Anyone overlanding with stock suspension height?

[empty403]

There are many threads of awesome builds with 2-3 inches of lift and big tires, but I was wondering: are there any 4Runners out there set up for overlanding with stock suspension height and stock tire size?

I “Overland” to work every day and the Honda Civic does fine.

 

[Arishtat]

You'd be amazed what you can do with a stock 4Runner. Just take the running boards off and put a proper set of all terrain tires on it like 265/65/17 BFG KO2s or General Grabber AT2s.

I took the 4Runner wheeling in the hills of souther Pennsylvania less than three weeks after buying it. It did just fine on the forest service roads and even the trails were doable, if a bit bone shaking. Lucky for me the trails were all dry because the stock tires were absolutely terrible on the muddy parts of the off-road obstacle course the guys from Main Line Overland set up to go play on.

 

[LTDBLKTRD]

99% of "overlanding" requires nothing but 2wd, a cooler, and a high level plan. The rest is mostly dress up. A few do go to places where you need major clearance.. but its because they go looking for it.. Do whatever makes you happy.. There is no right or wrong answer. Just don't be a poser please... So many of those showing up these days.

Nailed it! Poser stand available @ Suspension Lift Kits, Body Lifts, Leveling Kit, 4x4, Jeep, Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Off-road Truck | Rough Country Suspension Systems®

 

[2012sr5]

As many others have said, for simple trails and barely maintained service roads, stock height is more than adequate. I have a 2" lift and stock size E load tires because I wanted my truck to drive like a truck without the nose dive and leaning into turns. It's a little stiffer than stock and perfect for me.

I have taken the "tires, sliders, and skids" advice and jumped on a couple of group buys this month. Just got my sliders from MetalTech installed, and I'm waiting on RCI skids. I'm done for a while. Probably. Maybe. Well...after the Airlift bags arrive.

Honestly, I don't need to bolt any more crap to my truck for us to get out and explore all the national parks and forests within a day's drive.

Use the O word if you want. Or not. We take a tent and just call it car camping away from packed public grounds.

This about sums it up the overland gimmick

@overland_memes is one of the funniest accounts on Instagram.

 

[msp]

Tires, limited-slip diff, reasonable ground clearance and you can go lots of places. This car has taken me on all kinds of roads including many forest service and BLM roads from Tennessee to Colorado and other western states. Great in snow and other slick stuff. Big rocks, not so much, so I just drive around those. Only mod is slightly oversized, aggressive tread tires. The other sports car/Miata people would always give me the "you need to lower it, etc." advice but if I did that I would not be able to go on all of roads I like to drive on. Also, small tent, clothes, fly-fishing gear, and basic needs do fit in the trunk.

Top five favorite posts. Thanks!

 

[STX4Runner]

Wtf is "overlanding"?

See below

 

[honda250xtitan]

they look better lifted. I'm not afraid to admit thats the biggest reason why i lifted the wife's minivan. and yes, its a mini van that does well on those forest roads we take it on.

 

[Cymon]

No issues off-roading, traveling and getting to camping spots so far...almost 50k on the stock suspension. When the suspension wears out and needs to be replaced I’ll probably go to a 1-2 inch lift for the reasons [MENTION=118321]Jetboy[/MENTION] mentioned in an earlier post. My skids scrape a little more often then a non-lifted 4runner but that hasn’t gotten in the way of getting where I want or need to go. Just need to pick a better line, stack some rocks, or problem solve and find an alternate way around. If you are not doing serious rock crawling/off-roading there really isn’t a “need” for a lift...”want” is a whole different story. If you actually “need” a lift in all honesty you would know, if anyone is asking themselves “do I need a lift?” then in all likelyhood they don’t.

 

[scanny]

I have stock suspension as well. In my opinion lift is nice to have, but I don't think 4Runner really needs it unless you're going offroad to trails which specifically require a lift. 4Runner is amazing offroad and in stock configuration it can go further than I'm willing to walk back for help : ) I don't install a lift mostly because installing a lift might reduce reliability and I would take a reliability over additional 2" clearance.
Talking about overlanding, I always prepared to turn around if I encounter an obstacle I can't safely drive over or drive around. So lift in very few occasions might have allowed me to go further, but maybe just to see bigger rocks or deeper ruts down the road, where 2" lift won't be enough.

 

[barcainho]

What about a lift to accommodate the added weight? of sliders, skidplates, winch, maybe dual battery setup.

Im more interested in knowing how do i go about the added weight of all the accessories added.

