[MTN4RNR]

Nice work, @YetiX !

[aquilon]

I love your 4Runner. Lots of things you've done to yours I'd like to do on mine. Like the fogs!

[YetiX]

Originally Posted by MTN4RNR

Nice work, @YetiX !

Thanks Max, your thread has been a big inspiration in what I'm doing.

[YetiX]

Originally Posted by aquilon

I love your 4Runner. Lots of things you've done to yours I'd like to do on mine. Like the fogs!

After the drawers (today?), I'll be doing the write-up on the fogs.

[YetiX]

One of my goals when I started the platform was to have a place to securely keep a set of tools which would live in the 4Runner full time. After I first made the drawers, I had the tools in an unrolled tool roll. Problem was, they kept coming out of the rolls and then they rattled around and drove me crazy. I also had trouble locating tools because I had three different rolls. Then I went to a friend's shop and saw his tools in cut-out foam and had an "AH-HA!!" moment.

Mostly empty drawers:



This is what came in the box from Creative Safety Supply. The foam is a kit for a Craftsman tool chest, but it only needed minor trimming to fit my drawer. The kit has black thick foam, red thin foam, a knife, and Skittles!!



These are most of the tools that I want to fit in the drawer, but I'm still adding tools as I realize I need them:



Since I couldn't figure out how to outline the tools on the black foam, I flipped it over and drew on the white sticker stuff on the back and cut through that way. It was not ideal, but it worked out:



The cut out foam:



And with the tools in place. The drawer is only pulled halfway out and there's quite a bit more space to the back:



Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's not perfect like you see in the pretty pictures on the website, but my tools are secure and organized which makes my OCD happy.

I've been on several trips since doing this and the tools do not rattle and stay in place, even after a day of washboards in the desert. I'm still adding tools (reminder to add spark plug socket) and have a lot of space left over.

The passenger side drawer has the stock wheel tools (I put a fire extinguisher where those were), fuses, paracord, random carabiners, and a spare pair of flip-flops.

[YetiX]

@Baja Designs makes amazing lights which I've been using for years on all of my motorcycles. Baja Designs makes kits for the 5th Gen 4Runner as well as a number of Tacoma and Tundra models, but no love for the 4th Gen. Or so I thought . . .

I saw a 4th Gen with Baja Designs fog lights on Instagram so I contacted Chris at Baja Designs to see how I could make this a thing on my 4Runner. Turns out Chris has a 4th Gen and he had done this as well. Since Baja Designs is in north San Diego County, I took a long lunch and headed up to meet with Chris and see how to do it. Turns out it's very simple...

Parts used
Baja Designs Part No. 447103 - Tundra/Tacoma Fog Light Kit
Baja Designs Squadron Pro Lights - more on this...
Drill and bits
Black spray paint
Painters tape
Cold beer. I used a Sculpin IPA.

First, let's discuss the lights themselves. The Squadron lights come in three levels of lumens, clear or amber lens, and with different lenses depending on how you want your light pattern. The Squadrons come in Racer, Pro, and Sport editions. The Racer has 4,300 lumens and a lens designed specifically to throw the light a long distance, the Pro puts out 4,900 lumens and is for close/middle/distance driving (depending on the lens), and the Sport puts out 2,260 lumens.

If you want to use your lights the same way you use the stock fog lights, i.e. you want to use them on the street and don't want to blind oncoming drivers, get the Sports. I wanted mine to be as bright as possible for off-road use only (or when there's no oncoming traffic) so I went with the Pro lights. Because I wanted more contrast in dusty or foggy conditions, I went with the amber lens and I chose the Driving/Combo lens which has two spot lights for distance and two driving lights which put the light out at a 42° pattern for cornering, for a nice blend of both near and distance lighting.

I do not have pictures of installing the mounting kit onto the lights, but it's very simple. You need to remove the bezel from the Squadron lights using a 4mm (I think) hex wrench and replace it with the mount kit bezel.

