Ayeyothisiskyle's Mods, Trips & Tribulations

[ayeyothisiskyle]

Alright Guys being that this is my first truck that I own, I'm trying to take things slow. BUT this forum has got me dipping into my savings. A little back story.

When I first started driving, I had a 2004 BMW 325i that I slammed to the ground. At one point, I was popping off road reflectors. No Bueno. I went to college, got a job, and then got laid off of said job a couple years into it. Then I pursued my dream of being a chef and went back to school to get a culinary degree. At this time, an old supervisor of mine asked if I could work part time while I was in school, and I agreed. This had be driving 100 miles a day. So, I bought a 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid to save on gas. Boy did I save on gas. 50 MPG and 700mi per tank with that thing. I was pretty happy.

When I would go camping and off-roading, I would borrow my dad's 2014 Tacoma TRD Sport. Come to think of it, he always had a Toyota. First was a 92 Toyota Pickup with over 300k on the odo before it got T-boned and saved his life. Then he leased a 2007 Tacoma TRD Off-road, a 2010 Tundra Crewmax, and now a 2014 Tacoma TRD Sport.

Just recently, I got an offer to work in a restaurant in Mammoth Mountain so I thought long and hard about it, and sold the hybrid and bought my first truck. A 2016 Midnight Black Trail Edition with KDSS.

Day I picked her up

Took the LEDs out of the Honda and put them in (Low beams and front seat interiors)

I wanted to get rid of the factory rake so, Daystar 2.5/1.5" leveling spacers installed. I also had prorack ski/snowboard clamps for the 3-series and threw them up on the runner.

Same day me and a buddy (who drives a 17 Taco) installed the spacers, I figured since I was already under the truck, I might as well just do the scuba diff breather mod. I routed it to the emergency jack compartment using the stock one way valve. (should I just put a oil filter on it?)

The next day I went on a little trail trip with a couple friends and my dog. His name is Crews and he's a White German Shepherd just in case anyone was wondering.

Dust. Dust and doghair everywhere...

And tonight I just finished installing the Rago Fabrication Hidden Bumper Brackets with a $40 lightbar from Amazon. I will be testing this for weather durability and overall performance. I mean, it was only $40 why not.

Next things planned are new rubber (still debating what to get) and a little protection from RCI Skids and Pelfreybilt sliders.

:thumb::thumb:

 

[cmilviper]

Nice start! How difficult was the light bar install/front bumper removal ect?

 

[DesertCanyons]

Snow Tires

Nice set of photos and a good story of your career.
You'll need snow tires in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Pack your skis and snow board too. Hopefully your job will continue into summer when the ski season tapers off.
My signature shot is the White Mountains east of Mammoth and the Owens Valley, not far from Bishop, CA, through Big Pine. Maybe an hour from Mammoth. The road is open in the summer. The dirt road past the Visitor's Center in White Mountains to this spot, Patriarch Grove is another hour.

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

Nice start! How difficult was the light bar install/front bumper removal ect?

Started around 9:30pm, finished around midnight. Most of the time was trying to get my switch wires through the firewall grommet. It aint pretty, but it'll do for now.

I followed the video rago features on their site. VIDEO HERE

Nice set of photos and a good story of your career.
You'll need snow tires in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Pack your skis and snow board too. Hopefully your job will continue into summer when the ski season tapers off.
My signature shot is the White Mountains east of Mammoth and the Owens Valley, not far from Bishop, CA, through Big Pine. Maybe an hour from Mammoth. The road is open in the summer. The dirt road past the Visitor's Center in White Mountains to this spot, Patriarch Grove is another hour.

Nice! Yeah, I have my chains already just to get up there. Employee parking is apparently super limited so they are paying to keep the truck at the airport. (bummer) But I do plan to stay up there through the season.

I do snowboard, so that will be with me. I want to learn how to ski. I hear its not that hard if you're a boarder. I'll have a season pass, so now's the time!

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

I forgot to mention I got the Rago Fab Brackets from [MENTION=131449]bratliff3[/MENTION]. Thanks Man!

