Building, Driving and Adventuring the MTN4RNR

[cdirth]

My invite must have got lost in the mail!

This weekend I took some time to head into the Sierras off of I-80. I scheduled to have my sliders installed at 4x4 Labs on Monday in Grass Valley (more on that later) so I decided that I would head up Sunday morning to explore around an area that I had plotted out on a map, but have never driven. I checked last weekend when I was passing through to make sure the gate was open, and it was. So I made my way up I-80 in the morning, hoping maybe I would find a good campsite and maybe a thunderstorm.

On my way up before getting to the Rattlesnake Road area I stopped in another area I have always been curious about to do some preliminary scouting for open/locked gates. That's the fun part about having a loose schedule, you get to say, "hm what's over there" and then just go. Found a few potential places to explore later on.

I reached Rattlesnake Road, aired down to 20 in the front, 18 in the rear. When I am packed light, I have found this to be a good forest service road pressure combo.

I was immediately met with a cascading creek (that I would later camp by up the mountain).

I initially wanted to reach Lola Montez Lake, but snow would stop me, and I would come back to this point, venturing towards Sterling Lake and Fordyce Lake.

I found a locked gate, and a great campground just beyond it on the creek. Saved for a future trip.

Continued up the road towards Lola Montez Lake, and met some snow which ultimately forced me to turn around. Being solo, there wasn't a point to push getting stuck, even with a shovel and MaxTraxx. Not worth it.

Doubled back to the fork and made it to Fordyce Summit overlooking Fordyce Lake. I didn't venture too far down there because I knew I wanted to stay on the Rattlesnake Creek side of the mountain. Saved for a future trip.

I thought for fun I would try to head up the east side of Signal Peak just to see how the trail was, knowing I would likely need to turn around. Sure enough, snow. Saved for a future trip.

One last exploring attempt to head towards Sterling Lake was stopped by...? You guessed it, snow. I made it through a few smaller drifts, and likely could have humped it over this one, but with it being uphill on the way out, I figured the likelihood of getting stuck was too high. Saved for a future trip.

So we came back to a campsite I had spotted earlier in the day on Rattlesnake Creek, tucked away from the road. Set up a small fire and made camp.

I got a chance to try out my Snow Peak torch, which took some practice, but I eventually figured it out and it worked great. Plus who doesn't like things that blow fire!

Morning in Hotel 4Runner

Coffee and dutch apple pie for breakfast

After breakfast we packed up and headed out of camp, and down the mountain to 4x4 Labs just in time for my appointment. Overall a great area, a fun overnight destination, and a place I look forward to exploring more!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F79eDFAf2iA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

More to come...
​

 

[Jasalvas]

This weekend I took some time to head into the Sierras off of I-80. I scheduled to have my sliders installed at 4x4 Labs on Monday in Grass Valley (more on that later) so I decided that I would head up Sunday morning to explore around an area that I had plotted out on a map, but have never driven. I checked last weekend when I was passing through to make sure the gate was open, and it was. So I made my way up I-80 in the morning, hoping maybe I would find a good campsite and maybe a thunderstorm.

On my way up before getting to the Rattlesnake Road area I stopped in another area I have always been curious about to do some preliminary scouting for open/locked gates. That's the fun part about having a loose schedule, you get to say, "hm what's over there" and then just go. Found a few potential places to explore later on.

I reached Rattlesnake Road, aired down to 20 in the front, 18 in the rear. When I am packed light, I have found this to be a good forest service road pressure combo.

I was immediately met with a cascading creek (that I would later camp by up the mountain).

I initially wanted to reach Lola Montez Lake, but snow would stop me, and I would come back to this point, venturing towards Sterling Lake and Fordyce Lake.

I found a locked gate, and a great campground just beyond it on the creek. Saved for a future trip.

Continued up the road towards Lola Montez Lake, and met some snow which ultimately forced me to turn around. Being solo, there wasn't a point to push getting stuck, even with a shovel and MaxTraxx. Not worth it.

Doubled back to the fork and made it to Fordyce Summit overlooking Fordyce Lake. I didn't venture too far down there because I knew I wanted to stay on the Rattlesnake Creek side of the mountain. Saved for a future trip.

I thought for fun I would try to head up the east side of Signal Peak just to see how the trail was, knowing I would likely need to turn around. Sure enough, snow. Saved for a future trip.

One last exploring attempt to head towards Sterling Lake was stopped by...? You guessed it, snow. I made it through a few smaller drifts, and likely could have humped it over this one, but with it being uphill on the way out, I figured the likelihood of getting stuck was too high. Saved for a future trip.

