[cccolin]

Wondering what other folks are doing for MTB-trip-focused builds. I’m in a 19 TRD ORP 4runner I bought new 2 years ago. The first 6 months it was a Denver corporate office commuter and weekend ski vehicle with occasional Moab trips. Then the pandemic and a layoff happened and it spent a year as a wandering home/cross country road trip/offroading/wilderness access vehicle for me and my 90 pound dog. I built a simple bed platform in it with a mattress, did a basic lift, bigger AT tires, and a cargo box up top.

so now I’m settled. I’m living in the Tetons in eastern Idaho and I don’t plan to move again any time soon. So currently it’s my winter daily driver/get up the ski hill 4-5 times a week/take me and my dog to work in a foot of snow truck. Also, it’s my “drive 8 hours to the desert in southern Utah and camp and mountain bike for a few days to a week, every month or two” vehicle. And in summer, my drive to mountain bike 3-5 times a week truck.

My current setup is as mentioned above. Rear seats removed, simple bed platform (storage behind front seats under platform, no other additional storage), plus a hitch mount bike rack. Cargo box up top if someone else comes on the trip with me, otherwise I try to leave it off to save the MPG hit it causes. For daily driving with the dog, and for skiing, it’s fine. For summer MTB, it’s ok. The hitch works fine. Not as well as throwing it over a tailgate pad, but it’s fine. For trips to the desert, it kinda blows. It’s fine for me as a long road trip vehicle (except the softex seats get HOT). It’s great as an off-roader. Sleeping in the back is…ok. Obviously I have to crawl in through the door and then can’t sit up when I’m inside. But the mattress is cozy and I sleep decently in there.

The thing that really drives me up a wall is moving my stuff around at every stop. I try to keep it so that I have one side of the bed clear of stuff, but between my biking gear, extra clothes, bike pump/tools, blankets/sleeping bag, pillows, cooler of food, large bag(s) of dry food and cooking implements, and stuff to make fires with, I end up having to pack and unpack the car every time I stop. Move all the stuff to the front when i sleep, move it to the back for driving. Take the front wheel off the bike(s) and put them in the car when I park in a populated area so they don't get stolen, etc. It's annoying AF.

I don't want to build a raised platform with storage under it because I already feel cramped for sleeping. Putting the cargo box on top kills my MPG, and only sort of solves the moving stuff around. I'm considering everything from getting a smaller cheaper car that does better on gas and just staying in hotels to building some storage in the back somehow to getting a trailer to selling it and getting a van to god knows what else.

Thoughts? anyone figured out a good system with the 4runner?

[webejammin]

I do MTB camping trips a few times a year and always use a ground tent. I prefer not to camp inside the truck unless I'm only staying for one night.

Having a separate camp from your vehicle is a major benefit to me on multi-day camping trips when I'm camping in the same place for a few nights... That way I unload the tent and campsite gear, and now I can take the truck out on backroads/trails, or even just to head into civilization for a beer. If you get a good tent, it will setup in less than 10min, last years, and be pretty cheap (compared to vehicle accessories).

I've also found that if you're anywhere with trees, its often easier to find a nice flat spot to pitch a tent, than it is to park a 4runner- especially if you want some seclusion.

Thats just me, but I do a lot of backpacking too, so I like tents and am not afraid of a short hike into a cool campsite by a stream or river, ect.

[Bassturd]

I’m in a 4th gen but I ride my bike a lot!! I do weekend trips out into the desert every other week. I ride SLC and Vegas quite often also since I’m right in the middle of the 2 off if the 15. I have a hitch bike rack for most things but also put a fork adapter on a piece of 1x4 for when I want the bike inside the Runner. I did build a sleeping platform with drawers to store the majority of my stuffs but take it out when I want the bike back there. I also have a roof rack that I put most of everything on while traveling. As far as sleeping goes I have 3 different things I do depending on the trip and how lazy I’m being. The laziest is just set a foam pad up with a down bag in the back of the runner. For cold weather or bad weather camping I bring a simple 4 man slumberjack tent it’s easy to set up and does ok in the winds and rains. My favorite is to set my cot up next to the Runner with my favorite sleeping and have the dog kennel sitting there facing the entrance to camp so he can just scan for intruders.

