[Cymon]

Originally Posted by Titanpat57

Sure...drive right by Beacon...don't even stop for coffee...

Originally Posted by philsey

He didn't want to explain "douche canoe" to young impressionable children.

Originally Posted by Titanpat57

They gotta learn sometime....might as well come from an expert....

Well I definitely dropped the ball on that...I guess they do have to learn sometime!

We did drive by Beacon on the way up, but now that I know that's the stomping grounds of the great @Titanpat57 I'll certainly be prepared to stop next time to teach the kids about being accepting of all people. On the way back we took the Western route through Bighamton, Scranton, and Harrisburg as we were driving back through the Blizzard and didn't want to go through the brunt of it. Nothing worse than the NJ turnpike during those types of winter conditions.

[Cymon]

We left on December 22nd for what has become our yearly winter trip to find seasons, snow and mountains. It is what I miss the most living down here in South Florida. We first drove through the night (as what has become our primary method of traveling with our kids and dog out of state). Leaving at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon we got to my parents house in Columbia, MD at 9:00 a.m., no traffic and thankfully uneventful. We go there just in time for the “Polar Vortex”, so we wouldn’t see above freezing temperatures again until we got back to Florida, January 7th. After spending Christmas week at my parents and visiting family and friends we headed off for the second leg of our trip, up to Smugglers Notch in Vermont.

We left on December 30th. We were welcomed that morning with a snow event that would follow us all of the way up the East Coast to Burlington, VT where we stayed the night. It was the first snow we’ve seen in a year and the 4runner, kids and I were loving it. It took about 10 hours due to the road conditions and traffic, but so worth it. Burlington is such a cool city and we enjoyed every second we were there, even if it was spent walking around with the ambient air temperature at 1 degree.

[Cymon]

After our night in Burlington, we left for Smugglers, about a 1 hour drive. We stocked up on food at a Trader Joes and then filled up with gas. 30 minutes into our drive my dashboard started lighting up like an x-mas tree, after checking I discovered I hadn’t screwed on the gas cap completely until clicking (this is something I’m always mindful of and was pretty PO’d at myself for making this stupid error). I tightened the gas cap and re-topped of the gas tank knowing that this usually fixed the issue after enough miles. The lights stayed on until we reached the resort. While my wife was checking in I disconnected the battery for 30 minutes hoping this would reset the ECU. No luck, the lights were all still on, although there was no issues with the 4wd system or anything else. I decided I wasn’t going to spend time worrying about it until we had to start heading back. As luck would have it the second day we were there I started up the truck just to drive around and warm up the engine a little bit (since the high temperatures during the day were -6) and after about a mile of driving the lights went off and all was good the rest of the trip.

The ski conditions were the best you could hope for in January East of the Rockies. 50 inch base with virtually no ice and nice packed powder. It was cold, even for Vermont as it didn’t get above 0 until our last day, where we were also treated to about 4 inches of fresh powder.

[Cymon]

I also can’t say enough about Smuggler’s Notch as a family resort. We haven’t found a better ski resort East of the Mississippi. The terrain is good, the staff and hospitality exceptional, and it has a very old school friendly mountain vibe as opposed to a $ making machine. The kids ski/snowboard programs and childcare are second to none (they even had a program for my 2.5 year old son). They also have night tubing and entertainment for all ages. We’ll definitely be going back, at least until the kids are old enough to start shredding out West. By the end of the trip as I posted in the “What did you do today in your 5th gen thread”, my daughter went from saying “Daddy its, cold I’m a Florida Girl”, to “Daddy I want to move to the mountains!”, brainwash complete!

[Cymon]

Our trip back South was eventful as we drove back the day a blizzard moved up the East Coast. We ended up driving back to Maryland the western route, through Central Pennsylvania. We still got caught in pretty significant snow the whole trip until we got South of Harrisburg, but it was better than being stuck on the NJ turnpike during a blizzard and 8-12 inches of snow. After one day of resting and repacking in Maryland, we headed back to Florida. We can’t wait for our next trip up North!

