weeeee
New member
No, this was me getting a gauge for the focus and framing. For the actual question, I went with a more traditional approach:
Best. Mod. Ever.
Congrats again man!
Building, Driving and Adventuring the MTN4RNR
- Thread starter MTN4RNR
- Start date
Congrats again man!
The Waco Kid
New member
MTN4RNR
New member
Ah that's a great way to start things off. Best friends make the best partners. But I have a long time to prove that theory myself!
I bought (am buying) my 4Runner solo, but her next car might be a joint purchase. We'll see. She wants a Tacoma :thumb3"
That's pretty much the plan. Kids that are used to travel are easy to travel with. But going abroad and being able to be more "unplanned" with our trips favors not having kids for a bit. That time will come though, and it will be rad!
Ha! Knowing me it will be overthought and overbuilt :bounce:
100% agreed. Needed to put a ring on it before she realized what was good for her, ha!
Thanks bud! Need to get her on a group trip :thumb3:
HA! Brianna has sworn against the mini-van mod. But who knows what they'll have when that time comes around.
Idk man... Looks pretty bad-ass to me. Those AWD systems are actually pretty great.
Seeing as she wants a Tacoma, and that Sienna is on a Taco frame, it might be the best of both worlds!
Thank you very much!
I wasn't up there last weekend. Lots of 4R's up there though, and lots more with the black/yellow plates nowadays. But none with mine :guitar2:
007Tacoma
New member
woah... I would give my left testicle for one like that in that condition... well, I would... but that belongs to my wife. :hiding:
Actually, we bought our 2003 a few months before we got married, and my wife wouldn't let me trade it for a new Highlander. She told me I needed a new 4Runner.
...guess who won... :thumb:
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MTN4RNR
New member
Thank you! :thumb3:
infirewetrust
New member
Finally installed my Black Friday XD HID's, appreciate the write up brother! Made things much smoother
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Cymon
New member
What is that orange thing on TGH (Toyota Growth Hormone) next to your 4Runner? Lol
Really love those fogs by the way. Jealous that the winter after I leave the left coast you all are getting some epic ski/boarding conditions. We Got the worst 3 winters in recent history when we lived out there. I was snowboarding on rocks and mud half the time in Tahoe.
I'm guessing the East Bay hills are actually green again!
Really love those fogs by the way. Jealous that the winter after I leave the left coast you all are getting some epic ski/boarding conditions. We Got the worst 3 winters in recent history when we lived out there. I was snowboarding on rocks and mud half the time in Tahoe.
I'm guessing the East Bay hills are actually green again!
MTN4RNR
New member
Big Sur - January 2017
New trip report from my overnighter in Big Sur with [MENTION=115782]RedStripeRanger[/MENTION] from last month is now available on my adventure page (and soon on my upcoming website). Check it out here: Big Sur Adventure January 2017
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
MTN4RNR
New member
Baja Designs Hatch Dome Light(s) Installation
As many know, the stock hatch lights on the 5th gen 4Runners are terrible for anyone that uses their rig for anything other than day to day. They light up directly below the hatch, but hardly anything inside the cargo area, and they don’t throw any light to the surrounding areas. From experience, they work ok for day to day “gotta grab the milk before it falls out the back” scenarios, but they fall short on anything requiring a good amount of light (camping, cooking, working, etc). I tried upgrading the bulbs to a brighter LED Philips and to their credit, they are brighter. But not bright enough. Plus they turn off after 20 minutes, which sucks when you’re mid way through pouring a cocktail. SO to the aftermarket I went, and I landed on the Baja Designs Dome light (w/ switch). Low draw, high output, built in switch. Check, check, and check. I decided that I wanted a white and a red light on the hatch. White for cooking and high visibility situations; Red for situations when I don’t want to have a bright white light ruining night vision but I still need to see where I am stumbling going after hanging out around the campfire.
White Baja Designs Dome Light
Red Baja Designs Dome Light
The Install:
I attached the lights to the small plastic access panel on the hatch. This way if I wanted to change things, I can replace the small (cheaper) piece instead of the whole plastic panel, speakers and all. Cheaper is better. Using the supplied cap screws and nuts, I lined the 2 lights up to my liking and drilled 2 holes each with a step drill to get a smooth hole. I then made a notch per light on the outer edge of the panel to route the wire inside the hatch. Each wire has a positive and negative wire inside which I routed to a pre-wired positive (to battery) and negative (to hatch ground) connection I already had in the hatch from my S2 installation. Some shrink wrap connectors, dielectric grease, shrink wrap, and zip ties cleaned everything up and provided a solid connection. Here are some of the results!
Laid out for alignment
Installed!
Stock vs. White LED vs. Red LED (same camera settings for an accurate comparison)
Overall I am very happy with the product quality and the light output! Problem solved!
More to come…
White Baja Designs Dome Light
Red Baja Designs Dome Light
The Install:
I attached the lights to the small plastic access panel on the hatch. This way if I wanted to change things, I can replace the small (cheaper) piece instead of the whole plastic panel, speakers and all. Cheaper is better. Using the supplied cap screws and nuts, I lined the 2 lights up to my liking and drilled 2 holes each with a step drill to get a smooth hole. I then made a notch per light on the outer edge of the panel to route the wire inside the hatch. Each wire has a positive and negative wire inside which I routed to a pre-wired positive (to battery) and negative (to hatch ground) connection I already had in the hatch from my S2 installation. Some shrink wrap connectors, dielectric grease, shrink wrap, and zip ties cleaned everything up and provided a solid connection. Here are some of the results!