And from another member here, [MENTION=139908]OC4X4[/MENTION], I got me some Demello X-wing Sliders. I'm loving them so far! (Thanks man, it was great to meet you!)

Not sure how I feel about how far they poke out, but I see them being really good for passengers and actual protection offroad.

Other than that, installation was a breeze! For the passenger. The drivers side with KDSS however... was a little bit of wangjangling to get everything fitting properly. Even with tips from OC4x4. If anyone has questions with slider installs with KDSS, just holler. I'd be happy to answer your questions!

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

Well, I havent touched this in awhile... lots done to the truck since the last update.

First

SCS Ray 10s Brushed Gold wrapped with Falken AT3W 265/70/17

Modified TRD Faux Grill + Rago Ditch light mounts w/ 20w Pods

Boo...

After that, it slows down until...

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

Kings!

Front: Extended Travel + Adjusters
Rear: Extended Travel + Adjusters
UCAs: JBA High Caster Upper Control Arms
Rear Spring: Icon 3" Overland Multi-rate Springs

Thanks for the coilover adjustment and alignment Jimahajer Garage!

This is how much preload right currently.

Around this time, I painted the fake beadlock bolts because I was bored one day.

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

Ultimate Camping Mod - I think I might have to re-wire this. The buttons work, the key does not anymore.

Scanguage II

Not a mod, but super surprising. This was up near Bishop, CA on Memorial Day weekend. The end of May and its snowing still.

 

[shrub1]

Looking good man.
Love Bishop too.

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

Proline 4x4 Rear Elite Bumper Review

Proline 4x4 Rear Elite Bumper - Boy do I have a lot to say about this.

There are definitely pros and cons about this bumper. Unfortunately, my experience with the company has left me feeling so-so about it. I mentioned a little about it in the "What did you do to your 4Runner Today?" Thread, but I will go more in depth here.

FWIW - They did resolve some issues that I had in the end.

I ordered the bumper when I saw there was a slight sale for Easter. I missed it by a day, or a couple hours and the code did not work, so I called them and asked if they would honor the code. They said they would. At this time I confirmed my shipping and billing address. On the site, they mention lead times are around 4 weeks and I was okay with that. A dual swingout high clearance bumper that only takes 4 weeks (excluding shipping) Awesome! I was happy.

The bumper I ordered was:
- Powdercoated
- Jerry Can Holder Arm
- Spare Tire Arm
- Front Runner Folding Table
- Rear Facing Light Cutouts

A week or two later I was researching jerry cans for the holder, and I came across the Front Runner Water Jerry Can with Tap. I called them to confirm it would fit. They told me it would not, but they would order one and custom fit one for my bumper and send me the Jerry Can with the bumper. I also asked if they would notch out the holder so I can use the tap while on the truck. They said they would do that to. I was extremely happy and since I did not get the discount from the Easter code yet, I figured, I wouldn't bug them about it since they would be doing custom work. On this phone call, he told me my bumper was already fabbed and going to powder. Completely ahead of schedule. I again was super happy and excited!

I let a week or two go by before I contacted again to check on progress and they told me the bumper was powdercoated, the jerry can holder was complete and they were just waiting on the Front Runner Table to arrive so they can pack it up and ship it. I said no problem and waited another week. To save some time, the Front Runner Table never arrived and I never got it.

For the next several weeks, since they told me the bumper was done, I called to see when it would ship. Ever time I called, they said "today or tomorrow morning." I never got notification it shipped. Finally after a few weeks, I called and got send to their full voicemail, I get an email saying it is being packed and will ship in two days. I send back and email asking if the jerry can is there and they just reply "everything but the table."

But there was another problem. They shipped it to my billing address, not my shipping address. Being fed up with the Proline, I called the shipping company to change the delivery address and they fixed it for me no problem.

Finally I get a tracking code, and the bumper will take a week and a half from Miami to California. Again, no problem. Finally relieved that the bumper is coming. I took delivery and the Front Runner Jerry can was not there.

I also realized the jerry can holder was not customized to fit the Front Runner Jerry Can and it was not even notched out to accommodate the tap. Since they did not do any custom work, I felt I should get the discount we talked about in when I ordered the bumper.

