AirspeedX's Build / Trips

[AirspeedX]

AirspeedX's Build

As it sits now:

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My goal with this rig is to make it as practical as possible when it comes time for mods. I don't plan on doing any hardcore expeditions, but I'd like to aim that way. Keeping things as simple as possible, to reduce breakage in the middle of nowhere and then being able to fix it is what I'm going for . See this great article, "The 10 Commandments of Modifying an Overland Vehicle".

About a week after I first purchased it:

Tires were bald but it still climbed up no problem!

Playing in the snow with the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1's. Awesome tires.

On goes the Baja Utility Rack and General Grabber AT2 tires (stock size).

I realized that at this point in time, I don't need 285's. These tires are great! I might even run them this winter and sell the Blizzak's. It'll be a tough decision. The Utility Rack is fantastic as well. Quick install. Took a bit of fiddling to get it perfectly symmetrical but all in all not bad.

That's a quick summary of the last year. Now that I have this thread, I'll be able to write in more detail. More to come!

 

[AirspeedX]

Liard Hot Springs Trip / Alaska Highway

I decided that I wanted to drive North for the Canadian Victoria day long weekend. What a great trip! About 12 hours driving time (each way) and the last 4 hours was at roughly 60-80 km/h due to wildlife and general mountain driving conditions.

We weren't able to go any further North as we had to get back - otherwise Alaska would have been a great destination!

Pics:





Beautiful country


Camp Setup in Liard River


Well worth the drive. I had a sore back (from my brutal golf swing) and these hot springs healed it.




Getting off the beaten path. Ended up having to turn around due to Bison blocking the trail.


Grabbers getting dirtaaay!

Stop here if you get the chance, just do it.

Back home

 

[AirspeedX]

Hi-Lift came in! I debated between the Xtreme and All-Cast for quite some time. I decided that the All-Cast is all I would ever need, and spent the extra on a handle keeper and mounting system for the roof rack.

...and sure enough, it had to rain today! A town nearby (40 mins away) actually got snow!

 

[AirspeedX]

Goodies came in from Amazon today. Man they ship quick!

6'x8' heavy duty tarp for my custom awning that I am about to make.

and....

My portable compressor! I initially wanted the ARB twin, but decided against it for a couple reasons. 1 - I love having the portability. 2 - I don't air down enough to justify the extra cost

I also went with the Viair 450p over other models because of the 100% duty cycle and Viair's reputation. Amazon had it at a good price with free shipping so I snatched it up. First job - bicycle tire!

 

[AirspeedX]

Truck tire repair kit, some neon orange paracord to use as guy lines on my awning and a Assenmacher 64mm 14 flats oil filter wrench. Took me two hours to get my filter off last time with my bare hands. Not happening again.

 

[dhampir]

Compressor and Tire Repair Kit

Any reason for such an expensive compressor? Also, what tire repair kit did you pick up? I am looking for both of these. :cheers:

 

[cbielat]

I have the Viair 450P. Great portable compressor. Fills up the tires quickly enough.

 

[AirspeedX]

Any reason for such an expensive compressor? Also, what tire repair kit did you pick up? I am looking for both of these. :cheers:

I started off planning to go all out and get the ARB onboard twin. I realized that was overkill for my needs. However, I run on the philosophy of buying the best once, rather than buying cheap and upgrading later. The Viair compressors have great reviews. I have been watching them online for months now. I picked one up on Amazon for about $250 Canadian.

There are a bunch of tire repair kits on Amazon as well. I went with this one because is seemed to be the best bang for the buck. 33 pieces, didn't come with tools that I already have and also had good reviews.

Tire Repair Kit: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B009TUCDHA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[AirspeedX]

Led headlights!

Just put in some new beams! After reading multiple threads on here, I decided to try out LEDs for the first time.

The kit is a CREE 1800 lumens kit. I bought both H11 (high beams) and 9005 (low beams). Simple plug and play installation. I did have to remove the front bumper trim to pull the headlight assembly out so that the new bulbs (and fan) could be slipped in.

Pics:

Low beams and high beams on. Passenger side stock, driver side LED's

LEDs Low Beam

LEDs Low and High

Such a difference! Although - it doesn't get dark up here in the summer. I'll have to wait until the fall and winter to actually use them. Or wake up at 2am to go for a cruise.

Instagram edit to finish this post off. Sitting beside my brother's brand new Camaro. That thing rips! Makes my 4Runner feel ridiculously slow...

 

[cbielat]

Just put in some new beams! After reading multiple threads on here, I decided to try out LEDs for the first time.

The kit is a CREE 1800 lumens kit. I bought both H11 (high beams) and 9005 (low beams). Simple plug and play installation. I did have to remove the front bumper trim to pull the headlight assembly out so that the new bulbs (and fan) could be slipped in.

Pics:

Low beams and high beams on. Passenger side stock, driver side LED's

LEDs Low Beam

LEDs Low and High

Such a difference! Although - it doesn't get dark up here in the summer. I'll have to wait until the fall and winter to actually use them. Or wake up at 2am to go for a cruise.

Instagram edit to finish this post off. Sitting beside my brother's brand new Camaro. That thing rips! Makes my 4Runner feel ridiculously slow...

