Advice needed for 4Rnr TE accessories

[liratoad]

Hi all. Next month my husband will celebrate his 10 year anniversary of stepping directly on a landmine in that sandy armpit of the world also known as Afghanistan. Oh yes, and surviving. We primarily celebrate the surviving. He made it through the initial blast and the more than 25 subsequent surgeries, limb loss, shattering his "good" leg, and all the fun indignities that go along with prolonged hospitalization. Still, we met some of the most amazing people (servicemembers and civilians alike) we will ever have the honor of knowing and, though it might sound odd, we probably had some of the best moments of our lives. If you saw him today and he had a pair of jeans on, you'd have no idea he'd ever been injured. He's done a lot of hard, hard work. So it goes without saying that I really want to make his 10 year anniversary special. The T4R TE was the primary "Mine Day" present but he has been hinting at some accessories/mods. The budget is a little small at the moment (bills, taxes, oh yeah...did I mention we just bought a new 4Runner ). I'd like to stay around $200 with a firm max of $300. The fella has looked at bull bars but I think that might have to wait for a little while, simply based on cost. In the meantime, he has also eyed the Icon Shin Guards and some of the various stubby antennae out there. I was also thinking about some Plasti-Dip so he can black out the logos,etc.
Thought I would ask the guys and gals here what they would do with a little extra coin if they had their druthers. Any and all suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance-
Toddy

 

[AutoRotate]

Hi all. Next month my husband will celebrate his 10 year anniversary of stepping directly on a landmine in that sandy armpit of the world also known as Afghanistan. Oh yes, and surviving. We primarily celebrate the surviving. He made it through the initial blast and the more than 25 subsequent surgeries, limb loss, shattering his "good" leg, and all the fun indignities that go along with prolonged hospitalization. Still, we met some of the most amazing people (servicemembers and civilians alike) we will ever have the honor of knowing and, though it might sound odd, we probably had some of the best moments of our lives. If you saw him today and he had a pair of jeans on, you'd have no idea he'd ever been injured. He's done a lot of hard, hard work. So it goes without saying that I really want to make his 10 year anniversary special. The T4R TE was the primary "Mine Day" present but he has been hinting at some accessories/mods. The budget is a little small at the moment (bills, taxes, oh yeah...did I mention we just bought a new 4Runner ). I'd like to stay around $200 with a firm max of $300. The fella has looked at bull bars but I think that might have to wait for a little while, simply based on cost. In the meantime, he has also eyed the Icon Shin Guards and some of the various stubby antennae out there. I was also thinking about some Plasti-Dip so he can black out the logos,etc.
Thought I would ask the guys and gals here what they would do with a little extra coin if they had their druthers. Any and all suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance-
Toddy

I would like to contribute to the purchase. Can you do QuickPay from Chase? If not, please advise where a check can be mailed. As for the mods, I would have him build a top to bottom list of everything he wants, then go from there. Don't waste money on things he doesn't care about.

 

[KCcarguy]

I would do weather tech digital fit liners.

 

[Sundog7121]

I would do weather tech digital fit liners.

I agree on Weathertech floor liners. Mine have paid for themselves many times over by keeping the snow, rain, and mud off the carpets.

arty:

 

[1engineer]

Hi all. Next month my husband will celebrate his 10 year anniversary of stepping directly on a landmine in that sandy armpit of the world also known as Afghanistan. Oh yes, and surviving. We primarily celebrate the surviving. He made it through the initial blast and the more than 25 subsequent surgeries, limb loss, shattering his "good" leg, and all the fun indignities that go along with prolonged hospitalization. Still, we met some of the most amazing people (servicemembers and civilians alike) we will ever have the honor of knowing and, though it might sound odd, we probably had some of the best moments of our lives. If you saw him today and he had a pair of jeans on, you'd have no idea he'd ever been injured. He's done a lot of hard, hard work. So it goes without saying that I really want to make his 10 year anniversary special. The T4R TE was the primary "Mine Day" present but he has been hinting at some accessories/mods. The budget is a little small at the moment (bills, taxes, oh yeah...did I mention we just bought a new 4Runner ). I'd like to stay around $200 with a firm max of $300. The fella has looked at bull bars but I think that might have to wait for a little while, simply based on cost. In the meantime, he has also eyed the Icon Shin Guards and some of the various stubby antennae out there. I was also thinking about some Plasti-Dip so he can black out the logos,etc.
Thought I would ask the guys and gals here what they would do with a little extra coin if they had their druthers. Any and all suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance-
Toddy

Question: Does he want an accessory for looks primarily or for usefulness? Floor liners are useful, not so much for looks. A front brush bar is cool looking, not much use though.
A few things that are both useful and look good that are under your self imposed limit are vent shades and a molded front chip guard. Both of those would run you under $200.00 from Amazon.