Onto the design of the bumper.

I really like the bumper. I truly do. It is built well and seems to be strong enough for what I intend to use it for. The spindle posts have some rust on them, but I could just brush that off before I grease the thing. I looked for install guides because Proline does not offer them and another thread here said it was fairly easy, just take off the OEM bumper cover and slip the bumper over the frame. Measure measure measure, then cut the plastic OEM bumper to fit. I took the bumper cover off and...

I'm just going to list the issues I had during the install.

• Bumper would not go onto the frame. The frame was 45.5" wide, and the mount on the inside of the PL bumper was 45.25".
• Ground the inside powdercoating off and shaved some of the steel to get a gradual "ramp" so we can brute force the bumper on. We finally slip it over the frame and kick it into place.
• I was shorted 1 bolt for the side mounting/support arms. It came with a rivnut, but I couldn't figure out where to put it.
• Bottom mounts of the bumper are where the factory tie-down points are, there is only 1 tie-down point since the other side is being blocked by the exhaust. I had to find two bolts to fill that spot. (Luckily our Taco has some that fit. And I found some to replace the taco's)
• Since it re-uses the factory hitch receiver and it mounts on the outside of the bumper, I could only fit the (4) lateral bolts to mount them. The (2) vertical bolts to attach the hitch receiver from the bottom would not fit because the width of the bumper metal.
• The holes for the lateral hitch bolts did not line up so we had to grind two on the passenger site out. (refer to image below)
• During powdercoat, they covered the spindle posts and wheel studs on the spare carrier with tape. However, they did not take the tape off during the cure, so I had to peel off powdercoated tape that was melted onto both spindles and each spare wheel stud. (this was a b!tch because it chipped off instead of peeling)
• There were no cotter pins in the bearing/castle nut/spindle cover (wheel hub cover) Kit
• The zerk fitting on the jerry can holder arm was missing.
• The latch for the jerry can holder arm was installed the wrong way.
• Powdercoat chipping off jerry can holder
• With the swingarms out, I see an issue when if get the Front Runner drop down table. Clearance will be an issue when opening the hatch.

Hitch mounting holes

After hours of swearing, karate kicks, grinding, and beer, it was finally on.

Honestly, IF Proline would have told me it might take awhile for the bumper to ship because its literally traveling across the country, I would have been fine with it. I understand shipping a 250+lb pallet of steel is a big deal to take care of. IF they also told me they could not customize the jerry can holder, I would have been fine with it. It would have been a bummer, but I would have been fine with it. Instead, I was lied to time and time again with empty promises of custom work.

I'm not sure what other people had to do when installing their bumpers from other companies, but I want to say they did not have the amount of issues I had. I know some people have had great experiences with this company, thats why I went with them. A little trend I realized was those happy customers were all along the East Coast of the United States. West coast customers were the ones having problems. So just my $.02, if you're in California, or the West Coast and looking at a Proline, consider finding a different fab shop.

PROS

Again, I do like the bumper. After everything is installed, said and done, I like the bumper.

• The tire carrier at its highest setting only covers 1/4 of the rear window, so visibility is great!
• The latches that come with the bumper are "locking" which means that the latch is not only being held taught be the tension of the U-bolt, but there is a spring-loaded hook that "locks" the latches closed.
• Both arms are removable by 6 heavy duty bolts and nylon lock nuts.

Like I said in the beginning, they fixed some issues I had. Mostly monetary things. I was refunded the amount for the table and the Easter discount.

Note: I was going to make this post its own thread, but decided to make it for this thread. If people feel like it should be its own thread, just PM me and I'll do it.

 

[Mutant138]

What is that window mesh your using? Snow get inside at all?

 

[Mutant138]

Proline 4x4 Rear Elite Bumper - Boy do I have a lot to say about this.

There are definitely pros and cons about this bumper. Unfortunately, my experience with the company has left me feeling so-so about it. I mentioned a little about it in the "What did you do to your 4Runner Today?" Thread, but I will go more in depth here.

FWIW - They did resolve some issues that I had in the end.

