98 SR5 - The "Dirt Duster" build

[rickashay]

July 10,2011

I went wheeling today. Had a blast and I am loving the suspension setup more and more.

Here are a couple shots from the day:


20110710-IMG_9680 by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20110710-IMG_9671 by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20110710-IMG_9669 by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20110710-IMG_9662 by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20110710-IMG_9640 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

My buddy's 2nd gen. 35's and no lift.

20110710-IMG_9633 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

 

[City_Rider]

July 10,2011

I went wheeling today. Had a blast and I am loving the suspension setup more and more.

Here are a couple shots from the day:



My buddy's 2nd gen. 35's and no lift.

20110710-IMG_9633 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

Just lots of cutting? I don't think I could stick 35's on my rig without major scrubbage in the front.

 

[rickashay]

Yah they would be tough to squeeze in there for sure! Have to do a bodylift.... or a SAS! I give it 2 years before I start chopping the IFS on my Runner! lol

Lets get some pics of your new headlights in your build thread!

 

[GottaBeTRD]

nice shots man! love the boneyard look of where a fire rolled though. any idea what fire that was?

 

[rickashay]

nice shots man! love the boneyard look of where a fire rolled though. any idea what fire that was?

Thanks man! Yeah, it was the Crowsnest Pass or Lost Creek fire of 2003. Burned 22,000 Hectares of land. I remember driving through some of the towns around this location the day before they were evacuated. The fire was within 50 feet of the highway at certain spots. Just crazy.

 

[chainring]

Awesome pictures, and a well-thought out rig. Very nice.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

wow! thats nuts! yeah once those fires hit trees like that it just goes crazy! I fought fires for an internship last summer and it is so insane. The roar a huge fire like is freaking scary stuff for sure

 

[rickashay]

wow! thats nuts! yeah once those fires hit trees like that it just goes crazy! I fought fires for an internship last summer and it is so insane. The roar a huge fire like is freaking scary stuff for sure

Yeah, Forest fires are nuts! quite scary actually, I cant even imagine working on a fire crew.... a few of my buddies work with the MARS Bomber!!! Now that thing is insane. Google it.

 

[rickashay]

Well I'm headed for the legendary Whipsaw Trail tomorrow morning. I got a few things done in the blistering heat this week.

Energy Polyurethane steering rack bushings


20110718-IMG_9683 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

New JAPANESE lower ball joints


20110718-IMG_9681 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

Rear window velcro screen setup to keep the bugs out when Im sleeping while still allowing some airflow...im already liking this mod.


20110719-IMG_9685 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

And some poser shots from a couple weeks ago that I forgot to post. Rear sway bar is off in these pics but the front remains. Currently I am running without BOTH sway bars. I will try the ramp again when I have time to see how much difference the front sway bar makes.


20110702-IMG_9525 by RickaShay24, on Flickr


20110702-IMG_9519 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

 

[fightman80]

Hey man! Lookin good! I'm really interested in how you put up that rear screen......have any other pics of it???

 

[rickashay]

Hey man! Lookin good! I'm really interested in how you put up that rear screen......have any other pics of it???

Thanks!! I don't have any other pics of it at the moment but I will try and get some from the inside when I get home from Whipsaw. I just bought "industrial strength" sticky velcro tape and ran a thin strip of it round the parimeter of the window on the inside. Then I got the bottom flat area of the screen mesh to stick to its corresponding side on the strip of sticky velcro. ONce the screen mesh was held in place I just worked the screen around and stuck it to the velcro. Then trimmed the remaining screen mesh.

lol that might be confusing, it will make sense when I get a couple more pics.

Cheers

 

[rickashay]

I just got home from Whipsaw. It was absolutely EPIC!!!

view it here: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-roading-home-monst4rs/94364-whipsaw-trail-bc-july-2011-a.html

 

[rickashay]

After some power issues on the Whipsaw trail, it was time to replace the alternator. While I was at it, I did the battery. It didnt hurt that I got my battery for dealer cost!

Re-manufactured Toyota alternator. After thinking about doing the Chevy CS-144 Alternator, I decided to stay Toyota seeing as how the original lasted 13 years. I got my friend at the Toyota parts desk to look for something that puts out more than the standard 98 4Runner alternator's 60A at idle. The 99 4runners apparently came with one that puts out 80A at idle, so I ordered one of those.


20110727-IMG_9899 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

The battery is an Interstate MegaTron. 600CCA and 750CA.


20110727-IMG_9894 by RickaShay24, on Flickr

 

[4Runner8]

subscribed! nice build man. the screen is very ingenious!

 

[rickashay]

Thanks! I cant wait until it's warm enough up here so that I can actually try out the screen!

 

[rickashay]

Update on the screen. Now that I have camped 9 days in my truck in the last 2 weeks, I can say that the screen is definetly a nice feature. It needs some work though as the sticky velcro is starting to pull apart from the screen mesh. I think I will get it sewn together. I personally dont ever need my rear window to be open to reach inside of the truck so I am probably going to try and find a more permanent solution where the screen just stays there for good!

Here is the video from the Whipsaw 2011 trail run that "Freeze" created:
<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dIOOHQN8glI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here is a cool pic of the Dirt Duster that another CT4WD member took:

Untitled by Canada Toyota 4WD Association, on Flickr

 

[chainring]

Cool video. I'm sure the info is somewhere, but what are the big cargo bags you've got hanging from the backs of several rigs, including yours above?

 

[4-Ripcord]

Very well done videos and all, FAR exceed my abilities or creativity. But they could use less slowly panning across landscapes and more wheeling. Thats IMO of course. And that red land cruiser was gorgeous!

Was this the first trip with the lift and stuff? How did it work out?
EDIT: Nvm read back a page! Looking good though!

 

[rickashay]

Cool video. I'm sure the info is somewhere, but what are the big cargo bags you've got hanging from the backs of several rigs, including yours above?

Its a "Trasharoo." A spare tire mount trail garbage bag. (or get creative where you mount it like I did if you dont have a spare tire carrier yet...) Our group strongly believes in leaving the trail cleaner than it was when we got there. They have pouches in them for tow straps and other recovery gear to make your frequently used stuff easy to access. They also have a drain at the bottom of the bag so your wet garbage will drain out. Or some people simply use them for storage and will even throw wet clothes in them like wet suites.

Very well done videos and all, FAR exceed my abilities or creativity. But they could use less slowly panning across landscapes and more wheeling. Thats IMO of course. And that red land cruiser was gorgeous!

Was this the first trip with the lift and stuff? How did it work out?
EDIT: Nvm read back a page! Looking good though!

Thanks! Usually the videos DO have more wheeling BUT due to a Tacoma in our group getting hydrolocked in a deep water crossing, and the creator of the video needing to tow the "dead" truck out of the bush, he was unable to get footage of us wheeling.

Although the scenery up there was truly gorgeous and I personally do enjoy seeing the scenery in the video, I agree though, wheeling footage rules!!

 

[4-Ripcord]

You are right though. That scenery is so nice, the whole time watching the video I was wishing I was up there. Im so sick of the desert! I want Trees and heavily forested logging roads and fog in the morning, and rain more than once a year!