Pep Talk

[Co4Fun]

So I need a pep talk from my fellow enthusiasts...

BACKSTORY

My rig is nice...99 Limited and the best starter I could find with no rust, 128k, great shape in and out with a lot of goodies like upgraded sound system etc. Also a toytech 3" with 1" body. Overall it's like an 8/10. Also, happily SC'd...and both lift and SC were put on late in life...like 90k. But it wasn't cheap (paid mid-low teens for it.) I do love it though and it's NOT my daily driver...family adventure and wheeling rig.

To get this I sold a REALLY built Jeep LJ locked front and rear, 58k, 35's and lots of goodies etc. which I sometimes regret. I got an offer from a older guy with money that wanted one done and since it was top dollar I jumped. In the deal I pocketed $10k and was happy to move back to a yota for overland comfort, family benefit, and power (even with 4.88's that 4.0 jeep was a dog on the highway and I'm overall much happier with the runner for power and overlandish qualities.)

THE CURRENT CROSSROADS

So yesterday I backed the runner into a parking block and dented up the rear fender pretty bad (this after having navigated Red Elephant Hill with it free of damage here n CO this fall...sigh). So bummed, but also the possible excuse I was looking for to start modding bumpers and such.

But I'm hesitant. Once I start down this path I'm going to start eating into my $10k from the Jeep to Runner deal. I know the 3rd gen will hold it's value pretty well (especially since I'm looking at about 2k or less miles a year) and would be hard to get even a start on any other generation runner that would be as capable. But even so, it starts me on more of a commitment road. I can do bumpers and stop there for now but I know myself...rear discs, tranny cooler, battery upgrade, more armor, SAS, who knows what else?

So to start building or not to build that is the question. Is it the right one to start down this road with? All opinions welcome especially if you have been at this juncture before yourself.

BTW, if I do go this route I will have the ARB front bumper for sale if anyone is interested (I'm going custom with receiver front and rear for overland style winch setup.)

 

[GangsterOfLove]

If you do all that stuff to your Runner will you use it to wheel more? Or is this more of a style project?

 

[Sean K.]

So I need a pep talk from my fellow enthusiasts...

BACKSTORY

My rig is nice...99 Limited and the best starter I could find with no rust, 128k, great shape in and out with a lot of goodies like upgraded sound system etc. Also a toytech 3" with 1" body. Overall it's like an 8/10. Also, happily SC'd...and both lift and SC were put on late in life...like 90k. But it wasn't cheap (paid mid-low teens for it.) I do love it though and it's NOT my daily driver...family adventure and wheeling rig.

To get this I sold a REALLY built Jeep LJ locked front and rear, 58k, 35's and lots of goodies etc. which I sometimes regret. I got an offer from a older guy with money that wanted one done and since it was top dollar I jumped. In the deal I pocketed $10k and was happy to move back to a yota for overland comfort, family benefit, and power (even with 4.88's that 4.0 jeep was a dog on the highway and I'm overall much happier with the runner for power and overlandish qualities.)

THE CURRENT CROSSROADS

So yesterday I backed the runner into a parking block and dented up the rear fender pretty bad (this after having navigated Red Elephant Hill with it free of damage here n CO this fall...sigh). So bummed, but also the possible excuse I was looking for to start modding bumpers and such.

But I'm hesitant. Once I start down this path I'm going to start eating into my $10k from the Jeep to Runner deal. I know the 3rd gen will hold it's value pretty well (especially since I'm looking at about 2k or less miles a year) and would be hard to get even a start on any other generation runner that would be as capable. But even so, it starts me on more of a commitment road. I can do bumpers and stop there for now but I know myself...rear discs, tranny cooler, battery upgrade, more armor, SAS, who knows what else?

So to start building or not to build that is the question. Is it the right one to start down this road with? All opinions welcome especially if you have been at this juncture before yourself.

BTW, if I do go this route I will have the ARB front bumper for sale if anyone is interested (I'm going custom with receiver front and rear for overland style winch setup.)

Why SAS for overlanding? I can't see that level of modding being necessary or even desirable for that use. If you're wheeling is hard enough to require a SFA....then you probably should have kept the Jeep.

Don't forget that if you want to sell the 4R, you're going to need to fix the rear fender...which, unless you are good at painting/bodywork, is going to run quite a bit of coin, eating into any money you might get to buy another project vehicle.

 

[IBallEngineer]

I'm with Sean, I dont' see the point in the SAS unless that is where you wanted to go with this rig in the first place. The LJ is the perfect wheelbase and with the 5 speed and 4:1 case is just an awesome rig. In my group of friends there are two and even us yota guys sometimes just bow down. But that is water under the bridge, building "anything is fun" and I'm always doing something, but usually I run out of money before ideas. I expect you will too. If its overland you want to be, just do that, stay simple.

 

[Co4Fun]

Thanks all and actually you really have helped me to come back to my main goals for this vehicle as it is.