[RedST4R]

Originally Posted by Cymon

One thing that I’ve been researching and trying to figure out for a while is a better storage system for the back of the 4runner. When camping/exploring we’ve just been using storage bins. I like the practicality of just loading up the bins of equipment that we need but it does make it a pain when they are stacked and lashed to get what we want out quickly without the whole cargo area turning into a mess. So after looking through many threads and ideas this is what I came up with for now based on the following requirements.

1) Low enough height to be able to still put the dog crate, cooler and travel bins/suitcases on top. I lose about 6” already with the 3rd row.
2) Modularity: I needed the storage to be easily removable, and to be split so that we could put one 3rd row seat up at a time, and even potentially stack the storage boxes.
3) Secure attachment points.

As of now we are using under-the-bed storage bins from the container store that fit snugly in each section with about 6” of space to be able to put things that I want to easily access (towels, diaper changer, picnic blanket, etc.). One bin is filled with my paired down recovery equipment, emergency kit and tools. The other is filled with basic camping supplies, lights/flashlights.

The two storage sections are attached to the factory hooks with d-rings and then attached to each other with bolts and wingnuts, which allow it to work as one solid piece. To split them so we can use one of the 3rd row I just unhook one of the sides and unscrew it from the other section. I can take the system in and out of the truck or change it into the ½ section in less than 10 minutes.

Final step was I cut and attached an old Indoor/Outdoor carpet we had at our back door to create a softer surface on top of the wood boxes.

Pics:

This is exactly what I'm looking for to add in 4runner! I like the simplicity of this build as I experience the same issue when moving constantly (as military) and taking long trips especially with kids. This will be my project before my next trip in the summer. If you don't mind, can you share dimensions, materials, tools used?

[Cymon]

Originally Posted by RedST4R

This is exactly what I'm looking for to add in 4runner! I like the simplicity of this build as I experience the same issue when moving constantly (as military) and taking long trips especially with kids. This will be my project before my next trip in the summer. If you don't mind, can you share dimensions, materials, tools used?

I’ll get the measurements and other materials list to you and posted ASAP.

[RedST4R]

Originally Posted by Cymon

I’ll get the measurements and other materials list to you and posted ASAP.

No rush, thanks!


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[Cymon]

Originally Posted by RedST4R

No rush, thanks!


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Here is the materials list. I also posted as an edit in the original post. The length and width of the boxes are pretty close to the max size you can do if you want them to be matching sizes, match the third row so that you can use one side at a time if needed and still use the factory tie downs. The height can be adjusted/cut to meet whatever storage needs you want underneath. Honestly it was hard to find bins that fit under this, best to look for under-bed storage bins. The container store ones we found were 6.25"H x 27"L x 16"W. I went with the 6.5" tall sides as it left the total height of the storage unit to just under 7.5" tall. This gives enough room for our dog crate on top if needed and also for our cooler, or potentially an ARB 50qt refrigerator or other travel fridge in the future. If you have any other questions or need additional pics, let me know.

Materials:
- 2 x 4x8x3/4 Birch Hardwood Plywood:
Tops: 2x 18.5"W x 32"L
Sides: 4x 6.5"H x 32"L
Backs: 2x 6.5"H x 17"W
- Wood Glue
- 1.5" Wood Screws
- 2x 2" Bolts (I used extra that I have for our hurricane shutters) with wing nuts.
- 4x 1.5" Wire Rings https://www.homedepot.com/p/Keeper-1...EaAvvaEALw_wcB Used to attach to factory tie-downs.
- 4x twist lock carabiner https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...2714/205887919 To attach the wire rings to the factory tie-downs.

[RedST4R]

Thanks a lot! Just to confirm you needed 2 pieces of 4x8’ birch plywoods? Sorry the spacing threw me off, I’m a little OCD lol.


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[Cymon]

Originally Posted by RedST4R

Thanks a lot! Just to confirm you needed 2 pieces of 4x8’ birch plywoods? Sorry the spacing threw me off, I’m a little OCD lol.


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Yes, I bought two so I would have enough left over if I screwed up on the cutting. Fortunately I didn’t, so I have some leftover for potential future projects.

[echofoot]

Great ride here Cymon, really digging the practicality of every decision you've made.
I'm in the same boat; young family, having fun in a daily driver with more than enough offroad capability.