So let's get to the install . . .

First, you need to remove the stock fog lights. I got under the rig and disconnected the fog lights from their harness. Then it's simple to remove the outer bezel which is held in place by a tab on each side. Once you release one tab, the bezel can just be pulled out from the front. There are two bolts, one on each side, which hold the fog light in place. Once removed, you're left with an empty fog light pocket which looks like this:

You can see one of the holes where the bolt goes that holds the stock light in place. If you bolted the lights in using the stock holes, the lights would be angled waaaaay out to the outside. To correct this, you need to drill a new hole back about 1 1/4". This is a shot of the Squadron Pro light with the mount kit installed, showing how far back to drill the hole.

In the picture above, you can see where I made a mark in the pocket to drill the hole, and in this picture I have drilled the hole:

The mounting brackets have little clips that the bolts go into. I found they kept moving around and popping off when I stuck the lights in the pockets, so I used painters tape to hold the clips in place until I could put the bolts in:

From underneath, you can see how the lights bolt into the pocket and the old unused hole:

When the lights are installed, they look like this:

However, when I put the outer bezel back in, I noticed that there was a lot of silver showing which was not acceptable:

So I removed the outer bezel, masked everything off, and spray painted the pocket all black:

With the final result looking like this:

(The flash makes it look uneven, but it looks great in person.)

The mounting kit comes complete with an adapter which allows the Baja Designs lights to be hooked up to the Toyota fog light harness, which is what I did since I wanted to control them from the stock fog light switch on the turn signal stalk. I had to reverse the polarity of the wires which was no big deal, I just pressed the little tabs to release the wires from the Deutsch connectors and reversed them. All done:

The final step for me was to do the "Independent Fog Light Modification" so that I can turn the fog lights on anytime the key is on. This way I can turn on just the fog lights, and the fogs stay on when the high-beams come on. Here they are turned on without the headlights being on which is great for visibility off road:

I could not be happier with the results. The lights are amazingly bright and turn night into day. The amber lens provides high contrast and the combo lens is really nice in twisty tight trails.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

[YetiX]

Before my next trip to test out the sleeping platform, I scored big-time in the Classifieds here on T4R. I just happened to log on and check the classifieds right after a guy in Orange County posted that he was selling his TRD Pro wheels with Nitto Ridge Grappler tires for $900!! I immediately replied and PM'd him and made arrangements to pick them up the next day. I think it was meant to be since I had a meeting with a client about 5 miles from where the guy worked. The best part was that as I was swapping the new wheels and tires onto my 4Runner, my neighbor who has a Sequoia came over and asked if I'd sell him my old wheels and tires since he had 22" pimp wheels and hated them. I sold my Sport Edition wheels with tires to him for $500, so in the end I was only out $400 for TRD Pro wheels with near new tires!!

We all know what TRD Pro wheels look like, but #becauseTRD:



It was also a good weekend because I got to install my Rola Vortex roof rack. I got the rack plus the extension because I wanted a full length rack. Also, from my research here, I decided to get the Armor Tech Off Road low-profile mounting brackets. (LINK) I'm really pleased with how it looks and the rack has been given plenty of use in my trips. Having a roof rack is great for carrying stuff you don't want inside your rig like firewood, muddy MaxTrax, and the boots I was wearing when I stepped in a pile of dog $h!t.

I really like the low profile mounts because they keep the rack lower which makes it easier to load and, from my experience, greatly reduced the wind noise. The only downside to adding the Rola was that I could not use the Four Treks mounts for my awning since they interfered with the Rola rack. Fortunately, Four Treks makes awning mounts that fit on a Rola rack which uses, I believe, 1" tubing.

So here's the rack before I mounted the awning back up:







On this side you can also see my totally cool Ridgeback sticker:



And here it is with both the TRD Pro wheels and the Rola with the awning mounted up:

Next up, time to go camping to try things out . . .

