Order of Operations - Overland Rig

[mrtifftiff]

I plan on turning my '13 LE into an uncompromising trail rig, one mod at a time. I am currently running 285/65/18 Trail grapplers, icon stage 2 lift (billet UCAs, ET coilovers, 2" lift with monotubes in the rear). The best advice I got from this forum when I first purchased my 4runner was to just drive around and let your experiences dictate what mods you want. After a few weeks I had already slashed a sidewall and completely destroyed my running boards because they had been acting as rock sliders. After removing the running boards I added the above mods all at once. Not long after that I was missing pieces from my front bumper and punched in a sizable dent on my rear. I have a pretty good idea where I want my rig to end up but I do not know what order I should purchase my mods in (unfortunately I am nowhere close to a DIYer; dad's a lawyer, mom's a flight attendant, I'm a puss :lmao

What I want in the order I think I want:
Shrockworks front bumper - ordered
CBI rear bumper/tire carrier/auxiliary fuel cell
Rock sliders
Skid plates
Rear locker
Rear long travel kit
Upper/lower links
Piggyback/remote reservoirs all around (wish I added these instead of the monotubes. These are lower on the priority list)
Roof rack w/ ladder, awning

I want to start saving now for the rear bumper but was thinking that it would be pointless to have new front and rear bumpers without sliders and skids. Am I on the right track? Would you change anything?

 

[G8RB8_12SR5]

I would go with sliders and skids first, get the protection you need and will use out on the trail while you save for something I would consider more luxury like a rear bumper. Everything after that I would consider as needed based on how I use it after a lift, tires, skids and sliders since I consider those 4 items the basics before going off road into anything too crazy.

 

[Tengu]

I agree, skids and sliders first. I found I need a rear bumper before a front one. Departure angle and rocks are harsh when you come off a ledge. After that lift, then it's up to you.

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

We are gonna need some pics of this one!

 

[FoCo-4Runner]

I'd definitely add recovery gear and a on board compressor.

 

[chmura]

I would do lift and tires and roof rack first. I been on over 10 overland trips and one included moab and I never needed any extra skids or sliders. But sliders are on my list to buy next for extra insurance. With a lift you open many doors to many many trails that you can go on. With only sliders and no lift you still cannot go on the more difficult trails so what's the point doing sliders first then. The key to difficult trails is a good spotter and going slow = no damage.

 

[cbielat]

I would recommend lift, tires and skids first. I had only a lift and larger tires when I took it out for its first trail run. Needless to say, the second trip was well equipped including sliders.

 

[eddiebx]

I would do lift and tires and roof rack first. I been on over 10 overland trips and one included moab and I never needed any extra skids or sliders. But sliders are on my list to buy next for extra insurance. With a lift you open many doors to many many trails that you can go on. With only sliders and no lift you still cannot go on the more difficult trails so what's the point doing sliders first then. The key to difficult trails is a good spotter and going slow = no damage.

With peer pressure you will, lol.

 

[1engineer]

I plan on turning my '13 LE into an uncompromising trail rig, one mod at a time. I am currently running 285/65/18 Trail grapplers, icon stage 2 lift (billet UCAs, ET coilovers, 2" lift with monotubes in the rear). The best advice I got from this forum when I first purchased my 4runner was to just drive around and let your experiences dictate what mods you want. After a few weeks I had already slashed a sidewall and completely destroyed my running boards because they had been acting as rock sliders. After removing the running boards I added the above mods all at once. Not long after that I was missing pieces from my front bumper and punched in a sizable dent on my rear. I have a pretty good idea where I want my rig to end up but I do not know what order I should purchase my mods in (unfortunately I am nowhere close to a DIYer; dad's a lawyer, mom's a flight attendant, I'm a puss :lmao

What I want in the order I think I want:
Shrockworks front bumper - ordered
CBI rear bumper/tire carrier/auxiliary fuel cell
Rock sliders
Skid plates
Rear locker
Rear long travel kit
Upper/lower links
Piggyback/remote reservoirs all around (wish I added these instead of the monotubes. These are lower on the priority list)
Roof rack w/ ladder, awning

I want to start saving now for the rear bumper but was thinking that it would be pointless to have new front and rear bumpers without sliders and skids. Am I on the right track? Would you change anything?

Do you have a job or do you live off your parents? If you live off your parents just have Dad buy it all at once. You will appreciate it more.

