Building the FUDRNR for 50 state trip

[Prototype_X9]

Hey Everybody!!!

I am excited to share this experience with everyone, as this will end up being a whole new experience for me. I have been modifying cars for years and built many differnet cars ranging from rally vw bugs with a whopping 30hp, to turbo miatas for auto-x, jeeps, and my last was a 650whp blown coyote mustang.
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My Fiance and I are both chefs in Miami Beach and we essentially devote our entire lives to our kitchens and to our food. This last holiday season, while working 120+ hours a week, we decided that we needed to get out and enjoy our lives. After many late nights over beer, we agreed upon a prolonged 50 state road trip. Go big or go home ya know. 4 years of no vacations kinda broke me.... ill admit it. So now we are getting ready to spend 4-6 months on the road; eating, drinking, and camping along the way.
We will be documenting our travels for everyone to follow along, and hopefully make a ton of new friends along the way.

So, I was able to sell my blown mustang and get some money to help buy a 4runner and some mods. This will be my biggest build, both in scale and sheer size. Here is the 4runner when I got it home, stock could be.
2017 TRD Off Road, with 6k miles
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I have already met so many great people in this hobby and I cant wait to get out and share the fun.

EDIT:google photos sucks for forums, or what else dont i know?

 

[Prototype_X9]

So, after deciding to do a 50 state trip, I realized just how much work I had to do before we set off. I decided to build an overlander so that we can essentially go anywhere we wanted, on and off road. We did not need a serious crawler and a lot of our mileage would be on the highways between cities and camping stops. I know I know... another guy with an overland build going all over the country. :sleepy::suspicious::sleepy::suspicious:

With money saved from no vacations, and getting payed out for that unused vacation time I decided to go all out with the build. Also, I needed to get the truck fully built before we left, just because I want to be able to take care of ourselves anywhere we might end up. Self reliance would be high priority.

MOD TODO LIST
3" EMU lift<-Possibly upgrade later, but should handle most things
HD springs to handle the increased weight from gear
Icon Alpha wheels titanium color
BFG KO2 275s The AT tire will be a good compromise for us
Frontrunner Slimline 2 full size rack: drill baby drill
Warn from slimline bumper <good deal and in stock
Warn 10,000# winch, soft rope and factor55 link
Interior LED everything: nothing special here
HIDs 55w low beams
LED high beams
BAJA Designs Squadron pro fog lights
CBI rear bumper with swing arm, table, light...etc
CBI armor skids
CBI rock sliders
Rago fab ditch lights
Rago fab molle panels
Dual battery kit
Solar Suitcase for long parked periods
Rear Drawer setup built or bought
ARB fridge/freezer hard wired
ARB compressor and accessories
SPOD: i hate wiring, so Im willing to invest in this for ease of use.
360* lights will be mostly BD and Rigid.
40"-50" forward light bar
Ram mounts to hold phones, tablets, and gps
Roof Top tent- undecided.

**** that's a lot of stuff. Crap so much to do.

 

[Rememberthecaptain]

I don’t know the specific rules for bringing your vehicle to Hawaii for a visit but I do know that registering your vehicle there can be a royal pain in the a$$ if it’s heavily modded. Tire tread patch can not stick out past the fender, bumper height can not be so high or so low, tint can only be so dark, etc etc. Dig deep on those regulations before trying to ship it there, but either way, enjoy the build. I know people have done it, just not sure how. I never had a modded rig when I lived there but I did read and hear a lot of bad horror stories. The state doesn’t take kindly to modded rigs like the mainland does.

 

[Prototype_X9]

Well we are scratching things off the list. WOO!!!
Basic stuff I am knocking out easily but some larger things will need pros for help. I live in a very small apartment with no place to work, so my options are limited. I have been renting Lift space for the mustang for a while so I can work when I get the rare day off. LEDS, headlights, fog lights were quickly done and we have bought so much gear. Lead times are *****, but we had just enough time to afford for fabrication times.

I had to leave the country for a bit so I left the truck with a good local shop to get the suspension wheels and tires on while I was away. Here is the last shot of the truck in all its stock glory.

 

[Prototype_X9]

I don’t know the specific rules for bringing your vehicle to Hawaii for a visit but I do know that registering your vehicle there can be a royal pain in the a$$ if it’s heavily modded. Tire tread patch can not stick out past the fender, bumper height can not be so high or so low, tint can only be so dark, etc etc. Dig deep on those regulations before trying to ship it there, but either way, enjoy the build. I know people have done it, just not sure how. I never had a modded rig when I lived there but I did read and hear a lot of bad horror stories. The state doesn’t take kindly to modded rigs like the mainland does.

This was next thought. We decided to not take the FUDRNR to Hawaii and Alaska on this trip. Next time around, I guess. We are going to grab a plane to Hawaii for a day or two out of the PNW. We are deciding to either take a plane to Alaska or work with a friend who does cruise ships to get a cheap rate on a 2-4 day cruise from Washington. Adding the drive to Alaska will be added to the bucketlist for now.

