SOcalTRAIL
New member
Happy New Year!!!
In a short time, I will have owned my 2011 Trail Edition for exactly 2.5 years. I also just clicked over 65,000 miles today when I was coming home from the grocery store and I wanted to share some of my thoughts, feelings, trials and tribulations with you guys, especially since I see a few new usernames on the forum.
A little disclaimer before I get started... The words below reflect my opinion only.
I bought this truck with 8 miles on the clock. It replaced a 2010 E93 BMW M3 and a 3rd gen T4R - The idea was the M3 was fun as hell but not practical for the activities I do almost every weekend and the 3rd Gen T4R was not 4x4 and also not suitable for hunting, camping, exploring, etc. I test drove the 5th gen on two separate occasions before I actually purchased it. At first, I felt it was too big, loathsome, and all together dumpy. The second test drive I enjoyed the truck a bit more, accepted the size increase from the 3rd gen I was used to, and chalked the strange gear ratios up to the hippies and environmentalists trying to squeeze the MPG out of the platform. So, I bought it. The madness of modifications soon started, even after I promised myself that, "hey, I bought the Trail Edition just so I would not have to modify it". LIE
The mods started and have never stopped. I have gone through a few different iterations of suspension, lighting, electronics, etc. The rear bumper / fuel cell project lasted a full year and was an absolute ton of work, since it was all done in my spare time. Most all of these mods are documented somewhere in my build thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...l-edition-beast-build-thread.html#post1073329 although I have not done a great job of organizing the thread.
Reliability -
I have had absolutely ZERO issues whatsoever. Everything has proven itself over and over again. I have driven this truck through some of the roughest conditions and it just begs for more. As for maintenance, I change the oil with Mobil 1 and genuine Toyota filters every 10k, did all the drive line fluids at 50k, clean the air filter every 10k, and rotate the tires. Toyota reliability is where it is at. My dad has already had a radiator and cylinder head replaced on his 2013 rubicon.... Go figure.
Quirks -
The gearing on these trucks could use a little help, especially after new tires, trail armor and other mods - new gears are in my future.
The cruise control is annoying for any driving other than perfectly flat roads. IUt seems overly sensitive to me - example - I set the CC at 70mph and hit a slight hill... the speed drops slightly and the truck violently shifts into 3rd gear to pick up speed, speeds up past 70mph, upshifts back to 5th, speed drops again, and repeat. I can take it out of CC and easily keep 70mph or close to it without downshifting... can't figure out why the stupid cruise control cannot. I have leaned to just take it off for hills.
The throttle lag is another quirk. Ever noticed how sometimes when you come to a stop sign, stop, and press on the gas to take off and it seems like there is a hesitation... ya...
The rear hatch struts - hopefully Toyota finally caught on and started sourcing better ones. My OEM struts lasted all of 6 months. The replacement struts that I sourced and shared with the forum in a separate thread have lasted 4x longer and were many, many times cheaper.
Things I would not do again....
I would not have purchased a Trail Edition had I known I would modify the suspension to the extent that I have. KDSS prove to be a pain in the ass and I ended up removing it. An SR5 would be my next truck.
I would not have built a tire swing out into my bumper. While I do like having the spare tire back there as it is out of the way, looks good, and secure, it is a major pain to open and close to access the rear hatch with an armful of groceries, etc. I would like to re-visit this design someday and maybe improve it or re-locate the spare and re-move the swing out.
Also, unless I was running air lockers, I probably would not do an on board air compressor again. They are slow, use a lot of power, and I repeat... Slow unless you run dual compressors. Instead I would just carry a little 10 lb or however big Co2 tank like my buddies do... They fill 35" tires from 16 psi to 35 psi in seconds.... Literally. Co2 can be purchased cheap if you know where to go and with a regulator on the bottle you can run air tools for quite a while.
Things I WOULD do again and recommend based on trial and error and actual experiences.