Good luck and be sure to thank him for his service and I think I can speak for all of us that frequent this website.

 

[<<<<]

I know this isn't $200 gift but @ $520 it is usefull and makes a statement. GL

 

[philsey]

++ on the Weathertechs, especially the one for the way-back. I am always putting dirty/messy stuff back there.

 

[Semi-Hex]

Hands down, the most used thing I did was the interior lights. Second would plastic dip.

 

[Ttn333]

Rigid Industries 20221 Dually-Led Spot Pair:Amazon:Automotive

These are cool and useful.

 

[thrux]

I just bought some plasti-dip and seeing as im local to you (im in sanford), I would be honored to donate!

 

[veloindy]

She doesn't state the year, but Weathertech doesn't have a digitalfit available for the 2013 driver / passenger. The back row, and way back is available though.

 

[liratoad]

I would like to contribute to the purchase. Can you do QuickPay from Chase? If not, please advise where a check can be mailed. As for the mods, I would have him build a top to bottom list of everything he wants, then go from there. Don't waste money on things he doesn't care about.

[MENTION=54511]AutoRotate[/MENTION] that is incredibly generous of you and I do sincerely thank you. However, we feel pretty incredibly happy and would really much rather funds like that go to The Wounded Warrior Project or the Fisher House organization. There are also quite a few Homes For Heroes groups, usually it's easy to find a local one to give either money or time to. There is also another great group my husband got his SCUBA cert through, called Divers4Heroes. That one is literally a husband and wife Dive Master team and a few other vets making the whole thing happen. Incredible group and they take vets of all age and in all conditions and give them the freedom that comes with being weightless underwater. I like your idea of a build list. That makes sense. Have to do this somewhat surreptitiously, but I will see what I can do and come back to the group.
[MENTION=66624]KCcarguy[/MENTION], Sundog7121, philsey, and veloindy: Thanks for the tip on the WeatherTechs. We generally put WeatherTechs or Huskys in all our vehicles. I searched the forums earlier and it was hard to get a consensus on which brand was better in the 4R. Glad to hear that one seems to have one out. I apologize for neglecting the year btw, it's a 2012 T4R TE w/KDSS and Entune and is completely stock at the moment.

Question: Does he want an accessory for looks primarily or for usefulness? Floor liners are useful, not so much for looks. A front brush bar is cool looking, not much use though.
A few things that are both useful and look good that are under your self imposed limit are vent shades and a molded front chip guard. Both of those would run you under $200.00 from Amazon.

Good luck and be sure to thank him for his service and I think I can speak for all of us that frequent this website.

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] You make a really good point. He is definitely a function over form kind of guy. Not that he wants the truck to be hideous, but usefulness far outweighs beauty in his eyes. He was thinking about the grille guard as some of the trails we have done already have been very, very narrow with some sturdy brush and I think he just wanted a little protection. There was also mention of mounting a winch to it in the distant future. Do you really need the grille guard/bull bars to mount the winch? I thought some could be mounted differently?
By chip guard, were you referring to something like this?
Hood Protector 4Runner 2010 2011 2012 Genuine Toyota New : Amazon.com : Automotive
I know he will never go for the vent shades. We had an F150 that came with them and he couldn't get them off fast enough! Has anyone here done the ClearBra or 3M clear vinyl to their front end. Lots of love bugs down here that eat into paint, not to mention rock chips from highway driving.

@<<<< (GL), those are very nice. Are those what I keep seeing referred to as sliders? Which brand are those? That might be something we could work up to as well. Have you had any problems with those loosening up?I know that some of the aftermarket running boards for my Explorer have a reputation of coming loose after awhile. Luckily, the Ex doesn't need them but on the Trail those might come in handy and they look like they are angled enough to stay out of the way.
[MENTION=84268]Semi-Hex[/MENTION] did you do an LED conversion?
[MENTION=55166]Ttn333[/MENTION] thanks for the link. Those are awesome and I bet make your truck stand out. Did you find them fairly easy to mount and wire in?
[MENTION=92517]thrux[/MENTION] How much plasti-dip did you buy and what kind? I would be more than willing to buy your excess off of you and I would love a little assistance learning how to properly use the stuff. I would hate to muck up the truck!! Did you use it to black out the logos or something else?