In exchange we are going to add some of Canada and possibly a bit of the Baja penninsula.

 

[Prototype_X9]

After a few weeks we are coming along nicely with some of the bigger items checked off. My fiance and I had spent some time trying to come up with a fun name for this project. So being Chefs, on a food related trip and living in a 4runner we named it the FUDRNR. Seems like running an expo station I was always asking "Where is the food runner?" so now I get to share where it is at every stop. Its dumb, and i love it.

FUDRNR first stage complete
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[Prototype_X9]

I was able to get the ram mounts in and installed the small one first. I got the large tablet holder put together, but we will finish bolting it down after we finish the ancillary wiring. Still unsure of where to place the control box for the SPOD. going to figure it out quickly.

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Sidenote; these little rubber bushings are great and cheap
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[Prototype_X9]

After months of research and talking to people and watching videos about different rooftop tents we decided to use a hard shell tent. We sacrificed rooftop space for durability and ease of setup.

And then after much more narrowing down we finally settled on the Autohome Maggiolina Extreme. Aside from being a nice product this tent has Thule load bars that we can use to carry random crap whenever we need. This helps offset the space lost by using this RTT.
Maggiolina Extreme | Autohome US

Surprisingly the tent was delivered fairly quickly. We managed to purchase a tent that just came into inventory and was immediately shipped off to me. :bravo::bravo::bravo::bravo:
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Now we are just waiting on the brackets from frontrunner to mount the maggiolina to the slimline2. Probably need to order a maxtrax and rotopax mount while ordering.

 

[Cymon]

Looking good, hopefully see you around, we’re up in Pembroke Pines.

:thumb3:

 

[Prototype_X9]

Shout out to [MENTION=148378]Dobinsons Mike[/MENTION] for the great service while buying the rear drawers from Dobinsons here in Miami. These things totally rock!!! Hit up Mike for all your product needs, great guy and very helpful.

Here he is showing off that big bumper. One day Ill upgrade from the slimlin front bumper to a fullsize. We could be twins!!!
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[Prototype_X9]

:Shameless Plug:

In case you want to follow in our adventures with food, drinks, and off roading our info is. I am kind of excited to see what kind of food we make along the way. 15 years of cooking is finally coming in handy. Now I just need to get my pastry chef fiance to make some awesome food.

Instagram :Fudrnr
youtube: Fudrnr

Man I need to change my SN here to FUDRNR.

If any of you guys know where I need to be adventuring anywhere in the US let me know!!!

 

[Prototype_X9]

Just got my Renogy solar suit case. going to be making some simple modifications to the wiring to make it work with my setup. Need extensions fuses and ring terminals. Ill get photos later

 

[final]

In exchange we are going to add some of Canada and possibly a bit of the Baja penninsula.

Please double check your car insurance. Most do not cover Mexico but some do cover Canada.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

You're driving to Hawaii? :crazy:

 

[Prototype_X9]

Please double check your car insurance. Most do not cover Mexico but some do cover Canada.

We had covered canada but are looking into special short term coverage for mexico. We are getting travel rates from a few places.

 

[Prototype_X9]

You're driving to Hawaii? :crazy:

LOL read the post above...

It is possible to ship a car there and then drive it on the 50th state. But, that is a lot of money to just prove a point on a couple days in in a location. Although if this 4runner makes it all the way to the other 49 states and some of canada, id highly consider finding a way to get to the last state.

 

[Prototype_X9]

Coming along nicely. Here are a couple photos from the last few days.

The electrical is getting finished, rear bumper is on. Sliders on, fridge wired. The spod will be finished and skids go on tomorrow.

 

[Prototype_X9]

Having some difficulty today. The Autohome tent doesnt want to play nicely with the Batwing awning. Needing to move the awning further outward to clear the tent.:dammit:

 

[Prototype_X9]

Oh baby, today was a great day. The truck is practically done. all essential mods are complete and we are ready to start our trip. There is certainly some more organization to finish getting the truck setup, but we will figure out our perfect setup as we go. Having a working fridge in the truck is going to be a world changer.

Many photos coming tomorrow.

We are beginning our trip tomorrow morning and we are heading to an offroad park in Ocala Florida. Gonna get some awesome footage getting dirty:trophy:

After that: the whole country

 

[zoomzoom]

Oh baby, today was a great day. The truck is practically done. all essential mods are complete and we are ready to start our trip. There is certainly some more organization to finish getting the truck setup, but we will figure out our perfect setup as we go. Having a working fridge in the truck is going to be a world changer.

Many photos coming tomorrow.

We are beginning our trip tomorrow morning and we are heading to an offroad park in Ocala Florida. Gonna get some awesome footage getting dirty:trophy:

After that: the whole country

Great job getting the 4Runner built in such a short period of time! Will be following your cross-country adventure!