RJ MacReady
New member
is it weird that I read every page of this build thread????
A.Wilson013's Build Thread
- Thread starter A.Wilson013
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A.Wilson013
New member
Only because the early pages are just mumbo jumbo and not worth reading...
:mullet:
TheArkMaster
New member
Agreed fully :rofl:
But for real, you make me want to keep my runner and continue to mod it.
BigBluePile
New member
Me too!
A.Wilson013
New member
Storage/Sleeping Platform
My wife decided we're going on a pretty long trip on Tuesday, so I decided to get my butt in gear and finish this thing up...
First I needed to Create a "hinge" system that will allow me to take out the front portion of the platform easily, but still let me store things under it.
Then I needed carpet... :doh:
For the hinge I decided to use a couple of eye-screws attached to the storage box, and a bungee cord to the platform... I found everything I needed at Lowes for about $10 (had to buy a dang box of 15 of the eye-screws).
I cut the ends off of the bungee and then heated up a screwdriver and made a hole through it for my bolt... It works VERY well. Holds the platform snug to the box and with slight downward pressure.
And then the carpet that I have been dreading for nearly a year...
I went to Lowes again and was going to buy their gray outdoor carpet... RIGHT before the guy cut it I asked one last time if there was the same thin carpet in tan... That's when he introduced me to this 6' x 8' tan outdoor rugs for less than 1/3 the cost of the carpet. STOKED.
The application was pretty straight forward other than the corners... they were a bit of a pain.
Picture. VERY happy with the results.
My wife decided we're going on a pretty long trip on Tuesday, so I decided to get my butt in gear and finish this thing up...
First I needed to Create a "hinge" system that will allow me to take out the front portion of the platform easily, but still let me store things under it.
Then I needed carpet... :doh:
For the hinge I decided to use a couple of eye-screws attached to the storage box, and a bungee cord to the platform... I found everything I needed at Lowes for about $10 (had to buy a dang box of 15 of the eye-screws).
I cut the ends off of the bungee and then heated up a screwdriver and made a hole through it for my bolt... It works VERY well. Holds the platform snug to the box and with slight downward pressure.
And then the carpet that I have been dreading for nearly a year...
I went to Lowes again and was going to buy their gray outdoor carpet... RIGHT before the guy cut it I asked one last time if there was the same thin carpet in tan... That's when he introduced me to this 6' x 8' tan outdoor rugs for less than 1/3 the cost of the carpet. STOKED.
The application was pretty straight forward other than the corners... they were a bit of a pain.
Picture. VERY happy with the results.
A.Wilson013
New member
Idaho Trip 2015
As my last post said, we went on a bit of a road trip. We left Tuesday, 31 Mar 2015, and headed South East to Idaho, really the last area of the PNW that we haven't explored. This was our inaugural journey with the CVT Mt. Cayley roof top tent, so I noticed most of my photos were of the tent... whoops.
Tuesday night we stayed in an area called Twickenham, OR. The camping spot is used heavily during hunting seasons, but is NEVER occupied in the off season. We've stayed here a couple times now, and it's always great. It's also within a few minutes of my parents ranch if there were an emergency.
Wednesday morning I woke up a couple hours before my wife and walked the dog around the canyon a bit hoping to catch a glimpse of some wildlife... No such luck, so I just took some pictures.
DSC_0039 by awilson013, on Flickr
Our next destination was Idaho... Which was a longggg, boring drive. We set up camp at Arrowrock Lake, about 20 miles from the main road, had a fire, and then went to sleep. At about 6:15 AM I woke up to the sound of someone walking around our campsite, which again, was about 20 miles from ANYTHING. Kinda creepy, especially since this was the first (and last) time I went camping without a firearm. So I grabbed my mag lite, and went out to investigate. No one, and nothing was out there, so we packed up and got out of there. Very strange feeling... And with the rush, I took no pictures until we were down the road a bit more by the dam.
DSC_0047 by awilson013, on Flickr
Next stop was the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area... After doing some training in Idaho a few years back I knew of some good "off road" trails to the location, so we got to get the 4Runner a little dirty finally.. It was a good time. However, we didn't see any birds of prey, unless you count crows? So I just took a picture of my dog and left.
DSC_0057 by awilson013, on Flickr
After our experience the night before my wife wanted to camp in a real camp ground... Bruneau Dunes fit the bill, so we set up shop. Pretty cool area, VERY windy. We walked the dog in the dunes some, ate, fire, drank, went to bed.
DSC_0064 by awilson013, on Flickr
It looked like a storm was rolling in as the sun set...
DSC_0067 by awilson013, on Flickr
But when we woke up it didn't appear to have rained, but was 26 degrees.
DSC_0076 by awilson013, on Flickr
Last stop in Idaho was Shashone Falls, which is advertised as the "Niagra of the West". Imagine my disappointment when we drove the 2 hours there to find it was a man made waterfall... There was a neat trail around the lake though, and the falls were pretty cool looking.
DSC_0082 by awilson013, on Flickr
DSC_0089 by awilson013, on Flickr
DSC_0098 by awilson013, on Flickr
These were the last pictures I took with my camera as I got tired of messing with it... Our last trip I dropped it and screwed up the light sensor and have not taken the time to get it fixed yet... I really should.
Our last night we spent here, Summer Lake Hot Springs, a couple hours south of Bend. This is NOT my photo... But it was an AWESOME place. Look it up, and put it in your schedule.
Photo credit to Albert Ideation
Here's an overview of the route... Even made it back up through Salem for Easter dinner with the family!!