 

[mrtifftiff]

Do you have a job or do you live off your parents? If you live off your parents just have Dad buy it all at once. You will appreciate it more.

:wtf:

Any who..

Sliders and skids it shall be. I have been looking into the shrockworks skids and I was wondering if the very front skid becomes redundant in combination with a shrockworks front bumper.

I am trying to decide between the shrockworks sliders or the budbuilt bump out sliders. Does anybody have experience with either of these on a LIMITED? I saw phillyd's but he did the trail conversion mod so I don't know if there is anything to be learned from his rig. Shrockworks sells the trail rocker trim for the sr5 and LE and budbuilt clearly states that the rocker panel will need to be trimmed/removed to be fitted. Does shrockworks require any trimming for proper fitting? I am leaning towards the budbuilt but may decide on the shrockworks if I don't have to trim my rocker panels. O well, I suppose if I don't like them I can always just crawl back to daddy with my hand out... :noidea:

 

[Jono.ful]

don't waste your money on remote reservoir suspensions. the idea with the additional oil volume is to aid in heat dissipation thereby reducing fade. unless you're going to be desert running at high speeds, you will do fine with larger diameter monotube. personally, I am going back to a monotube: 2.5" Radflo's when I upgrade to an LT setup this coming spring

 

[eddiebx]

:wtf:

Any who..

Sliders and skids it shall be. I have been looking into the shrockworks skids and I was wondering if the very front skid becomes redundant in combination with a shrockworks front bumper.

I am trying to decide between the shrockworks sliders or the budbuilt bump out sliders. Does anybody have experience with either of these on a LIMITED? I saw phillyd's but he did the trail conversion mod so I don't know if there is anything to be learned from his rig. Shrockworks sells the trail rocker trim for the sr5 and LE and budbuilt clearly states that the rocker panel will need to be trimmed/removed to be fitted. Does shrockworks require any trimming for proper fitting? I am leaning towards the budbuilt but may decide on the shrockworks if I don't have to trim my rocker panels. O well, I suppose if I don't like them I can always just crawl back to daddy with my hand out... :noidea:

Don't mind G, he gets cranky past his bed time.

With the SR5/LE rockers you will definitely need to either remove it or trim it to fit both of those sliders you have mentioned. The shrockworks trail rocker trim you mentioned should give you enough clearance for the BB bumpouts, so that's an option too. BTW, if you do end up not liking them and go back to daddy, can you ask him if I can have the pair you don't like?

 

[Jeremy556]

I would do lift and tires and roof rack first. I been on over 10 overland trips and one included moab and I never needed any extra skids or sliders. But sliders are on my list to buy next for extra insurance. With a lift you open many doors to many many trails that you can go on. With only sliders and no lift you still cannot go on the more difficult trails so what's the point doing sliders first then. The key to difficult trails is a good spotter and going slow = no damage.

What trails did you run in Moab? If you weren't getting your money's worth out of skids, sliders, lift, and bigger tires, you should have been running some different trails.

 

[limamike]

I would do lift and tires and roof rack first. I been on over 10 overland trips and one included moab and I never needed any extra skids or sliders. But sliders are on my list to buy next for extra insurance. With a lift you open many doors to many many trails that you can go on. With only sliders and no lift you still cannot go on the more difficult trails so what's the point doing sliders first then. The key to difficult trails is a good spotter and going slow = no damage.

Second sentence of his post explains that he is currently lifted with oversized tires.

 

[mrtifftiff]

Don't mind G, he gets cranky past his bed time.

With the SR5/LE rockers you will definitely need to either remove it or trim it to fit both of those sliders you have mentioned. The shrockworks trail rocker trim you mentioned should give you enough clearance for the BB bumpouts, so that's an option too. BTW, if you do end up not liking them and go back to daddy, can you ask him if I can have the pair you don't like?

This just confused me. I figured the SW trail trim would be made to exclusively work with the SW sliders. If I went with SW sliders for my limited, I would have to buy the SW trim for a proper fit, correct? As well as trim my rocker panel?

BB specifically mentions that rocker panels need to be trimmed/removed for the LE sliders to fit with no other additional pieces needed for mounting. Are you saying I can buy the SW trail rocker trim and mount the BB to that? What would be the difference between just mounting the BB alone vs mounting them to the SW trim piece?

don't waste your money on remote reservoir suspensions. the idea with the additional oil volume is to aid in heat dissipation thereby reducing fade. unless you're going to be desert running at high speeds, you will do fine with larger diameter monotube. personally, I am going back to a monotube: 2.5" Radflo's when I upgrade to an LT setup this coming spring

Interesting perspective. I don't plan on entering the baja 1000 anytime soon so I guess I will have to rethink the remote resivoirs. I have also been looking into icons S2 modular whatcha-ma-call-its to run secondary shocks but that is way over my head for the time being. Want to talk me out of that setup too?

