I went wheeling in Northern MN this past weekend at Gibert, MN. What a great offroad park! Excellent trails from easy to :wtf: I went with some original members of HTR 4x4 Club (my first 4x4 club) and some new friends with Toyota rigs. The HTR guys run mostly Jeeps so there was some good spirited jabs whenever a Jeep needed to winch or a Toy got stuck. Anyway I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND anyone visit this offroad park.
Here are some pics of the 4runner and the other rigs wheeling:
Loaded up at the first stop waiting for my buddies:
Set up at the campground:
First little flex out pic:
Other side flex:
Me hung up on a rock on the fuel tank on a hill during a brief rain storm. The pic doesn't do the hill justice... PULL CABLE!
Here is a pic of part of the crew:
Here is my buddy Mike with his crazy ass buggy on a huge rock:
Here is my buddy Partick's Toy truck:
Before I left I welded both Trail Gear rocker guards on and istalled both Trail Gear front and rear bumpers. I also installed the front (Doetch Tech) and rear (OME) shocks, bled the brakes, installed the aftermarked CV shafts from O Reillys (with the lifetime warranty), put on some stickers :fro:, packed all my tools, camping gear etc. The night before I left I was installing the plastic inner fenders that I cut down after modifying the metal front fenders/lower fire wall I drilled right into the god damn main wiring harness!! I looked and thought there was more than enough room! At midnight no less. So I was up til 3 am to get it fixed and finish loading, and was up at 6am to leave for wheeling.
I finished the exhaust with the SuperTrapp muffler. I have to say I LOVE THE SOUND!! It sounds like a big block Chevy when putt'ing around. I managed to drop it off some rocks too and did a little damage to the muffler. :crybaby: When I flexed it out the rear tires rubbed a little on the front, rear and top of the rear fender openings so I will modify that soon. The front only rubbed on the plastic inner fender so I will cut that down too. I changed the down bumpstops to a better material (poly) because the originals were cracked and shot. I left the original up bumpstops in and they worked great. I was able to use all the flex available (which is not a lot but more than enough for me and the wheeling I do with this truck) and not blow up any shafts.
The steering... well that is another story. All the parts worked fine but the front tires like to point toward eachother when hill climbing...:happens: So I will modify the steering to stay straighter and lower. Not sure how yet but I have some ideas. I really like the way this rig bombs down the dirt trails with the ifs and the coil rear suspension. I can hammer pretty well without loosening any fillings. The rig felt quite stable with the swaybars removed on the off camber sections of the trails. The only damage the truck sustained was a slightly "smaller" fuel tank and a broken tail light. Not too bad. I really heated up the engine on this long hill climb and it never overheated. The radiator has a crack up by the fill neck that must have keep relieving the pressure. So I will repair/replace that too. The bumpers and rocker guards are scratched up and held up great. Even with 4.5 cylinders it has good power for me wheeling. Can't wait to have all 6 and some lower RPM torque cams if I can find them.
So I will modify the steering, trim the fenders, move the fuel tank(?), fix the alignment, wash the truck, start collecting parts for the head repair/replace, pack lighter.