I would always recommend the BEEFY or heavier rock sliders over the thinner ones, if they are offered. I have hung mine up on rocks and seen how much force is exerted on em - Bud Built Beefy's can take it. On the other hand I was wheeling with a friend in a JK who build his own sliders out of .125" wall DOM. The looked great but he couldn't figure out why they were dented up and bent after one trip to the mountains.... not beef enough.
I wholeheartedly recommend Icon suspension - call me an Icon fanboy, or whatever you want. Their stuff is beyond good, their customer service is near perfection, and there is nothing else out there that compares. I would invite anyone in the San Diego area to feel free to PM me if you want to ride along for a 4x4 trip or just want a ride around town. The suspension on this truck blows my mind....
I recommend Total Chaos or Icon Upper control arms. Lots of people go with the Light Racing to save a bit of money and avoid the maintenance issues associated with uniball based control arms - I have now seen 2 separate failures of Light racing arms.... Never seen a failure of a Chaos Arm under normal 4x4 conditions.
For lighting I have owned quite a few different pieces. What I decided is I liked Vision X for large light bars and HID lighting and like Rigid for the smaller LED bars. The Vision X bars are configurable with individual optics so you can specify exactly how you want your bar set up - I just had a 21" bar built for my dad with 10 degree optics in the middle and 25 degrees on the sides for a little flood. My light bar is a combo of 10 and 40. The new Vision X Light Canons are amazing for anyone wanting a very nice LED spotter.
Tires - I am on my second set of Hankook Dynapro MT's - cannot say enough good stuff about em. They ride great around town, great in the sand, great in the snow and they grip very well when aired down in the rocks. I blew a hole through a sidewall a few months back when I drove over a stick that was about a half inch in diameter, the tire held pressure for the rest of the 4x4 trip and Discount replaced it for free (replacement certificate $35).
So that is that. Hopefully this helps some of the new folks to the forum who are just started to mod their rigs. Any questions, feel free to PM.
Some photos I took recently - new camera lens for Xmas, one I have been wanting for a VERY long time.
In a short time, I will have owned my 2011 Trail Edition for exactly 2.5 years. I also just clicked over 65,000 miles today when I was coming home from the grocery store and I wanted to share some of my thoughts, feelings, trials and tribulations with you guys, especially since I see a few new usernames on the forum.
A little disclaimer before I get started... The words below reflect my opinion only.
I bought this truck with 8 miles on the clock. It replaced a 2010 E93 BMW M3 and a 3rd gen T4R - The idea was the M3 was fun as hell but not practical for the activities I do almost every weekend and the 3rd Gen T4R was not 4x4 and also not suitable for hunting, camping, exploring, etc. I test drove the 5th gen on two separate occasions before I actually purchased it. At first, I felt it was too big, loathsome, and all together dumpy. The second test drive I enjoyed the truck a bit more, accepted the size increase from the 3rd gen I was used to, and chalked the strange gear ratios up to the hippies and environmentalists trying to squeeze the MPG out of the platform. So, I bought it. The madness of modifications soon started, even after I promised myself that, "hey, I bought the Trail Edition just so I would not have to modify it". LIE
The mods started and have never stopped. I have gone through a few different iterations of suspension, lighting, electronics, etc. The rear bumper / fuel cell project lasted a full year and was an absolute ton of work, since it was all done in my spare time. Most all of these mods are documented somewhere in my build thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...l-edition-beast-build-thread.html#post1073329 although I have not done a great job of organizing the thread.
Reliability -
I have had absolutely ZERO issues whatsoever. Everything has proven itself over and over again. I have driven this truck through some of the roughest conditions and it just begs for more. As for maintenance, I change the oil with Mobil 1 and genuine Toyota filters every 10k, did all the drive line fluids at 50k, clean the air filter every 10k, and rotate the tires. Toyota reliability is where it is at. My dad has already had a radiator and cylinder head replaced on his 2013 rubicon.... Go figure.