Laid out for alignment
Installed!
Stock vs. White LED vs. Red LED (same camera settings for an accurate comparison)
Overall I am very happy with the product quality and the light output! Problem solved!
More to come…
Last edited:
5280 TRail-Runner
New member
As many know, the stock hatch lights on the 5th gen 4Runners are terrible for anyone that uses their rig for anything other than day to day. They light up directly below the hatch, but hardly anything inside the cargo area, and they don’t throw any light to the surrounding areas. From experience, they work ok for day to day “gotta grab the milk before it falls out the back” scenarios, but they fall short on anything requiring a good amount of light (camping, cooking, working, etc). I tried upgrading the bulbs to a brighter LED Philips and to their credit, they are brighter. But not bright enough. Plus they turn off after 20 minutes, which sucks when you’re mid way through pouring a cocktail. SO to the aftermarket I went, and I landed on the Baja Designs Dome light (w/ switch). Low draw, high output, built in switch. Check, check, and check. I decided that I wanted a white and a red light on the hatch. White for cooking and high visibility situations; Red for situations when I don’t want to have a bright white light ruining night vision but I still need to see where I amstumblinggoing after hanging out around the campfire.
White Baja Designs Dome Light
Red Baja Designs Dome Light
The Install:
I attached the lights to the small plastic access panel on the hatch. This way if I wanted to change things, I can replace the small (cheaper) piece instead of the whole plastic panel, speakers and all. Cheaper is better. Using the supplied cap screws and nuts, I lined the 2 lights up to my liking and drilled 2 holes each with a step drill to get a smooth hole. I then made a notch per light on the outer edge of the panel to route the wire inside the hatch. Each wire has a positive and negative wire inside which I routed to a pre-wired positive (to battery) and negative (to hatch ground) connection I already had in the hatch from my S2 installation. Some shrink wrap connectors, dielectric grease, shrink wrap, and zip ties cleaned everything up and provided a solid connection. Here are some of the results!
Laid out for alignment
Installed!
Stock vs. White LED vs. Red LED (same camera settings for an accurate comparison)
Overall I am very happy with the product quality and the light output! Problem solved!
More to come…
I am going to use that small piece of plastic to do the hatch release from the inside but I may have to add the red light for night vision purposes as well now... LOL :biggrin2: I love that your MODs are in line with my needs. I love the S2 setup in the hand hold and now this one! I may end up wiring up one of the white lights to my existing LED strip in the hood. As always, thanks for sharing and inspiring! :cheers:
As many know, the stock hatch lights on the 5th gen 4Runners are terrible for anyone that uses their rig for anything other than day to day. They light up directly below the hatch, but hardly anything inside the cargo area, and they don’t throw any light to the surrounding areas. From experience, they work ok for day to day “gotta grab the milk before it falls out the back” scenarios, but they fall short on anything requiring a good amount of light (camping, cooking, working, etc). I tried upgrading the bulbs to a brighter LED Philips and to their credit, they are brighter. But not bright enough. Plus they turn off after 20 minutes, which sucks when you’re mid way through pouring a cocktail. SO to the aftermarket I went, and I landed on the Baja Designs Dome light (w/ switch). Low draw, high output, built in switch. Check, check, and check. I decided that I wanted a white and a red light on the hatch. White for cooking and high visibility situations; Red for situations when I don’t want to have a bright white light ruining night vision but I still need to see where I amstumblinggoing after hanging out around the campfire.
White Baja Designs Dome Light
Red Baja Designs Dome Light
The Install:
I attached the lights to the small plastic access panel on the hatch. This way if I wanted to change things, I can replace the small (cheaper) piece instead of the whole plastic panel, speakers and all. Cheaper is better. Using the supplied cap screws and nuts, I lined the 2 lights up to my liking and drilled 2 holes each with a step drill to get a smooth hole. I then made a notch per light on the outer edge of the panel to route the wire inside the hatch. Each wire has a positive and negative wire inside which I routed to a pre-wired positive (to battery) and negative (to hatch ground) connection I already had in the hatch from my S2 installation. Some shrink wrap connectors, dielectric grease, shrink wrap, and zip ties cleaned everything up and provided a solid connection. Here are some of the results!
Laid out for alignment
Installed!
Stock vs. White LED vs. Red LED (same camera settings for an accurate comparison)
Overall I am very happy with the product quality and the light output! Problem solved!
More to come…
I would say problem solved. Wow that is some great output. Nice job!
MTN4RNR
New member
Do it. All of it! Trust me, when you spend time camping in VERY dark places, having light is a great thing. Especially where you need it. I try to be practical with my Mod's, taking notes of where to improve over the course of many nights camping. I try to get what I need, and not much more. Wallet stays happier that way :thumb3: Glad to help!
It's pretty killer. Definitely have enough cooking light back there now!
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