"Sammy" Build and Exploration Thread

[MN4RNR]

Not really a mod but went in to get my oil changed. :wtf: I know, but with the punch card is cheaper than doing it myself. Anyway, service manager is there as I pull up and immediately asked about a sound the engine has made since I bought it. He wondered about an idler pulley on the belt. He checked it out, comes back and shows me the squealing idler.

In my moment of self doubt and noobiness I told him to go ahead and swap it out. All said and done my second guessing was confirmed. Simple bolt on and I just wasted a Duratracs worth of money on a simple fix. On a good note the tech pointed out the second pulley that often fails in tandem and everything is so much quieter now. I kept the worn pulley. 1. to see if I can swap out the bearing and use it for a spare and 2. to source the second one.

 

[wadle5]

Thanks to the wonder of Expedition Overland videos the boss is developing an appreciation for the 4Runner and for the potential adventures the truck opens up. The first mod she wants to see is a snorkel. :faint: Sooo we will have to see about that one.

Love seeing a fellow midwestern. Also that show and thorough research and presentations to the wife had also paid off for me as I convinced her into a 2 week overlanding trip. Ever down south a state just give me a shout!

 

[MN4RNR]

Back to the build...

A little personalizing of the interior.

 

[MN4RNR]

Tires

In regards to tires. All I really knew was that I wanted skinnies. 255/75/r17s that I, for now until the foreseeable future, will be rocking on stock rims. My original plan was Duratracs. I have heard nothing but good things about them in the snow, and well, winter is a comin in these parts. After having them ordered and paid for a little of this and a little of that and I had to cancel the order. When it all shook out I ended up with Cooper Discover ATP in 255/75/r17. I went with the SL because there are no other options in this size, based on my road/off-road use and because the nature of the off pavement travel I do doesn't really warrant a beefier tire. I did get the warranty though.

Straight out of Discount Tire.



I wasn't on level ground so results are close but not exact.



Mean where it counts and subtle from the side.



The skinny view.

10 miles in. Ride is stout. Much more firm that my Fuzion SUVs that it came with. They have a little hum but nothing crazy. On the gravel roads no fishyness like my previous tires. So far so good.

 

[MN4RNR]

Got these in the mail from Wheeler's Off-road. Forgot to grab a T-Shirt though. There will be future orders from these guys to throw one in on though.
Excited to get them installed before our Midwest Overland event next weekend. [MENTION=87036]YotaDan[/MENTION]

 

[MN4RNR]

Quick shipping from [MENTION=80392]Wheeler's Off-road and the kids appreciated the candy favors as well.

 

[MN4RNR]

Installed the stone guards today. Simple enough. I did rattle can them yellow to match. Not like they will stay yellow for long but what the heck. I also sanded off the surface rust from the OME shocks. 5 or so months of use. Never saw snow and they are rusting. Not thrilled with that but it was only on the areas where they were either scratched during install or from gravel rash. Rattle canned the bare metal yellow.

For anyone interested OME yellow is an exact match for Rustoleum Marigold.

While I was under there also greased the 6 drive shaft zerks, (stop light thunk is gone), and pushed my front fender liners forward. I was getting a smidgen of rubbing from the driver's side in reverse at full lock.

Very happy with the performance of the Cooper Discover ATPs. about 200 miles in and handle great. Wife liked how they felt in a recent downpour. I am also very happy with the 255/75 size choice.

Pics to be added of today's install when I get a chance.

 

[MN4RNR]

Cooper Discover ATP 255/75r17 review

So a quick review of the Cooper Discover ATPs I put on a couple weeks back.

Joined Midwest Overland Society for their first annual Northwoods Rendezvous outside Backus, MN. Weather was great and the trail offered a nice variety of sloshy stuff and dry dusty terrain. We had 13 rigs. My Runner, a couple tacos, a 1980 FJ45, 75' FJ40, a few land rovers, a couple jeeps and an army 5 ton.


Not me obviously

First of all the trip up. The tires have showed great manners on the road. No handling issues, lean or questionable traction. There is a slight hum but with a radio on, or children being children, you don't hear a thing.

On the trail the tires performed as I had hoped. On fast sections they held the line well and didn't get squirrely in soft spots. They made for confident handling. In boggy sections and water crossings they seemed to shed the muck well. They are 255 so they found the bottom quicker than the 285 crew who stayed higher up. I anticipated this so I tried to take a line with more solid footing. Even so they weren't wallowing around and when slick rocks or logs came along they gripped them quickly and pushed through. I anticipate in a mudding situations they would lag to the wider tires but for this even they were on par.

They did exceptionally well on the dry, rocky sections both flat and incline, descents. Up hill I never questioned their ability to hold the line. We had some pretty jutted hill sections and when they bit, they bit. I wasn't worried about slipping and we were in some situations where slipping = contact and body damage.

I did get the P rated tire. E didn't come in my size. There were several occasions where I had some aggressive sidewall contact with logs, rocks etc. Inspection showed no visible marks on the tire surface. That was my concern with this rating. In my experience thus far it was not an issue.

Back on dry trail, fire roads and pavement the tread cleared well and given the large goobers of muck on my wheel well liners it was clearing it quickly.

As a disclaimer this is the first set of ATs I have owned so my only comparative experience has been on work or friend's tires.

