“Hello everyone, and welcome to my 5th-gen build thread” - me, in my dreams, up until this very moment. I ended up in this position after falling in love with my 4th gen 4Runner (the thread for which can be found here: Stromtrooper 4Runner-- and which I admittedly am bad at keeping up on), but needing something that can withstand 30k miles/year of daily life as well as be the starting point for something I keep long-term, for both adventures and whatever life throws at me alike. And so...a 5th-gen was the only logical choice. As of this writing, I somehow own both a 4th gen and a 5th gen 4Runner. I’m a 4Runner lover...and apparently a 4Runner hoarder. (And there’s a ‘91 MR2 project out back, so I guess I’m a Toyota hoarder?)
This intro post will cover some of the back-story about how I ended up with a 5th-gen 4Runner as well as the truck itself, the plans I have for it, and so on. It will also serve as a landing page for the adventures I take with this truck, maintenance performed, and everything in-between. I also do tend to like build threads with a back-story behind them, so here’s mine...
After months of research and a few missteps along the way, I drove up to Maine on Saturday, September 15th 2018 and bought a 2018 4Runner TRD Off Road Premium from Berlin City Toyota. It was a purchase that was a long time in the making and a move that put me in a vehicle I’m hoping to and looking forward to having for-- contrary to my track record-- quite a while. Before the this truck, there were a few other vehicles that ultimately led me here:
2005 Avalanche Z71 --- had for 7 years
2014 Challenger R/T 100th Anniversary Edition --- bought this to replace the Avy, had it for 2 years until it started falling apart and made me want “more” in terms of steering feel and general responsiveness
2001 VehiCROSS --- bought this as a winter/off-road vehicle while I had the Challenger, had it for 3 months and got rid of it due to difficulty of finding parts and the drawbacks of the VX in general (i.e., everything)
2017 WRX --- replaced the VX and Challenger with this, had it for 2 years and watched the value plummet due to miles and an accident on its history; it was a “gateway drug” into the world of fun cars and I miss it often but it rode too poorly for my spine to withstand
After trading my Challenger and VehiCROSS in on the WRX, I thought I had it figured out. Turbo punch was great fun, autocross was a blast, and the AWD system in conjunction with winter tires made it nearly unstoppable in anything except the absolute worst weather. But the off-roader in me couldn’t take not having a 4x4, so after months of research and waiting for the right truck to come along I finally drove with my best friend up to Canada in January of 2016 and bought the Stormtrooper 4Runner. It was everything I wanted, and the perfect entry into the world of Toyota 4x4s. It gave me a taste of how capable and do-it-all worthy these trucks are, and I was hooked.
2005 4Runner (“The Stormtrooper”) --- bought this from a fellow forum member while I had the WRX because I couldn’t stand not having an off-road vehicle; still have it but will likely let it go
But between the WRX and the Stromtrooper 4Runner I had two vehicles that effectively occupied the same niche when it came down to the all-important aspect of commuting to work in the worst that weather can dish out. And with four doors, all-wheel-drive, and a slew of things that needed attention (and a 4Runner that also had four doors and 4WD), I let the WRX go and picked up a 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Centennial Edition, a car that took everything I loved about the WRX (steering input/feel, shifter directness, power, etc; and rear-wheel-drive and the roof came off and holyhell just look at the thing) and improved upon it to the most extreme extent while still being daily-driver capable. Or so I thought.
2012 Corvette Grand Sport Centennial Edition --- sold the WRX to buy this but after living with it and realizing how poorly suited it was to my needs, lifestyle, and goals (not to mention causing physical pain if I drove it for longer than a half hour), decided it would be best to get rid of it
And that’s how I ended up here. Since buying the Challenger it’s been a bit of a trip to get me to this spot in my automotive life. After spending my entire life in the off-road community until the time I bought the Challenger, I branched out; it was as much an experiment to see what I found most enjoyable as it was a test to see how far I could push the “fun car” experience before it became intolerable (which I found in the ‘Vette). The cars were things I had to try so as to “find myself,” but ultimately, when it comes down to it, 4WD and off-roading are what matter to me most in the wide world of automobiles.
Long story short, I found myself wondering endlessly what the right vehicle would be to replace the ‘Vette, ideally something that split the difference between the on-road ease of a Grand Cherokee and the off-road prowess of a Wrangler, with better reliability and longevity than either of the Jeeps. The answer was simple: a 5th-gen 4Runner. I love my 4th gen dearly and have loved every 5th gen I had test-driven for fun, but up until now it had been impossible to justify buying one. Seeing that new trucks could be had for less than the few 2-3 year old CPO examples available in my area, the proverbial automotive stars aligned, things clicked into place, and after a horrible situation with a horrible dealer selling a used truck I had a deposit on (*never* buy from Stephen Toyota in Bristol, CT) I found myself shopping for the best deal on the exact new truck I wanted.
