How to Build the Ultimate Winter Vehicle (3rd Gen) for $10,000

[sleepydad]

I never miss the seat heaters, I find our sack toaster vents on the bottom of the dash are adequate.

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I don't know the older I get the more I like the seat heaters. they are standard equipment for me now.

my rover came with a heated steering wheel and when I first got it I was like pffff heated steering wheel stupid. then I was like... OMG heated steering wheel I love you.

 

[repo]

The ABS always scares the hell out of me in winter on anything except fresh snow.

 

[Bad Luck]

The funny thing is I looked up the ARB front bumper for 3rd gen's and none were listed. I'm sure one is made because I see others with them. I'm not going to be getting one because I don't need one but it would be nice to find the right one in case I do build a 4wd T4R.

I'm wondering if one for a Tacoma fits; if there's one for those.

People use the ist gen tacoma ARB bumpers for 3rd gen 4Runners. I think they have to modify the frame ends on our 4Runners to run them but don't quote me on it. I personally don't like the look of an ARB so I didn't look into it.

 

[brillo_76]

Can you provide more information on these copper tires?

How do they hold up?

Do they turn green after it rains?

How soft are they?

How big are the lugs?

Do they help ground the vehicle?

Are they solid, or do they have a tube in them?

How do they mount on the rims?


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Here is a photo of the tread pattern master craft coursers msr with snow groove. Master craft is a divion of cooper tires.


A I am sure there are a pile of tread patterns that work great in snow. The problem we have in this area is the roads are all grooved and uneven. So if you run a real aggressive tread pattern your rig is trying to track the road and you are all over the place. So these work well for the conditions I am in.:]

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[19963.4lsr5]

Can you provide more information on these copper tires?

How do they hold up?

Do they turn green after it rains?

How soft are they?

How big are the lugs?

Do they help ground the vehicle?

Are they solid, or do they have a tube in them?

How do they mount on the rims?


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Sailer, (former GSE1(SW) myself) this has been my dedicated studded snow tires mounted on separate rims. At the first sign I am going to need them I pull the truck in the garage and put them on. I feel like doing something similar with the 4Runner. I bought my snows for my truck in 2001. I’m still using them. My truck wasn’t my DD so they didn’t get a lot of milage on them.

They are very soft. Braking hard in my truck would produce tire marks on the road looking in my mirror. These were great in rain and most excellent in freezing rain.

I need to come up with a spare set of wheels if I decided to do this with my Toy.

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[brillo_76]

Sailer, (former GSE1(SW) myself) this has been my dedicated studded snow tires mounted on separate rims. At the first sign I am going to need them I pull the truck in the garage and put them on. I feel like doing something similar with the 4Runner. I bought my snows for my truck in 2001. I’m still using them. My truck wasn’t my DD so they didn’t get a lot of milage on them.

They are very soft. Braking hard in my truck would produce tire marks on the road looking in my mirror. These were great in rain and most excellent in freezing rain.

I need to come up with a spare set of wheels if I decided to do this with my Toy.

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You run studs on your truck? I can see the pattern is extremely similar to mine. I like that they are not aggressive enough to grab the road. Yet still an excellent snow tire

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[19963.4lsr5]

You run studs on your truck? I can see the pattern is extremely similar to mine. I like that they are not aggressive enough to grab the road. Yet still an excellent snow tire

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Yes, all 4 tires are studded. My drive to work is an adventure if we get a north easter. Freezing rain they are a god send. No other way to say it. Stay home otherwise. Two or three times a year we get freezing rain and I’m driving on pure ice in the early morning on my way home from work.


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[toyotaspeed90]

The article was a "meh" at best.

His explanation of 4wd vs AWD is less than stellar. My 2001 LX, which is technically AWD, is more capable in winter weather than a stock 98 limited in 4WD...

$1k for lights is ridiculous and his statements are borderline hilarious. I've had light bars that are under $100 and massively cut through winter weather (almost as if to turn the sun on at night) - he missed the biggest downfall of LED lighting which is their lack of heat, allowing snow/ice to form on the light housing, something standard bulbs don't have a problem with.

ARB bumpers, and those not designed to absorb an impact, will most likely cause more damage to a vehicle if you hit a tree off road. Have seen many posts of landcruisers with ARBs having the frame take the hit instead of a bumper absorbing some of the impact ultimately saving the frame. Point being - don't install an ARB to be "armor" as a 'just in case'.