Can you post pics of the out put on the road?

 

[sclarge]

Where did you get those LED bulbs?

 

[DannyLlama]

I started off planning to go all out and get the ARB onboard twin. I realized that was overkill for my needs. However, I run on the philosophy of buying the best once, rather than buying cheap and upgrading later. The Viair compressors have great reviews. I have been watching them online for months now. I picked one up on Amazon for about $250 Canadian.

There are a bunch of tire repair kits on Amazon as well. I went with this one because is seemed to be the best bang for the buck. 33 pieces, didn't come with tools that I already have and also had good reviews.

Tire Repair Kit: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B009TUCDHA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the tips! I put both on my wish list for when the cash-flow, flows in.

Good luck with your build! Oh and enjoy trips as a couple before the kiddies

 

[MadeInMaine]

Where did you get those LED bulbs?

Im w/ Large.... what bulbs?

 

[AirspeedX]

Can you post pics of the out put on the road?

I can but you'll have to wait a couple months. It doesn't really get dark here this time of year. I'm pretty far up North.

Where did you get those LED bulbs?

Local offroad shop in Edmonton, Alberta. They are made by CREE. 1800 lumens output. Sorry, I don't have a link to any from an online store.

Thanks for the tips! I put both on my wish list for when the cash-flow, flows in.

Good luck with your build! Oh and enjoy trips as a couple before the kiddies

Thanks! But too late! My girlfriend has a 5 year old son. He gets stuffed in the back with the rest of the packing. Pretty good lil' road tripper! Plus he loves the bumps and sharp turns. Haha...

 

[cbielat]

[MENTION=92605]AirspeedX[/MENTION] I didn't even think of that. No worries.

 

[AirspeedX]

It's been awhile since I've made a post on here. Busy summer.

Whilst waiting for my lift to arrive (yes - ordered a lift!), I decided that a wax job was in order. Nothing special but it still took me a good half of the day. I run a lot of backroads and since winter is approaching, I did this more for a small layer of protection over the shiny looks, but I'll take the nice looking ride.

Handwash - rinse - liquid clay application - rinse - clay bar - dry - Mother's Gold wax - buff like crazy

 

[AirspeedX]

Also just finished the rear diff breather mod. I read a bunch of threads on this but have to say thanks to [MENTION=55815]Okki[/MENTION] for his. Made the most sense to me to run the breather up under the hood - plus it was relatively easy.

I bought the union and breather from a Toyota dealer (which cost me an arm and a leg - but that's another story), 15 feet of 3/8" fuel line, two hose clamps and a handful of zip ties. I also used pipe dope on the threads of the union instead of tape.

A couple pictures, not the best and there are a ton of them already on this site.

Left a lot of slack at the back to allow for movement between the body and axle. Also installing a lift soon so I kept that in mind too.

Driver's side frame rail:

New breather location:

I may switch this part out for a regular filter breather, as I have a gut feeling that it will function better.


I ran the hose from under the hood first, then down towards the back of the 4Runner as per Okki's write-up. I plan to get some protective shielding around the areas where the hose comes in contact with metal edges or is exposed to rocks and such (down the frame rail).

Great piece of mind.

 

[AirspeedX]

Going up!

Lift Installed!

My brother hooked me up with a pretty good deal with an Old Man Emu suspension lift and drove 4.5 hours to personally deliver it (and help install)!

Why OME?
Originally, I was planning a Stage 3 Icon. After months and months of research, I decided that it made more sense to go with an OME setup. First, it was going to be cheaper (MSRP - plus I got a great deal that I wasn't expecting). Second, I love the fact that there is no adjusting once it's in. I'm all about keeping it simple. I definitely don't need remote reservoirs and there's really nothing to break when I'm in the middle of nowhere. Not saying that any other lift is weaker, but the OME is just simple, and I like that. Plus it has a proven history of withstanding the most extreme conditions you can throw at it.

I may look into tweaking the suspension in years to come, possibly a long travel kit - but that's in time.

I didn't get much time to mess around with taking pictures. My brother and I did the complete install ourselves. No, I did not use a spring compressor. I've used them in the past and they sketch me out.

I followed this video exactly, and the process was very simple and in my opinion, not as dangerous as some people make it out to be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E6u7dC7EHg See Part 2 as well.

The setup
Heavy coils up front - I plan on installing a bumper, winch, second battery
Medium coils in the back - just enough to support a rear bumper and gear
Nitrocharger sport shocks and struts
Rear shock guards

Pictures

After the install:








7 foot garage door opening - still some room (keep in mind I'm still running stock size tires:


Flex shots:







I plan on running stock size tires this winter (better in snow) and then throw some 33's on next spring.

Best of all - no more nose dive when braking! I don't have KDSS either, and there is next to no body roll in the sharp turns anymore. Loving the ride. It's still a bit rough, but that should settle down once I throw some weight up front.

I also didn't bother with before and after measurements. Who cares... The lift is in and it's awesome.

 

[Mistaken]

Looks great!

 

[Desert Dawg]

Good plan to start with...rig definitely looks better but you'll love the additional capability. Nice work!