Phew!!! Holy wall of text Batman!! Thanks for all the input and now I have some serious work to do trying to get the fella as much stuff as possible!!
-Toddy

 

[AutoRotate]

[MENTION=54511]AutoRotate[/MENTION] that is incredibly generous of you and I do sincerely thank you. However, we feel pretty incredibly happy and would really much rather funds like that go to The Wounded Warrior Project or the Fisher House organization. There are also quite a few Homes For Heroes groups, usually it's easy to find a local one to give either money or time to. There is also another great group my husband got his SCUBA cert through, called Divers4Heroes. That one is literally a husband and wife Dive Master team and a few other vets making the whole thing happen. Incredible group and they take vets of all age and in all conditions and give them the freedom that comes with being weightless underwater. I like your idea of a build list. That makes sense. Have to do this somewhat surreptitiously, but I will see what I can do and come back to the group.

Our family was hit this year with a similar situation when a close member became a double amputee in A-Stan. (Prayers for Sgt. Jordan Fomar)

At any rate, I'm familiar with the groups around and would still like to do something for your husband, as we now share a common interest. If we were closer, I would simply buy him a beer or pick up his dinner tab. No way to do that from Texas. At any rate, the offer stands.

Additionally, I have a set of N-Fab steps in the for sale section that I would gladly donate to his truck. The link can be found here if you want to take a look at them: N-Fab Steps for Sale Thread on T4R Forum. I would have to figure out a way to package them for shipment, but I would be glad to look into it. Once again, you can have them for the shipping cost if he likes them. I will be putting some new sliders (steps) on the truck at the end of the month to replace these, so maybe I can use that packaging to ship yours - only if he likes them.

Just some things to think about...

Let me know if you are interested.

 

[1engineer]

Our family was hit this year with a similar situation when a close member became a double amputee in A-Stan. (Prayers for Sgt. Jordan Fomar)

At any rate, I'm familiar with the groups around and would still like to do something for your husband, as we now share a common interest. If we were closer, I would simply buy him a beer or pick up his dinner tab. No way to do that from Texas. At any rate, the offer stands.

Additionally, I have a set of N-Fab steps in the for sale section that I would gladly donate to his truck. The link can be found here if you want to take a look at them: N-Fab Steps for Sale Thread on T4R Forum. I would have to figure out a way to package them for shipment, but I would be glad to look into it. Once again, you can have them for the shipping cost if he likes them. I will be putting some new sliders (steps) on the truck at the end of the month to replace these, so maybe I can use that packaging to ship yours - only if he likes them.

Just some things to think about...

Let me know if you are interested.

So many things wrong with our country but [MENTION=54511]AutoRotate[/MENTION] shows us what's right. Good job sir!

 

[AutoRotate]

So many things wrong with our country but [MENTION=54511]AutoRotate[/MENTION] shows us what's right. Good job sir!

Thanks so much for the kind words. My work lends me to service. A mentor/teacher of mine, US Navy Seal Chris Kyle was killed a couple of months ago here in Texas. He was the model of a person that I want to be.

Anyway, he often said, "It is our duty to serve those who serve us." I try to live by that daily.

On another note, how do you guys use the "MENTION" deal for the usernames on the website. I tried to hit the little speaker button for mention when replying and it puts mention tags but doesn't work!!

I'm computer challenged...

 

[philsey]

So many things wrong with our country but [MENTION=54511]AutoRotate[/MENTION] shows us what's right. Good job sir!

Second that...

 

[Jivewalker]

Not sure about Runners, but Wet Okele makes some great seat covers for the Tacoma. Maybe worth looking into for the 4R. Also, I have the digital fit weathertechs in my 12 TE and love them! There are some pisctures under my profile. Good luck, what a great wife!

 

[1engineer]

Thanks so much for the kind words. My work lends me to service. A mentor/teacher of mine, US Navy Seal Chris Kyle was killed a couple of months ago here in Texas. He was the model of a person that I want to be.

Anyway, he often said, "It is our duty to serve those who serve us." I try to live by that daily.

On another note, how do you guys use the "MENTION" deal for the usernames on the website. I tried to hit the little speaker button for mention when replying and it puts mention tags but doesn't work!!

I'm computer challenged...

You mean like [MENTION=54511]AutoRotate[/MENTION]? I do not know "speaker button." Use the "@" symbol then username with no space between.

 

[AutoRotate]

You mean like [MENTION=54511]AutoRotate[/MENTION]? I do not know "speaker button." Use the "@" symbol then username with no space between.

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] Okay, thanks we will see if this works!

 

[Semi-Hex]

[MENTION=84268]Semi-Hex[/MENTION] did you do an LED conversion?

A lot of people have done this. I am off road quite a bit and the amount of light I have inside is amazing. The material costs are only around $50 bucks, and changing them is quite easy, there is a very well done thread on the lights and how to change them. A quick google will show you the thread.