As my last post said, we went on a bit of a road trip. We left Tuesday, 31 Mar 2015, and headed South East to Idaho, really the last area of the PNW that we haven't explored. This was our inaugural journey with the CVT Mt. Cayley roof top tent, so I noticed most of my photos were of the tent... whoops.
Tuesday night we stayed in an area called Twickenham, OR. The camping spot is used heavily during hunting seasons, but is NEVER occupied in the off season. We've stayed here a couple times now, and it's always great. It's also within a few minutes of my parents ranch if there were an emergency.
Wednesday morning I woke up a couple hours before my wife and walked the dog around the canyon a bit hoping to catch a glimpse of some wildlife... No such luck, so I just took some pictures.
DSC_0039 by awilson013, on FlickrOur next destination was Idaho... Which was a longggg, boring drive. We set up camp at Arrowrock Lake, about 20 miles from the main road, had a fire, and then went to sleep. At about 6:15 AM I woke up to the sound of someone walking around our campsite, which again, was about 20 miles from ANYTHING. Kinda creepy, especially since this was the first (and last) time I went camping without a firearm. So I grabbed my mag lite, and went out to investigate. No one, and nothing was out there, so we packed up and got out of there. Very strange feeling... And with the rush, I took no pictures until we were down the road a bit more by the dam.
DSC_0047 by awilson013, on FlickrNext stop was the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area... After doing some training in Idaho a few years back I knew of some good "off road" trails to the location, so we got to get the 4Runner a little dirty finally.. It was a good time. However, we didn't see any birds of prey, unless you count crows? So I just took a picture of my dog and left.
DSC_0057 by awilson013, on FlickrAfter our experience the night before my wife wanted to camp in a real camp ground... Bruneau Dunes fit the bill, so we set up shop. Pretty cool area, VERY windy. We walked the dog in the dunes some, ate, fire, drank, went to bed.
DSC_0064 by awilson013, on FlickrIt looked like a storm was rolling in as the sun set...
DSC_0067 by awilson013, on FlickrBut when we woke up it didn't appear to have rained, but was 26 degrees.
DSC_0076 by awilson013, on FlickrLast stop in Idaho was Shashone Falls, which is advertised as the "Niagra of the West". Imagine my disappointment when we drove the 2 hours there to find it was a man made waterfall... There was a neat trail around the lake though, and the falls were pretty cool looking.
DSC_0082 by awilson013, on FlickrDSC_0089 by awilson013, on FlickrDSC_0098 by awilson013, on FlickrThese were the last pictures I took with my camera as I got tired of messing with it... Our last trip I dropped it and screwed up the light sensor and have not taken the time to get it fixed yet... I really should.
Our last night we spent here, Summer Lake Hot Springs, a couple hours south of Bend. This is NOT my photo... But it was an AWESOME place. Look it up, and put it in your schedule.
Here's an overview of the route... Even made it back up through Salem for Easter dinner with the family!!
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A.Wilson013
New member
Oh, and just an off topic piece of info... With the tent, my wife, my dog, myself, and a pretty light load of camping gear my 4runner tipped the scales at 5600lbs... She's getting fat! In fact that number is sooo high that I think the scale must not have been very accurate.
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the great him
Elite Member
Very believable... My runner tipped the scales at about 5300lbs+/- in daily driver configuration I had it over 6000lbs on a week long wheeling trip.
busmup808
New member
How did u connect the RTT to the rack? Stock rails or aftermarket?
4eigner
New member
Checkout his second picture on post number 486 (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/87123-wilson013s-build-thread-33.html#post1974537).
Looks like he's running aftermarket (Yakima?) bars. A bit high for my taste, but gets the job done. The factory bars really don't support the weight of 2 full sized adults in a rtt.
A.Wilson013
New member
Correct. I am running a pair of 50" Thule bars for now. This is temporary while I continue thinking(drinking) of a better option as they are indeed too high.
4eigner
New member
I'm running the smittybilt defender mounts (x8) and the rtt floor sits only 2" above the lateral edge/lip (sides closest to the doors) of the factory rails.
[MENTION=69059]CYi5[/MENTION] fabricated a nice set of bars with pics in this thread: Help with 4runner roof mounts! - Expedition Portal
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A.Wilson013
New member
That is the route I wanted to go as well... Do you have where you bought them from? I called 4Wheel Parts and they were saying they could only sell 6...
MTD
New member
The Thule racks I was using were way to high and on top of that they didn't load evenly and made the roof rattle over the slightest bump! It drove me up a wall so I built this rack one day. It is cheap to build and I have blue prints some where you can have if you want some one else to build it for you. It makes the tent sit nice and low which is awesome and since it loads more evenly I didn't get rattles anymore.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...d-narrated-morgan-freeman-10.html#post1723442
I don't have it on anymore because i have the trailer now, so I would offer to sell it but I have a feeling shipping would kill...
Anyway :cheers:
4eigner
New member
I just purchased them through amazon: Smittybilt DS2-8 Defender Series Mounting Brackets
They were bare steel but they also came with all the necessary hardware.
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4eigner
New member
That's quite impressive. If memory serves me right, with a full tank of gas, E-load 32's on each corner, matching spare, myself, 50#s of tools, & a 300# fridge stuffed in the back the scale read 4900. What are you guys stuffing in these things, lead?
Edit: wheels weighed in at 71# a pop according to the bathroom scale.
Edit#2: found the weight ticket, it was 4900# loaded & 4580# without the fridge
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the great him
Elite Member
Full armor - skids, sliders bumpers, winch(steel cable) tools, spare parts, food, gear, dog....
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