dkyleb's Overland Build Thread

[Krayziekid]

Actually, it was one of the easiest things I've done on my 4Runner.

You'll need to do some cutting, some thinking, some more cutting, and maybe some thinking. It all depends on your winch setup, too. Some have to relocate the solenoid box, but I didn't. That was definitely due to having a body lift though.

I, too, decided to stick with my bumper for a few reasons. I really didn't want the added weight, and didn't want to see yet another MPG drop. I do a lot of long road trips in my rig, so MPG is important.

Yup, those are basically all of the reasons I want to leave the stock bumper. What kind of cutting are you talking about? Anything major?

Edit: Actually, after doing more research, did the winch mount require any modifications like redrilling holes or anything? I am reading through some other threads where people say the mounting plate was redesigned to apparently be easier to use, but it was just causing all kinds of headaches. Was it basically drop in and bolt for you, or did you have to redrill holes and other stuff on the winch plate itself? Thanks!

 

[dkyleb]

Yup, those are basically all of the reasons I want to leave the stock bumper. What kind of cutting are you talking about? Anything major?

Edit: Actually, after doing more research, did the winch mount require any modifications like redrilling holes or anything? I am reading through some other threads where people say the mounting plate was redesigned to apparently be easier to use, but it was just causing all kinds of headaches. Was it basically drop in and bolt for you, or did you have to redrill holes and other stuff on the winch plate itself? Thanks!

There was an AC line that was in the way. I had to cut the backet, drill a hole, and use a small clamp to hold it there. It was colliding with my winch. No big deal.

The other cutting was the bumper. You'll need to cut a hole for your fairlead, and I had to cut some reliefs for the winch plate's light mounts to come through my bumper.

As for the redesign, I actually managed to get the old design from a forum member. It's a single piece design, and I didn't have to do any modifications to mine at all. Everything bolted right up.

 

[Krayziekid]

There was an AC line that was in the way. I had to cut the backet, drill a hole, and use a small clamp to hold it there. It was colliding with my winch. No big deal.

The other cutting was the bumper. You'll need to cut a hole for your fairlead, and I had to cut some reliefs for the winch plate's light mounts to come through my bumper.

As for the redesign, I actually managed to get the old design from a forum member. It's a single piece design, and I didn't have to do any modifications to mine at all. Everything bolted right up.

Ah ok. Thank you. Yea I knew about the AC line. Some people just unclipped it and pushed it back. Not a bad idea to drill a hole or secure it somewhere out of the way.

And yea, definitely gotta cut up the front grill in order to get the fairlead and stuff out. Are you adding LEDs down there? If so, are you planning on just removing the entire lower grill part, or just cutting enough to mount the LEDs into the holes?

Thanks for all of your help! I think I am going to email bud in the near future and ask him about the design. After reading some threads, it seems he had a design, changed it, and then changed it again and now I'm still not sure if it's good or not lol.

 

[SAR_Runner]

Is this Tahuya?

 

[dkyleb]

Is this Tahuya?

Nope, this is out on Vancouver Island. Same kind of environment though.

 

[dkyleb]

Update on the sleeping platform. The box is built, and we'll have the folding sections completed this weekend.

 

[dkyleb]

Well, some guy in the Walmart parking lot decided to remove his bumper from his RV using the side of my 4Runner.

I think I made out pretty well. Most of the damage was done to the plastic trim on the doors, the rear fender flare and a scuff on my wheel. The tire sustained no damage. I also found a small ding on the door itself. Hoping he decides to pay me cash and I can just do the repairs myself.


On to better things! The main structure of the sleeping platform is now complete!

Next step is to carpet it, install some trim, etc.

 

[sr3tlaw]

[MENTION=124121]dkyleb[/MENTION] whoa! Totally wish I had seen this. Are those LCA bolts sometimes referred to as "cam bolts"? Was getting an alignment done also. When they tried to adjust the caster/camber, the bolt would just bounce back. I wasted a whole day trying to get new ones in. The Toyota OEM just did NOT want to come out.

You didn't have to get another Lower Control Arm? Found some other threads where people actually had to cut the arm off!

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[Lifesfordeath]

Lb

[MENTION=124121]dkyleb[/MENTION] whoa! Totally wish I had seen this. Are those LCA bolts sometimes referred to as "cam bolts"? Was getting an alignment done also. When they tried to adjust the caster/camber, the bolt would just bounce back. I wasted a whole day trying to get new ones in. The Toyota OEM just did NOT want to come out.

You didn't have to get another Lower Control Arm? Found some other threads where people actually had to cut the arm off!