And that exact truck was: a TRD Off Road Premium with the only major option being the sunroof. KDSS didn’t appeal to me in knowing the complications it can bring when modifying down the road, and especially since my 4th gen doesn’t have sway bars front or rear so a standard non-KDSS 5th-gen handles remarkably well relatively speaking. After a month of hard shopping I found a post by a fellow forum member in the “How much are people paying for a NEW 4Runner” thread in which a killer deal was mentioned at a dealer in Portland, Maine. Thinking how at under 300 miles that didn’t seem like a bad trip (I flew to Chicago to buy the Corvette and drove it the 1000 miles home), I reached out to the forum member and got an email address for the internet sales manager. As it turns out, they had nearly exactly what I wanted on the ship on its way to the dealership. The truck wasn’t red, which was my number one color, but those were few and far-between and seemingly impossible to locate in the region, and if they could there was a big price gap and almost all of the red ones came with KDSS unless you factory order it (and there goes the chance of deep discounting, and an increase in lead time as well). Alas, the truck I ultimately bought had a few options I could have done without, like the chrome exhaust tip and cargo net, but they weren’t a deal breaker. Berlin City Toyota in Portland, Maine came through with a fantastic deal and I drove up on 9/15/18 to purchase my new 4Runner, which I took delivery of with 2 miles on the odometer. I can’t say enough good about the salesman (whose name I will be happy to give out via PM) and the dealership as a whole. The entire experience was unlike any other I’ve had, with zero surprises and no real pressure whatsoever. It was an A+ experience.
The ~275 mile drive home gave me ample time to familiarize myself with the truck. Out on the highway it was shocking: coming from having driven my beaten-and-bruised 4th gen with increasing frequency as of late, the new, clean, and composed 5th gen felt like much of the same thing...just better in every way. It was exactly what I wanted, and made for a quiet, calm, and comfortable drive back to Connecticut. The truck truly is everything I wanted it to be. It’s a truck I lusted after for years, and one I’m both proud and happy to call my own-- and one I’ll hopefully have for a long, long time. And given the possibility for (i.e., inevitability of) modifications and knowing the track record of reliability, it’s likely that will happen.
In buying the 5th-gen, I did in turn commit to selling the Stromtrooper 4Runner at some point in the not-too-distant future. It’s simply too many things to have to juggle and though I love that truck more than everything else I have ever owned, it’s for the better. As such, I’ll be doing to the 5th-gen some of what was done to the 4th-gen. The new 5th-gen 4Runner also will need to be wholly daily-driver capable for my ~100 mile/day round-trip commute, so my plans are to keep it relatively simple, sleek, and functional. I want it to be great off-road and unique in its own way, but not so much a “look at me” vehicle as were my last couple cars (the attention you get in a bright blue WRX and in an all-black Corvette gets old, quickly). Modifications will eventually be as follows (the list of which is subject to change):
--Armor: Sliders, full skids, winch-ready front bumper (could be either a slimline or a full replacement...TBD...already have a Smittybilt winch ready to go), rear bumper w/tire carrier and hi-lift mount
--Suspension: Aftermarket UCAs and shocks/springs (coilovers?) better suited to off-roading (but still daily driver capable)
--Misc. mechanical protection: Snorkel, diff breathers, exhaust tuck
--Trunk LEDs, aux reverse lights, supplementary forward lighting
--Tires (wheels are a “maybe,” only if I am trying to find something lightweight to offset the added unsprung mass of the heavier duty rubber)
And that’s about it. In stock form I love the way the 4Runner looks and drives, so there’s not a ton I need to do to it to be happy with it for years to come. This truck really does mean a lot to me. For years I’ve been thinking and dreaming of buying a vehicle that I can own long-term, build up exactly the way I want to, and use as a backbone for some of my bucket list adventures (like a Moab/Utah/Colorado trip)....and this 4Runner is it. Because of the restrictions that came with all of my vehicles before, how they interfered with my goals and life-long desires, and how much this truck can and will allow me to do, it only seems right to name it one thing: The Enabler.
[This name is subject to change if I come up with something wittier]
I will also be documenting the 4Runner for Hooniverse, the automotive website I contribute to semi-regularly. All posts about this truck-- and everything else I write for the outlet-- can be found here.
Current pictures as of 9/15/18:
