Unevolved's Build Thread

[unevolved]

I bought my 4Runner in January of 2015. I had an F-150 of similar vintage, but since it was a single cab V6, it wasn't near useful enough for the towing and dog hauling I did regularly. I shopped around for extended cab pickups, before decided maybe I didn't really need a bed all that much.

I started looking around on various sites, and found this one about 9 hours away. 2005 V8 Sport Edition 4WD, with 53,000 miles. I called some family in the area to go take a look at it, and a few hours later they gave their approval.

I put down a deposit, drove the F-150 up there, and drove my new 4Runner back. I'd complained to no end the high cost of used Toyota trucks, but once I finally sucked it up and bought one of my own, it was clear why they deserved the higher prices. It's just so much better than an F-150, at literally everything except having a truck bed.

The goal of this truck is to get me to work every day, haul things that need hauling, tow things that need towing, and take me and my family exploring.

 

[unevolved]

One of the first modifications I did was installing a Scion head unit. I need to listen to music when I drive, and there's no easy way to add an auxiliary input to a JBL-equipped '03-'05.

I was never able to get a bezel that fit well, given the odd shape of the JBL parts, but it looked just fine.

 

[unevolved]

Shortly thereafter, I decided the running boards had to go. The wife liked them, but eh, she got used to not having them anymore. It vastly improved the look of the truck, in my opinion.

In October of last year, I installed a Toytec leveling kit to, well, level it out. I was happy with the look, at least for a little while.

Later that year, we used it to haul a Christmas tree home!

Dual Labrador rating:

Early 2016, I decided it was time to upgrade to a real navigation system, and installed a Kenwood DNX892. The largest motivating factor was the onboard Garmin nav system. I'd had a few instances of being out in the sticks, trusting a cell phone, and losing navigation when we lost cell service. Not anymore!

 

[unevolved]

I reached out to a friend of mine much more into offroading, and asked him what the minimum prep level was for offroading. My background is in road racing and autocrossing, so I'm a total newb when it comes to offroading. I don't want to be the guy showing up with a bone-stock incapable truck, but at the same time, no one wants to be the guy with the expensive, super-modded rig that has no idea what he's doing. He gave me three things to do as a "base" prep:

-Good tires.
-Sliders.
-3" lift.

With that as a checklist, I selected a lift. After far too much research, I went with the OME package from Toytec, based on the awesome customer service I got when I bought my leveling kit. 885/895 springs, and 90000/60004 shocks.

 

[unevolved]

About a month prior to the lift, though, the truck got it's first major blemish. I was picking up a Uhaul car trailer (couldn't borrow a "real" trailer in enough time), and you know how they won't let you hook it up, for liability reasons? Stupid me, this time I didn't double check their work. Went to load a BMW onto the trailer, and it popped off the hitch, swung on the chains, and slammed into the lift gate.

I still had to USE the trailer I rented, so I just rolled with the punches and drove across the state to sell one car, and haul a buddy's fatass CTS-V wagon back. This thing HAD to be approaching the 7,000 limit, I wish I'd drove across the scales. Truck handled it like a champ, though.

(Sorry this post is out of order.)

 

[unevolved]

The next big addition was a used roof tent. I picked up this one from a buddy who was upgrading. He claimed it was an early CVT, but it's hard to say. Similar to lots out there.

It's plenty durable, even as a hand-me-down, but more importantly, the wife and dog love it.

Took it on a quick outing to a nearby State Park with some family to test it out before we went too far. Passed with flying colors:

Gave it a much needed bath after that trip:

 

[unevolved]

Back in April, while the wife was off at a wedding I didn't want to attend, me and my camping buddy set out for Caprock Canyons State Park in the TX Panhandle.

Gorgeous part of the state that few people know is out there. Trips like this are why I bought a T4R. Absolutely no doubts loading it up and driving across the state.

 

[unevolved]

For the most recent 4th of July, we headed out to Palo Duro Canyon with some friends. Somehow it wound up being a convoy of 4Runners, which amused us to no end:

We set up camp across two sites, which was plenty spacious:

We went on the Lighthouse Rock hike, which was extremely hot. Almost ran out of water.

Came back, crashed, and set up our little tent city to relax for a few hours in the heat.

All in all, a great trip. Even if the heat was a bit much at time, the park was gorgeous. Even on a busy weekend it didn't feel crowded.

 

[unevolved]

The previous owner of the truck kept meticulous maintenance records, so the other night I decided to plot out mileage over time, as recorded at service appointments. You can tell when I bought the truck.

 

[unevolved]

Finally got started on the rock sliders I bought from 4XInnovations back in March. Took them to work, and a friend stayed late to help me out. Seem to be decently made, but there was still a good bit of fabrication work left. Definitely more of a "kit" than a finished product, but can't beat the price!

First step was to cut the legs to the same length. Two of them were a little longer, which must be for some other generation.

