[Shred_Head]

After owning my 4Runner for almost 2 years now and spending plenty on mods, i figured it's about time to start a build thread...

My main goal for my build was to make a comfortable and capable adventure rig to take me where ever I feel like going; whether it be camping, snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking or exploring the mountains. This is also my daily driver so I’d like to keep it rather "practical", even though I really like some of the aftermarket bumper options.

Coming from a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo 4x4, I never bothered spending money to mod my truck since i was in college and didn’t want to put money into a truck that had high mileage… After graduating college and working a steady job for a while, I finally saved up enough money to buy a new car since my Isuzu was on it’s last legs… I decided on the 4Runner since i've always loved Toyota Tacomas/4Runners. I could not be happier with my decision!

2015 Magnetic Grey 4Runner SR5 4x4 - Purchased New on 6/10/2015







In it's current state:







I can definitely blame this forum for all of mods I have done so far!


List of Current Mods:

Exterior:
-Prinsu Designs: Full Length Roof Rack
-Baja Rack: Standard Basket (SOLD)
-TRD Pro Garnish & Valance
-Baja Designs: Squadron Sport Amber Fog lights & Bezel Kit - Wide/Cornering pattern
-Rigid Industries: SAE/DOT Fog Lights (SOLD)
-Rigid Industries: Dually LED Spots (Mounted to CBI Ditch Brackets)
-Rigid Industries: Ignite series LED flood light (mounted to side of Prinsu rack)
-GG Lighting: 20" G3 LED Light Bar (Mounted Behind Grill)
-Amber Marker Light Mod (Installed in grill)
-Xenon Depot 4300k Phillips HID Low-Beams
-Dark Window Tint

Armor:
-White Knuckle Off-road: Rock Sliders
-RCI: Aluminum Front, Trans, T-Case Skid Plates

Interior:
-Husky: Weather Beater Floor Liners
-Canvasback: seatback liners & cargo liner (custom made for ARB Drawers)
-Salex: Center Console & Glove Box Organizer
-LED Interior Lights
-Rigid Industries: Ignite series LED diffused cargo light
-ARB Outback Solutions Drawer System (Part No. RDRF945 & RD945)

Suspension:
-Bilstein: 5100 Shocks (Front & Rear) - Set at 0
-OME: 884 Front Coils
-Sway-Away (SAW): 1.5” Rear Coils
-Camburg: MOOG Ball-Joint UCAs

Performance:
-Magnaflow 22" Muffler (#12586)
-ARB Differential Breather
-TRD Cold-Air Intake (Saker’s method)

Wheels/Tires:
-BFG: KO2 All-Terrains 275/70/R17
-Method Race Wheels: NV Matte Black 17x8.5

Electronics/Audio:
- Head Unit: Pioneer AVH4000-NEX
- Amplifier: Alpine MRV-500 2-channel
- Speakers: JL C2-350x (Dash Speakers) / Polk DB651 (Rear Doors)
- Subwoofer: JL Audio 8w3 (JL Microsub CP108)
- Sound Deadened Front & Rear doors w/ 80 mil FattMat

-Switch-Pros SP8100 Switch Panel // BlueSea Fuse Block w/ 6 independent circuits (wired to SwitchPro) // Mounted to Pelfreybilt Fuse Tray

Accessories:
-ARB: 2500x2000 Awning
-Kuat NV Hitch Mount Bike Rack
-MAXSA Escaper Buddy traction mats
-Viair 400P Portable Air Compressor
-ARB E-Z Deflator
-Rugged Ridge 3"x30' (30,000lb) Recovery Strap
-CSI Hitch Shackle/Locking Hitch Pin

Future Plans:
-Rear Window Molle Rack (Driver Side) by Rago Fabrication
-Bajarack Ladder & Upgraded Lift Gate Struts
-Under Hood work light
-Rear facing Dust/Camp Lights: Baja Designs S2 Sport (Amber)
-Rooftop Cargo Box (Thule or Yakima)

[Shred_Head]

Plasti-Dipped emblems, installed amber marker lights in grill and Rigid Dually LEDs (Amber Covers) behind the grill.



Installed Rock Sliders by White Knuckle Off-Road



Sound deadened all 4 doors with FattMatt and installed Polk db651 speakers in the rear doors (I pulled them from my last car) and installed JL CX2 3.5" speakers in the dash. Also replaced the Factory Entune system with a Pioneer AVH4000-NEX head unit.





New suspension parts: Bilstein 5100s (set to 0 setting), OME 884 front coils (2.5"), SAW 1.5" rear coils, Camburg MOOG Ball Joint UCAs
Wheels & Tires:Method NV Wheels/BFG K02 Tires 275/70/R17







Installed GG Lighting 20" G3 light bar behind the grill:



Installed Rigid Industries DOT/SAE Fog Lights (amber covers) in the factory fog locations:

[Shred_Head]

Cargo Platform / Sleeping Platform / Cargo Drawer:

This whole thing has been a work in progress. First it started out as a sleeping platform/storage platform, which worked well for a while. But then i wanted something to keep things organized with, so i built a pull out drawer that uses the platform as the top. I am planning on scrapping the whole cargo platform now and making a dual drawer setup for the rear and having the sleeping extension bolt on when i need to sleep in the car.











