Dirtco's 1999 4Runner Build

[the great him]

That was the end of the road, the trail that heads over to Deer Creek and St. John's was still snowed in at the really steep section. Trust me, there's no breaking trail up that section, I'll just have to wait for the sun to melt it. Also, the gates are still closed at the beginning of those trails so I wouldn't have made it far.

is that the same place that the guy lost his fzj80 a couple years ago to a snow drift and then the entire winter... i remember reading about that story a year or so ago... seams like the guy was dissabled or something like that too... idk the pics just look like the same area.

nice find on the fridge too, i may have to pic one of those up as well...

 

[downpour11]

is that the same place that the guy lost his fzj80 a couple years ago to a snow drift and then the entire winter... i remember reading about that story a year or so ago... seams like the guy was dissabled or something like that too... idk the pics just look like the same area.

nice find on the fridge too, i may have to pic one of those up as well...

Was this it? Abandoned/stuck 80 on Webster Pass - Page 4 - Rising Sun Member Forums

 

[Dirtco]

Nice find!

When I clicked on your thread, I scrolled all the way to the bottom and saw the last pic before anything else. I thought you were posting a pic of some home printer for some reason lol

I'd love to have one of those fridges! Very useful. :thumb3:

Haha, it does kind of look like a printer! Not the most exciting package, but if it gets the job done I really don't care.

is that the same place that the guy lost his fzj80 a couple years ago to a snow drift and then the entire winter... i remember reading about that story a year or so ago... seams like the guy was dissabled or something like that too... idk the pics just look like the same area.

nice find on the fridge too, i may have to pic one of those up as well...

Good eye! Very close, Webster Pass is on the other side of that ridge, you can get to it from where I was in about an hour or so when everything is melted.

That was quite the deal, I was up there snow bashing several times and had no idea it was even up there until a friend sent me a link months after they got it out. Wish I could have helped out more.

Was this it? Abandoned/stuck 80 on Webster Pass - Page 4 - Rising Sun Member Forums

That's the one!

Edit - There used to be some good pictures and video of the thing packed full of snow, but it seems that most of the links have been deleted.

 

[Rockdawg84]

Great find on the fridge, I've been saving up for one but it keeps getting bumped down on the list. LOL. I had decided on the ARB but now this looks like a great alternative and uses the same compressor motor. How does the lid latch, and does it seem like it will stay closed as you bounce up stuff? Also do the hinges look solid like they will stand up to some abuse? Sorry for all the questions but saving a couple hundred on a fridge would get one in the back of my runner much quicker:banana:

Sam

 

[smkd13]

One last thing is what is the amp draw on that thing?

 

[jason in tn]

Great deal on the fridge.

 

[the great him]

Was this it? Abandoned/stuck 80 on Webster Pass - Page 4 - Rising Sun Member Forums

thats the story... yeah i wish the pics where still up, id love to see the snowed in pictures

 

[Ol'Blue]

Holy S$%^, All winter long. I found the video from when they started it up. This guy has the best stuck story I have ever heard of. WOW!


Blue

 

[Dirtco]

Great find on the fridge, I've been saving up for one but it keeps getting bumped down on the list. LOL. I had decided on the ARB but now this looks like a great alternative and uses the same compressor motor. How does the lid latch, and does it seem like it will stay closed as you bounce up stuff? Also do the hinges look solid like they will stand up to some abuse? Sorry for all the questions but saving a couple hundred on a fridge would get one in the back of my runner much quicker:banana:

Sam

I've never had my hands on an ARB fridge, so I don't really know how the latch and lid compares. This fridge is pretty much on par with the price, it should be fine for food on expedition style trips. But, if it's full of cans or beverages and I'm wheeling harder terrain, I might need to throw an extra strap over it to keep the latch and hinge from breaking, we'll see. Here is a couple pictures I took for you.

One last thing is what is the amp draw on that thing?

It should have the same specs as the Ironman fridge listed here, Ironman 4x4 Fridge . I honestly think depending on conditions that it should be comparable, or at least close to the ARB fridge. I had it hooked up to the trailer for a few hours yesterday and it didn't seem to draw much at all off the battery.

 

[Dirtco]

Holy S$%^, All winter long. I found the video from when they started it up. This guy has the best stuck story I have ever heard of. WOW!


Blue

Yeah, it was a crappy deal! But, that guy should had never been up there that time of year, inexperienced and not prepared. There's a reason I carry all that gear, and why I'm extremely careful once I get above treeline!

So this is where things get a little crazy! I wanted to see how close I was to this guy and his stuck FJ80, I had a feeling it was close, but I had no idea! Here is the post where he talks about what happened, he posted this in February, but he got it stuck in the beginning of October 2011.