[Tkblazer]

Damn that is a steal... I’ve been thinking about getting trd pro wheels or even the fx pro version, but man you scored

[YetiX]

Originally Posted by Tkblazer

Damn that is a steal... I’ve been thinking about getting trd pro wheels or even the fx pro version, but man you scored

I really did. What's funny is my wife was NOT happy about me getting new wheels without even chatting with her first. So I showed her the thread where 5 or 6 people posted immediately after me saying if it fell through they'd take 'em. She was still a little "meh" until I sold the SE wheels and used some of the money to take us out for a nice dinner. Then she was good with it.

[YetiX]

Well, with the sleeping platform, new wheels, roof rack, Baja Designs lights, etc., it was time for another trip. I didn't have a ton of time, so Devin, Miles and I planned an overnighter to Big Bear. A few friends who don't have 4WD vehicles joined us at the campground and went for rides with us.

One of the cool things I got for this trip was that I bought a set of mesh screens that slip over the back windows so I can roll the windows down when I'm sleeping and the damn mosquitoes can't get to me. They work great, are simple to install, and give me a nice cross-breeze when I'm sleeping. Amazon LINK

I also got a hammock from Overland Labs. Great company and super comfortable hammock.

I got to test out the cargo/sleeping platform too and I'm happy to report I got it right. This was just an overnight trip and we planned to eat in town, so I didn't bring much with me, but you get the idea:

Oh, and we did actually go out and run a few trails too:

The TRD Pro wheels look good with some dust on them don't they?

It was a fun break from the routine and I was glad my platform worked as intended.

***Next up - front recovery points and new "pin-striping" . . .

[rickashay]

nice low profile platform. I like how you decided to just keep your tooling down there... I honestly hate having my toolbox in the back of my rig and this is a great alternative. Might have to copy you!

[YetiX]

Originally Posted by rickashay

nice low profile platform. I like how you decided to just keep your tooling down there... I honestly hate having my toolbox in the back of my rig and this is a great alternative. Might have to copy you!

You totally should. It'll revolutionize your 4Runner experience!

[YetiX]

I wanted more-substantial recovery points up front (until I get my C4 lo-pro bumper), so I ordered a set of front recovery points from @Kfog375 at Treaty Oak Offroad. LINK The recovery points are made from Heavy Duty A572-50 steel.

For the 2006-2009 4Runners, you have to cut off the front tie-down hooks. 10 minutes with an angle grinder and a bit of black spray paint and they're gone.

To install the recovery points, you need to loosen all the radiator bolts (no need to actually un-hook any hoses or anything) and lift the radiator up. In this picture, you can see how the radiator is resting on a short piece of 2x4. This gives you room to get the bolts in.

I painted mine red to confuse the Jeep crowd.

And the finished result:

I also bought the Load Equalizing Bridle to better distribute any force across the frame rails. LINK

Luckily, I haven't had to use them yet but I'm sure that when I do they do the job.

[YetiX]

My daughter had never been off-road and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. There's a local off-road area called Corral Canyon that I've ridden dirt bikes at a bunch of times, but never in a 4x4 so we decided to check that out.

I had just bought an Instant Air Supply kit so I quickly screwed the quick fists to a board and then the board to the deck so we'd be able to air down. Gotta love being able to just randomly screw stuff down.

Off we went. Our plan was to go out to the Los Pinos fire overwatch and then check out Espinoza Trail to see if we could do it with Devin's stock Lexus. If we couldn't do Espinoza, we'd just go check out some of the easier trails around the area.

The Corral Canyon map. We staged at Four Corners.

First we went out Los Pinos Road to the fire overwatch. Los Pinos is an easy road/trail so it was perfect to ease my nervous daughter into going off-road.

You can see the fire tower off in the distance . . .

It was a beautiful clear day and the views were amazing.

The rigs from the top of the tower:

We then went out the top part of Espinoza which was beautiful . . .