So we came back to a campsite I had spotted earlier in the day on Rattlesnake Creek, tucked away from the road. Set up a small fire and made camp.

I got a chance to try out my Snow Peak torch, which took some practice, but I eventually figured it out and it worked great. Plus who doesn't like things that blow fire!

Morning in Hotel 4Runner

Coffee and dutch apple pie for breakfast

After breakfast we packed up and headed out of camp, and down the mountain to 4x4 Labs just in time for my appointment. Overall a great area, a fun overnight destination, and a place I look forward to exploring more!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F79eDFAf2iA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

More to come...
​

Ahhh... That's what I was looking for... Great write up! Thanks for sharing.


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[KingTaco]

Best. Thread. Here.

 

[elusive01]

Damn. Tahoe's practically my second home in the winter..

Stoked!! :banana:

My goal is to hit an awesome fish camp..

 

[MTN4RNR]

Ahhh... That's what I was looking for... Great write up! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks man! Glad I can spread the itch to get outside and do stuff! The only kind of itch that's good to spread :biggrin2:

Best. Thread. Here.

Means a lot man, thanks! I'll try to keep the entertainment value up in the coming months!

Damn. Tahoe's practically my second home in the winter..

Stoked!! :banana:

My goal is to hit an awesome fish camp..

Tons more places to explore up there, and next time I am definitely bringing some fishing gear. Tahoe is the gift that keeps giving because there is the Tahoe that I have grown up knowing and the Tahoe that I am now discovering. Truly amazing up there!

 

[MTN4RNR]

You obviously don't like to give up your good beer or coffee when outdoors :cheers:. What is that drip coffee contraption you use?

Life is too short for crappy coffee and beer. For my coffee I use a Kalita Wave 185. I use it for my everyday coffee, and it packs nicely to include on camping trips. Just add filter, coffee and hot water. It makes a very good cup of coffee, and is really simple.

I enjoy it :ranger:

 

[Liquidmantis]

Quit the jibber-jabber and get to posting the write-up on the compressor installation! :whipping2

 

[MTN4RNR]

Quit the jibber-jabber and get to posting the write-up on the compressor installation! :whipping2

HA! I was installing it last night and found a nice stopping point. Wiring tonight. With where the bracket and the compressor sit in the engine (between the fuse block and the brake master cylinder, I had to try a couple of different configurations to get the layout where I wanted it, taking future engine bay additions into consideration. So things took a bit longer than I was expecting. I'll have it in tonight, and a write up hopefully written sometime this weekend.

 

[Liquidmantis]

I had to try a couple of different configurations to get the layout where I wanted it, taking future engine bay additions into consideration.

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to work out. I have my homemade compressor bracket working well in the passenger firewall hole, but I'm thinking I might eventually do the Shrockworks dual battery kit which puts the emissions air pump there. But if I move the compressor to the driver side firewall hole then I can do that dual battery system, although then I can't mount an air tank... DECISIONS!

My thought was that if I dual battery that I can just install my SPOD/Bussman in the passenger firewall hole with the relocated air pump anyway, and that gets it closer to the aux battery.

 

[MTN4RNR]

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to work out. I have my homemade compressor bracket working well in the passenger firewall hole, but I'm thinking I might eventually do the Shrockworks dual battery kit which puts the emissions air pump there. But if I move the compressor to the driver side firewall hole then I can do that dual battery system, although then I can't mount an air tank... DECISIONS!

My thought was that if I dual battery that I can just install my SPOD/Bussman in the passenger firewall hole with the relocated air pump anyway, and that gets it closer to the aux battery.

It's tough to plan that far ahead, but I think that where I ended up last night will work best for my application, and will allow for futures. I will go into more detail when I write the whole thing up :dancin:

 

[MTN4RNR]

4x4 Labs Slider Installation

After heading out on multiple trips, some with others some without, I decided that sliders would be a valuable addition to my 4Runner. Many people think that they're just for rock crawling rigs, but I started counting the number of times that something "could happen" to the rocker panels. On forest service roads, sometimes you come across small downed trees that you need to drive over, or large logs that you have to squeeeeze through, right at rocker height. Even driving in snow, if you drop into a rut and hit some ice, that can be enough to smack your door. That being said, I do plan on traveling though rocky areas as well, where these are invaluable. So I decided that sliders were a good way to protect my investment. And as many of you know/joke about, I am still on stock suspension, making my ground clearance even lower so these will give plenty of side protection.