Rising Sun Member Forums - View Single Post - Abandoned/stuck 80 on Webster Pass

I looked through my pictures and what would you know, I was on Webster Pass October 9th, 2011. Judging by the snow, and the storm that rolled in the day before, he must have gotten stuck only a day or two before I was there (Edit - He must have gotten stuck Friday night, and I was there Sunday morning). There’s no way he would have gotten that thing over Red Cone with the snow I was going through. Here is the first picture, the saddle behind me is the end of Red Cone, and the summit of Webster Pass. I made it to the last switch back and without the front locker being hooked up I couldn’t make it any further. He was only one ridge over to the left of the picture, and I bet if the 80 wasn’t white I might had seen it. It was probably right in front of me!

 

[NateMob]

Thats insane how close you were to him, nice pickup on the fridge. Ive bookmarked the page for when Its time to order a fridge for my own truck.

Thanks for all the inspiration in this thread, I miss your truck having MTR Kevlars on it.

Nate

 

[Dirtco]

Thats insane how close you were to him, nice pickup on the fridge. Ive bookmarked the page for when Its time to order a fridge for my own truck.

Thanks for all the inspiration in this thread, I miss your truck having MTR Kevlars on it.

Nate

Thanks Nate, I've been following your build too. I also miss the MTR's w/kevlar, but until Goodyear can make a round tire in this size I won't be running them again.

 

[Dirtco]

I have a few updates, I’ll start with the good and work my way to the not so good.

The fridge was the good news, now for the not so good news...

I broke my second Lotus axle CV axle shaft; so far I'm the only one to break one, not to mention two!

It happened on the second obstacle of Wheeler lake, left fork, right line. I slipped off my line and fell into the largest hole on the right side, I tried to drive out of it and turned hard to the driver side. The front was locked, turned hard driver, and the 4Runner was leaned way over on that passenger side (look at the trees in the background). Watching the video you can hear a small snap, then the sound grinding metal as the 4Runner tries to climb the ledge with the passenger side outer CV joint broken. For reference I do have front limit straps and less droop than most people.

I tore into it and found that the inner star inside the outer joint is what broke, the outer cage is still intact but beat up from all the broken parts. The splines are shot on the axle bar, that's the grinding sound you could hear in the video.



There's no doubt these are much stronger than stock, and Glen has been great to deal with, top notch! But I really need to decide where I go from here, more on that in a few... On to some pictures.

The broken star



Next to a good one for reference



Cage



Ouch!

 

[downpour11]

Time for some dana 60's.

 

[Dous]

Time for some dana 60's.

Pishaw

HP D44
Cut it down to size and 3 link it, toss in some chromos and keep the 35's; then wheel with piece of mind

With Dana 60's you need to run 40's to have any clearance

 

[NateMob]

Dous is right, a built 44 has plenty of strength for 35s in our trucks. Even 37s would be fine with quality beefed axles and joints.

Thats shitty about the 2nd break man, crazy that you own both busted ones so far. I know that Glen will take care of you and with some more hard testing make them even better. Im hoping that my lighter setup and open front diff keeps me from any failures with the Lotus Axles, still glad i have them, thats for sure.

 

[downpour11]

that is, if he plans to run a tire 37" or under.... :naughty:

We're thinking out loud for you Dirtco lol

 

[Dirtco]

Because of the way the CV broke it wasn't visibly noticeable, I checked it out and by looking at it there was nothing wrong. Going off the sound I figured it was the front ring and pinion. I drove a little further up the trail to find out exactly what was going on (since I was alone and had no one to inspect the front end while I was driving around). It became obvious what was going on.

I got twisted up pretty good and slid off my line again on another spot, thanks to the front being broken. The D/S rear tire compressed more than it ever has, and in the process it contacted the body, bent it, and chunked out the tire. Just great!

I didn't take any before pictures, but you can see the sheet metal is bent and the corner edge is folded over which tore the tire.





Here is the P/S after the same treatment the D/S got. I welded in some 1/4" round rod to add strength and keep it smooth in case I have another issue down the road where the tire touches it. I still need to address the area below the fender flare and above the cut, but that is pending on the future state of the truck.








I also noticed my alignment was off after that trip. Luckily I marked my alignment tabs and could tell things had shifted around, so I re-adjusted things back to where they should be (kind of).

 

[Dirtco]

Continuing with this theme I took the truck out on Friday and ran Twin Cone, then Red Cone.

Red Cone is in distance from Twin Cone



At the top of Red Cone I could see a truck stuck on Webster Pass, I would NOT want to back down that (there is no place to turn around)! It's their own fault, you can see the top of the trail from the bottom. I'm guessing that stock F-150's can just bust though 40'-60' snow banks without an issue?



Oh, Shit!



This video is just the first half of that section, it only gets worse!

Red Cone Traffic Jam - YouTube

I tried to go over Radical Hill but it was still snowed in. The IFS still flexes pretty good with the sway bars gone.

 

[smkd13]

Hey have you ever thought about going RCVs for CVs? Speedy a hell but strong as shit too