KidV's 1985 4Runner

[liveoffroad]

nice work kid, you've been busy! i've had virtually the exact same design in mind for a tire carrier. my main motive is to give me more cargo space when i'm going on a weekend wheeling/camping trip and want to bring my full size spare. i like the option of removing the carrier when i'm driving around town or when i'm out for a short day run.
how are you liking the high-steer?

 

[KidVermicious]

nice work kid, you've been busy! i've had virtually the exact same design in mind for a tire carrier. my main motive is to give me more cargo space when i'm going on a weekend wheeling/camping trip and want to bring my full size spare. i like the option of removing the carrier when i'm driving around town or when i'm out for a short day run.
how are you liking the high-steer?

Um... I honestly haven't noticed a difference when I'm wheeling, except for a little more flex up front, and it's got a lot more body roll and jacked my caster up bad enough that I'm going to shim the axle and put my swaybar back on. But on the flip side, I can shove my axle forward when I'm ready now and I don't have to worry about busting a j-arm, so I definitely don't regret installing it.

 

[SV_Dude]

So I just spent some time going through 500 something posts of this thread. I haven't spent a lot of time reading the classics section letely so I have a few build threads I need to catch up on. Anyways, I learned a few things.

1) Kevin has done a TON of work to this thing and it's come a long way! Good job and keep it up!!

2) Never go wheeling alone. I never have yet but it seems like all the bad things happen when you wheel by yourself.


3) 22re's like pizza!

 

[KidVermicious]

Thanks Jon. Between working on my last truck and posting/reading here I've learned a lot.

3) 22re's like pizza!

True story. They're Duck fans, too.

 

[KidVermicious]

I got ambushed by honey-dos and lost a little steam, but I got back to this yesterday. It's pretty much done, tho I still need to decide if I'm putting the license plate on the tire or lower on the upright. And I need to figure out the hilift and shovel mounts.

I start my four day weekend tomorrow morning, so I might get it wrapped up in the next couple days. Or I might get sidetracked by this:

Decisions are hard.

 

[SV_Dude]

Looks good! Since you want to put a hilift and a shovel on your bumper, why didn't you just make a swingout carrier?

What are your plans for the bumper, or are there any?

 

[KidVermicious]

Looks good! Since you want to put a hilift and a shovel on your bumper, why didn't you just make a swingout carrier?

What are your plans for the bumper, or are there any?

I have a spindle and latch ready. This bumper I have wouldn't support it so I'd need to build a new one from scratch. This tire carrier here is basically a dry run, trying out some things and practicing my welds.

In the front, I'm going to hack the middle out of the stock bumper and glue it to the sides of the winch cradle for now. I might build a proper plate number later.

 

[Offroad_Medic]

I really like the look of that Engo on there. I notice you went with the 10k after all the hassle. First impressions of how awesome it is?

 

[KidVermicious]

I really like the look of that Engo on there. I notice you went with the 10k after all the hassle. First impressions of how awesome it is?

I don't know what the actual difference between the 9k and 10k is, because according to the website they have the same motors and internals. The 9k was backordered until forever, and the 10k was $20 more and ready to go, so there you are.

Uh, first impressions. It's pretty? It's got a carbon fiber sticker finish that looks all right. Everything I'll need is in the box - came with a fairlead, and a remote, and all the battery cable and other wiring. As you can see, the control box isn't attached yet, so I can stick it on the winch or mount it remotely. So far I'm not unhappy. It just barely didn't fit in front of the grill, so I think I'll have to do a little trimming, but I expected that. (eta - it might actually fit just in front of the grill once I plate the crossmember, so maybe I'll hold off on the trimming for now.)

 

[Offroad_Medic]

Carbon fiber sticker finishes add at least +10HP to your truck from what I've been told

 

[BucknutBob]

Carbon fiber sticker finishes add at least +10HP to your truck from what I've been told

9.23 hp in the test I saw, but that WAS with a chip, too...

 

[ToyoTech]

not a fan of mounting recovery tools on the outside of the vehicle. i placed mine where the rear seat floor area. works great and easy to access from one side. hidden and away from the elements

 

[KidVermicious]

I don't remember if I decided to do this before or after I saw it on [MENTION=48266]CAN-03runner[/MENTION]'s truck, but I always knew I wanted to give it a shot if I ever bought a Trailgear bumper mount.

So I did. I hacked up the stock brackets, welded them to the side of the winch mount, chopped the bumper in half and bolted it on. I'll get some pics of how they're fixed to the mount when I pull it back off for paint. I wish I hadn't trimmed the grill so high, I might start looking around for another one and try that again.

That'll do until I get around to building a proper bumper. Anybody wanna sell me a pair of bumper caps? :hopeful:

 

[RAD4Runner]

Sexy!

[qoute]That'll do until I get around to building a proper bumper. Anybody wanna sell me a pair of bumper caps? :hopeful:

I'm in kind of same situation. Parked facing downhill, didn't clutch well and truck rolled forward into the bluff. That was enough to ruin one corner cover.

 

[mikebontoft]

Nice work Kevin... it looks significantly different from the last time I remember seeing it. which I wish was a whole lot more often.

 

[TheArkMaster]

Nice man! The carrier came out awesome! :bravo:

Lets get out wheeling soon! My sliders should be here tomorrow :boxer: I'll see if Ben will weld em for me and I should be off the road soon

 

[Chuckles89]

The bumper cut in half looks awesome!

 

[Hyde802]

Im sure youve thought of this already... but do you plan on bracing your frame before mounting that winch plate for good?

That does look sick, btdubb. Nice job!

 

[KidVermicious]

Im sure youve thought of this already... but do you plan on bracing your frame before mounting that winch plate for good?

Fer shure. I need to beef up the front spring hangers too, so I'm plotting on killing two birds with one stone there.

 

[Hyde802]

Nice. Nothing like getting 2 birds stoned at once.... ha!