When I had the LJ (which was built but auto and not with the Rubi TC), I did take it out and stretch it a bit...I did Chinaman with it here in CO for example. And, even though it did well I did NOT really enjoy that experience. We spent all day to go a few miles and I was worried the entire time that I would damage something. So, you are right that maybe that kind of wheeling is not me and the most enjoyable trips I've done were things like taking the family over Georgia pass here in CO to get to Breckenridge instead of pavement the whole way...just getting out and exploring like that and that's why I bought the Runner...for that comfort for longer journeys and to have more power on the road (which again...the LJ lacked in both areas.) So I have wheeled it, and I will wheel it certainly beyond what you would do with a stock...but not interested in the real serious stuff obviously and don't want to mod to the point that I lose it being halfway decent on the pavement where honesty it spends 90% of the time.

As far as a SAS...I guess the only bummer about having bought this 3rd gen is my concern over the ball joints. I had done my homework but didn't really fully realize the ball joint issues until after I had bought it. So there's this constant nagging at me about that possible chink in the otherwise formidable armor of the 3rd Gen...and SASing would certainly solve that. But, maybe I'm making too big of a deal out of that and I did just have them done to be safe. And honestly you are right...per what I said above, I don't think I'd use a SASed rig to it's potential at all. I'm just too careful with the rig and hate spending all day to crawl a few miles.

But, I think that nice bumpers fore and aft would be great and maybe fall into the "overlanding" setup category. I'd like to get more clearance in the rear, and be able to carry extra gas (and maybe my CO2) outside the vehicle (gas capacity on the Runner is not quite but almost as bad as the jeep was so a Gerry can could be the cheapest/easiest fix for that). And I have this really nice Warn receiver hitch mounted setup and though I know there are negatives with that setup...again for overlanding it's pretty sweet to be able to winch front and back. So I guess I could justify it and I have a good fab guy but by the time I'm done I'll be in $2500 for front and rear (and I may get him to throw in sliders.) And, I think my main thing is just worrying about putting that kind of money into a rig that I already paid quite a bit for and that has 130k on it. But, I've always had lower mile Jeeps and this is a Runner and everyone keeps telling me to relax and it will go 300k and that I have one of the most desirable models ever made which will help it keep its value (especially with the low miles I put on it and the fact that I baby it.)

So anymore insight anyone has would be great and I really do thank you guys for helping me think through this and get back a bit to what I bought the vehicle for in the first place.

As you can tell I have some money from the LJ sale (though I have to really pray about how much to spend as I really feel I need to save most of that for future family stuff.) So I guess I see the bumpers as a possible good investment to be able to use my existing winch setup and carry extra gas etc. Then, just be done for awhile. Describing the kind of overlanding/four wheeling stuff I do...is there any other really crucial mod you can think of?

And again, thank you ALL! Cheers!

 

[IBallEngineer]

And, I think my main thing is just worrying about putting that kind of money into a rig that I already paid quite a bit for and that has 130k on it. But, I've always had lower mile Jeeps and this is a Runner and everyone keeps telling me to relax and it will go 300k and that I have one of the most desirable models ever made which will help it keep its value (especially with the low miles I put on it and the fact that I baby it.)



Describing the kind of overlanding/four wheeling stuff I do...is there any other really crucial mod you can think of?

And again, thank you ALL! Cheers!

I have 284K on my daily driver, 210K on my wife's. I'd drive either one across the country in a heartbeat, all I need is fuel.

Since you are lifted already, for me the best investment is gearing and lockers, although you have to be so careful locking the front. But doing both is easily 2-3K investment, and again you have to choose carefully.

Since I only want to overland mine, I got the rock crawling covered with my LC, I am going to set up the suspension, then a roof top tent. Right after the 40 other things I'm working on, LOL.

 

[Co4Fun]

I have 284K on my daily driver, 210K on my wife's. I'd drive either one across the country in a heartbeat, all I need is fuel.

Since you are lifted already, for me the best investment is gearing and lockers, although you have to be so careful locking the front. But doing both is easily 2-3K investment, and again you have to choose carefully.

Since I only want to overland mine, I got the rock crawling covered with my LC, I am going to set up the suspension, then a roof top tent. Right after the 40 other things I'm working on, LOL.

So ya I mean I already have the rear locker on the Runner (and have got to use it a few times) and when I was locked F&R on the LJ I only used that front locker on Chinaman and likely may not have needed to. But being new to IFS...I didn't actually know how that worked...I thought the only real way to F lock a Runner with IFS was to SAS. But either way, I don't see SAS or F locking in my future since I've been contemplative enough about bumpers.

On the RTT...so I actually went through that a year or so ago. I didn't want to put one on my Jeep with softop (didn't want to add safari rack and all) and the price of pre-built adventure trailers was too much for me to take so I built one (see pic.) It came out really well and pulls great behind the 4Runner too. Now, inadvertently the one thing I learned by doing this is that a trailer has it's advantages over a full RTT (if it's built well enough to go where you want to go). The main advantage I found was being able to drop the trailer and setup camp and then still take the vehicle to go explore. With a true RTT setup the vehicle is confined to the camp until you pack it all up. Also, it's been a LOT easier to level the trailer in a lot of places I've gone than it would be to get the vehicle level etc. So anyway, just some stuff I learned as you think through it all. I built this one for about $1800 though I had the trailer. There a great guy here in CO that makes the base trailers through for less than $3k and then you can mod from there.