I want to make my 95 4Runner into a rock krawler and mud bogger. Idk if this sounds stupid but I wanna know what's a good kit or good upgrades. I'd like to upgrade the sway bars, suspension, and throw in a lift kit or something. I'm new to this kind of stuff and I need to know these things from experienced people.
Best kit for rock krawler/mud bogger 95 4Runner
- Thread starter jvalasky
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BucknutBob
New member
First off, welcome to the forum! I think you'll find most of us on here recommending the same thing--get some driving under your belt before deciding how much or little to change your truck. There are varying levels of both crawling and mudding, and what you think you want may not fit with what you eventually grow to like doing in your rig. As long as everything is in good working order, maybe just get some quality tires with a fairly aggressive tread, and go play. If you find you still want to dive in after getting some experience, and bigger rocks are in your future, I would recommend a solid axle swap for better articulation and improved ground clearance. For research purposes, I would recommend checking out Trail-Gear's swap kit, as it is renowned for the flexibility of its springs for extreme articulation. The biggest thing to remember, though, is to think of your suspension, tires, and drivetrain as ONE UNIT, and all the pieces must work together. The gears, the differentials, the lift, the tires--they must complement each other or the truck won't work well, on the trail OR the street.
KidVermicious
New member
The urge to mod is strong with this one...
OP, Bob has it exactly right. I know you're excited, but you need to drive your truck and get to know it before you think about mods, and you need to do a LOT of research on exactly what mods to do before you do them. It'd be nice if all your questions could be answered in a couple of forum posts, but the fact is the real world doesn't work like that. If you start modding right now, you'll be wasting time and money.
Go get your truck dirty. Get stuck, get pulled out, get high centered, get rescued, learn what you (not the truck) can do and what you can't, and then start thinking about what more you need.
If you absolutely need to buy stuff for your truck right now (and we all understand that urge
), invest in a good set of AT tires, maybe some nice shocks, and if you're going to get in the rocks a good set of sliders and a rear bumper are practically mandatory. Start with that. Have fun!
OP, Bob has it exactly right. I know you're excited, but you need to drive your truck and get to know it before you think about mods, and you need to do a LOT of research on exactly what mods to do before you do them. It'd be nice if all your questions could be answered in a couple of forum posts, but the fact is the real world doesn't work like that. If you start modding right now, you'll be wasting time and money.
Go get your truck dirty. Get stuck, get pulled out, get high centered, get rescued, learn what you (not the truck) can do and what you can't, and then start thinking about what more you need.
If you absolutely need to buy stuff for your truck right now (and we all understand that urge
), invest in a good set of AT tires, maybe some nice shocks, and if you're going to get in the rocks a good set of sliders and a rear bumper are practically mandatory. Start with that. Have fun!
fourwd1
Moderator
If you're building a rock crawler, you'd eliminate the sway bar, not upgrade it. Up grading suspension and throwing in a lift kit is pretty much the same thing. Wheel your truck as-is for a while and get a better idea of what it and you can do.
Thanks for the welcome! I saw the conversion kit on 4 wheel parts. I'm looking to put at the most 35s on mine so would i be able to still be able to do the conversion kit??
The urge to mod is strong with this one...
OP, Bob has it exactly right. I know you're excited, but you need to drive your truck and get to know it before you think about mods, and you need to do a LOT of research on exactly what mods to do before you do them. It'd be nice if all your questions could be answered in a couple of forum posts, but the fact is the real world doesn't work like that. If you start modding right now, you'll be wasting time and money.
Go get your truck dirty. Get stuck, get pulled out, get high centered, get rescued, learn what you (not the truck) can do and what you can't, and then start thinking about what more you need.
If you absolutely need to buy stuff for your truck right now (and we all understand that urge
I did a crap load of research last night. I looked around on some threads where people listed their build and I learned some stuff from there. And I got stuck before cuz I went in something deep and 2 of my tires were off the ground! And I don't have a lift or anything upgraded or removed.
I got 32s on with no lift on mine.
KidVermicious
New member
32s are fine. I don't know where you are, but you can get yourself in a lot of trouble with just 32s around here. 
BucknutBob
New member
I wasn't aware that 4WP carried Trail-Gear stuff--are you sure it was their kit? I specify T-G because spring rates can run the gamut, and theirs are made for flexing big-time (with the matching rear leaf conversion). Plus, they include a lot of extras that others don't, like knuckle rebuild kits, brakes, etc.. The system comes in three heights, so the tire size is no issue. Make sure you do your research regarding installation of this, as it requires serious fabrication skills to do correctly (or a lot of money to pay someone else to do)--this is no simple coil swap. Still, I would keep all of this on the "research for one POSSIBLE future" level, and reiterate getting plenty of wheel time thumping around on rough trails before committing to any serious mods.
KidVermicious
New member
Solid axles are for pansies who don't know how to drive.
Oh, wait...
Oh, wait...
BucknutBob
New member
As KidV chuckles while trying to insult his fellow wheelers, he catches a glimpse of the front end of his new ride, and....oh crap! Sooo, how's the weather...
KidVermicious
New member
How loudly do you think Yotanation would scream if I announced I was going to cut out the solid axle and convert it to IFS?
BucknutBob
New member
How loudly do you think Yotanation would scream if I announced I was going to cut out the solid axle and convert it to IFS?
No screaming at all--they would simply give you one of those raised eyebrow looks...and call the men in the white coats to have you committed (since you would obviously have gone mad).
Gerdo
New member
How loudly do you think Yotanation would scream if I announced I was going to cut out the solid axle and convert it to IFS?
You could slam it to the ground too!
(Psst, a little off topic)
32s are fine. I don't know where you are, but you can get yourself in a lot of trouble with just 32s around here.
I'm in Warner Robins, GA. There's mainly mud here but there's certain spots for trails and rocks.
Let me know what you think about it go to the website below.
Here's the URL: Trail Gear Soild Axle Swap Kit - Suspension Upgrade Kits - Lift Kits - Lift Kits, Suspensions & Shocks - by 4 Wheel Parts
Gerdo
New member
I would buy direct from Trail Gear Trail-Gear | Toyota, Suzuki Samurai, and Jeep Off Road Parts
Do you know what the kit is called in general?? Like I said I'm new to this stuff.
KidVermicious
New member
I'd buy from Low Range or one of the smaller resellers, myself. They're almost always cheaper than buying from TrailGear direct, and they aren't a massive overexposed chain store like FourWheelParts.
BucknutBob
New member
Agreed. I've researched part-for-part, and Low Range (who carries most or all of Trail-Gear and All-Pro's line-up) almost always beats the originators prices. As for the description of the kit, just look for the IFS Eliminator kit.
