MikeWhoTroung and I took a trip up to the Kiamichi Mountians this weekend, to test out his new 4Runner and to get a feel for what modfications he would need to make for overland travel. We started with the Clayton Trail, then picked up the K Trail. From there, we dropped down an old road to the town of Muse, OK. We peeled back off road after about 5 miles on pavement, and hit an old trail that crossed the Ouachita National Recreation Trail, and then joined highway 259. We looped back on the Talimena scenic drive and headed for home. Most of these photos are courtesy of Scott Brown, who accompanied us and photographed the trip, as well as handling all snake wrangling duties.

Several videos coming...

thanks for sharing!

good looking rides and terrain

You must have been aired down a lot to pop that tire off the rim. Were you able to fix it? Time for a CO2 tank to reseat tires on the trail. Nice pictures.

You always have lots of great pics of your trips! Fun to look at so thanks for posting them!

Beautiful country out there Thanks for sharing.
P.S. I like that sail off the side of your runner where did you get it at?

sweet pics, even baby snakes scare me...

Nice 3rd gen!!

Ha! I came across a snake on our 4x4 run this weekend too, but it was dead.I think it got ran over. Or shot maybe.

Not aired down. Shredded sidewall. We tried, but it proved unrepairable.

I got it from sportsmansguide.com years ago...I fear it is discontinued now.

Pity. Most folks don't realize how vital a role snakes play in ecosystems. My pic above is actually a shot of my buddy Scott. He used to be a reptile keeper, and always keeps an eye out for snakes on the trail. He also removed two rattlers from the trail during our west Texas trip the week before. This one was a small (3 ft or so) timber rattler, andrelatively calm. She wasn't to worried about being moved...

Awesome photos!!

Looks like you had a blast!!

Thank you for sharing.

Sucked that your tire sidewall schredded.

Great pics... Looks like it was an awesome trip...

I had a long post with a complete shakedown from my perspective of the 4th gen runner in its stock configuration for off road use, but my POS computer at home gave me the blue screen of death before I could post it. I'll try to recreate the post from what I remember...

The purpose of this trip was for MikeWhoTroung to get a feel for the overlanding experience and the techniques / gear required for safe travel. My friend Scott and I accompanied the Troungs in my vehicle, acting as guides and support... at least that's my best effort at making a fun trip sound like work!

So... my observations and suggestions pertaining to the capabilities of the 4th gen:

Rear articulation was relatively poor when compared to previous generation 4runners, although front articulation seemed on par with the articulation of the 3rd gen... which make sense given thier similar construction. Recommendation = Heavier duty suspension with longer coils, such as toytech or OME.

Clearance. I was not impressed with the lack of clearance of the 4th gen. It had some low hanging areas, particularly in the front, which did have rudimentary protection from the factory. However, my experience has taught me that these factory skid plates are only good for one good smack, after which they are mangled and useless. Recommendation = Lift. 2-3 inch suspension lift coupled with Budbuilt skids would go a long way towards making this rig impervious to rock attacks.

I was impressed with the power displayed by the 4th gen. It is still a gas engine, unfortunately, and was difficult to control in low traction conditions, causing wheel spin. Wheel spin endangers drivetrain components and tears up the trails. It should be avoided wherever possible. Recommendation = A rear differential locker to properly harness the power of this beefy V6. My personal preference has always been for ARB, but Eaton also makes an elocker. There are also many options for auto lockers... which have worse road manners, but still offer the same performance off road.

Tires. Stock tires on Mike's truck had two ply sidewalls... which did not hold up. The one thing that you want to be free of while driving far from civilization is worry, and I fear Mike was worried for the rest of the trip following the flat, as he was one more flat tire away from a PITA situation. The other issue was traction. The stock tires also provide poor traction, which would have been a problem had conditions been wet. Recommendation = Three ply sidewall true A/T or M/T tires. Heavier duty sidewalls allow a relatively worry free situation, even when aired down. Lets remember that airing down IS the single biggest improvement to traction you can make. This goes hand in hand woth on board air... a requirement for anyone who is serious about operating their vehicle off road.

Battery. Mike's battery ran down during the night, which was no big deal... easy to jump start. However, in an unsupported situation, this could have been counted as a critical failure. I installed a battery monitor device early in the modification process (then later installed my dual battery setup, etc.). Recommendation = Battery Brain Gold or Utility model. It will automatically disconnect the battery from the truck if the voltage dips below 10.8V... always leaving enough juice to start the truck.

This post is getting long... but I figured I would share my observations for Mike with the rest of y'all... who knows? It might help somebody!

Good review on the 4th gen. I have personally never been a fan of the even gens. The odd gens are all great trucks IMO. I used to have a 2nd gen years ago and between the engine problems/lack of power and the torsion bar suspension setup, I wasn't impressed at all, but I still loved the recreational aspect of it so when the 3rd gens came out with all the improvements, I had to have one! The 4th gens look a little too street sporty for my tastes, but I like learning more about how they actually handle off road. I'll admit it's nice to know they don't quite hold up to the off road standards of the 3rd gen, it just makes my truck that much more valuable (to me anyways).

Excuse my very late reply, Mike it was great meeting you and Scott. Thanks again for taking the time out to show us a great time and guiding us.

The trip was exactly what I wanted out of it, all in all, I think my truck handled decently considering the terrain we went through and the truck being stock. Clearance was a very big issue for me running thru the trails. I constantly had to slow down the moment I saw a rock to make sure it did not damage anything under the car. As Mike has stated, the other big issue was tire damage, after the flat and getting home, I inspected all of my tires and 3 more of them had enough damage on them for me to replace them. I went again and replaced all four ! I will definantly take into consideration everything Mike has said to me and will be ready in the Fall for more Overland Expeitions !!

Thanks again !!