I ordered the bumper when I saw there was a slight sale for Easter. I missed it by a day, or a couple hours and the code did not work, so I called them and asked if they would honor the code. They said they would. At this time I confirmed my shipping and billing address. On the site, they mention lead times are around 4 weeks and I was okay with that. A dual swingout high clearance bumper that only takes 4 weeks (excluding shipping) Awesome! I was happy.

The bumper I ordered was:
- Powdercoated
- Jerry Can Holder Arm
- Spare Tire Arm
- Front Runner Folding Table
- Rear Facing Light Cutouts

A week or two later I was researching jerry cans for the holder, and I came across the Front Runner Water Jerry Can with Tap. I called them to confirm it would fit. They told me it would not, but they would order one and custom fit one for my bumper and send me the Jerry Can with the bumper. I also asked if they would notch out the holder so I can use the tap while the truck. They said they would do that to. I was extremely happy and since I did not get the discount from the Easter code yet, I figured, I wouldn't bug them about it since they would be doing custom work. On this phone call, he told me my bumper was already fabbed and going to powder. Completely ahead of schedule. I again, was super happy and excited!

I let a week or two go by before I contacted again to check on progress and they told me the bumper was powdercoated, the jerry can holder was complete and they were just waiting on the Front Runner Table to arrive so they can pack it up and ship it. I said no problem and waited another week. To save some time, the Front Runner Table never arrived and I never got it.

For the next several weeks, since they told me the bumper was done, I called to see when it would ship. Ever time I called, they said "today or tomorrow morning." Never got notification it shipped. Finally after I called and got send to their full voicemail, I get an email saying it is being packed and will ship in two days. I send back and email asking if the jerry can is there and they just reply "everything but the table."

But there was another problem. They shipped it to my billing address, not my shipping address. Being fed up with the Proline, I called the shipping company to change the delivery address and they fixed it for me no problem.

Finally I get a tracking code, and the bumper will take a week and a half from Miami to California. Again, no problem. Finally relieved that the bumper is coming. I took delivery and the Front Runner Jerry can was not there.

I also realized the jerry can holder was not customized to fit the Front runner jerry can and it was not even notched out to accommodate the tap. Since they did not do any custom work, I felt I should get the discount we talked about in when I ordered the bumper.

Onto the design of the bumper.

I really like the bumper. I truly do. It is built well and seems to be strong enough for what I intend to use it for. The spindle posts have some rust on them, but I could just brush that off before I grease the thing. I looked for install guides because Proline does not offer them and another thread here said it was fairly easy, just take off the OEM bumper cover and slip the bumper over the frame. Measure measure measure, then cut the plastic OEM bumper to fit. I took the bumper cover off and...

I'm just going to list the issues I had during the install.

• Bumper would not go onto the frame. The frame was 45.5" wide, and the mount on the inside of the PL bumper was 45.25".
• Ground the inside powdercoating off and shaved some of the steel to get a gradual "ramp" so we can brute force the bumper on. We finally slip it over the frame and kick it into place.
• I was shorted 1 bolt for the side mounting/support arms. It came with a rivnut, but I couldn't figure out where to put it.
• Bottom mounts of the bumper are where the factory tie-down points are, there is only 1 tie-down point since the other side is being blocked by the exhaust. I had to find two bolts to fill that spot. (Luckily our Taco has some that fit. And I found some to replace the taco's)
• Since it re-uses the factory hitch receiver and it mounts on the outside of the bumper, I could only fit the (4) lateral bolts to mount them. The (2) vertical bolts to attach the hitch receiver would not fit becuase the width of the bumper metal.
• The holes for the lateral hitch bolts did not line up so we had to grind two on the passenger site out. (refer to image below)
• During powdercoat, they cover the spindle posts and wheel studs on the spare carrier. However, they did not take the tape off during the cure, so I had to peel off powdercoated tape that was melted onto both spindles and each spare wheel stud. (this was a b!tch because it chipped off instead of peeling)
• There were no cotter pins in the bearing/castle nut/spindle cover (wheel hub cover) Kit
• The zerk fitting on the jerry can holder was missing.
• The latch for the jerry can holder arm was installed the wrong way.
• Powdercoat chipping off jerry can holder
• With the swingarms out, I see an issue when I get my Front Runner table. Clearance will be an issue when opening the hatch.

