Overland Rigs as Daily Drivers
- Thread starter LawnDart
- Start date
LawnDart
Senior Member
Car washes will destroy vehicles with things like snorkels or roof racks.
comtn4x4
Senior Member
I don't have a snorkel but I have no issue with my ARB roof rack. They have clearance to 7'4" and it's touchless
MeefZah
New member
Good article. Good pics.
For most people with 5th gen with the "common" mods, 33s, 2.5-3" lift; that'll fit into a conventional garage or a parking garage. I never really considered weight but I guess that is an issue.
I do wonder about RTT... never used one. Are they difficult to put on and take off? I see a lot of DD vehicles around here that have them mounted up all the time, and it seems wasteful - fuel efficiency and overhead clearance issues.
For most people with 5th gen with the "common" mods, 33s, 2.5-3" lift; that'll fit into a conventional garage or a parking garage. I never really considered weight but I guess that is an issue.
I do wonder about RTT... never used one. Are they difficult to put on and take off? I see a lot of DD vehicles around here that have them mounted up all the time, and it seems wasteful - fuel efficiency and overhead clearance issues.
RuggedRunner
Member
Awesome article. I drive a smaller 3rd gen so I usually don't have any trouble with parking. I love daily driving my truck, and love the ability to go fishing, camping or off roading wherever I drive.
LawnDart
Senior Member
They're not easy. Even if you build a hoist in your garage.
Vinsil
New member
Good article. I tend to over build my rigs, and always regret certain thing after I do it when DD'ing. Two ended up trailer queens.
Not trying to make that mistake with this one, the forums and "keeping up with the Jones" doesn't help! Build as you go for what you need is what I've learned over the 5 builds. Funny, here I end up after most had 37"+ tires!
Thanks for the reality check.
Not trying to make that mistake with this one, the forums and "keeping up with the Jones" doesn't help! Build as you go for what you need is what I've learned over the 5 builds. Funny, here I end up after most had 37"+ tires!
Thanks for the reality check.
Racehoss
New member
What did you do to the rear axle to keep the the rear tires in track with the wider front width? I hope you didn't use 2 inch spaces.
Jono.ful
New member
LawnDart
Senior Member
Thanks, I figured you'd get the point, and you live kind of outside downtown, but commute into it regularly. Living in the city can be a pain for sure.
While those hoists are awesome, you have to have a garage that's tall enough to accommodate a rig with one installed, which kind of immediately precludes you from the issue discussed in the article which is general ride height on a daily basis. This certainly makes taking them on or off during the fall really nice, but for most of us in urban scenarios the vehicle height PLUS roof top tent excludes you from almost all parking garages.
As I was driving around LA, SF, Portland, and Seattle I kept a mental tally of garages taller than 7' and the list wasn't enough to fill up one hand.
Don't get me wrong, the hoists are cool, but the struggle is real on just fitting rigs into public garages with roof racks alone.
In general if there's one thing I wish OB had done with this article is use more photos of overland rigs in general, as it was written with more than just MY rig in mind. Ah well.
LawnDart
Senior Member
Custom made 1.8" spacers, which were made for us specially by a company that does machining for Boeing.
Boyds4Runner
New member
Very nice article!
I am impressed with the way you have your rig setup. Aside from the obvious function it serves, it looks great too!
While I am not completely going the Overland build I am adding things to protect it more when going off-road while keeping it a daily driver. As it is, I feel safe in the knowledge that in a DC traffic jam during an emergency I would have no issues crawling over concrete curbs and other obstacles to find a way to get out of there!
I enjoyed the detail about parking garages! Just these past two days I have spent 30 minutes each day driving around looking for parking. I don't have a large lift (2") and I am still running on stock sized tires with just the factory roof rack. My biggest challenge was that my regular garage was full both days (i'm not on monthly). It was dificult finding another garage because so many only had 6' of clearance! I'm not running tall by any means but sit around 6'3". I also happen to have horrible street parking luck, or better said no street-parking luck at all.
Fun article to read! looking forward to more with the same kind of insight!
I am impressed with the way you have your rig setup. Aside from the obvious function it serves, it looks great too!
While I am not completely going the Overland build I am adding things to protect it more when going off-road while keeping it a daily driver. As it is, I feel safe in the knowledge that in a DC traffic jam during an emergency I would have no issues crawling over concrete curbs and other obstacles to find a way to get out of there!
I enjoyed the detail about parking garages! Just these past two days I have spent 30 minutes each day driving around looking for parking. I don't have a large lift (2") and I am still running on stock sized tires with just the factory roof rack. My biggest challenge was that my regular garage was full both days (i'm not on monthly). It was dificult finding another garage because so many only had 6' of clearance! I'm not running tall by any means but sit around 6'3". I also happen to have horrible street parking luck, or better said no street-parking luck at all.
Fun article to read! looking forward to more with the same kind of insight!
Total newb processing here...
Being in SoCal, most of my overlanding will probably consist of logging roads and 4x4 needed roads.
I do NOT plan on rock crawling or doing anything too extreme: it's my DD and that type of stuff isn't a risk I'm willing to manage.
