3wbdriver's 2014 TE build thread.
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3wbdriver
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Went out yesterday and played with some Jeep guys that have formed a pay to play guided group in eastern Louisiana. They run on a property I went to a couple years ago, and do a pretty good job of maintaining the trails and opening a couple new ones. Good guys and their goal is to have anyone from a factory stock rig up through hardcore off roader enjoy themselves on a variety of trails. Currently they are only running on Sundays, but they hope to open up to a Sat/Sun format with primitive camping as they grow. Think of it as a private off road park with first person assistance. Here is their website. If you are in southeast Louisiana or southern Mississippi they are worth a look. I didn't get many pictures, but here are a couple.
[4x4LifeOffRoad]
On a side note, I knocked the Magnaflow muffler off the front pipe in the hole below. The sound from an open pipe behind just the catalytic converters and Y-pipe almost makes me want to just run a straight pipe. Not too loud but it had a very nice rumble to it. 10 minutes under the rig with a tire iron had everything pried back together and there is no permanent damage. But I have to find a tighter fitting pipe clamp than the one that came with the muffler kit.
[4x4LifeOffRoad]
On a side note, I knocked the Magnaflow muffler off the front pipe in the hole below. The sound from an open pipe behind just the catalytic converters and Y-pipe almost makes me want to just run a straight pipe. Not too loud but it had a very nice rumble to it. 10 minutes under the rig with a tire iron had everything pried back together and there is no permanent damage. But I have to find a tighter fitting pipe clamp than the one that came with the muffler kit.
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3wbdriver
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Went up to Barnwell for a Member Appreciation day today. Not a long weekend like Jambo, but we got in several hours of trail rides. And I needed a break from reality for a day.....
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3wbdriver
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Because it was more funnererer. :eyebrows:
3wbdriver
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Still working fine. But in hindsight I'd rather have 9" wide wheels.
3wbdriver
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Love it. But I am considering bumping up to a heavier rear spring to offset the extra 220 pounds of static weight (bumper and cargo tray) plus whatever camping/wheeling gear I carry. It handles fine. I'd just like to get that 3/4" back that I lost when I installed the CBI bumper.
Jhalko
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Going to stiffer springs was an easy decision for me...
3wbdriver
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?????????? :noidea:
3wbdriver
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General Grabber AT2
Just a long term update on my General Grabber AT2's. I had to replace 2 in February at ~47K miles due to puncturing a sidewall on a rock while off roading. At that time comparing new tread to old it looked like I still had slightly less than half of the tread left after 45K+ miles. The rubber in the blocks was getting a little harder and there were a couple small chunks missing from playing in rocks. Today, and roughly 53K miles since mounting the original set I had to replace the other pair. Again, a non-repairable sidewall puncture from something on the drive home last week. I had the good tire from February mounted as my spare, and I kept the good tire from today to put in the shop, just in case I have unforeseen problems before I am due for tires again. I simply didn't want to replace one tire on either occasion due to the amount of wear vs a brand new tire. This is why I replaced them in pairs. They never got noisier than a slight hum at highway speeds after about 40k and that was not a consideration when looking at replacement.
I had no hesitation in ordering the same tires as I had mounted in 2014. I have been completely happy with their performance off road as well as their longevity on the mostly highway driving they have been run through. I'm just throwing this out as an FYI for anyone who may be considering these tires. :thanks:
Just a long term update on my General Grabber AT2's. I had to replace 2 in February at ~47K miles due to puncturing a sidewall on a rock while off roading. At that time comparing new tread to old it looked like I still had slightly less than half of the tread left after 45K+ miles. The rubber in the blocks was getting a little harder and there were a couple small chunks missing from playing in rocks. Today, and roughly 53K miles since mounting the original set I had to replace the other pair. Again, a non-repairable sidewall puncture from something on the drive home last week. I had the good tire from February mounted as my spare, and I kept the good tire from today to put in the shop, just in case I have unforeseen problems before I am due for tires again. I simply didn't want to replace one tire on either occasion due to the amount of wear vs a brand new tire. This is why I replaced them in pairs. They never got noisier than a slight hum at highway speeds after about 40k and that was not a consideration when looking at replacement.
I had no hesitation in ordering the same tires as I had mounted in 2014. I have been completely happy with their performance off road as well as their longevity on the mostly highway driving they have been run through. I'm just throwing this out as an FYI for anyone who may be considering these tires. :thanks:
3wbdriver
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Vehicle tarp on the cheap.
I bought this Kelty tarp about 2 years ago as a stand in until I pull the trigger on an ARB 2500. Until today I've only used it once and that was as a front extension off the tent instead of off the Whale. As it is mounted in the first pictures it measures 12' wide at the center, 11' 6" out from the vehicle, 8' wide at the furthest point, and 6' wide at the rack. The poles are 6' 6" tall. It attaches to the vehicle using a break down tent pole and 2 velcro straps. The straps are close enough together it will fit on a factory side rail.
It's a beautiful day here today and I am alone with time on my hands so I decided to get it out and setup, and get all of the lines I need cut and prepped. In its original package it is intended as a combination tarp and wind break. In that configuration it comes out 6' from the vehicle and angles down to the ground. That is the last picture. I ordered 2 more poles so I could get the full use out of it and more shaded area. One unique feature is it is designed so if you put 2 angled lines on the center poles you can leave it standing by simply removing the velcro straps from the roof rack and letting that part fall to the ground while you go wheeling. I haven't tried that yet, but I do have the lines cut and ready to do so. It took me about an hour today by myself to set it up because I was piddling around, cutting and knotting lines, and just generally being lazy. I don't think it should take more than 15 minutes to setup now that I have everything figured out. Maybe faster if you have help. Another nice thing about it is it packs down into a bag about the size of an adult's lower leg. Anywho, here are some pictures.