 

[brillo_76]

Yes, all 4 tires are studded. My drive to work is an adventure if we get a north easter. Freezing rain they are a god send. No other way to say it. Stay home otherwise. Two or three times a year we get freezing rain and I’m driving on pure ice in the early morning on my way home from work.


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Sweet. I never drove with studs on a 4 runner... However, I can see your point when conditions are just right.

 

[brillo_76]

The ABS always scares the hell out of me in winter on anything except fresh snow.

It takes a while getting used to the ABS. You should have seen the first time I drove my 09 tocuma on fresh snow. I tried to drive it like the 98 Tocumas in 2wd or the older toyota pickup trucks drove in the snow. I had all the VSC lights on TRAC lights on and was sideways on the road in less then a min. Then I figured out what all this changed and was able to drive it with no issues.

 

[Doc2012]

quote

quote

quote

You both spelt COPPER, which is an element.

I knew you meant COOPER, but couldn’t help myself.

And it’s Doc. Can’t call myself a SailOr; never stepped foot on a Navy ship in my 8.5 years.


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[Doc2012]

Stupid Tapatalk.

 

[19963.4lsr5]

Stupid Tapatalk.

It looks like you were enlisted (not an officer) by your rate patch. I know a few that were in and never set foot on a ship. Sadly I wasn’t one of them.

I don’t police auto correct as much as I should.


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[Doc2012]

It looks like you were enlisted (not an officer) by your rate patch. I know a few that were in and never set foot on a ship. Sadly I wasn’t one of them.

I don’t police auto correct as much as I should.


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I was. FMF Corpsman, HM3.


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[brillo_76]

Stupid Tapatalk.

I think it switched it after we typed it. I try to catch some of them. However, a few slip by from time to time.

Did we answer your Tire Questions??

 

[mesooohoppy]

-he said he spent 500 on suspension on fox shocks. they only make stuff in the front. cheapest is 480. he said he used them on all 4 corners. fox doesnt even make rear shocks for the 3rd gen (source: http://www.ridefox.com/dl/truck/FOX_TRUCK_APP-GUIDE.pdf, pg 29)
-his first reason for buying a bumper is for deer. that isnt what bumpers are for, but okay. doesnt mention you need a bumper like this to easily mount a winch in the front.
-spends a 10th of his budget on lights, only to fit covers over them that reduce output by 15%. do you want to see or not?
-dont you think something like a front locker for 1k would be better suited off for the snow than some pricey lights?
-can do rear seal work, but you wont do the brakes yourself?
-emergency gear, no budget for any cold weather stuff in case you get stranded? or are we just supposed to assume you have all of this stuff already?

oh my absolute favorite part about this story? i recognize that name anywhere; i present you with this lovely tweet by the author:
Wes Siler on Twitter: "Because of the #ClimateCrisis, I had a colleague’s brother sterilize me: https://t.co/89BsfuFLRp"

i wont be taking any sort of advise from this guy.

 

[jeech]

I run hella 700s with an upgraded wiring harness to handle 130 watt bulbs and they are extremely bright, I don’t think I would ever spend $1000 on a set of lights.

I’d also add a locker or limited slip to that list, I have a lunchbox locker that is awesome in the snow and allows me to climb icy hills in 2wd that a lot of vehicles can’t get up even with awd, though tires help too

Can you let me know what wiring harness you ended up with? I started looking into this towards the beginning of the year but got distracted with other projects.

 

[RandyBobandy]

Can you let me know what wiring harness you ended up with? I started looking into this towards the beginning of the year but got distracted with other projects.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XZ2BSNQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got this one and run it with a 30 amp fuse with hella 130w bulbs, it is a drastic improvement over the light output of the 55w bulbs that come with the lights, and the harness is much nicer too.

 

[jeech]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XZ2BSNQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got this one and run it with a 30 amp fuse with hella 130w bulbs, it is a drastic improvement over the light output of the 55w bulbs that come with the lights, and the harness is much nicer too.

Not a bad price! How much of a PITA was the swap?

 

[RandyBobandy]

Not a bad price! How much of a PITA was the swap?

It isn’t any harder than installing the wiring harness that comes with the lights, the hardest part for me was I bought LED switches and wanted them to come on with the dash lights so I had the open up the dash and splice into a wire to power the switches