 

[Jeremy556]

Interesting perspective. I don't plan on entering the baja 1000 anytime soon so I guess I will have to rethink the remote resivoirs. I have also been looking into icons S2 modular whatcha-ma-call-its to run secondary shocks but that is way over my head for the time being. Want to talk me out of that setup too?

The remote resis, secondary shocks, etc are about increasing shock oil volume and cooling capacity. Unless you are overheating your shocks, this stuff is just bling.

Rock crawling - useless crap.
100mph desert roads, jumping - money well spent.

 

[mrtifftiff]

Continuing my train of thought from my previous post and looking at [MENTION=74569]SOcalTRAIL[/MENTION] and his insane suspension setup: where do you notice all of those secondary shocks out on the trails? Besides the fact that it looks incredibly impressive, what is the practical application of secondary bypass shocks(not even sure exactly what that means at this juncture)? His rig is obviously on the extreme end, but does socaltrails setup separate itself from the pack in off-road performance? I said uncompromising but if I can spend 20% of what socaltrail has dropped and achieve 90% of the result well then I think secondary's are not for me.

 

[Jono.ful]

Interesting perspective. I don't plan on entering the baja 1000 anytime soon so I guess I will have to rethink the remote resivoirs. I have also been looking into icons S2 modular whatcha-ma-call-its to run secondary shocks but that is way over my head for the time being. Want to talk me out of that setup too?

a dual shock setup would all come down to how much dampening you figure you need. this has been a great resource for me, probably a lot more info than anyone needs, but it is a good read
coilover bible part 1
coilover bible part 2

 

[SOcalTRAIL]

Continuing my train of thought from my previous post and looking at [MENTION=74569]SOcalTRAIL[/MENTION] and his insane suspension setup: where do you notice all of those secondary shocks out on the trails? Besides the fact that it looks incredibly impressive, what is the practical application of secondary bypass shocks(not even sure exactly what that means at this juncture)? His rig is obviously on the extreme end, but does socaltrails setup separate itself from the pack in off-road performance? I said uncompromising but if I can spend 20% of what socaltrail has dropped and achieve 90% of the result well then I think secondary's are not for me.

Hmmmm.... how do I go about answering this.....

What lots of people ( other folks, not you guys ) don't realize due to the fact that (a.) they never get off the pavement or (b.) they have never been in a race truck or something that was properly suspended is that these trucks come set up from the factory with the intent to satisfy the largest crowd - they have mushy, comfy soft suspension, low spring rates, uber soft rebound and compression valving on the shocks, and teeny tiny little shocks from and rear. Many of us on here have proceeded about correcting this and making the suspension more fitting to these 5,000-6,000 lb beast trucks. Extreme is one way to look at it.... I see it as adequate and still want more.

As others have mentioned, the direction you take your travels and adventure directly dictates the direction you SHOULD go with your suspension. For me, I live here in Southern California, home to the Anza Borrego Desert, the Mojave Desert and thousands of miles of wide open play area. A very large percentage of the 4 wheeling and adventure trips I take here are across this desert, at high speeds, through sand washes, over loooong whooped out sections of road, and the more suspension you have the better. [MENTION=88525]sdhobbs[/MENTION] and [MENTION=91297]Kraze[/MENTION] can both verify this based on the last trip we took. One of the guys I go out with who runs an nice XJ Jeep blew out a 2.0 front shock after a long smoothly whooped out road that was constantly cycling the suspension for around 40 miles.... He pulled off the road because it felt like a shock broke and saw that the seals were gone, fluid had leaked out and the shock was so hot it was not touchable for at least 15 mins... I was behind him and checked my shocks.... barely warm... Again, the right setup for the play day. However, if I lived in a place like the east or more in the mountains where my 4x4 trips consisted of namely rock crawling, mud bogging ( do people still do that???) and relatively slow, methodical, and technical driving, my truck would be set up slightly different. I say slightly and I must reinforce the word because the way my suspension in particular is designed, I can dial the secondary bypass shocks in the front to the point where they are very compliant, soft, and loose, same for the back shocks. If I am going somewhere where I plan on doing a lot of rock crawling, I jump out and take 1 minute and re tune the shocks for this. For high speed desert stuff where you are flying down sand washes, trails, and roads at 50+ mph and don't want those horrible bottom outs when you run over a low spot or drop off a small wash out, I tune the compression on the bypass shocks up..... It really is truly beautiful. It bring a single tear to my eye each time I go out....

