Cymon's Weekend Warrior and MFD Thread
- Thread starter Cymon
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Cymon
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I also put in some spacers in the RCI TRD Integration skid (the skid that essentially extends the TRD skid to the length of the RCI Front/Engine skid). When I originally installed the skid it was extremely close to touching the front differential (as [MENTION=3442]Boyds4Runner[/MENTION] reported in his initial install of the skid). His was touching, mine probably had about 1/16" of space. Now I have about 1/4" of space between the front differential and the skid (a little breathing room). It does make the skid come down very slightly below the front TRD skid, not completely smooth bottom, but something I'm willing to live with for the extra space between it and the differential.
I get why certain members on here need steel skids, but the RCI aluminum skids are more than holding up for me. I do have a couple small gouges....but they won't rust!
So now the entire mid-section of my 4runner is protected along with the rocker panels. This is certainly good for confidence in choosing lines when off road. I drive with the idea that skids and sliders are there for "just in case" situations...but now I have almost all critical parts covered....just in case.
I get why certain members on here need steel skids, but the RCI aluminum skids are more than holding up for me. I do have a couple small gouges....but they won't rust!
So now the entire mid-section of my 4runner is protected along with the rocker panels. This is certainly good for confidence in choosing lines when off road. I drive with the idea that skids and sliders are there for "just in case" situations...but now I have almost all critical parts covered....just in case.
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Boyds4Runner
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[MENTION=120701]Cymon[/MENTION]
Your skids look as scratched up as mine do lol!
Glad to see you are getting your rig out there!
With the 1/4" spacer on the front and rear bolt points for the mid-skid mine hang down a bit at the front where the TRD Pro skid meets, just like in your picture too.
Your skids look as scratched up as mine do lol!
Glad to see you are getting your rig out there!
With the 1/4" spacer on the front and rear bolt points for the mid-skid mine hang down a bit at the front where the TRD Pro skid meets, just like in your picture too.
Cymon
New member
I remember seeing that in your install pics, that's why I wasn't that worried about it. I took the original spacers (I think 3/16" spacers) from the rear bolt points and moved them up front, and took the thicker 1/4" spacers they sent in the hardware package and moved them to the rear points. Worked out as good as I could have hoped.
I have gotten them out a couple of times. They work well for me in deep rutted situations where I'm missing the extra little clearance that a lift would give. So far super happy with them...they do their job!
Knight-Errant
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Interesting, I ordered this put haven't but it on yet. I put on my rci sliders and aluminum skids this past weekend though.
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Cymon
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Frontrunner Install
So a couple weeks ago I won $725 towards a roof rack playing one of those Toyota Accessories games on Facebook…LOL. Getting a new roof rack was extremely far down on my “needs” list and essentially this was the only way I would end up getting one until a far later date. I had the choice between putting the $ towards a Frontrunner, Gobi or Baja. I probably prefer the look of the Gobi the best, but I would have had to pay another $725 towards the price of a rack (not wife approved). The Baja and Frontrunner ¾ length rack were about the same price, but I prefer the configurability of the Frontrunner as well as the aluminum construction. I don’t need a full-length rack for my purposes at this point in time, so the ¾ will be more than enough for right now (I also don’t feel like drilling into my roof), but if I ever do, the Frontrunner can be reconfigured and expanded to the full-length rack.
In the end for $200 out of pocket I got a Frontrunner Slimeline II ¾ Rack. This actually coincided with me selling my “rigid” running boards locally on craigslist for $180. They have been in my garage since I installed the RCI Sliders, so my net cost was $60 ($20 plus $40 to enter the drawing for the rack).
Ordering and receiving the rack was a piece of cake. It was shipped and on my doorstep within 7 days. The packaging was well done (they even leave little notes with the names of the employees who packaged each part set). The reviews of Frontrunner’s customer service have outstanding, and I can see why, you can tell that they pay attention to the details.
So a couple weeks ago I won $725 towards a roof rack playing one of those Toyota Accessories games on Facebook…LOL. Getting a new roof rack was extremely far down on my “needs” list and essentially this was the only way I would end up getting one until a far later date. I had the choice between putting the $ towards a Frontrunner, Gobi or Baja. I probably prefer the look of the Gobi the best, but I would have had to pay another $725 towards the price of a rack (not wife approved). The Baja and Frontrunner ¾ length rack were about the same price, but I prefer the configurability of the Frontrunner as well as the aluminum construction. I don’t need a full-length rack for my purposes at this point in time, so the ¾ will be more than enough for right now (I also don’t feel like drilling into my roof), but if I ever do, the Frontrunner can be reconfigured and expanded to the full-length rack.
In the end for $200 out of pocket I got a Frontrunner Slimeline II ¾ Rack. This actually coincided with me selling my “rigid” running boards locally on craigslist for $180. They have been in my garage since I installed the RCI Sliders, so my net cost was $60 ($20 plus $40 to enter the drawing for the rack).
Ordering and receiving the rack was a piece of cake. It was shipped and on my doorstep within 7 days. The packaging was well done (they even leave little notes with the names of the employees who packaged each part set). The reviews of Frontrunner’s customer service have outstanding, and I can see why, you can tell that they pay attention to the details.
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Cymon
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The install of the rack was very straightforward. The directions were spot on. Everything was directly bolt/screw together and took a combined 2 hours, with building the rack, taking off the stock rails and my Thule bars, and then installing the Frontrunner rails and attaching the flat rack. The overall height of the rack was the exact same as my stock rails with the Thule Aerobars attached (approximately 5” over the roof line).