Hitch mounting holes

After hours of swearing, karate kicks, grinding, and beer, it was finally on.

Honestly, IF Proline would have told me, it might take awhile for the bumper to ship because its literally traveling across the country, I would have been fine with it. I understand shipping a 250+ pallet of steel is a big deal to take care of. IF they also told me they could not customize the jerry can holder, I would have been fine with it. It would have been a bummer, but I would have been fine with it. Instead, I was lied to time and time again with empty promises of custom work.

I'm not sure what other people had to do when installing their bumpers from other companies, but I want to say they did not have the amount of issues I had. I know some people have had great experiences with this company. (Thats why I went with them) A little trend I realized was those happy customers were all along the East Coast of the United States. West coast customers were the ones having problems. So just my $.02, if you're in California, or the West Coast and looking at a Proline, consider finding a different fab shop.

PROS

Again, I do like the bumper. After everything is installed, said and done, I like the bumper.

• The tire carrier at its highest setting only covers 1/4 of the rear window, so visibility is great!
• The latches that come with the bumper are "locking" which means that the latch is not only being held taught be the tension of the U-bolt, but there is a spring-loaded hook that "locks" the latches closed.
• Both arms are removable by 6 heavy duty bolts and nylon lock nuts.

Like I said in the beginning, they fixed some issues I had. Mostly monetary things. I was refunded the amount for the table and the Easter discount.

Note: I was going to make this post its own thread, but decided to make it for this thread. If people feel like I should begin its own thread, just PM me and I'll do it.

I would be fuming hard. I'm sure that was not cheap.

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

What is that window mesh your using? Snow get inside at all?

http://a.co/5xXbpK0

Got them on sale for $10. They usually go on sale from time to time. It was cold so it was only cracked just below the window visors. No snow inside. When its hot, I roll them down to half.

 

[eyerolleddapiece]

Awesome looking build. Looks like you have had some setbacks, but keep pushing forward.

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

The Proline Bumper shitshow continues.

First off, the sad excuse of a security cable is not ideal, and this happened while we were sitting in front of the trucks after the dunes at Pismo.

Not much damage. That swingout still closes and locks, it just needs a bit of encouragement to close correctly. That girl that is laughing with the helmet on was riding the ATV. She was probably 50-60 ft away from our caution tape, and her tracks showed that she traveled 42ft to hit my swingout. I was pretty pissed off so I called rangers to get a police report in case damage shows up later. I really just wanted to waste her rental time. I had a few drinks already and was not planning on driving later that day. 1.5 hrs later I was back sitting around drinking and having a good time.

Worst part was she didnt even apologize. B!tch...

Worst worst part, the next morning while we were packing up, another girl hit my buddy's swingout. Luckily, his didnt have damage at all.

Overall, other than that crap, it was a good trip to Pismo.

 

[Jaem94]

Still running 265/70 with the kings?? Don’t look as bad as i thought it would! Any plans to upgrade to bigger tires in the future?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dv061j]

Your 4runner looks great! I love the Toyota emblem in the top grill

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

Still running 265/70 with the kings?? Don’t look as bad as i thought it would! Any plans to upgrade to bigger tires in the future?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are always more plans!

Your 4runner looks great! I love the Toyota emblem in the top grill

Thanks!

 

[TRDTommy]

Nice lookin truck! Was wondering how you mounted your scanguage on top near the crawl control and mts?

 

[ayeyothisiskyle]

Nice lookin truck! Was wondering how you mounted your scanguage on top near the crawl control and mts?

It was just stuck onto the headliner, but its not strong enough. It kept falling off on the trail.

Its now stuck to the bottom of the crawl control with the included velcro strips. I'll try to get a pic of it later. I like the location, but hate how its attached and how the cord is run. (probably incredibly unsafe) I want this (http://a.co/h4CJQ3g) But I can't justify $60 for that mount.