Unner's Build, 2001 T4R 4x4

[habanero]

Wow, great pics! Great trip! I'm ready to go back again.
The white thing is a mountain goat. Tracking collar, maybe?

We usually camp in the same spot you pictured at Wilson. It usually storms.

Did you see the plaque at Twin Bridges? Memorial to 19 year old Jeeper Beau James Daley who went off the side of one of the bridges. Eeks!

We took a lot of pictures of the goofy bright blue potash ponds on Schaefer trail.

Was the flat sandy section on Arches 4x road still super tilty? That one pegs the clinometer and boy, do those tire on one side feel light!

So basically I'm saying COOL STUFF! Thanks for the trip report, you've provided more inspiration for places I haven't been and a longing for places I have.

Also, Fins and things is steep-freaky. Agreed!

 

[Moonbandit]

Great pics!

Roll tide

Must have been a blast. Thanks for sharing.

 

[EatonKyleH]

Dude sweet pics!

Shame I broke and had to bail early and didn't wind up running anything together!

Cool to have at least seen ya "in passing".... literally haha.

Let me know if you're ever heading out that way again anytime. I think the same group will probably be out there again same time of year.

 

[Dirtco]

Great pictures, looks like you had one hell of a trip! I haven't even fixed my truck yet and I feel the need to get back out there.

On a side note, that scenic overlook is where I grew up and live... Small world

DSC05530a by Unner Unner, on Flickr

 

[Unner]

Wow, great pics! Great trip! I'm ready to go back again.
The white thing is a mountain goat. Tracking collar, maybe?

We usually camp in the same spot you pictured at Wilson. It usually storms.

Did you see the plaque at Twin Bridges? Memorial to 19 year old Jeeper Beau James Daley who went off the side of one of the bridges. Eeks!

We took a lot of pictures of the goofy bright blue potash ponds on Schaefer trail.

Was the flat sandy section on Arches 4x road still super tilty? That one pegs the clinometer and boy, do those tire on one side feel light!

So basically I'm saying COOL STUFF! Thanks for the trip report, you've provided more inspiration for places I haven't been and a longing for places I have.

Also, Fins and things is steep-freaky. Agreed!

Thanks!

Ah, mountain goat makes sense. I'm not sure, could have been a tracking collar or maybe a bell of some sort even.

Wilson Park was a nice park for sure, the weather just made it quite unpleasant...

I don't think I saw that plaque, but I saw one talking about the people who died trying to jump between the bridges. I'm not sure why one would even attempt that though.

I missed the potash ponds completely. Not sure how if they were bright blue.

Yes! I completely forgot how tilted the trail was going towards eye of the whale. It got pretty sketchy. I don't know how much lean it takes to tip a 3rd gen, but I feel like I was pretty close at points, especially with the roof rack and 50 pounds of gear strapped to it.

Fins n Things is crazy steep, too bad it's impossible to really capture it in a picture. Glad I could provide some insight/inspiration! That's why I posted all these pictures. It takes a lot more than one would think to do a full trip report on a long trip like this.

Great pics!

Roll tide

Must have been a blast. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! It sure was!

Dude sweet pics!

Shame I broke and had to bail early and didn't wind up running anything together!

Cool to have at least seen ya "in passing".... literally haha.

Let me know if you're ever heading out that way again anytime. I think the same group will probably be out there again same time of year.

Thanks!

Yeah, I was bummed when Hayden told me you and Jeremiah had broken rigs and had to leave early. I'm sure I'll be back, Moab was an amazing place. I really wish it wasn't so far for me. If I could cut the drive time down to one day somehow I would be there way more often. Sometime I want to make it out to Colorado a little later in the year and do Engineer Pass, Black Bear Pass, and all that kind of stuff.

Unfortunately I won't have a break long enough to make it out to Moab until next year at the same time, but I'd say there's a good chance I end up there again! Next time I'm definitely gonna try and organize it with a few T4R members.

Great pictures, looks like you had one hell of a trip! I haven't even fixed my truck yet and I feel the need to get back out there.

On a side note, that scenic overlook is where I grew up and live... Small world

DSC05530a by Unner Unner, on Flickr

Thanks Jeremiah! It really was, I'm still amazed at how much we saw and how much ground we covered in 10 days. We were averaging over 500 miles a day.

I wanted to be back in Moab right after we left. I'm gonna try and fill that void by doing some camping/exploring down here in the Southeast, but it isn't the same down here. The public land and support for off-road activities out in that area is spectacular. We don't have that down here.

That's awesome that you're from there! It makes sense now with all the DEEP snow pics in your build thread. It was so beautiful there, I'm jealous that you get to call that home! It really is a small world, I didn't plan to meet anyone on my trip there, all of the crossing paths and such was pure coincidence.

 

[Scramble]

That was one awesome road trip! :cheers: I thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole thing. Great report! Even greater pics! Utah is absolutely beautiful & on my bucket list, 2100 miles each way for me. :heh:

 

[Blackdawg]

Woooo great trip man!!!

Told you that that red dust would be your gift for the rest of the rigs life! haha!! you'll find that shit everywhere now. Don't look under your carpets...