Now, why I went with 4x4 Labs. Simply, from what I could research/see, these are the best fitting sliders available for the 4Runner. Luke designed them to allow for the sliders so come about 3/4" from the bottom of the doors, giving the most amount of clearance on the sides as possible. And they offer the most protection overall, especially underneath. They have a fully plated, "boat-style" skid plate that rolls from the rocker panel to the frame rail. This makes the whole area from the door edge to the frame a big skid plate, protecting the rockers/undercarriage, and allowing larger objects to slide along not just the outside of the slider (on the rails), but underneath as well. A big winner for this design for all of you KDSS guys is it protects all of the KDSS components which, if you haven't looked, sits on the outside of the driver's frame rail. Right in the path of potential objects to impact the main KDSS valve body, as well as the hydraulic lines that run on the outside of the rails front to rear. So covering it all up is a great benefit. On one of my last trips of cruising forest roads, I came home and to my surprise, there was a 1" diameter branch that was wedged between the frame and a KDSS line. YIKES! They are connected to the frame with 3 U-bolts per side, and are extremely sturdy. Now, lets see some photos...

The sliders:
Bottom

Top (apologies for the shotty photo)

Installation:
Fresh off the trail, into the bay
And up it goes!

OEM rocker panels come off. Front mud flap and end cap removed (I was nice and sprayed the fresh mud off of the underside before coming to the shop)

Driver's side KDSS skids come off
Before (see what I mean about exposure)

After

Not pictured, the fuel tank skid was loosened, as well as the emergency brake line and the KDSS hydraulic line towards the rear of the frame rail. That is about it for prep work.

Lifting them up was two guys lifting and one guy with the hardware. It was at this point I was happy I wasn't installing them in my driveway, but it was killing me that I could only watch...

They lifted vertically, and rotated them into position under the rocker panel.

Hardware installed, and the passenger side was on.

Now, the driver's side (for any with KDSS and sliders, you understand) is much more difficult because you need to move the sliders in and around the hydraulic lines that extend from the rear to the front of the frame rails. The sliders are KDSS specific and have cut outs on the frame attachment points that go around the lines. Because of the size of the shop, and the 'crowded...ness' of the driver's side, I didn't get any photos of this part of the installation, but it was the same method. They started vertically, brought it under by rotating and lining it up the hydraulic lines with the cut outs and brought it to the frame. To get the bolt in next to the fuel tank, it's cramped. This is why the skid needs to be loosened because the 1/4" of movement you get with loosening it is enough to get the bolt in. They evened the sliders front to back and tightened everything up. The last bit to the driver's side is grinding the KDSS crossover plate to fit with the sliders.

The trimmed KDSS skid

KDSS valving hidden away under the sliders

KDSS hydraulic lines and parking brake line routed through the mounting feet

Here are the results:

Underneath you can see the skids coming back to the frame and the mounting hardware

And a few close ups

I figured out that the mud flaps will reinstall without any interference with the addition of a zip-tie. I will run with them for now, but if they're ripped off later on, I won't be sad. You can see how close the sliders fit to the body

Fit and finish is top notch, with great attention to detail

Doors open view

As soon as they get dirty, hopefully this weekend, I promise I will update this post with them being used. And that's about it. They are built like a tank, and they will likely outlive the 4R. Let me know if you have any questions about the sliders, I would be happy to help.​

 

[mfregeau20]

Rocker Panel

I'd be interested in those rocker panels if you plan to part with them :guitar2:

 

[rochmpr]

After heading out on multiple trips, some with others some without, I decided that sliders would be a valuable addition to my 4Runner. Many people think that they're just for rock crawling rigs, but I started counting the number of times that something "could happen" to the rocker panels. On forest service roads, sometimes you come across small downed trees that you need to drive over, or large logs that you have to squeeeeze through, right at rocker height. Even driving in snow, if you drop into a rut and hit some ice, that can be enough to smack your door. That being said, I do plan on traveling though rocky areas as well, where these are invaluable. So I decided that sliders were a good way to protect my investment. And as many of you know/joke about, I am still on stock suspension, making my ground clearance even lower so these will give plenty of side protection.

Now, why I went with 4x4 Labs. Simply, from what I could research/see, these are the best fitting sliders available for the 4Runner. Luke designed them to allow for the sliders so come about 3/4" from the bottom of the doors, giving the most amount of clearance on the sides as possible. And they offer the most protection overall, especially underneath. They have a fully plated, "boat-style" skid plate that rolls from the rocker panel to the frame rail. This makes the whole area from the door edge to the frame a big skid plate, protecting the rockers/undercarriage, and allowing larger objects to slide along not just the outside of the slider (on the rails), but underneath as well. A big winner for this design for all of you KDSS guys is it protects all of the KDSS components which, if you haven't looked, sits on the outside of the driver's frame rail. Right in the path of potential objects to impact the main KDSS valve body, as well as the hydraulic lines that run on the outside of the rails front to rear. So covering it all up is a great benefit. On one of my last trips of cruising forest roads, I came home and to my surprise, there was a 1" diameter branch that was wedged between the frame and a KDSS line. YIKES! They are connected to the frame with 3 U-bolts per side, and are extremely sturdy. Now, lets see some photos...