Install the full RCI Aluminum skid plate set that I bought from a group buy. Eventually i plan to get the gas tank skid too, but i'll wait till the factory skid gets bent up first.





After I found myself going through some semi-deep water/mud pools, I figured it would be a good idea to do the differential breather mod for some piece of mind. I was lazy so i bought the ARB Diff breather kit rather than assembling my own... Solid product as expected by ARB.
I installed the Diff Breather inside the rear jack storage compartment:




Got a good deal on a Baja Rack standard basket rack from another T4R member. I had planned on waiting a while to get a full length roof rack, but figured a 3/4 length would be just fine for my needs and the price.





Bought all the parts for the TRD Cold Air Intake kit using Saker's method and saved about half the cost of the TRD CAI kit! Very easy/straigtforward install once you have all the parts.





Installed CBI Ditch light brackets (used the heat gun method to melt the plastic) and then relocated the Rigid Dually spot lights that i had mounted behind the grill previously.

[Shred_Head]

Trabuco Canyon - Orange County: After a week of owning the 4Runner I was itching to test it out on some dirt roads and play around. Didn't really need 4wd for this, but I wanted to exercise the 4x4 system since it was brand new.






11/14/15 Joshua Tree:

The day after I got my suspension and wheels/tires installed, I headed out to Joshua Tree for a weekend camping trip with my buddies. I drove the Geology Tour Road loop to see how the suspension performed. It rode SO much better than before and soaked up the bumps and washboard road really well. Totally eliminated the body roll/nose dive from the mushy stock suspension.

I was driving about 50-60 mph (at times) over some fun roller sections and it glided right over the bumps and felt very stable.








2/13/16 Mammoth Lakes:
President's weekend snowboard trip to Mammoth Mountain



3/12/16 Big Bear/Holcomb Valley:
Headed up to my local mountains for some late season snowboarding. Drove out to Holcomb valley on my way out and found some fun watering holes to splash through. This was my first time driving really muddy conditions but it was super fun! there were a few puddles that got really deep and definitely got me "puckered"... After this trip I had to wash the car multiple times to get all the mud off.












4/1/16 Joshua Tree:
Returned to Joshua Tree for another camping trip with my friends. The spring wildflowers were in full bloom which made for some nice scenery. Drove out to Geology Tour Road again for a sunset drive.

[Shred_Head]

5/20/16 Road trip up the Pacific Coast:
Living in CA my entire life I have still never driven the Pacific Coast Highway all the way up past San Francisco. Having planned to visit a 3-day music festival in Napa with my Girlfriend, we decided to take the entire weekend/week before to make stops along the coast on my way up to Napa.







We started the first day leaving So-Cal (Long Beach) driving North along PCH through Santa Monica, Malibu, stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch, and then stayed the night in Morro Bay.





The next day we continued North, stopping at Elephant Seal Beach in San Simeon, and then took a tour of Hearst Castle.







After our tour at Hearst Castle, we continued on up the coast to Prewitt Ridge where we set up camp. This was a really cool primitive camping ground with amazing views of the ocean! Took an old, sketchy paved road on the side of a mountain that turned into winding dirt fire roads for the last 5 miles.










The next morning we woke up, made coffee and breakfast, then packed up our camp and headed down the hill to Sand Dollar Beach (our camp looked out to this cove).







After this, we stopped at McWay Falls for lunch and photos and then arrived at our next destination, Pheiffer-Big Sur State Park. We camped here for another 2 nights before continuing on.

[Shred_Head]

Road trip up the Pacific Coast - Continued:

We packed up and kept moving North, passing over Bixby Bridge, then took the scenic route (12-mile Drive) through Carmel and had lunch at Pebble Beach. After that we stopped at the Montery Aquarium and then arrived in Santa Cruz where we stayed for a few more nights.










Did all the touristy things in Santa Cruz, like the Mystery Spot (which was a trip), checked out Steamer's Lane, and Henry Cowell State Park and made a day trip into San Francisco.











After Santa Cruz, we took the coast past SF and then headed inland to Napa Valley where we attended the Bottle Rock Music Festival. Great way to end the trip!






I don't know why I waited this long to do a road trip up the coast! Next road trip I would love to continue along the Pacific Coast from SF area up to Oregon/Washington with lots of camping along the way... Maybe Spring or Summer!

















6/12/16 Big Bear/Snow Summit: Hit up the bike park for some downhill MTB and explored a few trails on the way home.

[kdub351]

nice build!
I just got my 2016 sr5 in the same color and I was eyeing those wheels as well.

about your lift.... did you just piece the parts together or did they come in a kit? can you recommend a vendor?

Sweet ride!

