**The RickRunner Build**

[rickashay]

Great looking 4th gen! Super clean. I remember seeing your LC avatar? I could have that wrong, but I thought you had a 3rd gen. I got here via my research of SCS wheels. I had been looking at the gunmetal Ray 10's and F5's. Your and @NateMod kept hitting my radar. Haha... I think I am following along very similar build to Nate's old runner.

I ended up ordering some gunmetal F5's in 3.5" BS. I really dig your clean color scheme. The contrast from your 4runner to darker gunmetal, accented with the polished ring looks sharp.

Thanks for catching the details! I had a a 3rd gen, then an LC, then a Tundra, now a 4th gen

Yes, [MENTION=88391]NateMob[/MENTION] 4Runner was hella clean!


Part 4 of COLOSSAL 2017 now live HERE.


20170923-_08I4540 by Tamarack Media Co., on Flickr

 

[rickashay]

Took a Sunday drive with mom and the dogs. I must say I'm really like the Toyo RT's. Still need to get them in the deep pow and mud but my initial impressions in the snow on Sunday were pretty good.


_08I5806.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


_08I5823.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


_08I5886.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

 

[blackoutt]

In the meantime, I'll finish getting the trimming done for the tires. I'm so close I can taste it.

My pinch weld mod being as OCD as possible. I wanted to reduce the number of "reliefs" I cut into the pinch weld as to introduce as few rust points as possible. I had to cut two as it was almost too rigid in the lower section without cutting it there. I used a wood block to evenly bend the whole thing over. Once complete I sealed it up with some weatherproof Silicone that I use on headlight assemblies etc when retrofitting. Notice how I was able to retain the liner mounting point mid way up the pinch weld.


_DSC0192.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

I may still need to trim the corner of the front fender but I'm basically trying to roll it back to give me another 1/2" of clearance without cutting it, but still retaining the fender liner mounting points. I want to make some rubber liners and have no mud/debris get in behind the door once it's all done. More on that to come.

Also finished one of the body mount chops. Wish I would have taken the cut a little bit further back towards the frame on the front side but I can always trim and plate it again later if I find the need.


_DSC0199.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

Sorry to clog up your thread with old stuff but I'm working on fitting the same exact tires on my 07 and wanting full stuff capability. These front pictures are perfect for showing me what to do, happen to have any of the rear trimming? Did you end up using the rear bump stop drops with the MT LT kit? 3" just seems like too much uptravel to give up for my shorter fox shocks.

 

[rickashay]

Part 4 is now live. >>> View it HERE.


20170925-_MG_2432 by Tamarack Media Co., on Flickr


20170925-_MG_2396 by Tamarack Media Co., on Flickr

 

[rickashay]

Sorry to clog up your thread with old stuff but I'm working on fitting the same exact tires on my 07 and wanting full stuff capability. These front pictures are perfect for showing me what to do, happen to have any of the rear trimming? Did you end up using the rear bump stop drops with the MT LT kit? 3" just seems like too much uptravel to give up for my shorter fox shocks.

Dug up all the pics to show what I trimmed:


_DSC0053.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

You can kinda see here where my cut line starts:

_DSC0202.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

Good side profile with it trimmed:

_DSC0261.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

IMO this size tire is perfect for this truck. The 295's are wider than the 285/75/17 although I wish I could get the height form the 285/75/17 but the width from my 295's. Even in the front at full bump I am hitting the inside edge of my flares. I could drop my front bumpstops by 1/8" to 1/4" though and eliminate the front rub entirely.

In the rear, I am running the MT bump stop drops but with the softer and more compressible Wheelers Superbump bumpstops. When fully compressed and sitting on the bumpstops, my tires are JUST beginning to bite into my Rally Armor mud flaps at the rear of my trimmed rear bumper. With a little more rear bumper trimming you could squeeze out maximum another inch of uptravel before you start chewing into the door. Playing with the length of the links might help this but you would need to trim the rear bumper more. I am very happy with the rear MT setup and have no issues with the bumpstop drops. I often drive hundreds of kms on gravel backcountry roads at 60-70 mph and it has performed great. My only complaint is that they give too much lift... I'd love to lower the rear by 1.5-2".

 

[blackoutt]

IMO this size tire is perfect for this truck. The 295's are wider than the 285/75/17 although I wish I could get the height form the 285/75/17 but the width from my 295's. Even in the front at full bump I am hitting the inside edge of my flares. I could drop my front bumpstops by 1/8" to 1/4" though and eliminate the front rub entirely.

In the rear, I am running the MT bump stop drops but with the softer and more compressible Wheelers Superbump bumpstops. When fully compressed and sitting on the bumpstops, my tires are JUST beginning to bite into my Rally Armor mud flaps at the rear of my trimmed rear bumper. With a little more rear bumper trimming you could squeeze out maximum another inch of uptravel before you start chewing into the door. Playing with the length of the links might help this but you would need to trim the rear bumper more. I am very happy with the rear MT setup and have no issues with the bumpstop drops. I often drive hundreds of kms on gravel backcountry roads at 60-70 mph and it has performed great. My only complaint is that they give too much lift... I'd love to lower the rear by 1.5-2".

Awesome info, thanks! This is exactly the in depth analysis (that I assumed you've done) and exactly what I was looking for. Front I'm not too concerned about, just lots of trimming and maybe space the superbump down a tad. For the rear I'm currently running stock length lower links with poly bushings, stock bumps, 1" body lift, Dobinson 677 LT springs (similar specs to MT LT springs), but Fox non-LT shocks, more of a mid travel designed for 2-3" lift. I'm thinking that I could benefit by going to LT shocks, drop the bump stop 2-3" plus superbumps, and have minimal trimming over what I've already got for 285's. Some measurements are in order. Only other difference is my 06-09 shaped fenderwells/flares. Thanks again for the pics and detailed comments.

 

[rickashay]

Awesome info, thanks! This is exactly the in depth analysis (that I assumed you've done) and exactly what I was looking for. Front I'm not too concerned about, just lots of trimming and maybe space the superbump down a tad. For the rear I'm currently running stock length lower links with poly bushings, stock bumps, 1" body lift, Dobinson 677 LT springs (similar specs to MT LT springs), but Fox non-LT shocks, more of a mid travel designed for 2-3" lift. I'm thinking that I could benefit by going to LT shocks, drop the bump stop 2-3" plus superbumps, and have minimal trimming over what I've already got for 285's. Some measurements are in order. Only other difference is my 06-09 shaped fenderwells/flares. Thanks again for the pics and detailed comments.

No problem! Glad to help.

The Dobinsons rear LT springs... are they the same extended length as the MT ones? Do they sit lower when unloaded? I am in eager need of a lower spring for the rear while still maintaining my mad droop.

 

[Legender]

Those are some awesome pics and a great trip report. Just bounced over to read your next installment. Thanks for sharing for those of us how live well south of that beautiful part of the world.

 

[blackoutt]

No problem! Glad to help.

The Dobinsons rear LT springs... are they the same extended length as the MT ones? Do they sit lower when unloaded? I am in eager need of a lower spring for the rear while still maintaining my mad droop.

The Dobinson 675V appear to sit lower than the MT springs, which is why I sold mine and went to the 677V. So 675 might do the trick for you, long enough to stay retained with LT flex too! Specs below, but I disagree with lift height. The 675 only gave me the same lift as my icon 2" and I wanted a full 3.

C59-675V - Variable rate comfort option, stock rear weight, 2.5" lift. 470/470mm, 16mm wire, 157-230LB variable
C59-677V - Variable rate comfort option, 400+LB heavy rear load weight, 2.5-3" lift. 500/500mm, 16mm wire, 157-230LB variable

675V loaded with full camping gear (~400lbs maybe?)

675V very lightly loaded

677V no load, very tall

 

[williamteichroeb]

Nice build

Nice build buddy! I'm in Fernie, BC, so pretty close to your neck of the woods I'd imagine (relative to most people on this site). I am very interested in seeing a few more pics of your skid plates. I was just about to pull the trigger on some RCI skids on black friday, but if the element ones are nice, and a reasonable price, I would consider them. Are you able to tell me a bit more about the thickness, and how well they've held up? I would especially appreciate a few shots of the transfer case skid and how it attaches?

I have emailed them as well on facebook, but it's always nice getting a first hand account from a user.

Feel free to PM me if you don't want to clutter your build thread

Thanks!
Will

 

[rickashay]

Nice build buddy! I'm in Fernie, BC, so pretty close to your neck of the woods I'd imagine (relative to most people on this site). I am very interested in seeing a few more pics of your skid plates. I was just about to pull the trigger on some RCI skids on black friday, but if the element ones are nice, and a reasonable price, I would consider them. Are you able to tell me a bit more about the thickness, and how well they've held up? I would especially appreciate a few shots of the transfer case skid and how it attaches?

I have emailed them as well on facebook, but it's always nice getting a first hand account from a user.

