Bruce's Adventure/Build Thread
 

Just to preface this, I named my 4runner Bruce after the Finding Nemo sharks due to his grill. This was a little joke I had going with my wife and it just stuck.

It's been a while since owning this car, I've had it since September of 2011, and didn't really do much to it. But now that I have some dirt under the tires and looking to build an expedition rig, I decided to get something up since I love just watching the threads on this forum.

When I first got it stock, with only 400 miles on it I put some BFG AT KO. I ended up going on some light fire roads in Big Bear.

http://melandkel.com/wp-content/uplo...9_kkk_2638.jpg

This car was mostly meant to get me places that I have always wanted to go. There was the racetrack in Death Valley and Mono Lake with some easy fire roads, but it eventually evolved.

Here we are I am on my Solo Trip through Titus Canyon in Death Valley.

http://melandkel.com/wp-content/uplo...7_kkk_8206.jpg

I ended up putting in the Rocky Road Super Sliders first, and along came the ARB Twin Compressor, second Battery and Painless Fusebox. I was following @harper7 build thread at the time, and really loved his direction.

I'll put up a few more posts just to separate my new trips this year.

Mods

Suspension:
OME 3" Lift with nitrochargers
2885 Front Coils
2889 Rear Coils
Built Right 1" Uniball UCAs
BFG AT KOs 265/70r17 (soon to be 285/70r17 or 255/80r17)
Spidertracks 1.25" Spacers

Armor:
Rocky Road Super Sliders
Shrockworks Full Underarmor
Demello Front Bumper*
Gobi Stealth Rack*

Electrical:
Cole Hersee Isolator
Optima Bluetop Second Battery
Custom second battery tray
Custom ARB Twin Compressor mount
Painless Fusebox

Lights:
4 x SR2 6" Front*
2 x SR2 6" Rear*
30" E2 for Front Bumper*

*All either on order or coming in the upcoming months.

First Mod back in 2011 or 2012:

Made some custom brackets for my ARB Twin compressor and Optima Second Battery.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8...519_095246.jpg

Like a lot of others, I had to get the power steering reservoir out of the way.

And the Cole Hersee battery isolator and Painless Fusebox went in. Still deciding on how to power the lights, if I should get the bussman with built in relays.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...519_095253.jpg

So, after I got the compressor and my Rocky Road Super Sliders on, it was a really long time before I even did anything else. Actually just recently I started to catch the bug again. A new neighbor asked me to start going off roading again, and we had our first trip out to Anzo Borrego. I decided to get the ARB Fridge for my car off of @jicko group buy and my expedition build is starting from that.

I wired up an extra 12v socket to the back to accommodate the fridge off of my second battery.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d...519_095209.jpg

Currently just strapping it down the the sliding tray at back and on the other side of the factory slots to utilize those outlets if necessary. I didn't end up getting many photos from there of my car, but we did end up getting some interesting shots of Font's Point and hiked through the Slot Canyons by the Calcite Mines on March 28-29, 2015.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KuHEgQjLP3M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I was surprised at how well my stock 4runner did, I ended up dinging my suspension brackets and the skids while going down, but on the way up it was all good to go. Here is a shot of my buddy's 3rd gen courtesy of some of my passengers.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5445/1...d044f054_z.jpg

April 11, 2015

My next adventure or practice run took me to Rowher Flat OHV area north of Santa Clarita in the Angeles National Forest. There was a SoCal beginners run from the California forum out at Expedition Portal and I thought it would be good to learn my vehicle more. Ultimate I am planning an expedition to Alaska from SoCal, so all this training is necessary. I ended up scraping some more of my stock skids this time around and learned more about reading my lines.

MVUM map of the Rowher Trail (3414W19)

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5....jpeg~original

MVUM map of the Lookout Trail (3414W34)

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5....jpeg~original

But what ended up being called a beginner's trail ended up being some nice rutted areas and hill climbs. This area ended up being more advanced then expected. But the group was great and gave me a lot of learning opportunities.

Here are some photos from the trail courtesy of the other members as well.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...8.jpg~original

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-M...3.jpg~original

My buddy again in the 3rd gen.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...4.jpg~original

I had to tow him out after he got a little too confident

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O...7.jpg~original

Bruce

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...2.jpg~original

Our first break

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...8.jpg~original

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...6.jpg~original

Some climbs after lunch

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...s/IMGP9668.jpghttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...9.jpg~original

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t...7.jpg~original

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...9.jpg~original

OME 3" lift came in on May 1st, which I really was deciding on what system to go with for a really long time. I was thinking stage 2 Icon, maybe Kings, maybe the Toytec Ultimate Lift. I ultimately decided on the OME due to the reputation of low maintenance and long life. Maybe if I need the Icon later on I can "upgrade."

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w...501_090250.jpg

Ended up going to my buddy's shop to install them myself with the Build Right UCAs and all went smooth. There was a little issue I hear, maybe a little squeak on the back right but I need to recheck everything. All the nuts and bolts were torqued to spec and alignment right after.

