RedRunner_87's aka "Operation Mall Crawler" Build Thread

Finally got to test out the suspension and got the snorkel and ditch brackets installed. Still have a ton of parts to install.










Snorkel and brackets






Still unsure of round lights, mocked up not installed


VS Stock
 
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My buddy and I decided to partake in a 3 day adventure in the Telluride area. He has been really wanting to get into the Overlanding scene and has been looking at the new 3rd Gen Tacoma TRD OR. So we decided to take out my 3rd Gen 4Runner and see what she could do. Our 1st stop on the list was Ophir Pass and camp at Alta Lakes.

We decided to take the long way to get the Ouray and go through Cottonwood Pass and down. This way would an extra hour to our drive, but neither one of us had taken that Pass. The top of the Pass was pretty cool, turned out to just be a well maintained dirt road, but offered some great scenes.
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Next stop: Ouray and then the Million Dollar Highway to Ophir Pass.

Ouray is a pretty cool little town, definitely was worth the stop.
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Now we are off to the Ophir Pass on the Million Dollar Highway. This highway felt a little sketchy with no sway-bars in the rain
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After 6 hours of driving, we finally made it to Ophir Pass
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At the summit
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Going down the summit was at least a little fun
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The town of Ophir, which used to be a supply hub for all the mines in the area
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Now that Ophir is done, we are on our way to our camping spot at Alta Lakes
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4Runner camping
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Quick review: This trail was extremely easy, but pretty beautiful drive. Not sure if I would do this trail again, except as a way to get to Alta Lakes. It could have been because we were already on the road but overall wasn't too impressed with the trail. Seeing the town of Ophir was kind of cool though.

Up next: Telluride and Imogene Pass
 
Day 2: Telluride and Imogene Pass

After we broke down camp we decided to head down to Telluride and spend part of there day before we would hit up Imogene Pass. Telluride is a pretty cool town, and the free Gondola is an added bonus.

Leaving Alta Lakes
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The beginning of Imogene Pass: We started in Telluride
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http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b...ogene Pass-Black Bear Pass/26_zpsos4mxbje.jpg

Looking at Black Bear Pass and Bridal Falls
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b...ogene Pass-Black Bear Pass/27_zpsoqr7ojtj.jpg

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At the top of Imogene 13K feet up
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Heading down:
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The stream crossing. It is a lot stepper than it looks. The Wrangler in front of me smacked his tail pipe and I smacked my trailer hitch
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The campsite for the night. We camped on a nice cliff face that you could see down into the old mining town
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Our little visitor
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I would highly recommend doing Imogene in reverse, starting in Ouray. It's a lot more technical starting in Ouray.
 
Day 3: Black Bear Pass and Last Dollar Road

Here is a shot of my KO2's at the beginning of Day 3. They held up great, tackled everything we threw at them.
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This was a cool "Rescue" truck at the bottom of Imogene
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The beginning...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b...ogene Pass-Black Bear Pass/49_zps3okjz4tr.jpg
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A cool flex spot we found before we started to head down the other side of Black Bear Pass
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Heading down
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Telluride
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The point of no return
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Looking down Telluride
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Well this looks fun
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We made it
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Bridal Falls
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Those are some awesome pictures of your trips! Looks like some great camping to be had out there, very jealous! Nice rig too :)
 
Hi-lift and MAXTRAX added to roof rack and LED turn signals added to the bumper filler. Painted the stock skid plates, added some conqueredtrailz stickers from the trip this summer.







 

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