Feel free to PM me if you don't want to clutter your build thread

Thanks!
Will

Hey Will thanks for reaching out. I'm in Nelson, so not far away at all! We should try to line up next season. The Element skid are 1/4" aluminum. I have some photos on my flickr page if you click on the link to any of my photos. You should see a couple of the underside somewhere on my photo feed. They have held up great so far but to be honest I haven't been to Moab or anything overly technical with this truck yet. They have definitely taken some solid hits this summer though and have retained their shape and integrity quite well. Certainly not regretting the decision to run aluminum for the weight savings vs. strength argument. One feature I was quite adamant about was the coverage of the front alignment cams/hardware. The RCI skids are very narrow up front and do not cover the alignment hardware. The Element skids are designed way wider to ad protection there but still allow access to the bolts when your actually getting an alignment done.

 

[rickashay]

I recently switched over to my winter wheel/tire setup. I'll be daily driving the 4Runner this winter and using it a fair amount on the highway so I am running a dedicated winter highway tire setup. We actually are required by law in BC to run winter tires over the mountain passes so running a MT or AT all year is hard to do in my location. Because I love Toyo's so much I opten for a set of GSi 5's in the biggest size at 285/70R17. Running them on a set of 17x9 Matte Dark Bronze SCS F5's. Love the change in look for the winter and always have the option to throw the beadlocks on for the weekend when the snow gets deep and I need to get out and play in the truck.

A couple snaps from my exploration mission this weekend:

_MG_3997.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


_MG_3988.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


_MG_3989.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


_MG_3991.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

 

[williamteichroeb]

Hey Will thanks for reaching out. I'm in Nelson, so not far away at all! We should try to line up next season. The Element skid are 1/4" aluminum. I have some photos on my flickr page if you click on the link to any of my photos. You should see a couple of the underside somewhere on my photo feed. They have held up great so far but to be honest I haven't been to Moab or anything overly technical with this truck yet. They have definitely taken some solid hits this summer though and have retained their shape and integrity quite well. Certainly not regretting the decision to run aluminum for the weight savings vs. strength argument. One feature I was quite adamant about was the coverage of the front alignment cams/hardware. The RCI skids are very narrow up front and do not cover the alignment hardware. The Element skids are designed way wider to ad protection there but still allow access to the bolts when your actually getting an alignment done.

Thanks for the response. Appreciate it. I spoke to the owner of element and he seems like a really solid dude. He was more than reasonable with price, and his design looks very nice. However......he only has the V8 option at the moment, and I called CBI and RCI to see if the V6 and V8's are interchangeable and they aren't. The cross member is in a different location so the transmission and xfer case skid plate wouldn't work.

I actually took a chance and ordered through Shrockworks. I say "took a chance" because for the life of me, there is not 1 single 4th gen 4runner I can see running their plates! I have read many reviews from the 5th and 3rd gen guys though and no one had a single complaint. The only bad things I've heard about shrockworks is the lead time, but their products appear to be solid. I'll post a review once I get them and install the set.

Anytime you're out in the East Kootenays, shoot me a message. Would be great to get out exploring with another 4th gen.

Cheers, and thanks for the help

Will

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Fantastic build as usual. Do you have any concerns about the durability of the aluminum sliders based on real world use? I'm a huge fan of using aluminum, but it so often get poo-poo'd as an option for sliders.

 

[rickashay]

Fantastic build as usual. Do you have any concerns about the durability of the aluminum sliders based on real world use? I'm a huge fan of using aluminum, but it so often get poo-poo'd as an option for sliders.

I should clarify... all of my armor is aluminum (front bumper, full underbody skids) but the sliders are steel. For that very reason I chose weight and more strength for the sliders.

 

[alextmullis]

How much lift do you think you’re running all around? Because iirc you don’t have a body lift?

 

[DreamRun08]

Are your front coilers maxed out in hight?

 

[rickashay]

How much lift do you think you’re running all around? Because iirc you don’t have a body lift?

I'm at about 2" lift in the front and 4" in the rear. I am either going to lower the rear or keep dealing with the rake until I ad more weight to the back end to drop it down. I'll never run a bodylift and I am quite certain that 35's can work without one when the time comes...

Are your front coilers maxed out in hight?

No, not even close.

 

[rickashay]

This has been a long time in the works but we will be releasing the full Colossal 2017 Video on Jan 28th where it will be posted on our website

>>> Tamarack Media Co. <<<

In the meantime... here is the trailer

https://vimeo.com/251579714

 

[Velas]

that trailer is legit! trucks looking good man! id be interested in doing that same modification you did for your awning, i don't think the car would fit in my garage without that, hope you don't mind me borrowing your idea!