I'm thinking about building it out in this order:
33" wheels and beefier tires at the first or second tire change (depending on driving habits)
suspension swap when it wears out (do i even need a lift? I would think going to something with the ability to handle more rugged terrain is the main issue along with tire clearance).
some sort of roof rack or roof storage (I'd eventually like to go with a RTT, but that's years down the road) because there's a good chance that 2 adults and 4 kids will be inside the vehicle for more than a few camping/overland trips.
If I'm keeping to relatively tame overland routes in California, Arizona, and maybe (eventually) Colorado, do I need 3" of lift?
Frankly, most of my driving off-pavement will probably be around Big Bear in the spring and summer months.
The base of the build will be an SR5.
Opinions and guidance are most welcome!
Being in SoCal, most of my overlanding will probably consist of logging roads and 4x4 needed roads.
I do NOT plan on rock crawling or doing anything too extreme: it's my DD and that type of stuff isn't a risk I'm willing to manage.
I'm thinking about building it out in this order:
33" wheels and beefier tires at the first or second tire change (depending on driving habits)
suspension swap when it wears out (do i even need a lift? I would think going to something with the ability to handle more rugged terrain is the main issue along with tire clearance).
some sort of roof rack or roof storage (I'd eventually like to go with a RTT, but that's years down the road) because there's a good chance that 2 adults and 4 kids will be inside the vehicle for more than a few camping/overland trips.
If I'm keeping to relatively tame overland routes in California, Arizona, and maybe (eventually) Colorado, do I need 3" of lift?
Frankly, most of my driving off-pavement will probably be around Big Bear in the spring and summer months.
The base of the build will be an SR5.
Opinions and guidance are most welcome!
Engineer
New member
Being in SoCal, most of my overlanding will probably consist of logging roads and 4x4 needed roads.
I do NOT plan on rock crawling or doing anything too extreme: it's my DD and that type of stuff isn't a risk I'm willing to manage.
I'm thinking about building it out in this order:
33" wheels and beefier tires at the first or second tire change (depending on driving habits) - Just to clarify, Wheels are metal, tires are rubber. You will def. not want 33" wheels- While there is a lot to be said for gaining ground clearance by going to a larger diameter tire remember this is cut in half of the actual gain so if you get a 1" larger tire you only gain .5" of clearance. For what you are doing I would not go 33's I would suggest replacing the factory tires with stock size or maybe 275's. Read the links in Section 3 here http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...ner-owner-need-help-searching-start-here.html
suspension swap when it wears out (do i even need a lift? I would think going to something with the ability to handle more rugged terrain is the main issue along with tire clearance). Your stock suspension is just fine for handling that terrain and reasonable weight loads and reasonable speeds
some sort of roof rack or roof storage (I'd eventually like to go with a RTT, but that's years down the road) because there's a good chance that 2 adults and 4 kids will be inside the vehicle for more than a few camping/overland trips.
This is all personal preference, I don't have a RTT and while I think they would be handy its not something I am convinced I need for the costs but having dry location off the ground with all bedding and a nice mattress inside has appeal however for the type of camping we do the limitation of having to take the time to close everything up when we wanted to take the truck somewhere just wont work I would rather some sort of trailer with a RTT on that.
If I'm keeping to relatively tame overland routes in California, Arizona, and maybe (eventually) Colorado, do I need 3" of lift? For the couple of times I have been to CO and Moab I have seen completely stock 4runners on those trails which I would describe as far more technical and difficult then what you describe above
Frankly, most of my driving off-pavement will probably be around Big Bear in the spring and summer months.
The base of the build will be an SR5.
Opinions and guidance are most welcome!
I would say the best way to figure out what you need is to get out there doing what you want. Don't feel you need to spend thousands on gear to get out and enjoy - everyone uses their trucks differently and alot of what you see in peoples builds (mine included) are wants not needs. Welcome to the club and I hope you enjoy getting outside with your family in the 4runner
A couple things off the top of my head -
I feel getting a portable air compressor and airing down when off road is the #1 thing you can do for yourself and the trails. Also a set of headlamps for yourself and campers are far better then any LEDs mounted to the 4runner.
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Jhalko
New member
From your stated use, it’s unlikely you “need” a lift, weight will become your bigger concern for the suspension as you load up, but there are plenty of options to address. For now it sounds like you just need a good set of AT tires, drive it and as you use it you can determine what you need to change. If you have 4 kids go ahead and plan to get that full length roof rack though if you want to take them all with you!
With 6 of you in the truck where will you put a fridge? With third row you can create a drawer and fridge slide on one side that allows usage of the other, but if you need the whole thing you may want to start saving for a trailer. (IMHO a fridge will pay for itself versus eating out on the road very quickly, And if you can afford to eat out constantly on the road, you can afford the trailer now)
Thanks for the input! Tires vs. wheels. ha. This is sort of like the automotive version of clips vs. magazine at this point for me.
Roof rack for the foreseeable future would be for storage only: RTT would be if I hit the lottery and went headlong into "buying gear i don't need" mode.
Hope winter's not being too brutal for you over there in the midwest.
cheers,
Thanks for your input. 4 kids would be when me and my buddy head out with all of our little ones. Typically, it'll just be a family of four.
The roof rack will likely be the first purchase. I'm slowly putting together a collection of action packers to go up there and in the back.
Thanks again,
