Unner's Build, 2001 T4R 4x4

[theesotericone]

An uwharrie by definition is a magical place where gnomes wander at night drunk off coors light

I knew it was a fairy tale. No one can get drunk on Coors Light. lol

 

[White_Knuckles]

This build is fun to watch across the time-line. But I caught the first bumper change going from original chrome to a matte black. The bumper and the valance look like the same color and texture. What is that material applied to it? Paint? Do they make a black plastic bumper cover?

That look would be sweet for what I'm planning. I have a '99 "Highlander" - Jade Green. Love 'em!! My theme will be - Extreme On-Road.

 

[Unner]

This build is fun to watch across the time-line. But I caught the first bumper change going from original chrome to a matte black. The bumper and the valance look like the same color and texture. What is that material applied to it? Paint? Do they make a black plastic bumper cover?

That look would be sweet for what I'm planning. I have a '99 "Highlander" - Jade Green. Love 'em!! My theme will be - Extreme On-Road.

Thanks! The original chrome bumper was plastidipped. It did match the plastic color/texture pretty well and it held up better than I expected it to honestly. The chrome had started to flake on my front bumper, that's why I plastidipped it. Then I didn't like the rear chrome bumper so I plastidipped that. Now I've got steel bumpers front and rear...




Uhwarrie update and pictures coming later today or sometime this week.

 

[MattJakobs]

Just sitting here waiting for some pictures...

 

[Unner]

Last weekend I made it out to Uhwarrie to do some wheeling with [MENTION=109102]MattJakobs[/MENTION], and [MENTION=80933]4x4runner2002[/MENTION].

Uhwarrie is a cool place, a good number of trails, enough to keep you busy for a weekend, but you can easily run them all in a weekend. The only trail that neither Matt nor I could do with our open diffs was Daniels. Zach was the only one who made it up, since he's locked front and rear. And he beat his truck pretty good to make it up.

The second hardest trail we were all able to do, Dickey Bell. The plan was to get this trail in before dark, but when we found a couple kids broken down on dirt bikes we stopped to help them, which put us at the end of the trail right as it was getting dark. This was also the hardest part of the trail by far. We were cautioned by our campsite neighbors (Jeep guys who seemed to spend most of the weekend fixing their broken Jeeps) that we maybe shouldn't do this trail, as an XJ rolled there at this end part earlier in the day...

Zach went first and made it through, then Matt came up. Zach was spotting and I was standing on the side, watching and waiting. When his driver side rear tire came about 4 feet off the ground I almost jumped on the rear bumper to keep it from going end over, but that wasn't necessary. Matt made it down, and now it was my turn. At this point it was dark, no residual light left, and I had a headlight out... Not that the headlight mattered, I was just following Zachs directions because I couldn't see anything or what was in front of my tires. Zach put me in a slightly different spot that kept it much less tippy. We all made it down, but don't really have any pictures since it was getting dark and we wanted to be down this obstacle at this point.

We finished the trail and went back to camp. A successful weekend of wheeling and some very good eating thanks to Zach's trailer and his two burner propane stove. I have yet to have a meal as good as those since then.

Here's some pictures.

On the way in:
DSC07634a by Unner Unner, on Flickr

On the way to SawMill Trai:
DSC07637a by Unner Unner, on Flickr

The "flexy part" on SawMill Trail:
DSC07640a by Unner Unner, on Flickr

DSC07648a by Unner Unner, on Flickr

DSC07652a by Unner Unner, on Flickr

DSC07654a by Unner Unner, on Flickr

The next three photos are from [MENTION=109102]MattJakobs[/MENTION].

Sitting on my slider:
IMG_5802 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

Flexy flexy:
IMG_5816 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

IMG_5827 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

Until next time Uhwarrie.
DSC07660a by Unner Unner, on Flickr


Normally I would have gotten many more pictures. I guess that just means I have to go back sometime.

Is that better Matt?

 

[Unner]

For anyone who's interested, here's my take on a tablet/phone mount for off-road GPS/Maps, that sort of thing.

First off I ordered this tablet from Amazon "used". It's condition was "Like New" and I'm pretty sure it was only marked like this because the box was dirty. Everything still had the original factory plastic on it. It was only $65, which is exactly what I wanted. Something cheap that'll get the job done. This tablet will pretty much spend all of it's time in the truck. When I don't need it I'll just tuck it in the seat pocket so it's out of sight, out of mind for thieves. It's an Asus Zen Pad 7.0 C for those who are interested.

I wanted something low profile that doesn't intrude too much, require drilling into the dash, or blocking a huge portion of the windshield with suction cup mounts and what not. I stumbled across these Panavise Mounts and decided to go with one of them.