Also those were Mountain Goats you saw in SD. They had Radio Collars on.

Man if i had know you were going to Mt. Rushmore i'd have suggested going to Devils Tower too! Or the Boars Tusk by Rock Springs and the White Mountain Petroglyphs.

So much to do and see..

Glad you had an epic time!! Was so bad ass to run into you and wheel with ya! Great photos friend.

:rockon:

 

[JohnTheLuck]

Excellent trip report and pictures. Well done !!! You certainly had a blast there.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Great trip report and pictures!

 

[Fishwerks]

Nice photos man, glad you had a fun trip and it was good to meet you!

 

[Unner]

That was one awesome road trip! :cheers: I thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole thing. Great report! Even greater pics! Utah is absolutely beautiful & on my bucket list, 2100 miles each way for me. :heh:

Thanks! If you're disciplined and don't stop for long periods of time and get started early you'd be amazed at how far you can make it in one day. It's worth the drive for sure!

Woooo great trip man!!!

Told you that that red dust would be your gift for the rest of the rigs life! haha!! you'll find that shit everywhere now. Don't look under your carpets...

Also those were Mountain Goats you saw in SD. They had Radio Collars on.

Man if i had know you were going to Mt. Rushmore i'd have suggested going to Devils Tower too! Or the Boars Tusk by Rock Springs and the White Mountain Petroglyphs.

So much to do and see..

Glad you had an epic time!! Was so bad ass to run into you and wheel with ya! Great photos friend.

:rockon:

Yeah that red dust is everywhere, I cleaned out the interior so I can at least see my gauges again haha.

Interesting about the radio collars. Everyone had a radio out there but me!

I wanted to do the Badlands too while we were there, but it was already late by the time we left Mount Rushmore and we really needed to get on the road and head home. That just leaves more to see next time.

Now I just need to hit the lottery so I can spend the rest of my life travelling and not worrying about anything!

Next time I make it out that way I'll get in touch and maybe we can wheel together again. If you ever find yourself down south let me know, we'll go "muddin" haha

Excellent trip report and pictures. Well done !!! You certainly had a blast there.

Thanks!

Great trip report and pictures!

Thanks!

Nice photos man, glad you had a fun trip and it was good to meet you!

Thanks! It was good to meet you too! I crossed paths again when I was headed to Shafer Trail, your rig is easy to spot with all the white haha

 

[giovannie23]

awesome trip man
i enjoyed the story and pictures
its pretty cool you ran into other forum members out there
crazy how things work out like that when your not expecting it
you motavated me to plan a trip out there as well!!

 

[Scramble]

Thanks! If you're disciplined and don't stop for long periods of time and get started early you'd be amazed at how far you can make it in one day. It's worth the drive for sure!

I've got a bad back & my GF cant drive stick. It would take me forever to get there. I've driven to Louisiana for Mardi Gras with 5 other dudes rotating in an RV, that was easy, 25hrs straight, only stopping for gas. I drove to Lynchburg, TN stopping to camp over night but I was younger back then. I think now I'd put my truck on the train to Denver or Salt Lake city. I'd have to look into it. It's around $400. That's probably cheaper than gas with less wear on the 4R.

 

[Unner]

awesome trip man
i enjoyed the story and pictures
its pretty cool you ran into other forum members out there
crazy how things work out like that when your not expecting it
you motavated me to plan a trip out there as well!!

Thanks! Go get out there, it's awesome!

I've got a bad back & my GF cant drive stick. It would take me forever to get there. I've driven to Louisiana for Mardi Gras with 5 other dudes rotating in an RV, that was easy, 25hrs straight, only stopping for gas. I drove to Lynchburg, TN stopping to camp over night but I was younger back then. I think now I'd put my truck on the train to Denver or Salt Lake city. I'd have to look into it. It's around $400. That's probably cheaper than gas with less wear on the 4R.

That's an option too. Pack all your stuff into the 4Runner and get a cheap flight with Frontier or something similar. Our buddy who flew in paid $118 round trip for his flight. That's insane.

 

[habanero]

Here's one of the potash ponds, they were behind chain link fence along the trail...the water really was bluer than the sky blue, it was weird among all that red.

 

[Unner]

Here's one of the potash ponds, they were behind chain link fence along the trail...the water really was bluer than the sky blue, it was weird among all that red.

I definitely did not notice those! Probably too busy looking down into the canyon.

 

[fourfive]

Great pictures man. Those ufo's were pretty wild Did your recent trip spark any new mod ideas?

 

[Unner]

Great pictures man. Those ufo's were pretty wild Did your recent trip spark any new mod ideas?

Thanks!

It did spark a few ideas actually!

1) I'd like to have some sort of a fold out table, similar to a tailgate on a pickup truck. I got jealous when the Tacoma guys were able to just open their tailgate and they had an instant table for making lunch on. I should have ordered the fold out table when I ordered my swingout bumper, but sadly I didn't. I'm messing around with ideas on how to add one to it without having to weld or do anything too crazy to it.