I currently have Grabber HTS60 265s on my truck and after reading your post about tires I've been trying to do as much research on them as I can.
How are the Cooper AT3 275s treating you?

[Cymon]

Originally Posted by echofoot

Great ride here Cymon, really digging the practicality of every decision you've made.
I'm in the same boat; young family, having fun in a daily driver with more than enough offroad capability.

I currently have Grabber HTS60 265s on my truck and after reading your post about tires I've been trying to do as much research on them as I can.
How are the Cooper AT3 275s treating you?

To be honest I couldn't be happier. They have been everything that I expected from the tire upgrade over stock and have exceeded my expectations in some areas. At this time I have about 15,000 miles on them and there is very little treadwear. Coming from the stock size HTS60 you will notice slightly more road noise (but very good for a LT All-terrain). I have averaged about .5 mpg loss in fuel efficiency over my stock dunlops. I run them at 42-44 psi depending on how loaded the vehicle is. If the tire pressure drops below 40 psi I notice a much bigger drop in mpg's. In terms of performance, the have been great on highway and around town. At first you can notice the extra weight a little bit from start but I don't notice the extra weight any more. The ride is slightly stiffer, but in no means harsh, just firmer, again what you expect from a LT tire (I have load range C). Below are how I would rate them in different terrains, purely subjective, but they have performed well in everything that I have thrown at them.

Highway/Dry Traction - Very Good
Wet Traction - Excellent
Sand - Very Good
Mud - Very Good (better than expected)
Snow - Very Good (better than expected)
Ice - Average (what I would expect from any all terrain that is not a winter dedicated tire)
Rock - Excellent

This is a vast improvement over all areas from my stock size dunlops, which I would rate like this.
Highway/Dry Traction - Very Good
Wet Traction - Average
Sand - Average
Mud - Poor
Snow - Below Average
Ice - Terrible
Rock - Below Average

Hope this helps, If you have any other questions let me know.

[echofoot]

Originally Posted by Cymon

To be honest I couldn't be happier. They have been everything that I expected from the tire upgrade over stock and have exceeded my expectations in some areas. At this time I have about 15,000 miles on them and there is very little treadwear. Coming from the stock size HTS60 you will notice slightly more road noise (but very good for a LT All-terrain). I have averaged about .5 mpg loss in fuel efficiency over my stock dunlops. I run them at 42-44 psi depending on how loaded the vehicle is. If the tire pressure drops below 40 psi I notice a much bigger drop in mpg's. In terms of performance, the have been great on highway and around town. At first you can notice the extra weight a little bit from start but I don't notice the extra weight any more. The ride is slightly stiffer, but in no means harsh, just firmer, again what you expect from a LT tire (I have load range C). Below are how I would rate them in different terrains, purely subjective, but they have performed well in everything that I have thrown at them.



Highway/Dry Traction - Very Good

Wet Traction - Excellent

Sand - Very Good

Mud - Very Good (better than expected)

Snow - Very Good (better than expected)

Ice - Average (what I would expect from any all terrain that is not a winter dedicated tire)

Rock - Excellent



This is a vast improvement over all areas from my stock size dunlops, which I would rate like this.

Highway/Dry Traction - Very Good

Wet Traction - Average

Sand - Average

Mud - Poor

Snow - Below Average

Ice - Terrible

Rock - Below Average



Hope this helps, If you have any other questions let me know.

This is excellent information, thank you for your time in writing this up.

I'm hesitant about E rated 285s being waaaaay too much tire for me and my family's needs. While cool as hell and nice to have, I just can't justify the potential for marked mpg/power loss at this point for a daily driver.

Ordered the Cooper AT3 275 C load this afternoon, should arrive sometime next week.


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[Cymon]

Originally Posted by echofoot

This is excellent information, thank you for your time in writing this up.

I'm hesitant about E rated 285s being waaaaay too much tire for me and my family's needs. While cool as hell and nice to have, I just can't justify the potential for marked mpg/power loss at this point for a daily driver.

Ordered the Cooper AT3 275 C load this afternoon, should arrive sometime next week.


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Awesome, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in your decision. Post some pics, loved to see them once installed!