[Jetboy]

A small "teardrop" camping trailer sounds like a pretty good solution for you. It's really nice to have a dry hard sided place to sleep. And all your camping gear stays ready to go. It's easy to setup with 30 gallons or more of fresh water tank, so you can have plenty if you're going to southern utah for longer trips. And you get to leave it at a camp site instead of having to break down camp every day. You could get almost all the same benefits from a 4x8 size utility trailer with a rack and a RTT mounted on it. I don't like RTTs on the vehicle for a lot of reasons, but that can work as well. I built my own teardrop a few years ago. Sold it last spring after moving to a 19' factory TT because... kids. But it was perfect for what you're wanting to do. That would be my first choice. Keep the trailer profile within the slipstream of the tow vehicle and you won't lose much mpg. Don't go too big.

If you're sleeping in the 4R, you can make a low profile camping platform and remove rear seats (middle row on a 3 row) and use that space for most of your storage. That's what I did for a lot of solo trips.

Or - sell it and get a van. If you're not going offroad, a Sienna gets about 40mpg and has lots more room. Easy to fit bikes and a camping setup in the back. Shit - even a suburban gets better mpg than a 4Runner. Lots of good options if you don't need to do a lot of offroad miles.

[GearJunkie88]

Sounds like you need a minivan


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[cccolin]

Originally Posted by Jetboy

A small "teardrop" camping trailer sounds like a pretty good solution for you. It's really nice to have a dry hard sided place to sleep. And all your camping gear stays ready to go. It's easy to setup with 30 gallons or more of fresh water tank, so you can have plenty if you're going to southern utah for longer trips. And you get to leave it at a camp site instead of having to break down camp every day. You could get almost all the same benefits from a 4x8 size utility trailer with a rack and a RTT mounted on it. I don't like RTTs on the vehicle for a lot of reasons, but that can work as well. I built my own teardrop a few years ago. Sold it last spring after moving to a 19' factory TT because... kids. But it was perfect for what you're wanting to do. That would be my first choice. Keep the trailer profile within the slipstream of the tow vehicle and you won't lose much mpg. Don't go too big.

If you're sleeping in the 4R, you can make a low profile camping platform and remove rear seats (middle row on a 3 row) and use that space for most of your storage. That's what I did for a lot of solo trips.

Or - sell it and get a van. If you're not going offroad, a Sienna gets about 40mpg and has lots more room. Easy to fit bikes and a camping setup in the back. Shit - even a suburban gets better mpg than a 4Runner. Lots of good options if you don't need to do a lot of offroad miles.

I used to offroad a lot but lately I'd rather ride my bike. I am semi considering selling it and getting a van or a truck with a camper.

[Horsethief]

A van/minivan is definitely useful for this application.

Even on solo trips, by the time I load all my camping and bike stuff in my 4R, I often find myself thinking "I should have gotten a Suburban".

If one doesn't want to go the full van route just yet, the Sub is a great vehicle. Loads of room while maintaining off-road capability. Check out Sub Overland on social media for some example of converted Subs.

[texen]

We converted a 6x12 cargo trailer into a camper (beds/kitchen/portolet/heat/ac/solar). I can get 4 bikes and 4 kayaks in there and it's super lite (and cheap) compared to a manufactured rig. I have no problem pulling it down the beach or typical BLM type roads. If your going to really get off road there are some sweet 4x4 teardrops you can build or buy.