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Cymon
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I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out, and even my wife agreed, this was an awesome addition to our truck that we never intended on doing. I ended up having to park in the garage, as I wanted to make sure the Silicon I used around the feet of the rack had about 24 hours to cure. I finished off the install with a bottle of Pliny the Elder. How do you get Pliny the Elder in South Florida you may ask… Sources! :cheers:
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Cymon
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Skybox on Frontrunner
Next weekend we leave for a two-week road trip up to Maryland to visit family for the holidays and then to Vermont for some skiing/snowboarding. I wanted to get everything set up as I won’t have time during the week so I test fitted our Skybox 16 on the Frontrunner. I couldn’t have been more impressed. It actually fits better than with the Thule Aerobars and the size is perfect. It took about 5 minutes to get the clamps adjusted onto the right rails. The 2nd rail for the front grabs and 5th rail for the rear seemed to give the best fit and allow for the rear hatch to fully open. All that’s left is to see if there is a noticeable noise difference with the Skybox and Frontrunner as there was not much with the Aerobars.
Next weekend we leave for a two-week road trip up to Maryland to visit family for the holidays and then to Vermont for some skiing/snowboarding. I wanted to get everything set up as I won’t have time during the week so I test fitted our Skybox 16 on the Frontrunner. I couldn’t have been more impressed. It actually fits better than with the Thule Aerobars and the size is perfect. It took about 5 minutes to get the clamps adjusted onto the right rails. The 2nd rail for the front grabs and 5th rail for the rear seemed to give the best fit and allow for the rear hatch to fully open. All that’s left is to see if there is a noticeable noise difference with the Skybox and Frontrunner as there was not much with the Aerobars.
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Cymon
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layball:
Cymon
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I've been away from seasons for too long...I'd give anything for that view right now. But I guess a lot of people are wishing for mine...Sunny and 80 degrees.
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Cymon
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Stop by in Pembroke Pines for a free drink! We might end up at Islamorada Presidents' Day weekend.
Cymon
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12/23/2016 Winter Road Trip
So we started our 2016-2017 winter road trip. We left South Florida at around 4:00pm on December 23rd. Packed to the gills, with the new frontrunner fully loaded, we are heading up to Maryland to visit family for the holidays with a trip to Vermont for some skiing over New Years. My daughter hasn't seen snow since we moved from California 2 years ago and my son who is 2 has never seen snow. Its time to get my daughter up on skis and for my son to build a snowman!
Our dog actually loves traveling this way (more then the pictures will show). Her crate is lined with a memory foam dogged that gives her the most comfortable seat in the vehicle. I have it tied down with bungees and secured with carabiners for safety.
The skybox fits perfectly with our sports-tube holding our ski/snowboards and boots tied down next to it. Even my wife who could care less about getting the new rack admitted that it was a great addition.
So we started our 2016-2017 winter road trip. We left South Florida at around 4:00pm on December 23rd. Packed to the gills, with the new frontrunner fully loaded, we are heading up to Maryland to visit family for the holidays with a trip to Vermont for some skiing over New Years. My daughter hasn't seen snow since we moved from California 2 years ago and my son who is 2 has never seen snow. Its time to get my daughter up on skis and for my son to build a snowman!
Our dog actually loves traveling this way (more then the pictures will show). Her crate is lined with a memory foam dogged that gives her the most comfortable seat in the vehicle. I have it tied down with bungees and secured with carabiners for safety.
The skybox fits perfectly with our sports-tube holding our ski/snowboards and boots tied down next to it. Even my wife who could care less about getting the new rack admitted that it was a great addition.
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Cymon
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12/24/2016 Winter Road Trip
1,054 miles and 18 hours straight through the night, Miami to Columbia, MD. Completely worth it to see the kids delivered to their grandparents on X-Mas Eve... #priceless!
Only thing that would have been the icing on the cake would be if it was 10 degrees colder and snow instead of rain.
The Skybox and Sports-Tube on the Frontrunner worked great. We travelled at a pretty consistent 75-78 mph on cruise control for almost the entire trip. The noise was not a discernible difference from when we had the skybox on with the Thule Aerobars. My wife actually mentioned a couple of times that she forgot the new rack and cargo were up top, and she would be the first to complain about it.
Usually this same trip we average between 17-18 mpg with the aerobars and skybox with about the same average speed. I know we would get much better by dropping by about 10 mph, but that would also extend our trip by 2+ hours (worth the gas $ to shorten this trip).
This time we got just under 17 mpg (16.9 mpg). We also had an additional box up top (the sport tube) so I am really happy that our loss in mpg's would be negligible at best with the Frontrunner over the Thule Aerobars, plus it looks cooler IMO.
1,054 miles and 18 hours straight through the night, Miami to Columbia, MD. Completely worth it to see the kids delivered to their grandparents on X-Mas Eve... #priceless!
Only thing that would have been the icing on the cake would be if it was 10 degrees colder and snow instead of rain.
The Skybox and Sports-Tube on the Frontrunner worked great. We travelled at a pretty consistent 75-78 mph on cruise control for almost the entire trip. The noise was not a discernible difference from when we had the skybox on with the Thule Aerobars. My wife actually mentioned a couple of times that she forgot the new rack and cargo were up top, and she would be the first to complain about it.
Usually this same trip we average between 17-18 mpg with the aerobars and skybox with about the same average speed. I know we would get much better by dropping by about 10 mph, but that would also extend our trip by 2+ hours (worth the gas $ to shorten this trip).
This time we got just under 17 mpg (16.9 mpg). We also had an additional box up top (the sport tube) so I am really happy that our loss in mpg's would be negligible at best with the Frontrunner over the Thule Aerobars, plus it looks cooler IMO.
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Cymon
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Haha...I've convinced them the benefits of composting and natural garden bed insulation/mulching.
