an album I created my Flickr page. Go check that out for all of the photos! (I'm trying not to make this page huge like I did the previous one... sorry mobile users!)

Anyways, here's a few I picked to showcase on here:

Day 1 - Top of the World
This trail was great, as the scenery was pretty much unbeatable. I also loved some of the optional obstacles, making this trail a little tougher if desired!







Day 2 - Gold Bar Rim/ Golden Spike
My favorite trail of the three I ran. This one was hard, and I did some obstacles that I probably shouldn't have been able to do without a locker.







Day 3 - Hell's Revenge
This trail was pretty easy, just a little bit nerve-racking with some of the crazy ups and downs that the trail winds through. Also had some great views! Also, I did not to Hell's Gate, as I figured without a locker and it being my DD there is just too much to risk.








One of my favorite parts about the whole event was going to the dunes, where people were jumping. I'm not sure what it was, but being so close and seeing it in person for the first time ever is just amazing! (This is a very poor photo, but it's the best one I had..)

[derpiful]

250,000!

...and it's still running really great!

[derpiful]

Well, I got started on a project tonight, but never got to finish it: lower ball joints. I've been meaning to do them since I got back from Moab, but haven't found the time until now.

I'm just missing the bolts! I made the mistake of assuming that the main 4 bolts in the lbj would come new with it... I was wrong. It also seems that I forgot to get a new tie rod cotter pin, so time for a new one of those also. That means I have to leave her like this tonight..



Time to head back to the dealer tomorrow!

[derpiful]

A few different updates!

In regards to the LBJ, they got put on the to-do list again. I ended up having to order the bolts I needed, and was forced to leave the 4Runner on jackstands for 2 days while they came in. I hated not being able to drive it!

I got the driver's side completed, and all has been fine since! I just need to get the passenger side done now.

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Next, to the fun part: I went offroading yesterday!
We ran Middle St. Vrain along with Coney Flats. The trails were great, the weather was perfect, and the water crossings were so much fun. I was aired down to 18psi (which I absolutely love doing now, it makes things so smooth).













Everything was going great, until... pssssss. I knew exactly what it was, got off the trail, and got it all fixed up. It seems that I hit one of the rocks just right to stress the sidewall and tear it. This is exactly why I carry a spare..









Overall, an awesome day! I did get Discount to get me a new tire (I love having the certificates), but now my tire situation is mildly upsetting. I have 2 tires with full tread, and 3 that are pretty worn. I'm running the two new ones up front, even thought I really wished they simply all had matched tread.

Also updated my avatar to show of some of the more recent additions. Went for the same style picture (from the front while entering water), but my last one was when I was stock!

[Supermoney]

Sorry to hear about the tire, correct me if I am wrong but are these the same duratrac's that have a rep for having "weak" sidewalls? I may be confusing with another brand / tire but I thought I have seen a lot of people post about tearing their duratrac sidewalls.

BTW I have the same wheels! Love them.

[derpiful]

Originally Posted by Supermoney

Sorry to hear about the tire, correct me if I am wrong but are these the same duratrac's that have a rep for having "weak" sidewalls? I may be confusing with another brand / tire but I thought I have seen a lot of people post about tearing their duratrac sidewalls.

BTW I have the same wheels! Love them.

Yeah, I've definitely heard of lots of people with busted Duratrac sidewalls. I don't know what it is about these specific tires, but it seems more people have issues with tearing the sidewall than people with other tires do. Oh well...

And yeah, the wheels are awesome! Simple and effective.

[derpiful]

So I did a little bit of wiring today!
This project is something I've been wanting to do for a while. Switched power to turn on the radio and power outlets without having the key in. Perfect for charging phones while camping, listening to music while sitting around, using the CB on the trail, etc. While all of the could be done with the key in, I'd much rather have it in my pocket where I know it is safe.








As you can see in the picture above, the radio, CB, and power outlets are on, all without the key in. I love it!

I had to spend my time going through the FSM, trying to figure out which wires to splice, where they are, and all of that fun stuff. I had originally planned to power the PWR OUTLET relay, but realized that I'd have to do some funky stuff to get the radio to work too. I ended up splicing into the wire right before the ACC fuse.

