RWhockey's mild overland/daily driver build thread

[Rwhockey29]

Whats up guys. figured i would start a build thread to document my mods, repairs, problems, and questions. Its going to be a slow process, and i dont think im doing anything crazy or new with this build, just want a place to document everything. Right now im using the 4runner as a daily driver, until i find another car to drive after a lady ran a red light and totalled my audi. The goal of this build is to keep it reliable and work on outfitting it for camping, with the end goal to be able to sleep in it for around a week at a time. It was purchased from a Toyota dealership manager, who has 3 other 4runners with various mods done. Here's the breakdown of it:

1999 Limited 4x4. No e locker.
225,000 miles(going up, it's a daily driver)
-Timing done
-Water pump/thermostat done
-Newer brakes
-New Front CV axles
-lifted 3"-4" by previous owner
-New Front struts
-Few different bushings replaced
-New plugs/wires
-ISR delete
-PCV valve and vacuum lines replaced.
-New fuel filter
- rear diff fluid changed 5k miles ago
-Toyota Sport hood purchased new and painted to match at the dealership
-badges painted along with hood insert
-HIDs installed in headlights
-Interior dome and cargo lights swapped for LEDs
-CBI ditch light brackets with 6 LED light pods
-rear flood light mounted to rear bumper
-new battery
-new battery terminals
-Fumoto oil valve installed(got tired of cleaning off the skids)
-replaced front section of positive battery cable
-aftermarket roof rack(forget the brand)
- Drifter Style CB mount on the left taillight
- secondary fuse block with 7 terminals. HIDs, front and rear aux lights are wired through this with fuseable links
-Kenwood double din radio
-blue LED dash light mod
-scanguage II mounted to the dash
-set of factory skids which I believe are off an SR5
-parts of undercarriage have been coated.

Couple pictures of how it sits right now:





first shake down on at BMRA:

 

[Rwhockey29]

Unfortunately i didnt document most of the early stuff i did when i bought it, and i dont have pictures of stuff as the previous owner did it. so heres what i do have so far:

Interior LEDs, left over from my Audi


Radio install:


ScanguageII placement:


Switches for front ditch lights and rear flood light. yes i know they are crooked, cut them out in the dark trying to get everything wrapped up. you can also see at the bottom how i secured the scangauge cord; just a simple J clip secured at the bottom dash bolt:


Aux fuse panel. Top side is hot, bottom goes to whatever needs power. first fuse is front ditch lights, second is rear flood light, and the HIDs are powered on the left side of the panel. because they have an inline fuse, i didnt bother taking up another fuse place for them

 

[Rwhockey29]

Ive got a couple different tents that i take with us when were setting up camp for a few days at a time, or down at the races at Circuit of the Americas. However, I want something thats quicker than a tent, and also needed some storage for the rear. So my first big project on this will be some rear drawers/sleeping platform. After doing some research I decided that wood is too heavy, so Im making mine out of metal. Its going to be my first welding project, and ill be learning as i go.

The plan is to make a frame out of some thin square tubing, with supports spaced evenly. then skin the top with a piece of 20ga CRS, and glue a piece of 3/4 plywood on the top. the sheet metal on top will increase the surface area greatly, and help secure the plywood better. the entire thing will be covered in cheap outdoor carpet.

bottom base:


top of the frame. tacked in place on top of the bottom to make sure everything lines up


adding a top and bottom strap across the open end to help with torque placed on the frame and structural rigidity


8" supports:


start of welding in the supports


making sure it fits


added the sheet metal skin


so now that i got the main part mostly built, i had to figure out how to make the forward piece to sleep on. most people seem to use a piano hinge, but that seems like a PITA to mount to my frame. so heres what i came up with:


this piece of frame was cut and made 1.5" wider that the main base. because of this, i can slide this up against the back of the main part.


It BARELY fits between the wheel wells, but that might be better to hold everything in place while driving. I will be adding a top center support, and it will be skinned with sheet metal and plywood like the rest. it will rest on top of the main section, and when slid in the rear seats are useable. when i want to sleep, i fold the seats down and it pulls out to look like this:


the top plywood will be long enough to rest on the main section, and the gap between frame pieces is only 8" which i dont think there will be enough stress on it to break. because the rear seats sit up slightly higher than the back when folded down, these supports were cut at 6" to keep everthing as flat as possible

 

[Rwhockey29]

found a set of home made sliders on a truck at pick n pull, these were a PITA to saw off with a hack saw. they had started to rust, so i used a wire wheel on them, sprayed some rust converter, and hit them with a couple coats of bedliner. they fit up pretty well, if they are centered under the truck, they end right under neath each fender with about 6" front and rear between the tires

 

[Rwhockey29]

got a little bit of maintenance done on the truck today, nothing exciting. new front/rear sway bar bushings, and steering rack bushing kit. ran out of time for the steering kit, gonna have to take care of it next weekend.



difference in sway bar mounts:



old bushings. not too bad, but might as well change them since i bought them



new bushings and hardware.



had a chance to change the front diff oil



and pulled all the skids off to clean them, and see if i cant bang out the dent in the front skid from the last wheeling trip.



also picked up a small fire extinguisher, better safe than sorry.

 

[Rwhockey29]

these are the rear sway bar end links, im guessing its time to replace them next



also curious if anyone can identify these coils in my lift? i believe the previous owner installed 1st gen tundra lift struts in the front, and LC coils in the rear but im not exactly sure

 

[Rwhockey29]

picked up a set of PIAA LED H4 headlight bulbs from Burtmann Industries a few months ago, and just not got a chance to put them in. old HIDs previous owner installed just werent bright enough, and one hi beam was out







these things are REALLY well made. i was hesitant at first to spend so much on headlight bulbs, but after seeing them in person im glad i did. the controllers are all metal, no cheap plastic, the heatsinks and bulbs are HEAVY and solid, and the connectors are a screw type which doesnt seem like it could ever come loose.

daytime shot:



night shot, tried to find the darkest road near me.



pretty bright, but the cutoff line on them is sharp so hopefully wont be blinding any oncoming traffic

 

[jgue467]

Pretty cool overall. How many watts do the PIAA leds consume per bulb? thanks for posting. :cowboy:

 

[4x4runner01]

I'm wondering the same. I need some brighter heads

 

[Rwhockey29]

Pretty cool overall. How many watts do the PIAA leds consume per bulb? thanks for posting. :cowboy:

im honestly not sure, going by an amazon add i found for them it looks like 23W, 3600/2600 lumens. FWIW, they are definitely brighter than my HID setup that was previously in them.

 

[Rwhockey29]

did some more work on my rear storage/sleeping platform. glued a piece of 1/2" plywood to the top of the drawers and the slide out for sleeping


used this locktite glue, works great and held almost instantly



slide out:



test fitting the main section



slide out stored away(still have full function of rear seats)



slide pulled out, seats stored, ready to sleep!




i picked up some 5lb foam padding and outdoor carpet that will be going over the top of both. still need to drill holes for the turnbuckles to secure it as well. saved a bunch of weight going the wood/metal frame route, pretty sure my main section weight under 25 lbs. i can easily pull it out and carry with one hand.

 

[BeardedUnicorn]

Really liking the sleeping/storage unit. Coming around nicely!