First time off-roading!

[Jester4kicks]

Hey everyone!

Had a great time yesterday with my first venture in real off-roading. My 4runner is still stock, so I didn't want to go too crazy with it. (I also wanted an excuse to try the Downhill Assist Control thing... which I did, and I think I'll stick to doing it myself.)

For those familiar with Colorado trails, we headed up Boulder Canyon to Sugarloaf Mountain Rd. Then we hopped onto the Switzerland Trail, and from there jumped into Gordon Gulch.


The only real thing I missed while I was out there was a good trail map. I've got a Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer, but it really didn't have the trail-level detail I needed. Fortunately, I had studied the maps prior to leaving, so I had a good idea of where I was going. Still, when I got out there and saw all the numbered trails, I knew there had to be a better map for them.

Anyone have suggestions on a good trail map for Colorado?

Other than that, I think I need to look into a good lift and suspension kit. I don't want to go crazy with it, since this is my daily driver... but the stock suspension had me bouncing quite a bit , and I would have felt much better with a little firmer suspension. I think I saw in another section that there was a great Bilstein setup that would accomplish this. Feel free to throw in some opinions.

(Oh... and I guess there still isn't a good skid plate readily-available for an 06? suckfest.)

 

[darkie3495]

Congrats on your first outing.

FYI, your video is set to private.

 

[Jester4kicks]

Congrats on your first outing.

FYI, your video is set to private.

Whoops! Fixed.

And everyone can disregard the skidplate question. A little more searching turned up some options and some great reviews on this site. I'm leaning toward the Man-A-Fre engine and tranny skid plates. I'm leaning towards those being my first upgrade to the 4runner. (I can handle being a little bouncy... but something hitting the underside with the crap stock "plate" would be disastrous.)

Thoughts? If you were on a budget, what would your first upgrade be to better-prepare you for moderate off-roading?

 

[Nashvillerunner]

Whoops! Fixed.

And everyone can disregard the skidplate question. A little more searching turned up some options and some great reviews on this site. I'm leaning toward the Man-A-Fre engine and tranny skid plates. I'm leaning towards those being my first upgrade to the 4runner. (I can handle being a little bouncy... but something hitting the underside with the crap stock "plate" would be disastrous.)

Thoughts? If you were on a budget, what would your first upgrade be to better-prepare you for moderate off-roading?

Hey man great video! The first things that I would suggest would be going with a spacer or nice OME lift and probably some A/T or M/T tires and rock sliders.

 

[4Seanrunner]

sugarload mnt. road? switzerland trail? those are all very familiar to me lol i'm from boulder myself. there's some fun stuff up there, especially since the trail heads are only a few minutes out of town. I know thats some of the easier riding too. my 4runner's stock also for the time being so i wasnt doing anything too gnarly when i was up there. I here left hand canyon is pretty sick though

 

[KidVermicious]

Thoughts? If you were on a budget, what would your first upgrade be to better-prepare you for moderate off-roading?

Tires, of course. And recovery gear. Skid plate and rock rails are never a bad investment. I'd hold off on the lift until you know for sure just what you want/need. And I'd wait to do suspension upgrades until after you know what lift you're going with.

 

[Mr. Leary]

Get some decent all terrains, a set of tire chains, and a good assortment of recovery gear. Outside of inclement weather, you should be able to do almost anything in Colorado in a bone stock truck.

 

[Pikeman]

Get some decent all terrains, a set of tire chains, and a good assortment of recovery gear. Outside of inclement weather, you should be able to do almost anything in Colorado in a bone stock truck.

x2. although you may upsize your tires once you figure out your lift you can sell your tires to help cover the upsize ones once you do lift. I usually recommend Sliders as one of the first upgrades to protect the body. Also I have been wheeling for 3 years with factory skids to include rock crawling in Johnson Valley, all the black diamond rock trails in San Bernardino National Forest and they hold up fine. A few times I have been a little uneasy and aftermarket skids are on my list to get just werent as high a priority.

 

[Jester4kicks]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I'm definitely getting the itch to mod. I've spent the better part of the last couple days browsing the forums here, looking for folks that went in the direction I'm trying to go.

Fortunately, I came across G.I.G.'s thread! THis is almost exactly what I'm hoping for! (Good off-roading capability, while preserving daily-driveability.)

I've already read his opinions of his build, and things that came up during it (like needing new UCA's after the lift). But how about other opinions on this setup? I'm specifically looking at the OME lift he went with. Has anything changed since his upgrade that might offer a better option? (Side note, any recommendations on sites for parts like that?)

Thanks again!