Dirtco's 1999 4Runner Build

I guess I should finish my last trip report…

As I was pulling into my driveway (from the last trip I posted pictures of), the 4Runner started sputtering and died just as I parked in my spot. It was late, and I didn’t want to wake the family, so I left it for the next day.

I tried to start it the next morning but it still wouldn’t fire up. I knew it was low on gas, so I ran down to the gas station and got a couple gallons to eliminate that possibility. I added three gallons but it didn’t make a difference, and it still wouldn’t start.

From past experience it seemed like a MAF sensor issue; so I removed the air filter and after inspecting the sensor, I found it was coated in dirt. I removed the air box to clean the MAF sensor and found that the air intake box itself was cracked. A new replacement box from Toyota was just under $400, so I decided to glue it back together, clean the MAF sensor, and give it one more test run the following weekend.

I went back to the same area as the last trip, and brought some extra fuel this time around.



I was on a mission to explore more terrain, so I took the first spur road of many.





It followed a property line with a fence off to one side, it was tight and it had not seen much traffic, a little ways down the road I ran into some down trees and I had to turn around.

 
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I headed back down the trail and ran into another road that looked interesting, so I gave it a shot.

Like the other trail it was overgrown



After a couple miles of tall grass and tight trees I ran into a down tree that was too big to drive over, I walked down the rest of the hill where I found this road closed sign and fence.





I walked back up to the truck and made a note of this location, there was something that seemed familiar about this track and it needed more research once I got home.



Heading back to the main trail

 
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At the top of the hill I decided that I needed to get back to where I left off last time and “finish” my last trip. On the way I took a small side trail that looped back to the main trail.



Yet another “side trail” that was too overgrown to get very far.



After several miles I made it back to the snow patch that denied me the last trip. In the week since I had been there it had melted enough to get across.





Looking at old topo maps and Google Earth I found a trail that led to the top of the ridge. I was really looking forward to exploring that trail, but once I got there I found that it had been closed a couple years ago. So I continued down the road I was on. Along the way I had to move several down trees from the path.

It was obvious that the only traffic this trail gets is during hunting season. There was an old hunting camp still stocked with firewood and shortly thereafter the trail was blocked by a large down tree.



 
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Once I got home I checked the air box, and what would you know, it had cracked again. I wasn’t very happy with the stock design so I decided on a cold air intake. I looked at several options but I wanted a filter that didn’t use oil; I ended up settling on an AFE CAI with a dry flow filter.

Before





After

 
As some of you may have noticed, I have not been very active on the forum lately. I have been extremely busy and pre-occupied with other, more important matters. Having said that, I would like to try and get this thread up to date. Here we go…

A week or two after my last post I took the family on a camping trip. We only went for one night, and we decided to stay close to home (we are still adapting to camping with a toddler running around :) ). We went to the same area as the previous trips; it was close and I spotted a couple decent camping spots before hand. There was one other reason, but I’ll get into that later.



 
Shortly there after was the Colorado Toyota Jamboree; it’s my favorite event of the year, and this year did not disappoint. I met up with [MENTION=44220]BigFishAllDay[/MENTION] and [MENTION=94888]EatonKyleH[/MENTION] (along with a whole lot of other people). We ran Wheeler Lake Friday and Chinaman’s on Saturday. We all had a great time, and I can’t wait to wheel with these guys again.

I was busy showing everyone around and spotting, so I didn’t bother taking many pictures. Both Nick and Kyle wrote great trip reports so I’ll just link those.

Nick -
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...one-2001-sport-ed-trd-scd-82.html#post1776246

Kyle –
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/143812-eatonkylehs-build-thread-20.html#post1774146

The few pictures I did take…

Wheeler Lake, and everyone coming down Bowling Ball Hill



Chinaman’s Trailhead



On Sunday I ran Westin Pass, along with Breakneck Pass on the way home. I had the trailer in tow so I chose some easier trails to check out, and mark off the list.

 
As I hinted to before hand, there was another reason why I took the family camping where I did, and why I’ve been so busy with other matters. There is a small subdivision at the base of the trails I have been exploring; I have a friend, and a co-worker that live out there. I have thought about moving out there in the past, but the wife wasn’t into the idea at the time. As the family has grown, we have also out grown the condo. Real estate prices are absurd where I live, and for the price of a slightly larger or lightly updated condo in town, we can have an actual house in this subdivision outside of town.

The house is on an acre of land, and it has a 20x30 work shop so I can start taking on some larger projects, and possibly some side work down the road! I can literally go wheeling right from my driveway, as the National Forest access is only a couple miles past my house! And to top things off, my snow wheeling spot is quite a bit closer to me too.

As of the Jamboree I was still working out all the details (anyone who has bought a house knows what a process it can be). But most of the big hurdles have been conquered now, and it looks like a done deal. We are set to close at the end of the month.
 
As I hinted to before hand, there was another reason why I took the family camping where I did, and why I’ve been so busy with other matters. There is a small subdivision at the base of the trails I have been exploring; I have a friend, and a co-worker that live out there. I have thought about moving out there in the past, but the wife wasn’t into the idea at the time. As the family has grown, we have also out grown the condo. Real estate prices are absurd where I live, and for the price of a slightly larger or lightly updated condo in town, we can have an actual house in this subdivision outside of town.

The house is on an acre of land, and it has a 20x30 work shop so I can start taking on some larger projects, and possibly some side work down the road! I can literally go wheeling right from my driveway, as the National Forest access is only a couple miles past my house! And to top things off, my snow wheeling spot is quite a bit closer to me too.

As of the Jamboree I was still working out all the details (anyone who has bought a house knows what a process it can be). But most of the big hurdles have been conquered now, and it looks like a done deal. We are set to close at the end of the month.
Congrats! Awesome photos as always. Can't wait to get out to Colorado and join you
 
Great pics. Can't wait to see pics of the new place once things all fall into line for you.

how did the wife and little one enjoy the camping trip?
 
Congrats! Awesome photos as always. Can't wait to get out to Colorado and join you

Thanks Connor! I would love to show you around, just let me know when.

Great pics. Can't wait to see pics of the new place once things all fall into line for you.

how did the wife and little one enjoy the camping trip?

I'll post up a couple pictures once we get moved in.

The whole family had a great time; my daughter was a dirt ball the entire trip and was always investigating something, and the dog ran around non-stop from the time we got there until dark, and again once we woke up in the morning until we left.

It was a little tight in the tent with the three of us and the dog though. I bought an easy up ground tent that we used for changing diapers, etc. Pretty much an enclosed staging area. We had planned on having my daughter go to sleep in her pack and play there, while we hung out around the fire. We were going to pick her up on the way to bed and have the dog sleep in the ground tent, that was the plan at least. My daughter refused to fall asleep in the pack and play, so she hung out around the fire with us. And when it got dark the dog was in guard mode and wouldn't leave our side, I knew it was going to be a lost cause getting the dog to sleep along so I carried her up the ladder and she slept with us in the RTT. I will say this, two adults, one child, and one medium size dog keeps your tent nice and warm!
 
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The new house has a wood burning stove so I needed to round up some firewood before the snow starts to fall. I wanted to get a head start, so I borrowed a trailer and picked up some large pre-cut sections. I'm going to store it on my friends property until we close. I was surprised how well the 4Runner did pulling this trailer full of wood, the second load was even larger!



 

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