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

I'm getting ready to tackle putting in new front lca and JBA uca's dreading the lowers as I hear about all the problems with seized bolts on the bushings...yippie

 

[sr3tlaw]

Lb


I'm getting ready to tackle putting in new front lca and JBA uca's dreading the lowers as I hear about all the problems with seized bolts on the bushings...yippie

Why are you replacing them, are you having alignment problems? They were impossible to get off. So you CAN replace bushings?

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[dusty619]

wow you put in a lot of work

 

[campinfreak]

Just read through your build. Very nice build. Love the drawers, excellent craftsmanship.

 

[dkyleb]

[MENTION=124121]dkyleb[/MENTION] whoa! Totally wish I had seen this. Are those LCA bolts sometimes referred to as "cam bolts"? Was getting an alignment done also. When they tried to adjust the caster/camber, the bolt would just bounce back. I wasted a whole day trying to get new ones in. The Toyota OEM just did NOT want to come out.

You didn't have to get another Lower Control Arm? Found some other threads where people actually had to cut the arm off!

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Yup, that's them! They're a real pain. We didn't cut up my LCA, but we did cut the bolts out of there with a sawzall and a grinder. Then used every method under the moon to try and get the bushings out. What a waste of time...

It's easy to align now, but my LCAs clunk. I think the bushing may be slightly loose inside of the LCA. If it gets worse, I'll be ordering the cheapest set of LCAs from eBay that I can find. Most of them have a 5 year warranty. Just some food for thought.

 

[sr3tlaw]

Yup, that's them! They're a real pain. We didn't cut up my LCA, but we did cut the bolts out of there with a sawzall and a grinder. Then used every method under the moon to try and get the bushings out. What a waste of time...

It's easy to align now, but my LCAs clunk. I think the bushing may be slightly loose inside of the LCA. If it gets worse, I'll be ordering the cheapest set of LCAs from eBay that I can find. Most of them have a 5 year warranty. Just some food for thought.

Sounds like a mess. My alignment is jusr slightly off. Plan on fixing it later with the Adjustable UCA from SPC

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[dkyleb]

Sounds like a mess. My alignment is jusr slightly off. Plan on fixing it later with the Adjustable UCA from SPC

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Is it just your caster that is off?

 

[dkyleb]

So I grabbed an MV50 compressor from Amazon, and finally got around to installing it. First thing I did was replace the relay, and added an auto-resetting 30A breaker. Soldered and heat shrinked everything, then taped it all up. I also upgraded the wiring to 12ga.

I made a mount from some aluminum I had, and then mounted it to my passenger side wheel well.

I had a switch laying around, and decided to use that. Would have been nice to use a switch similar to the factory ones. Oh well.

The pump runs loud and hot. Takes a little while go from 18psi to 50psi, but it'll do. I'm sure it'll come in handy for more than just inflating tires after wheeling.

 

[dkyleb]

Went and did some wheeling with a local Jeep group. Aaand a 3rd gen turned up!

He had some pretty new suspension, so wheel lift was pretty inevitable.

Sooooo.... Then everyone decided they wanted to hit some mud. I don't do mud, so I was reluctant. But, we did it anyway. Then this happened:

I put my winch to work and pulled him out of there. It would start... We figured the starter was pooched, so we tried pull starting him a few times. After that didn't work, we spun him around on the trail with my winch, then dragged him back to the roadway. From what I saw on Facebook, he came back a couple hours later, discovered it was hydro-locked. He pulled the plugs, worked some magic, and it's now running!

 

[dkyleb]

 

[dkyleb]

Holy crap, I haven't updated in a long time! I've been too busy actually using the rig all summer! It's awesome.

I'll update what I can, though:

I finally got time to mount up my eBay light bar. I'm starting to think I need to rock an eBay sticker on my rig somewhere... Anyways. I didn't like the included mounts, so I made some shorter ones.

A local 4X4 group decided it would be fun if we strapped milk jugs to our hoods and went wheeling, then see who had the most left. I managed to place 3rd, which means I didn't have nearly as much fun bouncing my rig around as everyone else, but still had enough fun to drain some of the liquid.

I managed to mangle my stock skid plate pretty badly in a creek crossing. Luckily, nothing else was damaged. It was a blessing in disguise, I suppose, because I manged to find a wrecker with an FJ! Aaaand, the FJ had full skids. So I grabbed a couple, and plan to grab the rest and adapt them.

Got some sliders on there finally. Scored them from Trailgear for a stellar deal. I honestly couldn't have built them myself for cheaper! Welded on with scab plates and a 5 degree angle. Painted with flat black tremclad.


Oh, and I went on some adventures.... See my next post.

 

[dkyleb]

Went on an adventure with [MENTION=90625]dereky[/MENTION], a couple FJ cruisers and a Tacoma: