Building, Driving and Adventuring the MTN4RNR

[MTN4RNR]

West Camino Cielo, Santa Barbara, CA

I finally got a chance today to get the Coopers a bit dirty. I headed north on HWY 101 out of Santa Barbara to connect with West Camino Cielo Road thru the Refugio road entrance. Click this link for the full GPS track:

https://www.gaiagps.com/public/L1CKjE35J31jpq3AMAIcYeVX//

I started at the Refugio State Beach entrance​

I found myself in the Coast Live Oak forests in the lower elevations​

After about 6-7 miles, I found my favorite sign​

Gaining elevation​

Then I found some side tracks that offered a bit more diffculty​

Tucking the Coopers​

View of the road​

Then, we stepped it up a notch​

In the end...​

Overall a great drive, 28 miles of mixed paved mountain road, and unpaved service track. I was able to get a bit more in tune with my 4WD system on the 4Runner, as well as discover more of it's capabilities. I swear, the Coopers are part velcro, as I was able to crawl up some ascents that were hard for me to walk up when I was checking out the trail before driving it. I am very much looking forward to testing this truck again, soon hopefully.

More to come...​

 

[SLO_Rob]

Cielo

Downloaded on Gaia...thanks Max!!

 

[MTN4RNR]

Downloaded on Gaia...thanks Max!!

No problem! That's the whole point of it being up there! And also because Gaia rocks! Ha

Enjoy the adventure! Be sure to share some photos

 

[LawnDart]

Packed up and ready for a Thanksgiving trip to Santa Barbara! The Coopers look great and have really changed the look of the truck. They're quiet on the road, and haven't effected the ride quality much considering the E load rating. I'm determined to find some dirt on the trip. More photos to come. Happy Thanksgiving, all!​

I need to order that rear badge.

 

[GRN285]

Great pic even got the trail in background!

​

 

[MTN4RNR]

Great pic even got the trail in background!

Thanks, Man! It was a beautiful drive! I have been in and around Santa Barbara for a number of years because of friends at UCSB and family, but I have never gone up to the ridge line before, needless to say I will be going back!

 

[XenonDepot]

Things are funner in thin air. It's where I tend to go to get away from everything. To help get me there, I picked up a 2016 4Runner Trail Premium on a recent trip to Bend, OR. I hadn't intended on buying a truck on the trip, but when the numbers add up sometimes its best to pull the trigger and enjoy it! Here is me enjoying it!

As it sits: [11/28/15]

Drivetrain: Stock

Suspension: Stock

Armor: Stock

Wheels/Tires: Stock Trail Editions/Cooper Discoverer STMAXX 275/70R17

Additions:
- 1Up USA bike rack
- Blue Ridge Overland Gear visor organizer
- RAM dash mount for iPad [Nav, weather, topos, etc.]
- Thule rack [transfer from old truck]

The List:
- Full length roof rack
- Air compressor
- Overland biased lift
- HID headlights
- LED fog lights

Items ordered:
- LED back-up/license plate lights from [MENTION=12905]XenonDepot[/MENTION]
- Custom CA license plate

The day I bought it:

The day after I bought it:

I will be putting it to good use, and trying to keep up with additions and mods here as I can!

More to be added...

[MENTION=129593]MTN4RNR[/MENTION] - It looks awesome! Thank you for the mention

Steve

 

[MTN4RNR]

Weekend Salinas Valley trip

Visited a friend in the Salinas Valley who conveniently lives in a field

Then got to pull out my buddy's truck when he unfortunately lost momentum in the sandy gravel in a weird spot and sunk her

4L, locker on, a quick tug, and she was out

Today was good, I learned some things. In the sand, 4L > 4H. Higher RPMS with lower speeds, and the quick option to hit the locker if needed. The Coopers hook up well in the loose stuff, and I figure if I had aired down, they would have done even better. I need to go back when I have more time, try a self recovery [eith another truck on standby] so I can have a game plan in case there isn't another truck around. This is the fun part of having a new truck, seeing what it can/can't do and preparing for the worst.​

Things to add:
- snatch strap
- (2) D-rings
- MaxTrax

More to come...​

 

[weeeee]

What map/weather app are you running on the ipad?

