StormRunner Build & Adventure Thread

[jdtaylor42]

Only a week after returning I headed to Zion National Park for a weekend away. This gave me just enough time to clean and wax the truck and do an oil change and then pack up and hit the road again.

I started the trip by stopping in Page to tour Antelope Canyon. Even though it is so close I had never done this but I am sure glad I finally put it in the plans. I cannot possibly describe how amazing this place is. It is an absolute must do and should be at the tip top of your list if you are anywhere near the area

Dragon's Eye

It's true that the canyon gets absolutely packed with people but I had booked a very early morning tour so going in we had very few people and actually was able to shoot the great room with no people! Coming back out the canyon was getting very packed

I then headed on in to Zion

This was my third trip to Zion but I had always just driven through the checkerboard mesa section and never stopped and hiked around other than doing the Observation Point trail. This time I stopped a few times to hike around

Observation Point

There is a little known and very little hiked slot canyon just next to the Observation Point trail which I did this time which was a lot of fun

The following morning I hiked the Narrows. I always make sure I am on the very first bus at 6am to avoid the crowds. The Narrows gets absolutely insane with people as the day moves on and I prefer pictures with no people and enjoying the scenery without crowd noise. Totally worth getting up early and I didn't see another soul until I turned around and started to head back after about four hours

After hiking the Narrows I drove over to check out Toquerville Falls which is a pretty cool little swimming hole

 

[jdtaylor42]

That day while hiking the Narrows I was super fortunate and got drawn for last minute permits to hike The Subway. Those permits are usually filled well in advance but if people don't pick them up or cancel they re-draw for "last-minute" ones. Since I got drawn I changed plans and headed to the Subway hike first thing in the morning. It is a rugged hike that the Ranger informed us would take 8-10 hours but I have had The Subway on my list for a long time so off I went. It was a beautiful hike and worth the effort

Finally at the Subway. This interesting channel of water let's you know you have arrived

I left the next morning to head back home which happened to be Eclipse day. While my roadtrip did not allow me to plan ahead and buy glasses and filters for my camera I was excited to get some landscape shots during the Eclipse. However, I woke up to find completely cloud covered skies in Zion. So I packed quickly and hit the road home to try and get to clear skies. Unfortunately, when the Eclipse began I still had a good amount of cloud cover and while I could see glimpses as the clouds moved, I didn't get near the spectacular display that many got. This was my sky as the Eclipse began:

Although being as far south as I was I didn't get the full eclipse it definitely got darker

I can tell you though that I will definitely be prepared in 2024 for the next total eclipse :rockon:

 

[5280 TRail-Runner]

Amazing photos as always! I need to make my way out to Moab. Planning an epic road trip west and some of these places may be on the list! Thanks for sharing!

 

[007Tacoma]

I can tell you though that I will definitely be prepared in 2024 for the next total eclipse :rockon:

Yeah... My wife was hooked after our photo shoot of the eclipse. Next total should pass through Texas, so we will be on that like white on rice! :frisky:

 

[priddypnw]

I recently just got a 2017 and have been trying to decide on a lift... How do you like yours?

 

[jasxn]

What is great is that only a week after returning my wife had planned a trip to Zion National Park for a weekend away. This gave me just enough time to clean and wax the truck and do an oil change and then pack up and hit the road again.

I was there too that weekend! I wish I knew about that water spot. my kids would've loved it! The only 4runner i saw was a white Pro and a grey trail. Definitely need to go back - couldn't do a lot of trails because of the toddler and baby.

 

[jdtaylor42]

I recently just got a 2017 and have been trying to decide on a lift... How do you like yours?

I love it. It's not over the top pricey like an Icon or King setup and it has performed very well every place I have been. Absolutely no complaints.

I was there too that weekend! I wish I knew about that water spot. my kids would've loved it! The only 4runner i saw was a white Pro and a grey trail. Definitely need to go back - couldn't do a lot of trails because of the toddler and baby.

Oh yeah? I love Zion. SO many amazing trails there

 

[jdtaylor42]

So I finally pulled the trigger and did a Body Mount Chop which I have needed to do for a long time. In regular driving I never would rub but when I aired down and was flexing hard off-road I would occasionally rub so I wanted to chop. I had a free Saturday so I headed to the shop and got to work and I figured I would share my experience which may help others


Parked in the shop and about to start

Jacked up and removing the tire

Battery cables removed. There is no definitive information on this but if you plan to weld on your vehicle then it's a good idea to take a couple of minutes and remove battery cables and be sure to place your welding ground as close to the area you are welding on as possible. Many sensitive electronics on vehicles these days so why take the chance

Another safety step that only takes a minute. Never work under a vehicle using only a jack and usually I place two jack-stands and still have the jack in place for added security. I never want to be found squished under my vehicle

Chopped. A couple suggestions here. You can always take more off but cannot add it back on so cut short of your desired line and bring it in closer when you have more room and control to cut. You will not make a clean and straight cut on the first pass so you will have to grind down to get a clean and even surface to mate the new cap to (I use a flapper wheel to do this). This is a very tight space on the back side and it is tough to fit the head of your angle grinder into so if you plan to use a grinder with a cutoff wheel then I highly suggest using a 6" rather than a 4 1/2". I have a 4 1/2" and the disc was not big enough to reach the top of the mount to chop it. So either I could take small sections off, which is in itself difficult given the tight space, or I could change game plans and use the plasma cutter which is what I ended up doing.

New cap welded on. Again be mindful of the tight space when cutting your new cap to be installed. There is not enough room to get your welding gun on the top of the mount so I cut my new cap a little short so I could weld the top of the cap from the side rather than needing top side access to weld the surfaces together. Also, you will be welding in akward positions such as laying on your back and welding up so make sure you have your safety gear on to protect yourself.

Another word of caution: All of this will create sparks which are red hot. So position your grinder and such so you are not throwing sparks out towards the painted fenders and also cover your CV boots. Would suck to get finished and have a bunch of holes in your CV boots

Complete and painted. Make sure to paint all surfaces which you grinded on to make sure they will not rust. This includes the back side of your new cap.

 

[joeysav]

Sorry I missed your question but I have been away on roadtrips for a while. I just used a standard single outlet relay from any auto parts store. For power I used "add-a-fuse" also from any auto parts store and tapped into the fuse block under the drivers dash. For wiring the AOB switch I don't recall the wiring diagram since it has been so long but the switch itself comes with a diagram which I used to wire mine up and it worked great.

Thanks for getting back to me. So you used a single outlet relay for this instead of having it go through your blue sea panel? Why?? I plan on doing this through the Cooper bussmann panel. I hope it'll work but I'd like to hear back from you first on why single outlet relay over the fuse panel. Thanks

 

[jdtaylor42]

Thanks for getting back to me. So you used a single outlet relay for this instead of having it go through your blue sea panel? Why?? I plan on doing this through the Cooper bussmann panel. I hope it'll work but I'd like to hear back from you first on why single outlet relay over the fuse panel. Thanks

I did use an add-a-fuse and relay instead of my blue sea for a couple reasons. One is because I did this install long before I ever had the blue sea so back then it wasn't an option. But the more important reason is because I tapped into switched power on the fuse block rather than always on power like would come from the Blue Sea. I do not want to have to remember to turn those lights off every time I park and by tapping into switched power they automatically go out when I turn off the truck. My Blue Sea panel is fed directly from the battery so all circuits fed by that panel are always on regardless of whether the truck is running or not.

 

[MattRunningman]

Loving your build/travel thread! I was browsing online and stumbled upon your Stormrunner on one of the 4x4 sites that I hang on: Toyota 4Runner Overland Project - Pictures & Owner's Story

 

[JohnTheLuck]

I just re-re-read your amazing thread hoping to fin a reason you removed the shark fin antenna. You installed the K9 rack way before removing the antenna.

What was the reason?
Did you get some reception problems before removing it?
I think we have the same radio, so does the antenna is only for SiriusXM, or for AM and FM too?
Do you have the 40mm or 65mm K9 feet?
How did you fill the hole?