I bought this Kelty tarp about 2 years ago as a stand in until I pull the trigger on an ARB 2500. Until today I've only used it once and that was as a front extension off the tent instead of off the Whale. As it is mounted in the first pictures it measures 12' wide at the center, 11' 6" out from the vehicle, 8' wide at the furthest point, and 6' wide at the rack. The poles are 6' 6" tall. It attaches to the vehicle using a break down tent pole and 2 velcro straps. The straps are close enough together it will fit on a factory side rail.
It's a beautiful day here today and I am alone with time on my hands so I decided to get it out and setup, and get all of the lines I need cut and prepped. In its original package it is intended as a combination tarp and wind break. In that configuration it comes out 6' from the vehicle and angles down to the ground. That is the last picture. I ordered 2 more poles so I could get the full use out of it and more shaded area. One unique feature is it is designed so if you put 2 angled lines on the center poles you can leave it standing by simply removing the velcro straps from the roof rack and letting that part fall to the ground while you go wheeling. I haven't tried that yet, but I do have the lines cut and ready to do so. It took me about an hour today by myself to set it up because I was piddling around, cutting and knotting lines, and just generally being lazy. I don't think it should take more than 15 minutes to setup now that I have everything figured out. Maybe faster if you have help. Another nice thing about it is it packs down into a bag about the size of an adult's lower leg. Anywho, here are some pictures.
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3wbdriver
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Strangely enough after posting the above pics I got an ARB 2500 for Christmas. But Baja Rack was back ordered on the mounts when I tried to order them the following Monday. They just arrived this week and I spent the last couple hours mounting the awning and a hi-lift jack. Now maybe it's time to start thinking about stiffer rear springs. Maybe I'll wash it tomorrow. We haven't seen much sun in the last couple weeks.....
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3wbdriver
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Fishing rod storage
Several months ago I decided to try and create some overhead rod storage. I bought a pair of looped storage straps with S-Clips made by Nite-Ize. I then cast about looking for attachment points and settled on 4 D-ring picture frame hangars from Lowe's. I removed the rear hangars and the pair over the rear seat to install the d-rings behind them. The cargo area pair went in quite easily because the screw hole in the d-ring plate fit perfectly over a plastic stud on the hook. The front pair initially went in with some two sided foam tape on the back side of the handles, but that failed during the heat of the summer. So I've been without until I could figure up something better. I settled on drilling 2 small holes in the plastic plate of the handle hangars and using aggressively threaded wood screws cut to length to hold the d-ring plates in place. I used a pair of Nite-Ize 8" wire ties to set the tension on the straps and S-clips at both ends. That's a 7' rod closest to the overhead console. It stops about 3" short of the sun visor. I'm 6" tall and the right most rod just grazes the hair on top of my head. If it proves an irritant there is room to mov 2 shorter rods more to the centerline of the interior. We'll see how it holds up long term.
Several months ago I decided to try and create some overhead rod storage. I bought a pair of looped storage straps with S-Clips made by Nite-Ize. I then cast about looking for attachment points and settled on 4 D-ring picture frame hangars from Lowe's. I removed the rear hangars and the pair over the rear seat to install the d-rings behind them. The cargo area pair went in quite easily because the screw hole in the d-ring plate fit perfectly over a plastic stud on the hook. The front pair initially went in with some two sided foam tape on the back side of the handles, but that failed during the heat of the summer. So I've been without until I could figure up something better. I settled on drilling 2 small holes in the plastic plate of the handle hangars and using aggressively threaded wood screws cut to length to hold the d-ring plates in place. I used a pair of Nite-Ize 8" wire ties to set the tension on the straps and S-clips at both ends. That's a 7' rod closest to the overhead console. It stops about 3" short of the sun visor. I'm 6" tall and the right most rod just grazes the hair on top of my head. If it proves an irritant there is room to mov 2 shorter rods more to the centerline of the interior. We'll see how it holds up long term.
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3wbdriver
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I went to the Lone Star Toyota Jamboree for the 4th year in a row last weekend. I had a great time with our regional club and did a couple trails I wouldn't have even attempted last year. The Whale still continues to impress me with what it is capable of doing as my confidence increases. And there are more 5th Gun 4Runners showing up in the club now that the FJ is out of production.
I picked up a Tepui Ayer RTT on sale while there, but once again I have to wait for Baja Rack to get the "High Demand" and backordered Thule adapter plates for it to fit my basket rack. As hard as we tried the crossbars were just lacking by about 1" in length on being able to anchor to the side rails solidly enough to be safe. Here are some pictures from the weekend. We were running lights for 2 way traffic on the trails.
I picked up a Tepui Ayer RTT on sale while there, but once again I have to wait for Baja Rack to get the "High Demand" and backordered Thule adapter plates for it to fit my basket rack. As hard as we tried the crossbars were just lacking by about 1" in length on being able to anchor to the side rails solidly enough to be safe. Here are some pictures from the weekend. We were running lights for 2 way traffic on the trails.
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3wbdriver
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And a couple videos. The first is a 30 degree upslope called Wile E. Coyote. The 2nd is coming up the beginning of the Angry Jeep trail which is about a 100 yard winding uphill.
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