The sliders:
Bottom

Top (apologies for the shotty photo)

Installation:
Fresh off the trail, into the bay

And up it goes!

OEM rocker panels come off

Front mud flap and end cap removed (I was nice and sprayed the fresh mud off of the underside before coming to the shop)

Driver's side KDSS skids come off
Before (see what I mean about exposure)

After

Not pictured, the fuel tank skid was loosened, as well as the emergency brake line and the KDSS hydraulic line towards the rear of the frame rail. That is about it for prep work.

Lifting them up was two guys lifting and one guy with the hardware. It was at this point I was happy I wasn't installing them in my driveway, but it was killing me that I could only watch...

They lifted vertically, and rotated them into position under the rocker panel.

Hardware installed, and the passenger side was on.

Now, the driver's side (for any with KDSS and sliders, you understand) is much more difficult because you need to move the sliders in and around the hydraulic lines that extend from the rear to the front of the frame rails. The sliders are KDSS specific and have cut outs on the frame attachment points that go around the lines. Because of the size of the shop, and the 'crowded...ness' of the driver's side, I didn't get any photos of this part of the installation, but it was the same method. They started vertically, brought it under by rotating and lining it up the hydraulic lines with the cut outs and brought it to the frame. To get the bolt in next to the fuel tank, it's cramped. This is why the skid needs to be loosened because the 1/4" of movement you get with loosening it is enough to get the bolt in. They evened the sliders front to back and tightened everything up. The last bit to the driver's side is grinding the KDSS crossover plate to fit with the sliders.

[NOTE: I will be taking some more 'after' photos of the driver's side, including the KDSS line routing, and the KDSS crossover that has been modified. Look for updated photos tonight]

Here are the results:

Underneath you can see the skids coming back to the frame and the mounting hardware

Fresh out of the shop. They are the cleanest thing on the truck right now, but not for long

And a few close ups

I figured out that the mud flaps will reinstall without any interference with the addition of a zip-tie. I will run with them for now, but if they're ripped off later on, I won't be sad. You can see how close the sliders fit to the body

As soon as they get dirty, hopefully this weekend, I promise I will update this post with them being used. And that's about it. They are built like a tank, and they will likely outlive the 4R. Let me know if you have any questions about the sliders, I would be happy to help.​

Very nice. Luke also used my truck for the KDSS mounts. Did he cut down the KDSS skid where the lines go under the frame and reinstall that skid?

 

[MTN4RNR]

Very nice. Luke also used my truck for the KDSS mounts. Did he cut down the KDSS skid where the lines go under the frame and reinstall that skid?

Yes. I mentioned to one of the guys, "why not just incorporate that into the skid portion of the slider?" But his response was, "this thing can only get so complicated." Ha! So yeah, the stock plate covers the crossover lines. I wish Luke had something for that piece.

 

[MTN4RNR]

I'd be interested in those rocker panels if you plan to part with them :guitar2:

I'll let you know!

 

[Teephud]

Look awesome! Congrats! Those may well go on my wish list. Couple questions:
1) Do you know how much they weigh?
2) Do they provide much of a step? I actually like my running boards; not just for getting in/out, but for washing the roof, and getting a better view sometimes.


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[Sleeter]

Those look huge! I do like the the plates between the supports. :boink:

 

[bimrunner]

Look awesome! Congrats! Those may well go on my wish list. Couple questions:
1) Do you know how much they weigh?
2) Do they provide much of a step? I actually like my running boards; not just for getting in/out, but for washing the roof, and getting a better view sometimes.


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Iirc about 72lbs each and the step is great.

 

[MTN4RNR]

Look awesome! Congrats! Those may well go on my wish list. Couple questions:
1) Do you know how much they weigh?
2) Do they provide much of a step? I actually like my running boards; not just for getting in/out, but for washing the roof, and getting a better view sometimes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Iirc about 72lbs each and the step is great.

1. What [MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION] said. They're heavy, but so is a Sherman Tank!
2. See the below photos. Plenty of space, more so with the doors open. But closed, there is plenty to stand on especially on the kick out. [size 11 shoes for reference]

 

[SL.UG]

Based on your Instagram, I was beginning to think you didn't have a day job with all your spontaneous trips! Lol. Rig looking great man!