SC_4Runner's TRD Pro Build Thread

[CharlestonFisher]

CharlestonFisher's TRD Pro Build Thread

Well it's been a while since my last update. I've added an Old Man Emu lift kit, SPC Upper Control Arms, and 285 Nitto Trail Grapplers. Very happy with how everything turned out.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

Last weekend I took my dad to Uwharrie and we went to Scott Fields 4WD 101 class the day before hitting the trails. Extremely happy with the class and I would recommend it to all skill levels. There were guys there with 30 years of off-road driving under their belt who broke some bad habits. The name of the game was eliminating wheel spin and the need for automatically switching on lockers. Oh and the log crossing was amazing.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

The next day at Uwharrie I met up with a buddy in the NC/SC club. We tore it up.

 

[rnb754]

very nice!

 

[CharlestonFisher]

I've got some cool smaller accessories now too. Big fan of Southeast Overland and Blue Ridge Overland Gear:

 

[Ike64]

Not to stomp too much on [MENTION=116607]CharlestonFisher[/MENTION] thread but yes! , almost exactly, This is me just over thinking + OCD, I would like to turn it 90 so that the filter face the fender, keep equal temps on each compression cylinder (I think the one closest to the motor has a higher chance for wear and be less efficient right of the bat whether it makes any real world difference dunno) and a modest bit of cooler draw air, ideally would like to draw air from the front. My only other concern with the cylinder is condensation and draining. This is the first time I have hard mounted a compressor to my truck. All of the old construction compressors I have worked with build up a bit of H2O in the tanks, I don't imagine this to be any different, particularly if you use it a lot.

Could you install a condensation filter on a under hood compressor like this?

 

[bfly0317]

Love the black rims on the black car.

 

[bakjak]

It may have been too long for you to remember - but I thought I'd ask anyway - I just took delivery on my 2016 TRD Pro and want to do the same setup with the HWMS, Warn winch, and compressor - did you measure the front droop with the stock suspension?

 

[omega48er]

good looking rig. How is the OME kit treating you? I have the full OME HD kit on my HEMI Jeep commander and love how it improved my ride handling, I can take turns at a much faster speed than before.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

It may have been too long for you to remember - but I thought I'd ask anyway - I just took delivery on my 2016 TRD Pro and want to do the same setup with the HWMS, Warn winch, and compressor - did you measure the front droop with the stock suspension?

Great question. I was initially concerned with droop so I went with a lighter 8000lb winch. I didn't notice any change (and thus didn't think to measure). LawnDart warned me it would droop, so I am sure there is some.

The compressor doesn't weigh very much and sits further back in the engine bay, so I don't think it impacted anything.

I upgraded the suspension simply to get more ground clearance on the trails and fit bigger tires. The OME felt very stiff for the first week, but it's broken in nicely (or I have gotten used to it).

I suspect that if I were driving fast on uneven terrain that the extra weight of the winch (plus roof rack, sliders, gear, etc) would have caused the stock suspension to feel soft. I never pushed the vehicle before upgrading, so I don't have any experience with it stock.

I will say the lifting and tires have been my favorite upgrade and will do the most to improve performance. In retrospect I would have done those first before sliders, roof rack, winch, etc.

One more note on the HWMS. I'm not sure I would do it again, and I may end up selling it for a more robust front end. The concept is cool, but I don't like not being able to use a wired winch control or see the line lay on the spool.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

good looking rig. How is the OME kit treating you? I have the full OME HD kit on my HEMI Jeep commander and love how it improved my ride handling, I can take turns at a much faster speed than before.

I love it. You reminded me I need to clean up the original Bilstein's and sell them. The stock suspension was sweet, so this wasn't too much of an upgrade, just needed to handle the armored up ride weight.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

As she sat at Uwharrie the last week of January 2016. Couldn't be happier with how she handles the North Carolina trails.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

On January 30th, I attended the Uwharrie Off-Road Training Center's ("UORTC") 4wd-201 course. Money extremely well spent. Only requirement to attending is to have a 4wd equipped with a winch and have either attending the 101 course or have proven off road experience. The course was taught by four International 4-Wheel Drive Trainers' Association ("I4WDTA") trainers. Owner Scott Fields, his partners Mike Morrison, Ron Parish, and new hire Tony. As of last week Tony retired as a Green Beret and military off road driving instructor. If you aren't familiar with UORTC it's located in Uwharrie, NC home to the national forest and OHV train system. Their bread and butter is training the military during the week to drive over seas. They have all types of vehicles to train on including multiple diesel Hilux's, a Defender 110, FJ80, etc.

The 101 course was a mix of classroom time, driving the UORTC obstacle course and their private property named 'The Grand Overland District'. The 201 course had us return to the Grand Overland District but also introduced us to a third property, 'Big Creek'.

Continued on next post.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

The day started at UORTC promptly at 7:45 am.

By 8:30 am we had driven to the Grand Overland District to inspect the vehicles and discuss the day.

Doing some accidental flexing at 18 psi (more on tire pressure later).

No question Toyota's are the minority at UORTC, but it's changing.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

First task of the day was recovering a rolled over Dodge.

We used two vehicles and winches to right the rolled vehicle. I4WDTA trainers teach to minimize the damage of the rolled vehicle.

We used the floor mats inside of the recovered vehicle to pad the ropes from being cut on the frame. The anchor vehicle attached a kinetic rope to the winch line to add some forgiveness in the operation. Great use for a shorter 10' K rope. Also learned to go across the vehicle before attaching to frame or B pilar. Picture a Swiss Roll. I'll post the video to YouTube and link it later.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

After recovering the rolled vehicle, we each got to use the Hi-lift jack to lift up a Hilux by its ARB bumper. I can see one of these bumpers in my future for a couple of reasons. I had no idea they have slots the Hi-lift!

We got a demo from Tony on using a Hi-lift Lift Mate to jack up a single wheel. This came in use later in the day. I added one of these to my Amazon cart the same day.

Don't have a Lift Mate? Use a tree saver. Scott then showed us how to secure the handle in order to drive off the jack using another tree saver. This also came in handy later that same day.

 

[bms4r]

Runner looks good man. Keep up the pics.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

Next up was tire repair. The 101 class we plugged tires. 201 was even cooler. Here is a shot of FJ 80 owner Izzy replacing a valve stem.

Quick clip of using the Hi-lift to break the bead.
https://vimeo.com/154499659

Frankenstein tire repair when a side wall blows out.

Seen videos of guys reseating a tire using ether? We did it.
https://vimeo.com/154500005

 

[CharlestonFisher]

Next was a short ride with some steep muddy climbs designed to test how well we handled cross axle situations. I wish I had done better, but I made it up, albeit muddy as hell. UORTC is a subscriber to Tread Lightly principles. Excessive tire spin isn't tolerated. I lost momentum second guessing myself. Nothing that backing up and trying again wouldn't fix.

After lunch we talked field vehicle repair. I got to pinch the fins off a busted radiator and seal it with some epoxy.

We stared another ride and came across a staged recovery. This Tacoma was resting against a couple trees and needed to be winched out.

Had to use the Hi-lift as a second anchor/winch to keep the back off the trees.

 

[CharlestonFisher]

Jeep anchored to tree using winch to bring up Tacoma.

Again, using a kinetic rope as part of winch recovery. New technique.

Short clip:
https://vimeo.com/154501711