When we hit the top of the first difficult section (sorry, forgot to take pictures) we realized that we could probably get through, but Devin's Lexus would have the hurt put on it. Since his wife would probably divorce him, we decided that turning around was a good idea. Little did we know . . .

We went back to Four Corners, the parking lot/staging area, looked at the map and decided to take Skye Valley Road to Corral Canyon Road back to Four Corners and then get some lunch. It would be an easy trail and I remember there being great views from when I used to ride dirt bikes out here. If we had stayed on the trail that might have been the case . . .

On the way out, we hit a granite slab and did a little playing around.

The kid on a rock:

One of the awesome views of Barrett Lake:

I should have realized that if we were seeing Barrett Lake, we were not where we were supposed to be. But I didn't. Oops.

A random picture of Devin's Lexus before things went sideways . . .

So this is where I stopped taking pictures (unfortunately). The trail started getting a little steeper, rockier, and narrower, but I kept expecting us to pop out at Four Corners any minute. (I didn't bring my GPS because I, like the idiot I can be, thought I knew the area well-enough it wasn't necessary.)

Pro Tip: When you're on a trail that is so narrow the branches start scraping up your rig and guys on dirt bikes look at you like you're an idiot, you probably are and you're not where you're supposed to be.

This is the only shot we have from this area. It was taken by Devin at the only spot wide enough for him to look back. It's a LOT steeper and rockier than it looks and my driver's side back wheel is about a foot in the air! The kid was not happy.

So we ended up on this narrow, rocky and rutted trail, both in 4 Lo and locked. We kept going because a) there really wasn't anywhere to turn around and b) we thought we were getting closer to Four Corners. Anyways, short story long, we had missed our turn onto Corral Canyon Trail and kept going onto Corte Madera and then Espinosa Trail. Yep, the Espinosa Trail we had decided was too technical for our merry band. Oops.

We finally got to an open area with a trail sign, only to learn we were about 1/4 mile from where we had turned around earlier on Espinosa and that we could not go forward from there as there were some big ass rocks. (Good thing we turned around earlier) SO we had no choice but to turn around and go back through the rough terrain we had just finished.

After a much-longer than anticipated day on the trail, we finally got back to Four Corners and then went to get lunch at about 3:45. We ended up having a lot of fun and stretching the 4Runner's legs more than I had to date. Both of our rigs were scratched up with lots of trail pinstripes from the Manzinita bushes that lined the trail. Needless to say, Devin's wife was NOT happy when he got home.

Here's a sample of the pinstriping I got:

And here's a close-up of the map to show where we screwed up:

All in all, it was a fun day, but a bit more than we had intended to bite off. It's not an adventure until someone gets lost, right??

Next up, Pismo Beach for the USMC Birthday and Veterans' Day . . .

[YetiX]

This post is going to be mostly just pictures. There wasn't really any technical driving or anything like that.

Since the annual Turf and Surf event fell on the weekend of the USMC Birthday and Veterans' Day in 2017, a couple of Marine buddies and I decided to go. We partnered up with a group of guys from Trail Crew and Overland Labs and had an awesome weekend. We hung out and drank beer, manned a checkpoint for the poker run, and checked out some really cool rigs. So, onto the photos.

This is my friend Nick's rig. It's based on a Ford Ranger platform but the only parts remaining are the frame and drivetrain. He fabricated the rest himself! He is an EMT so there's a heavy bent towards EMT gear as you can see. Thankfully, we did not need his EMT skills over the weekend.

Here are my 4Runner, Nick's Ranger, and my USMC buddy Kevin's Land Cruiser:

Kevin on top of his Land Cruiser. Nick and Kevin fabricated the bumpers and everything else on Kevin's Land Cruiser. I really wish I lived closer to them.

My home for the weekend:

Right as the sun was dropping, a CH-47 Chinook did a very low flyover and I happened to have the good camera handy and got these two amazing pictures (sorry they're so big but . . . well awesome)

Some more sunset and beer drinking pictures

And a bunch of pictures from the poker run