So for me thus far, Cooper Discover ATPs were a good choice. On to winter...we will see how they do.

 

[cpark_12]

Those tires rock!!!

I have the ATP in 285 E range and I love them. I've done 4-5 hour interstate trips, off road trails, rocks, mud, sand, water crossings and dirt and I have never had a problem getting stuck, sliding, or anything like that. They seem to wear very well also.

 

[MN4RNR]

Good to hear. Thanks for the report.

 

[MN4RNR]

Seems right at home in the fall colors.

 

[MN4RNR]

Midwest Overland Society Northwoods Rendezvous

It's been a couple of weeks but some more images of the fun that was had. Some capable rigs were represented. It was the first time I had seen in person some of the mods and upgrades that I read about...ie fridges, awnings, RTT in action.







It was a Toyota event so we had a Trooper, several LR/RR, Jeeps, even a Suzuki.





Even this monster. The tan LC was piggyback on this when it arrived.

 

[MN4RNR]

Save

 

[MN4RNR]

The big take aways for me from the event were: The family enjoyed the experience, all 5 of us. It helped to prioritize what my next upgrades will be. For purchase sliders, armor and hopefully a roof rack. Given recent current events in that department however my choice on roof racks got a bit harder to make. I really like [MENTION=121759]Davy180[/MENTION] custom job though. On a DIY level with the benefit of my new heated garage I can work on a rear storage setup this winter.

Most importantly though it gave me confidence in the capabilities of my vehicle. Given my stock to near stock setup recent solo ventures have been tempered knowing there was no one to bail me out. Going out with experienced and equipped folks helped to push me past what I was comfortable with, understand the potential and limitations I have, and know that whatever happened I was still going to get home without a major mobilization of outside help.

 

[SilverCoMnt07]

Seems right at home in the fall colors.

This looks like an old school stock pic. Rig looks great.

 

[yotaguy674]

Any info on the event? I'm guessing you're in northern MN?

Great pics!

 

[MN4RNR]

Any info on the event? I'm guessing you're in northern MN?

Great pics!

I am in the Cities. The event was awesome. It was September 26th. You can subscribe to the Midwest Overland forum and get a more detailed review or our Facebook
www.facebook.com/MidwestOverlandSociety

And thank you.

 

[MN4RNR]

This looks like an old school stock pic. Rig looks great.

Thanks. Stock as in stock build or does it refer to something else? I haven't changed too much yet. Just lift and tires. Slowly but surely. I am so far feeling successful staying within my subtle and capable guidelines. Nice making the vehicle mine though. I enjoy it.

 

[MN4RNR]

Cooper Discoverer ATP in the snow

It has been awhile since my last update. We moved and have been working nonstop to some what settle before winter moved in, and it finally did. As promised I wanted to review my experience with my Cooper ATPs, purchased in Sepember, in the snow.

We had our first "massive snowstorm, "beware, end of the world" winter event earlier this week. It was a let down. As for the tire. I was impressed with their performance. It is not a winter tire. That being said in fresh and packed snow I found their bite and ability to hold the line impressive. The did well through the slushy stuff and were able to dig in and find a hold both in accelerating and in holding through a corner or turn. I think the narrower profile definitely helps to keep it from floating over the top of the accumulation. I did notice a tiny bit of wallowing. I don't know whether that is the usual relearning that comes with the first drives in snow each year, a bit of lean because of the taller profile (not noticed until this snow) or a bit of slipping because there was a base of iced slush junk. In fresh or deeper stuff I thought they did very well. Cut through to the base and were able to hold a nice line. Ice. Well ice is ice and take her slow or dig yourself out of the ditch. Overall they do what I was hoping they would in the winter. They are an improvement over my previous tires and after a few thousand miles have had no issues or concerns with them. No regrets on the purchase.

 

[Erkelbot]

It has been awhile since my last update. We moved and have been working nonstop to some what settle before winter moved in, and it finally did. As promised I wanted to review my experience with my Cooper ATPs, purchased in Sepember, in the snow.

We had our first "massive snowstorm, "beware, end of the world" winter event earlier this week. It was a let down. As for the tire. I was impressed with their performance. It is not a winter tire. That being said in fresh and packed snow I found their bite and ability to hold the line impressive. The did well through the slushy stuff and were able to dig in and find a hold both in accelerating and in holding through a corner or turn. I think the narrower profile definitely helps to keep it from floating over the top of the accumulation. I did notice a tiny bit of wallowing. I don't know whether that is the usual relearning that comes with the first drives in snow each year, a bit of lean because of the taller profile (not noticed until this snow) or a bit of slipping because there was a base of iced slush junk. In fresh or deeper stuff I thought they did very well. Cut through to the base and were able to hold a nice line. Ice. Well ice is ice and take her slow or dig yourself out of the ditch. Overall they do what I was hoping they would in the winter. They are an improvement over my previous tires and after a few thousand miles have had no issues or concerns with them. No regrets on the purchase.

Dude, I was so ticked about this "snowstorm". I wanted to get out and hold that VSC off button (for...say...3 seconds...) so I could have some fun and get a little squirrely. No dice. Wet, slushy junk...

The rig looks great -- I'd love to hear what trails you'd recommend here locally. I'm definitely interested off the groomed stuff here in the cities.