To answer your question.... you can spend 20% of what I spent and that may very well satisfy 100% of your adventure requirements, but it will in no way shape or form achieve 90% of what my suspension does. Just doesn't work like that. My 6,000 lb truck needs every single bit of suspension I have and then some.

The remote resis, secondary shocks, etc are about increasing shock oil volume and cooling capacity. Unless you are overheating your shocks, this stuff is just bling.

Rock crawling - useless crap.
100mph desert roads, jumping - money well spent.

I would say I agree with this 90%. The other 10% no just because I have had my truck in precarious positions where I have felt like the increased dampening and rebound control of the dual shocks has saved my ass, literally by controlling the the movement of the truck while I was walking it though a nasty off camber rock section in death valley. Everything is predictable, no excessive bounce or anything to disrupt the center of gravity.

Completely correct with the remote resi though, the extra oil only really helps with shock fade and cooling and is some pretttttty damn saweeeet bling!!!!

 

[J-BlickPhoto]

Hmmmm.... how do I go about answering this.....

What lots of people ( other folks, not you guys ) don't realize due to the fact that (a.) they never get off the pavement or (b.) they have never been in a race truck or something that was properly suspended is that these trucks come set up from the factory with the intent to satisfy the largest crowd - they have mushy, comfy soft suspension, low spring rates, uber soft rebound and compression valving on the shocks, and teeny tiny little shocks from and rear. Many of us on here have proceeded about correcting this and making the suspension more fitting to these 5,000-6,000 lb beast trucks. Extreme is one way to look at it.... I see it as adequate and still want more.

As others have mentioned, the direction you take your travels and adventure directly dictates the direction you SHOULD go with your suspension. For me, I live here in Southern California, home to the Anza Borrego Desert, the Mojave Desert and thousands of miles of wide open play area. A very large percentage of the 4 wheeling and adventure trips I take here are across this desert, at high speeds, through sand washes, over loooong whooped out sections of road, and the more suspension you have the better. [MENTION=88525]sdhobbs[/MENTION] and [MENTION=91297]Kraze[/MENTION] can both verify this based on the last trip we took. One of the guys I go out with who runs an nice XJ Jeep blew out a 2.0 front shock after a long smoothly whooped out road that was constantly cycling the suspension for around 40 miles.... He pulled off the road because it felt like a shock broke and saw that the seals were gone, fluid had leaked out and the shock was so hot it was not touchable for at least 15 mins... I was behind him and checked my shocks.... barely warm... Again, the right setup for the play day. However, if I lived in a place like the east or more in the mountains where my 4x4 trips consisted of namely rock crawling, mud bogging ( do people still do that???) and relatively slow, methodical, and technical driving, my truck would be set up slightly different. I say slightly and I must reinforce the word because the way my suspension in particular is designed, I can dial the secondary bypass shocks in the front to the point where they are very compliant, soft, and loose, same for the back shocks. If I am going somewhere where I plan on doing a lot of rock crawling, I jump out and take 1 minute and re tune the shocks for this. For high speed desert stuff where you are flying down sand washes, trails, and roads at 50+ mph and don't want those horrible bottom outs when you run over a low spot or drop off a small wash out, I tune the compression on the bypass shocks up..... It really is truly beautiful. It bring a single tear to my eye each time I go out....

To answer your question.... you can spend 20% of what I spent and that may very well satisfy 100% of your adventure requirements, but it will in no way shape or form achieve 90% of what my suspension does. Just doesn't work like that. My 6,000 lb truck needs every single bit of suspension I have and then some.





I would say I agree with this 90%. The other 10% no just because I have had my truck in precarious positions where I have felt like the increased dampening and rebound control of the dual shocks has saved my ass, literally by controlling the the movement of the truck while I was walking it though a nasty off camber rock section in death valley. Everything is predictable, no excessive bounce or anything to disrupt the center of gravity.

Completely correct with the remote resi though, the extra oil only really helps with shock fade and cooling and is some pretttttty damn saweeeet bling!!!!

Well said!! :laugh: