thread - retro fitting 2nd gen tire carrier on a 3rd gen 4Runner

[bolantej]

hey thor ever think of just plast-dipping or bed lining the parts that you want to cover?

 

[thorridder]

The fact that most people here won't just drill a bunch of holes in the side of their rig, and start bolting things onto it, has less to do with "balls" and more to do with the fact that most people do care about not only the appearance, but the resale value of their vehicle.

Not all people who want their vehicles to look good do it because they want to look good at the mall. And for those of us that wheel our rigs, the fact that we do doesn't mean our rigs have to look like crap.

Thor is a big boy people, let him stick up for himself.

yeah im pretty well to the point where i dont care. its a play truck, not a $60,000 SUV. its to have fun and do most things, not too hot on trail blazing with it yet. and its funny that i get c**p for doing this this was but when asking nobody helped and im thinking if you dont like it f*****g do iy yourself and see what you come up with.

and i do really care what it looks like. but the paint is so scratched up i have started using spray paint on it and thats kinda a turning point in my eyes. but its banged up but it adds character in my eyes.

and it doesnt matter what i say nobody reads it all. they just puke random s**t at what they think yet they havnt done this? its not that i dont read it all because i do, but im not trying to impress anyone on here, i will never see you, why should i care that much? everyone that sees it things its sweet. you guys are the only ones that think its bad, besides my father because he got it stock and wasnt too hot on putting holes in it, but i think even he will come around to it. its still technically half his....

 

[thorridder]

hey thor ever think of just plast-dipping or bed lining the parts that you want to cover?

i keep plati dipping and it doesnt stick and comes off easily, and i tried the rattle can bed liner on a sub box and it was c**p. and i dont want to take it to a shop and pay. i just keep getting spray paint, so when not if it gets messed up i just clean it and spray it again. its easy that way.

 

[blcktpgsr]

Thor, I had my personal doubts at first but you are one determined individual with an "everything is possible to positive thinker" mind set....That to me is very admirable.

This project isn't easy for the faint of heart to even attempt....Just remember.........someone could've done this a looooong time ago but the challenges involved must've proved real difficult to be worth even trying...so you are one of the few who tackled this and actually delivered. I'd be really proud of that achievement.

Sure alot of guys disagree on your execution on certain aspects of it, but you seem really confident about your ways..Maybe I over-reinforced mine, or maybe yours will hold up just fine, only time will tell..just consider some of the boys' comments as gestures of care and concern as opposed to hate and criticisms.

Oh yeah.........Well done!

 

[thorridder]

blcktpgsr, did you even put anything on the inside? besides the tubes?

 

[blcktpgsr]

blcktpgsr, did you even put anything on the inside? besides the tubes?

Yes I tied in those tubings to the d-pillar by welding them in...for both the upper and lower hinges.

 

[thorridder]

Yes I tied in those tubings to the d-pillar by welding them in...for both the upper and lower hinges.

so this was it? thats what i thought. just making sure.

 

[thorridder]

got the cover on, after 2 hours of sanding. didnt turn out great, can see where the bondo stuff is.

but here is before

and here is after 3 coats of matt black

and the thing was all busted up obviously, and the lights were no exception. so i made the stock lights fit in the same spots with some cutting and drilling.

and this is it on, not wired because i ran out of wire....

working on finishing the lights tomorrow, got the CB wired in though

 

[fightman80]

Looks pretty good! Could use some bondo or something to smooth out the licence plate light.... but otherwise... I like it!

 

[thorridder]

Looks pretty good! Could use some bondo or something to smooth out the licence plate light.... but otherwise... I like it!

its never going to look good. its bent up from the guy i got it from. the internals were shot. im not worried about it too much. may make a cover for it when the weather comes right.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Looking good so far. Obviously not the "cleanest" look but if it suits you then all is good and you saved $1200.


BTW, with regards to your comment. I don't think any insurance company (in any state) would ever pay out if it fell of somehow. In fact if it comes apart while driving and injures someone you would be liable. I doubt that will happen but .. just saying.

that said if i get is a bad enough wreck it will tear the f**k out of the side of the truck but that would be true with any truck with the carrier mounted on the side, but thats what insurance is for.

:drummer:

 

[thorridder]

BTW, with regards to your comment. I don't think any insurance company (in any state) would ever pay out if it fell of somehow. In fact if it comes apart while driving and injures someone you would be liable. I doubt that will happen but .. just saying.

thats a good pint... didnt think about that and nothing has come up about it. guess we will see.

 

[Dubk_trd]

looks good man

 

[Kryptoroxx]

Digging this one up from the grave.

Well done. If you're still around I just came into a 2nd Gen carrier of my own for 15 bucks with everything. I just wanted to give you props on what you accomplished before I went and utilized your idea. I had wondered if anyone had done this before.

How is everything holding up?

 

[T4R2014]

Digging this one up from the grave.

Well done. If you're still around I just came into a 2nd Gen carrier of my own for 15 bucks with everything. I just wanted to give you props on what you accomplished before I went and utilized your idea. I had wondered if anyone had done this before.

How is everything holding up?

Pretty sure I recall seeing somewhere that he took it through a car wash or something and wanted them to pay for the damage after an immense force ripped some bolts out of the sheet metal.

I totally wasn't expecting it to fail that easily.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

Pretty sure I recall seeing somewhere that he took it through a car wash or something and wanted them to pay for the damage after an immense force ripped some bolts out of the sheet metal.

I totally wasn't expecting it to fail that easily.

Ouch....

If that's what happened man I am truly sorry thor. That sucks.

For what it's worth I don't go through car washes and I am reinforcing the inside. Trying to find some 3/16" plate in a big enough size so I can do a reinforced L bracket on the inside.

 

[T4R2014]

Ouch....

If that's what happened man I am truly sorry thor. That sucks.

For what it's worth I don't go through car washes and I am reinforcing the inside. Trying to find some 3/16" plate in a big enough size so I can do a reinforced L bracket on the inside.

Best of luck to you with that. This is a seriously risky mod. Anyone who is willing the drill holes into a hard-to-replace panel such as that is pretty daring. I would look into some Hilux Surf tire carrier retrofit threads to get an idea of the necessary reinforcements. I don't recommend using this thread as a guide.

 

[MandAtaco]

His last post was 2012 sometime so we probably wont hear any updates on how it held up besides the car wash indecent.

On another note, I agree with T4R2014 completely about not following this guide completely. I'll give the guy an A for effort, but bolting something like that straight to a sheet metal body is crazy. There really needs to be some reinforcement for that kind of load. I bolted some jerry can mounts in the bed of my taco with some large fender washers backing them up, and they still vibrated and cracked the bed.

 

[D Farms]

Even though this didnt work out so well, at least he had the balls to do it.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

Best of luck to you with that. This is a seriously risky mod. Anyone who is willing the drill holes into a hard-to-replace panel such as that is pretty daring. I would look into some Hilux Surf tire carrier retrofit threads to get an idea of the necessary reinforcements. I don't recommend using this thread as a guide.

Thanks. I will have a better idea after I can rig this thing to sit on my truck how I want it to mount without holding it lol.

Holes shouldn't be that big. Stock bolts were 4 of your standard 12mm socket toyota bolts on each hinge with a weld nut on the backside of the panel.

The hatch piece is where there was 8 holes securing everything. This is the piece that holds the tire to the truck when it's closed. The hinges are the same on the 4runner as the surf with tire carrier so the hinges will hold the weight. Securing these will be much more important. Either 1/8" plate or fender washers ought to spread the weight out enough to not pull through. There isn't a whole lot of clearence in there with the wiper motor so I gotta go take a look see. I put cld tiles on the backside of the panel in the tailgate so there is room for setting in there.