Kingofthehill's Build and Maintenance log, Project "Faux Pro"

[kingofthehill]

Today I got out an old rusted rear hitch mounted basket. It had a lot of surface rust but it was still very solid. I hit i with a wire brush and then coated it in fresh paint.

This should come in handy on my next camping trip. This way we wont have to take 2 vehicles.

 

[kingofthehill]

Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's 255-75R17

I installed a set of Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's. I got a decent deal through discount tires ebay store. Ordered on Thursday, recieved them on Friday, and installed them on Saturday. I really like these tires. They look good and I cant wait to see how they perform offroad.

Also got a full size spare. I plan on doing a five tire rotation.

Edit:
Tested last night to see if my spare would fit in the spare tire location. It did not. I need to figure out a long term solution because I like this tire size so far. For now I am going to run with it in the back.

 

[kingofthehill]

Rear Diff Breather Mod

Ive been going up to Arkansas to do some camping and wheeling a lot lately. And there seems to be a lot of water crossings. So it is now time for me to do the rear diff breather mod.

I ran it from the from the diff to the fuel thank filler tub, then ran it along the filler tube to the back. Then I found 2 grommets that lead into the cab by the tire change tools compartment. I decided that was a good place for the breather. It should stay nice and dry.

 

[meltdowner]

Great job, kingofthehill. Really appreciate you posting all of this. 2006 4runner here and this gives me a lot of ideas. Thank you!:thumb:

 

[kingofthehill]

Great job, kingofthehill. Really appreciate you posting all of this. 2006 4runner here and this gives me a lot of ideas. Thank you!:thumb:

Thanks!

 

[waypoint]

Ive been going up to Arkansas to do some camping and wheeling a lot lately. And there seems to be a lot of water crossings. So it is now time for me to do the rear diff breather mod.

I ran it from the from the diff to the fuel thank filler tub, then ran it along the filler tube to the back. Then I found 2 grommets that lead into the cab by the tire change tools compartment. I decided that was a good place for the breather. It should stay nice and dry.

Won't it stink up the cabin with hypoid gear lube stench?

 

[kingofthehill]

Won't it stink up the cabin with hypoid gear lube stench?

Only one day and I haven't noticed. I honestly doubt it will produce enough to cause my cab to smell. And being in the very back behind a panel should also prevent me from ever smelling it. Ill update my post if I ever do start smelling gear oil.

 

[kingofthehill]

Went to pick up a cord of firewood last night. Most the weight was on the nose of the trailer. It squated the suspension in the rear down a bit. I suspect the total weight with the trailer was around 5500 pounds. It did well going down the freeway in 5th gear doing 65-70 mph. Trans temps stayed in low 160F and ambient temp was around 65F.

 

[kingofthehill]

Kiamichi Trail November 2018

My brother, dad, a family friend, and I went for a short day trip to the K trail. I have read up a lot about it and and wanted to see it. We stuck mostly to the legal part in the ouachita national forest. We started at three sticks monument and went to the firetower as it is iconic and most everything I read online said it was safe to go that far but beyond that is no go.

This run was meant to be a shakedown trip for the 83 Toyota pickup that my dad and brother have been working on. The last time it was in Oklahoma it was not running.

Here is the pull off at three sticks. I got a good shot of my GSD with his head out the window.

We stopped shortly up the trail where it intersects with NF-6024 to let the dogs run. SO far the trail has been a smooth dirt road with a few puddles.

After a couple miles the trail started getting a little more fun. It had a few rocky inclines and some water crossings. I wish I took some pictures. After about an hour and a half we reached the Firetower.

Heres a shot of my brother's GSD. In this image we are looking East down the trail where we came from.

On our way back we stopped and got a few pics of an abandoned homestead we passed on the way to the firetower.

Overall it was a blast. We wanted to go explore some of the K trail east of three sticks but it was getting late and we had to start heading back. I would like to go back up there and see some more trails and do a little camping soon. The trip was great and we had no issues with my brothers '83 pickup.

 

[kingofthehill]

Finally got my spare tire out of the cargo area. After my 3rd rotation it barely fits in the spare tire location. It looks like it rubs the trackbar slightly when the rear suspension compresses but not enough that I think it will matter. I am keeping a close eye on it anyway. It should completely clear the trackbar after my next rotation. I like the size but I think next time I need tires I want to go back to 265-70R17s so that I dont need to worry about it not fitting in the spare location.

Glad to have the cargo area clear now I have room for camping gear. planning on doing a few camping trips in coming months.

 

[kingofthehill]

I took my 4runner on a short exploratory trip to check out the trails and find a few good camping spots to a later trip. I really wanted to find a campsite on the water so that my dogs could swim. I snapped a cool picture of my 4runner on the Holly Mountain trail overlooking the lake.

I Posted more pictures and information about my experience at Broken Bow here.

 

[kingofthehill]

I haven't really done much to my 4runner lately other than fix 2 flat tires. I had a tire weight go through one of my tires and then 2 weeks later a roofing screw went through another. I was surprised that the tire that the tire weight went through was able to be patched but it is holding air. I have not detected any air pressure loss. Sucks because I have never had a flat tire before in my life. My tire jack was barely able to get the tire off the ground. I now keep a block of wood in the truck.

 

[kingofthehill]

Lately I have been using my 4runner to get to the local MTB trails. Im using my brothers thule rack but I am planning on getting a better rack for my 4runner. Thinking of a kuat NV 2.0 base. Not sure yet.

 

[volkinator]

Lately I have been using my 4runner to get to the local MTB trails. Im using my brothers thule rack but I am planning on getting a better rack for my 4runner. Thinking of a kuat NV 2.0 base. Not sure yet.

Kuat's are nice, but $$$. Personally if I had the budget for that I'd pick a 1UP.
I purchased a Yakima holdup for a steal and ended up with the 2+ as well. It's a bit heavy, but it's awesome to put 4 bikes off the back! Really love any of the 'tray' styles though. So easy to put on and take off.

 

[kingofthehill]

Kuat's are nice, but $$$. Personally if I had the budget for that I'd pick a 1UP.
I purchased a Yakima holdup for a steal and ended up with the 2+ as well. It's a bit heavy, but it's awesome to put 4 bikes off the back! Really love any of the 'tray' styles though. So easy to put on and take off.

If I can find a similar platform rack that holds 2 bikes I would go for it. The thing I dont like about the 1up is that it does not use a hitch pin. I just dont trust their method of attaching the rack to your hitch. Plus I have a fancy hitch pin that is keyed to my 4runner keys.