Next was to sandblast all the parts where they were to be welded.

Then they were mocked up on the truck to see exactly where the legs would go. We settled on a 10 degree angle.

Laid out and clamped.

One side welded:

Then the other.

After that, I took them home to paint them. It will be much easier to paint them off the truck rather than try and paint them properly when they're welded on.

I used Rustoleum Professional Enamel, primer and gloss black. Sure, powdercoat would be more durable, but when (not if) these get scratched, it'll be super easy to touch them up.

Two coats of each, then they're done.

Hopefully next week I'll be able to get them welded to the truck!

 

[unevolved]

Forgot to update this, I finally got the sliders installed! Love them dearly. Going to Bridgeport next weekend!

Also got a new mountain bike, so I made a good mount inside the truck:

Reinforced it underneath the shelf with a 12" piece of 1" x 1/8" aluminum.

The bike BARELY fits. I'd like to raise the seat about an inch, actually, but I can't. The seat already rubs the headliner when putting it in or taking it out. But hey, it's much cheaper than a hitch rack so it'll do for now. Should work until I get a better hitch rack.

 

[metramm]

Hey Unevolved,

I was reading through your build thread and wanted to say I like the pictures you took of Palo Duro Canyon. My mom and I stopped there on our trek across the country from Prescott Arizona to Palos Hills, Illinois. We were bringing my grandpa's car back (2005 Lexus LS430) that she inherited towing a small U-haul trailer of stuff.

Car drove great even loaded down with a trailer into and thankfully back out of the canyon.

Keep up the awesome build thread and welcome to the 4runner family!

metramm

 

[unevolved]

Hey Unevolved,

I was reading through your build thread and wanted to say I like the pictures you took of Palo Duro Canyon. My mom and I stopped there on our trek across the country from Prescott Arizona to Palos Hills, Illinois. We were bringing my grandpa's car back (2005 Lexus LS430) that she inherited towing a small U-haul trailer of stuff.

Car drove great even loaded down with a trailer into and thankfully back out of the canyon.

Keep up the awesome build thread and welcome to the 4runner family!

metramm

Thanks, PD was a lot of fun. A little hot when we were there, but that's to be expected.

 

[kevinpt]

Forgot to update this, I finally got the sliders installed! Love them dearly. Going to Bridgeport next weekend!

Also got a new mountain bike, so I made a good mount inside the truck:

Reinforced it underneath the shelf with a 12" piece of 1" x 1/8" aluminum.

The bike BARELY fits. I'd like to raise the seat about an inch, actually, but I can't. The seat already rubs the headliner when putting it in or taking it out. But hey, it's much cheaper than a hitch rack so it'll do for now. Should work until I get a better hitch rack.

i used a fork mount in the cargo area for years but i did some looking on my local facebook groups and found myself a free hitch rack and turned it into a small compact single bike rack for around $20. try looking around on craigslist

 

[unevolved]

Yeah, I'm looking around on Craigslist. Haven't seen anything worthwhile yet. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[mpyle]

Did you use the OEM top mounts?

I reached out to a friend of mine much more into offroading, and asked him what the minimum prep level was for offroading. My background is in road racing and autocrossing, so I'm a total newb when it comes to offroading. I don't want to be the guy showing up with a bone-stock incapable truck, but at the same time, no one wants to be the guy with the expensive, super-modded rig that has no idea what he's doing. He gave me three things to do as a "base" prep:

-Good tires.
-Sliders.
-3" lift.

With that as a checklist, I selected a lift. After far too much research, I went with the OME package from Toytec, based on the awesome customer service I got when I bought my leveling kit. 885/895 springs, and 90000/60004 shocks.

 

[unevolved]

Did you use the OEM top mounts?

Yep, no problem re-using OEM hardware. I had previously had a Toytec spacer on the fronts, so I had the longer studs pressed in. I hadn't thought about keeping the old studs, so I cut down the inboard one with a dremel to get it to clear the frame. If you're totally stock, you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[unevolved]

Went to Bridgeport this weekend to an offroad park. Had a GREAT time, and I was really impressed with how the truck did, with nothing other than an OME lift.

 

[unevolved]

After the Bridgeport trip, the front ball joints started making noise. I'd noticed the boots were a little torn, and I guess dunking them in mud & dirty water accelerated their wear. Surprise surprise. So I sucked it up and bought new LCAs from Toyota:

I love how the balljoint bracket design allows you to fight the balljoint on the bench. SO much easier than having to get it to release on the truck.

New vs. old.

Old LCA removed. Weld-on sliders make great jackstand locations.

All done.

Wash, rinse, repeat on the other side. Whole job only took 2.5 hours or so, including a trip to Harbor Freight for some cotter pins.

 

[unevolved]

I think I finally found the largest dog kennel that will fit in a 4th gen with the rear seats up.

It actually compresses into the back seat a little bit when the hatch is closed. Definitely a snug fit, but it fits!