 

[MTN4RNR]

What map/weather app are you running on the ipad?

Radar Scope Pro for radar
Gaia GPS for maps

Both are excellent additions for people who like to be outside!

 

[MTN4RNR]

Little details make a build that much better...

 

[MTN4RNR]

LED License Plate & Reverse Lights

I upgraded the license plate and reverse light bulbs from the stock halogens. Goals were simple:
1. Hopefully increase the illumination and visibility from the reverse lights
2. Change the look of the rear end to better match the awesome LED stop/tail lights

To do this I used LED lights from [MENTION=12905]XenonDepot[/MENTION] :

- Reverse lights -
921 T16 Philips X-TREME Vision LED

I didn't take a before photo, because you can go in your driveway and look yourself if you don't have the LED's already...

During

After

Here are some before and after photos in the same spot of my driveway to show the light dispersal difference between the stocks and the LED's.

Before:

Rear camera

Side dispersion

Rear dispersion (shotty focus, but you get the picture)

After:

Rear camera

Side dispersion

Rear dispersion (same shotty focus)

- License plate lights -
194 T10 W5W Philips vision LED

Before

During

After

Overall impressions are that the reverse lights definitely brighter than the halogens from an illumination standpoint [not just a 'looking at it' standpoint, because we know the LED's will look brighter head-on]. And the license plate lights definitely make the back end look a bit more sophisticated and modern, which is what I was going for. Overall a good upgrade. Now for some HID headlights and LED fogs... [Hear that [MENTION=12905]XenonDepot[/MENTION] ?]

More to come...
​

 

[Sig_Fan_55]

Radar Scope Pro for radar

Gaia GPS for maps



Both are excellent additions for people who like to be outside!

Are you running a remote GPS unit or just the built in GPS in the iPad?

I have been looking for a good topo/offline map app for iPhone/iPad and Gaia seems to look pretty interesting. Looking for something I can use on the iPad in the truck and on my iPhone while backpacking.

 

[marshal]

Are you running a remote GPS unit or just the built in GPS in the iPad?

I have been looking for a good topo/offline map app for iPhone/iPad and Gaia seems to look pretty interesting. Looking for something I can use on the iPad in the truck and on my iPhone while backpacking.

Hema maps is the best you can do, but its pretty expensive. i think they want $75 for the topography maps. a really good free option is MotionX GPS. the downside is that you need to plan where you're going to be and cache the maps locally for it to access it if you're going to be some place that doesnt have LTE connectivity.

the newer iPads have better GPS antennas than the old ones, but the best thing you can do is get an Bad Elf external antenna that is good down to 3 feet.

 

[MTN4RNR]

Are you running a remote GPS unit or just the built in GPS in the iPad?

I have been looking for a good topo/offline map app for iPhone/iPad and Gaia seems to look pretty interesting. Looking for something I can use on the iPad in the truck and on my iPhone while backpacking.

I am just running the built in GPS. I haven't run into issue with it yet. Sometimes the track will be a little off, but it's never by enough to warrant the purchase of the Bad Elf as [MENTION=104049]marshal[/MENTION] suggested. I am sure I'll end up upgrading at some point. For now, I just pre-download grids where I am going to be, and away I go!

Hema maps is the best you can do, but its pretty expensive. i think they want $75 for the topography maps. a really good free option is MotionX GPS. the downside is that you need to plan where you're going to be and cache the maps locally for it to access it if you're going to be some place that doesnt have LTE connectivity.

the newer iPads have better GPS antennas than the old ones, but the best thing you can do is get an Bad Elf external antenna that is good down to 3 feet.

I have looked into Hema Maps, but never pulled the trigger. I guess I'm thinking if it ain't broke, don't fix it ha! But the external antenna might be a great addition!