Anyone know a basic math equation to figure out when to add suspension lift?

 

[Jetboy]

What about a lift to accommodate the added weight? of sliders, skidplates, winch, maybe dual battery setup.

Im more interested in knowing how do i go about the added weight of all the accessories added.

Anyone know a basic math equation to figure out when to add suspension lift?

The lift depends on what ride height you want.

The easy formula is that the front effective spring rate is around 600lb per inch stock. The rear height is about 500lb per inch stock. So... weight in the middle of the vehicle will drop the ride height by location.

Starting point is about 2200lb rear, 2500lb front.

But for easy reference, a winch on the front that weighs 200lbs results in a ride height going down by 200/600 or 1/3 inch.

A 400lb rear bumper will drop the rear ride height by about 1". If you want to get the rear back to stock height, you could choose stock spring rate and 1" taller - OR - you could choose a stock height spring that has a rate that is about 60lb/in. stiffer. So you could have stock spring height spring at 260lb/in. Both would result in stock height. The taller spring will be softer the stiffer spring will be firmer. What's better for you is determined by what you're trying to do. There's no perfect answer. I personally tend to prefer longer and softer springs. But they are more sensitive to weight.

The equation to use is :

REAR: Ride Height = Spring Length - [(weight/2)x(spring rate)]

FRONT: Ride Height = Spring Length - [(weight/2)x(spring rate/2)]

 

[sactown]

Spam reported

 

[slider76]

To better discuss, what does 'overlanding' mean to you?

Just about any vehicle can 'overland' until it encounters conditions it can no longer traverse or the driver is too scared or wise to try.

There's a lot of dirt roads I can drive in my Mustang until I come to that washed out spot that my truck easily crosses. And there's places the 4runner will go that the truck struggles to. All are stock height, just depends what you are looking to do.

Primarily, accessing camping spots and natural features via unpaved tracks.

I do not plan on rock climbing at all, but foresee a lot of driving on BLM land and on fire roads.

 

[sactown]

Primarily, accessing camping spots and natural features via unpaved tracks.

I do not plan on rock climbing at all, but foresee a lot of driving on BLM land and on fire roads.

IMO add some good tires like BFG KO2 or KM2 (or wait until June for KM3) and enjoy. A 4R is very capable as is with good tires, I'm assuming 4WD and even better with locking diff and the electronic traction wizardry. Think about lifts if/when the need finally arises. Skids and possibly sliders might be a good protection addition, again depends on where you're going. If you're mostly doing stuff in socal, ask folks here about the specific areas, there's probably someone here who has gone before.

Lifts are cool and all that but extra money in the bank is cooler IMO, YMMV.

 

[MeefZah]

Overlanding. Such a stupid word.

How else would you do it?

 

[barcainho]

What would you guys suggest? if im interested in a dual battery setup as well as a hidden winch setup. I already added weight with my skid plates and sliders.
Just curious on what your opinions would be for me, an extra inch or 2 would be great for clearance but its not necessary. So should i do more research on heavier springs or get a full suspension kit?

Im afraid if i add the second battery and a winch it will just really sag the front.

 

[sactown]

Overlanding. Such a stupid word.

How else would you do it?

Helicopters are fun if the budget allows.

I've read that the term 'overlanding' comes from Australia, they have their own ways of saying things down there. Overlanding, off roading, trail running, crawling, mudding, camping... no matter how we do it or what we call it I hope we can all have a good time.

 

[Salvo Jimmy]

Helicopters are fun if the budget allows.

I've read that the term 'overlanding' comes from Australia, they have their own ways of saying things down there. Overlanding, off roading, trail running, crawling, mudding, camping... no matter how we do it or what we call it I hope we can all have a good time.

4-Wheeling is another I have heard.

 

[e60ral]

i'm okay with overland existing as a word to distinguish between long trips that are mostly paved or maintained roads with as much un-maintained roads as possible (essentially car camping but trying to stay remote and off pavement) vs offroading or 4 wheeling which around me usually means rock crawling or mud holes in smaller designated offroad parks or OHV areas.

although half the people around me who use overlanding still just mean going to uwharrie for the day and build crawling rigs that would suck on long highway stretches, they just want to seem less redneck than the other ricky's at uwharrie

 

[RUNTHAT]

I thought that Overlanding meant throwing thousands of dollars in "mods" (which are really bolt ons that could be installed with basic tools) at your rig, and taking cool pictures for SnapFace and GramBook?

:behindsofa: #theculture #thevision