 

[jdtaylor42]

I just re-re-read your amazing thread hoping to fin a reason you removed the shark fin antenna. You installed the K9 rack way before removing the antenna.

What was the reason?
Did you get some reception problems before removing it?
I think we have the same radio, so does the antenna is only for SiriusXM, or for AM and FM too?
Do you have the 40mm or 65mm K9 feet?
How did you fill the hole?

I have the standard 65mm feet and the antenna fits perfectly with that and I assume works (although I never subscribed to satellite radio so I don't know that for sure). After having the rack for a while though I decided to get the under rack table mount from Eezi-Awn which allows you to slide a folding table under the rack for storage. If you do this, the antenna cannot fit with the table. Since I never used satellite radio I decided a table would be more beneficial for me.

To fill the hole, I made a custom flat fin that I welded a bolt to. Basically all it is, is a flat piece of steel with a short bolt welded to one side. It drops through the existing roof hole and I dropped the headliner and attached a nut to keep it tight to the roof. I also placed a rubber gasket to make sure it was water tight. I have had that installed for probably a year now with no issues in water encroachment and I can now easily fit my table

 

[JohnTheLuck]

Ah, it make sense! I still have to decide which options I want for my K9. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jdtaylor42]

Haven't updated in a little while because I have been out adventuring. Not too much off-roading in the Runner but I have been focusing on the things I couldn't do while my foot was broken like hiking and kayaking. A few pics from my recent adventures

First I drove up to Utah and hiked a portion of Buckskin Gulch which is the longest slot canyon in the world. It requires an overnight backpacking hike to do it all but I just did an in and back day trip

After that hike I decided to head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to take in the sunset. I also drove out to Point Sublime to see the view there and was treated to some nice fall colors along the way

The next day, back in Flagstaff the aspen trees were in full change mode so I went for a hike to check those out

The next weekend I decided to drive down to the Black Canyon on the Colorado River and do some kayaking

Got to kayak into Emerald Cave and check it out

And this weekend I traveled down to Sedona to do a couple of hikes. West Fork is the most popular hike in the Flagstaff/Sedona area so I made sure I was down at the trailhead well before the parking lot opened to avoid crowds.

Then I went and hiked Soldiers Pass trail to check out the arch cave along that trail

Been a fun few weekends but always more to come!

 

[JohnTheLuck]

I am currently using my stock plastic filler plate. When I looked at the filler plate online it was just 16ga. steel with two bends so I figured I could fab that myself for cheaper than $65. However, my local metal shop only sells 4'x4' sheets and that costs $70. I couldn't think of much else I would make with 16ga. steel so it didn't seem worth it to buy a half sheet. Now if I could get a 4'x4' sheet of aluminum then I would be all over that but not that excited for a steel filler

After installing the RCI skids last week, I am still on the fence about what to do. I installed the plastic plate with only the 3 front screws while the back sits beneath the RCI front skid.

Is it what you did?
Does it move at high speed?
Are you still using the stock plastic filler plate or you replace it with a metal one?

 

[jdtaylor42]

After installing the RCI skids last week, I am still on the fence about what to do. I installed the plastic plate with only the 3 front screws while the back sits beneath the RCI front skid.

Is it what you did?
Does it move at high speed?
Are you still using the stock plastic filler plate or you replace it with a metal one?

I am still using the plastic filler plate and as far as screws, yes I only used the front three. For the rear, I just used zip ties as there are existing holes that can be used but they don't line up. A zip tie can easily keep it where it is supposed to be though. I have driven thousands and thousands of miles since installing and have had zero issues with movement since installing.

 

[C4 Fabrication]

Dude that spot in Utah looks amazing!

 

[ttsphotog]

Incredible thread. What kind of camera do you shoot with - these photos are amazing!

 

[NVSteve]

First I drove up to Utah and hiked a portion of Buckskin Gulch which is the longest slot canyon in the world. It requires an overnight backpacking hike to do it all but I just did an in and back day trip

I've also run into a number of people who hike the entire thing in one day, which is madness. Have you done Coyote Gulch (my favorite) or Grand Gulch?