[Randy_Marsh]

Huge difference from the beginning, really get's me excited to do the same in my own way this next year (same type: 14 SR5 4WD)

[Shred_Head]

Originally Posted by kdub351

nice build!
I just got my 2016 sr5 in the same color and I was eyeing those wheels as well.

about your lift.... did you just piece the parts together or did they come in a kit? can you recommend a vendor?

Sweet ride!

Thanks! I pieced the parts together from multiple vendors. I got the Bilsteins through Total Automotive Performance and the coils & UCAs from Wheelers Offfroad.

I debated holding off for the full Icon Stage II kit but didn't want to spend the extra $ right away since the Bilsteins/Coils met my needs and provided a mild lift to fit bigger wheels... Although I will eventually upgrade the shocks to either ICON or King (way down the road).

[Shred_Head]

7/25/16 Moving to Northern CA:
After growing up in SoCal (OC Area) I decided it was time for a change of scenery… I packed up all my belongings and moved to Northern CA (Sacramento) to start a new job and do something new with my life. I was really missing the Sierras & the NorCal scenery after spending 5-years living & going to school in Chico, CA. So far it’s been nice getting to camp, hike & explore so many epic places all within a few hours! SoCal just doesn’t have the wilderness that NorCal does… plus the city life of LA was getting old.







First place I went once I moved was Tahoe. Hiked around Emerald Bay & went fishing at a little spot near Truckee:










9/3/16 Tahoe National Forest:
Headed out to the Bowman Lakes area for the Labor Day weekend expecting it to be pretty crowded (which it was). Explored many of the lakes/campgrounds in the area looking for a nice spot to camp for the weekend… We drove about 15 miles (5-miles of really rocky terrain) out to Bowman Lake. I found some really cool spots to camp along the way, stopping at multiple turn outs to other lakes/camps. I finally got to one of the further lakes and found a perfect spot to camp, right on the water, but unfortunately the girlfriend was NOT having it with all the bees & bugs that were out (the bugs were EVERYWHERE near the water this time of year).







We ended up backtracking and driving to Rucker Lake, which was one of the few PG&E camps that allowed fires this time of year. We got lucky and found an open campsite right by the lake, so we set up camp for the weekend. Still a really nice spot to camp! Had fire pits, restrooms & bear boxes and was hiking distance to another awesome lake called Blue Lake, where we swam and ate lunch.















9/25/16 Bowman Lake / Lindsey Lakes - Tahoe National Forest:
A few weeks later we returned to the Bowman / Grouse Lakes area one more time before Summer ended since there are so many places to explore in this area of Tahoe. Had a chance to go rock climbing in the Bowman Valley area with a small group so I made another camping weekend out of it.





After climbing near Bowman Lake we headed to a spot i checked out on my previous trip. This time there was plenty of open camps. Lindsey Lakes is another cool PG&E spot where fires are permitted in the summer. We camped right across from the lake (most of the camp sites are right next to the lake).





Now I can't wait to return here in the Spring when the snow starts to melt!

[kdub351]

Originally Posted by Shred_Head

Thanks! I pieced the parts together from multiple vendors. I got the Bilsteins through Total Automotive Performance and the coils & UCAs from Wheelers Offfroad.

I debated holding off for the full Icon Stage II kit but didn't want to spend the extra $ right away since the Bilsteins/Coils met my needs and provided a mild lift to fit bigger wheels... Although I will eventually upgrade the shocks to either ICON or King (way down the road).

Thank you for sharing all the bad ass pictures of your travels.

how do you like the suspension setup for its road manners? This rig is dual purpose for me, with the wife driving it around town occasionally.

[stphnman20]

Nice build and awesome pics of your adventures!

I might check out BottleRock next year

[Shred_Head]

Originally Posted by stphnman20

Nice build and awesome pics of your adventures!

I might check out BottleRock next year

Thanks man! I would highly recommend going if you're able to! And if you decide stay nearby, plan on staying somewhere near one of the park-&-rides since the shuttles are free.

[Shred_Head]

Originally Posted by kdub351

Thank you for sharing all the bad ass pictures of your travels.

how do you like the suspension setup for its road manners? This rig is dual purpose for me, with the wife driving it around town occasionally.

Road manners have greatly improved over the stock SR5 suspension. The ride is much firmer (but not harsh) and feels more sporty now. Handles noticeably better in corners, eliminating the body roll, and doesn't nose dive when I brake.

Also helps soak up big bumps better than the stock suspension.

[Shred_Head]

10/29/16 Yosemite National Park:
Decided to make a trip out to Yosemite Valley since i have never seen the Valley in the Fall. It was seriously EPIC and really quiet compared to summer.

There was a big rainstorm 2 of the 3 days we were there, but it made for some dramatic waterfalls! Luckily we had a full day of sunshine so we hiked up to Glacier Point via 4-mile trail (more like 4.6 mile). The views were incredible the entire hike. I HIGHLY recommend this hike if you don’t mind about a hundred switchbacks for 3 hours straight... Total hike was almost 10 miles round trip and 3,500 ft of elevation gain. My body was in pain the next few days, but totally worth it!