2) I'm considering making a low profile storage/sleeping platform. Something along these lines: https://www.yotatech.com/f2/low-profile-cargo-box-3rd-gen-126267/

I want to be able to store all my recovery gear inside the drawers because the way everything ended up packed it was all packed around the recovery gear and hi-lift since those were the first two things in the truck when I started packing. My only stipulations would be that I still want to be able to access the rear storage compartment on the side, the 12V outlet, and be able to sit up on the platform and not hit my head on the roof when I do sleep in the truck. I'd like to be able to slide the hi-lift into the platform in the same direction as the drawers also to get it out of the way because it is difficult to pack around it in the rear the way I have it now.

If I do this I would also build some sort of a table into it.

3) Better/more forward lighting. I'd like to get some sort of a flood light out in front of me along with the pencil beam style lights I have right now. The spots are great for shining far, but having better lighting up close for animals, etc would be nice. I'm debating adding a pair of Rigid's or maybe HIDs to the front bumper, or selling my current LED spot lights (Lenses have a little yellowing in them, but they work fine) and going with a dual ditch light mount with Rigid Hyperspots in the middle, and flood lights on the outside. Or Maybe something up in the roof rack, but I'm not sure.

4)Side lighting off the rack for around campsites, and maybe lights in the door panel on the hatch door for better lighting back there when you're doing something around the back of the truck under the hatch. These aren't super high on the priority, but they're also fairly easy/inexpensive. I already ran the wires for side lighting off the rack.

5) Tires. I'll be needing new tires soonish. Mine still have 5-6/32nds of tread, but they've got a good bit of dry rot cracking now (7 years old, even though they're really only 2-3 years old). And they started chunking pretty good on Top of the World. I'll probably make a separate post on this later. I'm debating between staying 255/75/17, going to 255/80/17, and possibly 34x10.5r17 or 285/70/17, but those last two are unlikely.

6) Exhaust reroute of some sort. I hit the exhaust and dented it at some point on my trip. Not sure where, although I'm sure the pictures could tell me. This isn't super important either, but I'd like to figure out a way to route it that it doesn't hang so low and stick out. It's unattractive haha

And most importantly I'm gonna get out and use the truck a lot more this year hopefully. Not like crazy offroading, but more overlanding type of stuff, but short 2-3 day trips most likely that I can work in over the weekends.

 

[Rock_Rat]

Thanks!

It did spark a few ideas actually!

1) I'd like to have some sort of a fold out table...

2) I'm considering making a low profile storage/sleeping platform...

I want to be able to store all my recovery gear inside the drawers
I'd like to be able to slide the hi-lift into the platform in the same direction

3) Better/more forward lighting. Or Maybe something up in the roof rack, but I'm not sure...

4)Side lighting off the rack for around campsites, and maybe lights in the door panel on the hatch door for better lighting back there when you're doing something around the back of the truck under the hatch.

5) Tires.
6) Exhaust reroute of some sort.

And most importantly I'm gonna get out and use the truck a lot more this year hopefully. Not like crazy offroading, but more overlanding type of stuff, but short 2-3 day trips most likely that I can work in over the weekends.

[MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION], thanks for taking the time to post up about your trip. It takes a bit of an effort to document everything and sort through tons of pics! Good on ya! I took my time reading through it twice and will read through it again, before I head out there. It's great to know your rig didn't give you any problems on the long highway drive. That's always a huge concern especially being crippled to having to repair it with limited tools or worse yet, bring it to a garage to work on it.

I like your lessons learned up above as to your future mods to help with your lighting and storage solutions. I'm looking at the exact same type of issues now before I head out to Flagstaff, Canyonlands, Moab etc in May. Lighting is high on my list and I'm considering changing out the PIAA's on my bumper for the 28" RI Combo and move my D2's off the ditch brackets to the rear of the rack and install the RI Scene lights. Expensive, but I think it will be worth it.

As for the cargo space, I'm thinking about installing the "Truck Vault" system as my base and then using "Goosegear" for the second level. Before I do, I'll make an inexpensive temporary solution and explore the various options from the vendors at the Overland Expo in May and see what I like. That's a big chunk of change.

As for your hi-lift, you can install it on your whiten rack for your long trips using the 4x4 brackets that I used. Take the base off because it rattles quite a bit and then add the Bomber products lock for your shovel. It's out of the way and not too bad getting it off the roof, especially if you don't think you'll need it much. Better option for the short day runs I know is somewhere "low" like the bumper or where you have it stored now.

As for the rear cargo lighting, I think you saw my build where I rrelocated the factory light to the side and installed a 1000 lumen engine bay light in its place along with two RI A-series lights in the cargo door. It's an awesome setup as far as rear lights are concerned. It goes along with the meticulous build that you have. One of my favorites mods.

One thing I didn't see you mention was the wires up front for cell phone, tablet/i-Pad, GPS, handheld CB, charging camera and video batteries etc. That's a pet peeve of mine and I'm trying to find out how to organize and get rid of my wires up front near the console and cup holders without sacrificing my center console area. I really want it to be clean up there.

I need to head back to work but wanted to check in with you. Great trip! Again, thanks for posting all the pics and the trails etc.

 

[SoFloT4R]

Great story and amazing pics! Love your rig,thanks for sharing!