If it's just you a small trailer can be a great and fairly inexpensive solution, and you keep your 4R :-)

[Xtremluck]

I’m an avid mountain biker and lover of technical 4WD trails. I often do both on trips. It took me almost six years to perfect my setup. Goals of the build were to have a setup that was self sustaining for at least two weeks, transport one or two mountain bikes with a rack system that didn’t affect departure angles and an easy camp setup. It wasn’t cheap but we’ve taken this thing down to Baja all the way up to Whistler Canada and everywhere between and I can’t think of a better setup.






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[cccolin]

Originally Posted by Xtremluck

I’m an avid mountain biker and lover of technical 4WD trails. I often do both on trips. It took me almost six years to perfect my setup. Goals of the build were to have a setup that was self sustaining for at least two weeks, transport one or two mountain bikes with a rack system that didn’t affect departure angles and an easy camp setup. It wasn’t cheap but we’ve taken this thing down to Baja all the way up to Whistler Canada and everywhere between and I can’t think of a better setup.






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cool. what is your setup exactly?

[Xtremluck]

Originally Posted by cccolin

cool. what is your setup exactly?

Right I should have mentioned that.

Offroad Mods
-CBI Aluminum winch bumper with Warn 9.5 winch
-CBI Rear bumper with swingouts
-CBI Aluminum skids
-Eaton Rear E-Locker
-Metaltech Sliders
-Baja Design lights all around
-285-70-17 Cooper ST Maxx on 17x9 -25 Summit Sierra wheels

Camping
-GFC Pop Up Tent w/ (2) 100 Watt solar panels
-5lb Propane tank mounted at the spare tire
-Stove
-65L Dometic Fridge
-Secondary battery to run fridge and lights at camp

Bike Rack
-1up single carrier mounted to a receiver hitch that is welded onto the rear tire swing out. It has no impact on departure angles

[Ace864]

When I ride a bike, my brain goes into observation mode. I think about what I see. It's not like driving a car.
So I have several MTBs that I alter from time to time to suit my new preferences. Once I thought about adding a motor, but decided that it would be too easy. So I keep pedaling! I love to sleep in a tent. Sometimes I come to the desert on a bike with a tent, without a car. On https://bestbikespoint.com/ I found a way to attach a tenting backpack to the MTB trunk. Try to stay in the field without a car, just you and nature.

[ldchien]

Here’s my setup which would really only work if you had roof rack and ladder. Fork mounts to roof rack, and bike bungee’d to ladder. I lock it if I am in public to to the ladder.

Bike doesn’t move and I’ve wheeled with it mounted with no issues. Added the heaviest struts I could find (280 pounds or so) and bike lifts up with the tailgate

Here’s some photos of a recent trip to St George





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[Xtremluck]

Originally Posted by ldchien

Here’s my setup which would really only work if you had roof rack and ladder. Fork mounts to roof rack, and bike bungee’d to ladder. I lock it if I am in public to to the ladder.

Bike doesn’t move and I’ve wheeled with it mounted with no issues. Added the heaviest struts I could find (280 pounds or so) and bike lifts up with the tailgate

Here’s some photos of a recent trip to St George

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Nice I really like that setup. Doesn't affect departure angles and swings out of the way at camp. I'm pretty impressed you found struts that can handle that much weight. Care to share which ones you used?

[ldchien]

Originally Posted by Xtremluck

Nice I really like that setup. Doesn't affect departure angles and swings out of the way at camp. I'm pretty impressed you found struts that can handle that much weight. Care to share which ones you used?

Thanks! Pretty happy with it so far. Here is the link to the 280 pound struts:

Lift Supports Depot PM4005 for the Liftgate - With 5 Year Warranty

I actually found 300 pound struts on the site, which I think would be a bit better for a heavier bike. I didn't see this option originally and think this would be better with my setup. My liftgate is fine, but in colder temps it may sag a bit. Have not tested yet.

Lift Supports Depot PM3887 for the Liftgate - With 5 Year Warranty

My ideal setup would be without the ladder but I couldn't think of a way to secure the bike without drilling into the hatch itself