Road Trip with Indestructible 4Runner

boodabill

boodabill

New member
I tried to challenge and abuse my 4Runner and it came through in every condition I threw at it: Death Valley, loose rock river beds, 90- degree mogul turns, 1.5-2 ft soft mud puddles, treacherous one lane mouton roads with rocks in the middle, ice covered mouton roads.

I'm in the middle of a several month odyssey, traveling around California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and now I'm going down to Baja. i already know it handles sand, since I tested it at Pismo Beach, but Baja is going to be the ultimate challenge. You can be traveling 60mph down a road there and hit a pothole at any time!

Here are some pics:
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2941.jpg
    IMG_2941.jpg
    137.6 KB · Views: 1,618
  • IMG_2656.jpg
    IMG_2656.jpg
    136.9 KB · Views: 1,582
  • IMG_2662.jpg
    IMG_2662.jpg
    131.7 KB · Views: 1,614
  • IMG_2674.jpg
    IMG_2674.jpg
    139.3 KB · Views: 1,611
  • IMG_2717.jpg
    IMG_2717.jpg
    130.2 KB · Views: 1,636
  • IMG_2865.jpg
    IMG_2865.jpg
    136.4 KB · Views: 1,583
  • IMG_2901.jpg
    IMG_2901.jpg
    135.7 KB · Views: 2,081
  • IMG_2566.jpg
    IMG_2566.jpg
    100.5 KB · Views: 1,569
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
More Pics from Boodabill

More pics to enjoy:
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2585.jpg
    IMG_2585.jpg
    145.3 KB · Views: 1,557
  • IMG_2590.jpg
    IMG_2590.jpg
    140.5 KB · Views: 1,562
  • IMG_2591.jpg
    IMG_2591.jpg
    125.7 KB · Views: 1,803
  • IMG_2598.jpg
    IMG_2598.jpg
    137 KB · Views: 1,537
  • IMG_2341.jpg
    IMG_2341.jpg
    135.2 KB · Views: 1,577
  • IMG_2408.jpg
    IMG_2408.jpg
    136.5 KB · Views: 1,563
  • IMG_2411.jpg
    IMG_2411.jpg
    136.3 KB · Views: 1,559
  • IMG_2440.jpg
    IMG_2440.jpg
    137.9 KB · Views: 1,566
I've never been so immersed in nature with a vehicle and felt so comfortable. The scariest roads I didn't have time to photograph. That was going over Death Valley mountains, with a huge rock in the middle of the road and a 1000 foot drop to the right. I teamed with a military guy I met with a Tacoma but he wanted me to got first!

I have to add that I never experience road fatigue or back problems like I used to in my Camry. The lumbar support and seat adjustments are helpful and it seems that the truck is taking most of the abuse, not me. Not sure why, but I can travel 8 hours no problems.
 
the biggest issue that I see in your pics is that since the rear wing no longer directs air down over the back window, the rear gets super dirty to the point you cant see crap out of the rear window.

I have that same issue during the winters up here that I see in your pics from the rear.
 
NoDak said:
the biggest issue that I see in your pics is that since the rear wing no longer directs air down over the back window, the rear gets super dirty to the point you cant see crap out of the rear window.

I have that same issue during the winters up here that I see in your pics from the rear.
Click to expand...
This is really my only beef with my 4runner. The dang back is in near constant need of cleaning. Living in snow country doesn't help, but rain, dust, everything ends up on the back gate and window. Other than this I LOVE IT!:zoom:
Question: Is the rear spoiler partly responsible for this issue? I'm not a huge fan of the rear spoiler. I see older runners, pre spoiler days and don t see the same extent of guck.
 
Nice photos, I enjoyed looking at them. I is nice that you are able to enjoy life and do some traveling in your 4Runner. You picked a great vehicle for adventure.

Just out of curiosity, what tires are you using on your rig?
 
Hillbilly Mac said:
Coming soon to my truck. Did you run into any problems on installation? Better yet, did you document the whole process?
Click to expand...

No problems. I had a company (Dirty Parts, Los Angeles) that does serious outback off-roading do the installation. I photographed most of it. It's military rated wiring and electronics, simple and rugged, with little that can break down. I feel very confident with this set up. With my tires, not so much. But they came through, although I winced every time i drove over a shape rock.
 
vicpick58 said:
Nice photos, I enjoyed looking at them. I is nice that you are able to enjoy life and do some traveling in your 4Runner. You picked a great vehicle for adventure.

Just out of curiosity, what tires are you using on your rig?
Click to expand...

I'm using the OEM Dunlops, getting decent gas mileage like 19-20 mpg. I'm going to wear them out and then upgrade.
 
NoDak said:
the biggest issue that I see in your pics is that since the rear wing no longer directs air down over the back window, the rear gets super dirty to the point you cant see crap out of the rear window.

I have that same issue during the winters up here that I see in your pics from the rear.
Click to expand...

Not a problem since I don't use the rear window. :) The dirt you see is due to hitting a mud puddle going 60mph!:) I do have to clean off the rear camera once in a while. It's not a problem for me. I wear the dirt proudly as a badge. It says "I had fun". I got white cuz I'm going to Baja.
 
Last edited:
Covered more conditions than I'd ever see in a year.

I am very curious if you got any pictures of how they mounted that 2nd battery. Haven't seen much information regarding options for mounts for the 2013+ models with the secondary air pump hogging up valuable space.
 
NoDak said:
the biggest issue that I see in your pics is that since the rear wing no longer directs air down over the back window, the rear gets super dirty to the point you cant see crap out of the rear window.

I have that same issue during the winters up here that I see in your pics from the rear.
Click to expand...

Have the same question re the spoiler. I was wondering if it can be removed w/o an issue. An interesting experiment.
 
The rear "spoiler" actually houses the rear wiper and can't be easily removed.

Dirty rear window? There is a wiper for that.

Great pics!
 
Nice!! You did what most of us day dream about doing! Very cool.

I am also curious about your dual batter details, tray, electronics etc.
 
Donkey said:
The rear "spoiler" actually houses the rear wiper and can't be easily removed.
Click to expand...
It's actually pretty easy to remove, but not easy to leave off. Besides housing the rear wiper, it leaves several large gaping holes in the rear door when removed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 213 (members: 1, guests: 212)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,309
Messages
3,554,071
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top