Before and after Shocks.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...502_100834.jpg

Since the install is so well documented, and I forgot to get any photos during the install, I'll just show an after photo.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-s...502_184748.jpg

I also tried to get the Shrockworks skids on that day, but forgot the crossmember adapter. I ended up getting the front engine skid on, had some issues with the powder coating in the threads as well but got them in fine. I ended up needing to take off the Suspension Bracket and KDSS Tubular support brackets to get the engine skid on. The rest was pretty easy after cleaning up the threads.

Ride high was increased after those suspension brackets were removed.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-m...504_111717.jpg

Another after photo

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o...506_175611.jpg

May 9, 2015

My buddy invited me out to some rock crawling trails to test out the suspension and skids. I really didn't expect the rocks, just some of the same stuff I had been going through before. We ended up going to Pilot Rock near Silverwood Lake, which was an easy going trail for me, but once we headed out of that trail toward Dishpan Springs by Lake Arrowhead.

First up was Silverwood Lake

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8785/1...916d773c_b.jpg

Start of some moderate Rocks

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8864/1...ea903fd2_z.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5442/1...6858468d_b.jpg

After the trail, we stopped for lunch and got a quick shower in...

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8878/1...14f94781_b.jpg

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...e2&oe=55C3F4E0

Then we headed up to Dishpan Springs, we only made it to the waterfall and decided it was getting late and turned around at that point.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5341/1...d0e4a740_z.jpg

Me first

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8781/1...9f18d17a_z.jpg

Another friend's Jeep on the trail.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7739/1...0b586cfd_b.jpg

Out we go, forgot to get some photos on the way up

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5451/1...a9d8bdcc_b.jpg

"Fish are our friends!"

You've got one badass T4R in the making, dude. Thanks for sharing!

http://showbizgeek.com/wp-content/up...t-18.43.31.png

Super cool video of AB. A few of us are going to AB this Sunday.

Thanks @hangman hoping to get a few things done soon. Looking to get up to Alaska in this.

@KVA wish I could join! Let me know where you guys end IP going, I need to explore there more.

Got some goodies in today from the Rigid Group Buy. Thanks to @TotalAutomotiveLV for such a quick turn around. Won't be able to install these until after my trip to Norway this weekend, where my Gobi should be here and ready to go.

4 x SR2 6" in the front (was deciding on the 40" but really like the look of 4 and the price was better)

2 x SR2 6" for the back

1 x E 30" for my bumper when that gets in. Let's hope this Demello preorder happens by the end of the summer!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g...521_142305.jpg

Awesome! Thank you for participating in the Rigid group buy. Cant wait to see all your new gear installed.

Got my Gobi Rack in! Had to put it on, just waiting to get my Rigids wired.

I have a weird problem with the rear ladder though, getting it level the plate at the top has a little gap. I ended up putting some silicon in to prevent dust from scratching the body.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SY...a=w906-h679-no

Headed out to the Mammoth area to get some fishing in and headed out to the White Mountains to test out my Gobi Rack and new Roof Top Tent.

I headed out from my house early in the morning, so I could spend some time at Laurel Lake and get some fishing in.

The trail isn't that bad, rated as moderate, but there are only a few small rocks and uphill to the lake. It is roughly a 4 mile drive to the lake, where the only tricky part is the last switchback headed down the the lake.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/284/18...35f222d0_o.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/264/18...8a2339a4_o.jpg

The reason why it's tricky is because of the angle of the turn, which unfortunately cost someones life last week.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/409/19...a492fe19_o.jpg

Just some shots around the lake:
[IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/383/18558161884_29a654d5d1_o.jpg[/IMG}

After attempting to fish and relax for a few hours, I ended up deciding I wanted to camp up at the White Mountains.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/492/18...a316373c_o.jpg

Unfortunate for me, my Roof Top Tent, which was mounted on my Gobi Rack ended up jostling loose and gave me a small dent on the side of my car as well as give me a few scratches, but live and learn. Just bought new mounts to make sure this doesn't happen again. I headed out and aired up during sunset to prepare for a few miles on the road.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/373/19...7067e900_o.jpg

So that night, I ended up going up Silver Canyon road towards the White Mountains. I really wanted to check out the Bristlecone Pines in the area and decided to setup shop in the dark. I had to carefully drive up the canyon road toward the top, and found a nice flat spot to sleep for the night. I know I wasn't supposed to setup camp here, but I had no choice since it was pitch dark and I really had no where to go.

Well I ended up waking up at the crack of dawn and got a few more photos before leaving the site. It was a beauty.
https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3883/1...9bf9200b_o.jpg

I ended up driving down White Mountain Road to the Patriarch Grove and then headed home.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/456/19...8771b6bb_o.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/475/19...6e80774e_o.jpg

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3703/1...d1fdd57b_o.jpg

awesome! keep it up. looking forward to seeing the rest of the build

I'll have to share this with my wife. We have a 2013 SR5 in Magnetic Grey and named ours "Bruce" as well. Fun fact the shark in Finding Nemo was named Bruce in honor of the shark prop from Jaws which was also named "Bruce." My wife named ours based on color and the satellite radio antenna.