Quirks -
The gearing on these trucks could use a little help, especially after new tires, trail armor and other mods - new gears are in my future.
The cruise control is annoying for any driving other than perfectly flat roads. IUt seems overly sensitive to me - example - I set the CC at 70mph and hit a slight hill... the speed drops slightly and the truck violently shifts into 3rd gear to pick up speed, speeds up past 70mph, upshifts back to 5th, speed drops again, and repeat. I can take it out of CC and easily keep 70mph or close to it without downshifting... can't figure out why the stupid cruise control cannot. I have leaned to just take it off for hills.
The throttle lag is another quirk. Ever noticed how sometimes when you come to a stop sign, stop, and press on the gas to take off and it seems like there is a hesitation... ya...
The rear hatch struts - hopefully Toyota finally caught on and started sourcing better ones. My OEM struts lasted all of 6 months. The replacement struts that I sourced and shared with the forum in a separate thread have lasted 4x longer and were many, many times cheaper.
Things I would not do again....
I would not have purchased a Trail Edition had I known I would modify the suspension to the extent that I have. KDSS prove to be a pain in the ass and I ended up removing it. An SR5 would be my next truck.
I would not have built a tire swing out into my bumper. While I do like having the spare tire back there as it is out of the way, looks good, and secure, it is a major pain to open and close to access the rear hatch with an armful of groceries, etc. I would like to re-visit this design someday and maybe improve it or re-locate the spare and re-move the swing out.
Also, unless I was running air lockers, I probably would not do an on board air compressor again. They are slow, use a lot of power, and I repeat... Slow unless you run dual compressors. Instead I would just carry a little 10 lb or however big Co2 tank like my buddies do... They fill 35" tires from 16 psi to 35 psi in seconds.... Literally. Co2 can be purchased cheap if you know where to go and with a regulator on the bottle you can run air tools for quite a while.
Things I WOULD do again and recommend based on trial and error and actual experiences.
I would always recommend the BEEFY or heavier rock sliders over the thinner ones, if they are offered. I have hung mine up on rocks and seen how much force is exerted on em - Bud Built Beefy's can take it. On the other hand I was wheeling with a friend in a JK who build his own sliders out of .125" wall DOM. The looked great but he couldn't figure out why they were dented up and bent after one trip to the mountains.... not beef enough.
I wholeheartedly recommend Icon suspension - call me an Icon fanboy, or whatever you want. Their stuff is beyond good, their customer service is near perfection, and there is nothing else out there that compares. I would invite anyone in the San Diego area to feel free to PM me if you want to ride along for a 4x4 trip or just want a ride around town. The suspension on this truck blows my mind....
I recommend Total Chaos or Icon Upper control arms. Lots of people go with the Light Racing to save a bit of money and avoid the maintenance issues associated with uniball based control arms - I have now seen 2 separate failures of Light racing arms.... Never seen a failure of a Chaos Arm under normal 4x4 conditions.
For lighting I have owned quite a few different pieces. What I decided is I liked Vision X for large light bars and HID lighting and like Rigid for the smaller LED bars. The Vision X bars are configurable with individual optics so you can specify exactly how you want your bar set up - I just had a 21" bar built for my dad with 10 degree optics in the middle and 25 degrees on the sides for a little flood. My light bar is a combo of 10 and 40. The new Vision X Light Canons are amazing for anyone wanting a very nice LED spotter.
Tires - I am on my second set of Hankook Dynapro MT's - cannot say enough good stuff about em. They ride great around town, great in the sand, great in the snow and they grip very well when aired down in the rocks. I blew a hole through a sidewall a few months back when I drove over a stick that was about a half inch in diameter, the tire held pressure for the rest of the 4x4 trip and Discount replaced it for free (replacement certificate $35).
So that is that. Hopefully this helps some of the new folks to the forum who are just started to mod their rigs. Any questions, feel free to PM.
Some photos I took recently - new camera lens for Xmas, one I have been wanting for a VERY long time.
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