Posted this on that other forum so figured I would here since I'm not partial.

I figured it was time for me to put my Runner up here. I bought it about a year ago to replace my 1988 FJ62 and gain all the things my Cruiser didn't have.

My use ranges from cross-country drives to frequent off-road runs in and around Colorado. I did the hard stuff with the Cruiser and have no intent on doing anything much more difficult than moderate+ trails now.

I have the OME lift - Lift 3" - OME884 Front Coil Springs, OME895 Rear Coil Springs, OME 90000 Front Struts and OME 60004 Rear Shocks. I love the lift which allowed me to run Goodyear Silent Armor 285's which I prefer over all other options. Yes, I added SpiderTrax and did a bit of trimming.



I installed both a Cobra 75 CB which is hidden inside the console with the exception of the mic and a small Yaesu Ham setup which resides inside my cluttered console.





The white box in the above pic is my iPod power connection which is also tied in with the stock radio maintaining all steering wheel controls.

I do use the rear shelf which holds my Powertank setup above and recovery equipment and tools below. You can also see the trailer wiring connection has been relocated in at least one pic. The jerry can holder is removable.



My latest mod is a new rear bumper to carry my spare, hi-lift and 2 jerry cans. This was a custom build by a friend who's a great fabricator. It's based on one made for the Xterra and involved removal of only the plastic center section.



I just finished a 1850 mile road trip and the bumper is great, frees up a ton of room and works flawlessly even after too many miles of washboard at pretty good speeds.

Some detail shots:

Left swing arm with jerry cans and camera re-mount.



Right swing arm with hi-lift and spare.



The hitch was relocated to the bumper height providing additional clearance over the stock load distributing hitch that was on there. The bumper is mounted using all the original mounts from that.

I did not want side protection with this bumper, as I said I'm not doing any hard core stuff any more and being a good driver I spare myself from damage by being careful what I drive. If I ever decide I want that kind of protection I'll go with mini-sliders.



The camera is now mounted on the right swing arm enclosed in a small box.



The camera shows the hitch ball better than before.



From the front it looks pretty much stock with the exceptions of some scrapes and such. I removed the V8 emblem along with all others for a bit of clean lines. You can also see I removed the stock mirrors in favor of small 4" round with convex lenses eliminating all blind spots.



Finally I also have sliders made by the same guy that made my bumpers. These are indispensable and save lots of potential damage.



You are not seeing rust in these pics, just dirt. I'm not very particular about keeping this truck polished and despite what most folks do I didn't wash it before taking these pics. What you see inside and out is dirt and dust from my road trip including Colorado, Arizona and Utah.

Hope you like it, I do!

Nice build! I love those side mirrors, nice touch! Have a side shot of that rear bumper? Keep up the good work!

awesome ride. love the OME lift. what type of gas milage do you get? And did the tires rub before the spacers?

Nice! I'd really like to see a side shot. Trying to decide b/w 285 Duratrac and Firestone S/A's.

Sweet rig! Love the custom bumper, I might have to tackle that with a buddy when I get my new tires. Either that or ARB bumper to hold the oversized spare (wanting to get 285/70's). My buddy is a welder and has made all kinds of custom stuff for my friends Taco's - sliders, racks, custom rooftop camper holders, and resi brackets for their suspensions.

Sweet ride! Thanks for the pics!

Nice to finally get a better look at your build Chris

I really like the hot rod mirrors and the bumper!

Thanks guys, I'll add a side shot later today. I'm surprised people like the round mirrors, I thought I was the only one that did! The idea was my wife's who hated the obstructed view and the final result is one we both love.

Mileage? Typically in the 14/15mpg range but I don't pay much attention to it. This truck does everything I ask it to do and that's all that matters. Having 10 gallons in reserve makes it less of a concern.

I had a lot more rubbing before the spacers but knew from reading here that I would. I still get a bit but only off road. Not enough to concern me. I do recommend the Goodyear Silent Armor as an alternative to Duratracs, check out Goodyears own ratings and you'll see why.

Sorry I didn't reply sooner but will quickly post That after running Hell's Revenge in Moab today I can say the jerry cans do not hinder departure angles at all. The bumper is now Hell's Revenge tested and approved.

A tiny spec of paint was lost on the outside rear corner.

Looks like I forgot all about this and never posted the pics I said I would. I'll update this soon since I've made some changes.

I guess it's time to add a few pics. I found some early ones that will be totally out of sequence but that's okay. These 3 were taken the first time I took my truck off pavement and is just as I bought it.

The shotof the trail taken from the driver's seat doesn't really show how narrow it is but trust me, it's narrow. I stopped and looked at the brush and my wife sais "We didn't buy her to keep her pretty" so I went ahead and got a good start at collecting what we call "Colorado Pinstripes."

The other two are just a couple random shots as we checked out clearance etc. You can see it's a new truck for us because we hadn't even gotten plates yet. After giving her this test we were very pleased even though we couldn't open the rear doors because the running boards were bent up and prevented them from opening all the way.

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A big change to my truck was the addition of a SW front bumper, Warn winch and synthetic line. I bought the bumper used and in need of a bit of adjusting but that was worth the savings from buying new. It's been on now for quite a while and has served me well. I like having a winch for the assurance it provides, kind of like the Hi-Lift - I figure if I have it I won't need it.

That proved untrue when my wife and I were exploringa new area to us and followed a little used trail heading down into a valley. We found it wasn't used much because it was quite wet and we quickly found ourselves buried up to the frame. Oops! Fortunately we had the winch and were back on solid ground in a half hour or so. I'm not sure if I have ny pics but will look. In the meantime here are a few pics of the bumper.

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In the first picsof my rear bumper it shows the dual jerry can holder. In the first year of having the bumper I never needed any gas for myself or anyone else so I no longer carry the spares and have removed the carrier. I should say that there was one time someone needed the gas I carried. It happened to be when I was parked in a Moab motel parking lot and someone siphoned both cans to empty. I hope they broke an axle.

I also (obviously) added a hood blackout, the A few wiring mods.

really looks great man, very practical build! really like that hood blackout piece, could u provide a little more about that?

Thanks, I am being very practical with this truck. When I bought it I decided to only do mods that made sense for my intended use. I have been successful in that so far!

A friend of mine made the hood blackout to add 4th gens to his line.
Toyota 4Runner 4th Gen Hood Blackout