 

[DesertCanyons]

Refugio to Santa Inez

I finally got a chance today to get the Coopers a bit dirty. I headed north on HWY 101 out of Santa Barbara to connect with West Camino Cielo Road thru the Refugio road entrance. Click this link for the full GPS track:

https://www.gaiagps.com/public/L1CKjE35J31jpq3AMAIcYeVX//

I started at the Refugio State Beach entrance[/CENTER]

I found myself in the Coast Live Oak forests in the lower elevations
...After about 6-7 miles, I found my favorite sign
...Gaining elevation
...Then I found some side tracks that offered a bit more difficulty
...View of the road
...Then, we stepped it up a notch
...In the end...

Overall a great drive, 28 miles of mixed paved mountain road, and unpaved service track. I was able to get a bit more in tune with my 4WD system on the 4Runner, as well as discover more of it's capabilities. I swear, the Coopers are part velcro, as I was able to crawl up some ascents that were hard for me to walk up when I was checking out the trail before driving it. I am very much looking forward to testing this truck again, soon hopefully.

More to come...

I rode this route on my mountain bike a few years ago. It's mostly paved to the top. It's really steep on a bike. Rode back to the beach from the top and the next day we drove up and over the same road. It's dirt over and down the north side of the ridge where it drops down into Santa Ynez. The route comes out near my cousin's ranch and vineyards. We camped at Refugio in October. We dove Refugio Beach. Great conditions with 25 feet of visibility UW.

 

[DesertCanyons]

Santa Cruz Island

Thanks, Man! It was a beautiful drive! I have been in and around Santa Barbara for a number of years because of friends at UCSB and family, but I have never gone up to the ridge line before, needless to say I will be going back!

I believe you can drive the ridge line all the way from Refugio Canyon to San Marcos Pass. Utility trucks use it to maintain those microwave stations and antennae. Great pic's of the ridge line route. I recognize Santa Cruz Island out there.

 

[MTN4RNR]

I rode this route on my mountain bike a few years ago. It's mostly paved to the top. It's really steep on a bike. Rode back to the beach from the top and the next day we drove up and over the same road. It's dirt over and down the north side of the ridge where it drops down into Santa Ynez. The route comes out near my cousin's ranch and vineyards. We camped at Refugio in October. We dove Refugio Beach. Great conditions with 25 feet of visibility UW.

I believe you can drive the ridge line all the way from Refugio Canyon to San Marcos Pass. Utility trucks use it to maintain those microwave stations and antennae. Great pic's of the ridge line route. I recognize Santa Cruz Island out there.

Yeah, I saw a few riders up there while I was driving. Maybe I'll do a ride from the San Marcos Pass side to the tower. That was the way I went (in opposite) all the way over to 154. Great way to spend an afternoon!

 

[XenonDepot]

I upgraded the license plate and reverse light bulbs from the stock halogens. Goals were simple:
1. Hopefully increase the illumination and visibility from the reverse lights
2. Change the look of the rear end to better match the awesome LED stop/tail lights

To do this I used LED lights from [MENTION=12905]XenonDepot[/MENTION]

I have a photo showing the illumination on a garage in the back of my driveway as well as a rear camera shot, but my neighbors are in the driveway since I have installed, so I will wait until they leave next and then update with a before/after of that too.

Overall impressions are that the reverse lights definitely brighter than the halogens from an illumination standpoint [not just a 'looking at it' standpoint, because we know the LED's will look brighter head-on]. And the license plate lights definitely make the back end look a bit more sophisticated and modern, which is what I was going for. Overall a good upgrade. Now for some HID headlights and LED fogs... [Hear that [MENTION=12905]XenonDepot[/MENTION] ?]

More to come...
​

The results look great and glad to hear your happy with the results too!

What were you thinking of doing with the headlights and fogs?

Danny

 

[MTN4RNR]

The results look great and glad to hear your happy with the results too!

What were you thinking of doing with the headlights and fogs?

Danny

I will eventually throw in for the XTREME HID kit you offer with the Philips bulbs. As for fogs, I am torn for the moment. Amber Rigid D2's with the driving pattern, or your yellow LED fogs... Decisions decisions... I need to find a money tree first though! Ha!