Now, for the confusing part. When I turned everything back on and tested it out, the clock never turned on... I killed it! I'm not quite sure what caused it, or if it can be fixed. It's upsetting. Any ideas?

[derpiful]

I started building something yesterday! Excited to see how this comes out.

[derpiful]

aaaand done! (kinda!)

Got the swingout built, and it functions, now carrying my spare. It's awesome! A long two days in the garage, but well worth it.




It's a tad bit high, yes, but I'd rather have that over dragging it offroading. I noticed the dragging was very common while in Moab, and so I thought I would make something that didn't do that.
I still need to add an extra support beam to the main bar, along with properly attaching the license plate (it's very carefully ziptied to the tire right now).

The hinge idea was stolen directly from @steezemcqueen , mainly because it works so well for so cheap. My setup is not nearly as nice, though....




Also, I love the angle it makes with the hatch. It's a bit close though...




Lastly, the latch.




A few other notes:
- Goodbye rear window view.
- THERE'S SO MUCH ROOM INSIDEEEE
- I need my highlift on this.

[derpiful]

Made more progress on the swingout recently! I looooove how it looks now!

Added some triangle supports, mounted my license plate correctly (it has a light, finally), and even stuck my Hi-Lift on there!








Drilling through that grade 8 bolt for the Hi-Lift lock was one of the most frustrating tasks I've ever done. Took over an hour in a drill press, along with many bits. I should have just stuck with standard bolts.

[derpiful]

Off on another adventure I go!

Today a few friends and I are taking a quick road trip around Colorado, ending in Buena Vista for the Toyota Jamboree!

Each day is filled with trails and camping. Should be a great time.

[derpiful]

The past week was an absolute blast! I'm going to have two posts; the first is for our Colorado road trip, and the second is for the Colorado Toyota Jamboree!

Sunday
We got a late start on Sunday but ended up heading up to Boulder and running Middle St. Vrain and Coney Flats. This is the same trail that we ran just a few weeks ago (see this post), but it's a fun one and the water crossing is hard to beat. We ended up camping right near that little pond.





Also stuck a new sticker on and got it a bit dirty. Probably one of the only stickers I'll ever run, mainly because I really support what Stay the Trail is trying to do.





Monday
We packed up camp and headed to Caribou Creek, one of the first "offroading" trails I ever did. We ran it incredibly quick... seemed very short this time. It also looked like it had rained recently here, as the trail was quite muddy.





After that, we headed to Breckenridge and then Wheeler Lake. Getting my buddy's mostly stock TJ through that was a bit difficult, but we did it! The view at the top was absolutely amazing- photos don't do it justice. Wished we could have camped up there.









We ate dinner in Breck and decided to drive to the Glenwood Springs area to find somewhere to camp. When we got there, we got the brilliant idea to go to Moab... since we were only like 3 hours away. Into the night we drove, arriving in town at about 3AM.


Tuesday
Being in Moab, there was no better place to stay than Area BFE. We were the only ones there that night! After only about 4 hours of sleep, we woke up and headed to the dunes right across the highway.





It's just too much fun to drive there and mob around. Shortly after, we were on the highway again, heading towards Telluride! We arrived around dinner time, and simply ate dinner and found a good spot to camp.

Once at camp, we also found that my swingout broke. It started to flop around a little more than it should.. and sure enough, look what happened!





I think all of the hard driving put a beating on the heims- I really should have gone beefier from the start. (I've since ordered a spindle. A big spindle.)

Wednesday
On Wednesday, we decided we were going to run Black Bear Pass and Imogene Pass. We ran Black Bear first, coming from the Ouray side, then dropped into town and headed up Imogene.








Black Bear really wasn't as bad as everyone makes it seem, and the views were incredible from up there... I loved it. It is always fun seeing all of the old mining equipment and reading about the history of the ghost towns. Back to town, where we got dinner and headed back to camp.

Thursday
Slept in on Thursday, got breakfast in Telluride, rode the gondola multiple times, and then decided we should probably keep driving. Arrived in Buena Vista around 5 PM, packed all of the gear accordingly, and parted ways! Onto the Jamboree I went! Stay tuned!