IMG_20170610_153130605 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

I got the mount yesterday, and install took all of 5 minutes. It just bolts to the stereo mounting bolts. The most difficult part is getting the trim piece to line back up since it is a little tighter with it in there.

Next step was to figure out how I was going to mount the tablet. I didn't want some heavy bulky mount that grips it from the top and bottom and took up a bunch of space when I don't need the tablet on there, so I started looking into magnetic mounts. I was looking at this one (link) on Amazon, but thought I might need two of them to hold the tablet on off-road and figured I can get a lot of neodymium magnets from Home Depot for $20. Instead I ordered this pack of metal stick on plates (link) and bought some neodymium magnets at home depot.

IMG_20170610_191102785 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

IMG_20170610_191106906 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

I only needed to get two 3 packs of the magnets and it's a super strong hold. I attached one of the metal plates to the back of the tablet and slid one between my phone and the case because I didn't want to permanently attach to my phone. The tablet I'm not worried about since it was only $65...

IMG_20170610_193545880 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

It holds my phone really well, I drove around all day yesterday with my phone (Droid Maxx 2) on it and it didn't budge at all. I didn't get to drive much with the tablet on it, but from what I saw it holds it just fine too, especially since it isn't much heavier than my phone. (223g vs 267g).

IMG_20170610_192525724 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
IMG_20170610_192536911 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
IMG_20170610_191540193 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
IMG_20170610_191528703 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

I still need to take the stickers off the tablet, and next time I get the camera out I'll grab a picture of my phone mounted on it. Hopefully that's later today, I washed and waxed the truck and it's looking good:dancin:. I tried to take a picture with the tablet, but the 3 MP camera on it made me cringe so I won't be posting that picture here...

In the end this entire set up including mount, magnets, metal plates, and tablet was under $110. I downloaded the free version of Back Country Navigator and will play around with that and make sure it's the app I want to use for this and then buy the Pro version for $11.99 or whatever it costs.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Looks great Unner. Looks like you had fun in the mountains. I have been to Uwharrie to only bike and fish.

I have a lead on some rims like yours for under $300. Almost pristine. My stock ones have some rust due to serious salt water exposure over the years.

Went to HF for the jack and they were out. Oh well, next time it is hopefully.

 

[Unner]

Looks great Unner. Looks like you had fun in the mountains. I have been to Uwharrie to only bike and fish.

I have a lead on some rims like yours for under $300. Almost pristine. My stock ones have some rust due to serious salt water exposure over the years.

Went to HF for the jack and they were out. Oh well, next time it is hopefully.

Uhwarrie was fun. I'll definitely be back there, but it's not a place to go if it's wet at all. All that clay gets slick I'm sure.

I say do it on the rims. I remember you saying you need new tires sometime soon. Lots more options for a 17" wheel, they are the way of the future. Worst case you could sell those wheels and make $100-200 profit I'm sure. Under $300 is a steal.

Maybe they can order you one? Not sure if Harbor Freight does that, if not I'm sure they'll get some in stock. They had 3 when I picked up ours I think.

 

[Unner]

I may have some new lights on the way... :spy: They should be here Saturday, and hopefully on the truck later that weekend depending on the weather.

And I've got some planning to do.
2017-06-21_10-08-59 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

 

[Chuckles89]

I'll be buying that book soon

 

[Unner]

I'll be buying that book soon

Sweet! When are you going? The Charles Wells books are great. They give you a basic rundown and then you can search sites like traildamage.com to get more details and information on specific trails.

 

[Chuckles89]

Sweet! When are you going? The Charles Wells books are great. They give you a basic rundown and then you can search sites like traildamage.com to get more details and information on specific trails.

some time next summer. Planning to do a route based around this general idea

 

[Unner]

some time next summer. Planning to do a route based around this general idea

View attachment 256925

Nice! Looks like a great time. I wanted to make it up to Yellowstone when I was in Wyoming earlier this year, but it was still way too cold then. Doing a big trip like that is a lot of fun. I got lucky this year. I had my Moab trip, I've got my Colorado trip coming actually really soon, and I'm planning a trip way up north into New England/Maine/Canada. You see so much more on a road trip than you do flying somewhere, not to mention all the sights you see when you get off the beaten path with your 4Runner.

 

[Chuckles89]

Nice! Looks like a great time. I wanted to make it up to Yellowstone when I was in Wyoming earlier this year, but it was still way too cold then. Doing a big trip like that is a lot of fun. I got lucky this year. I had my Moab trip, I've got my Colorado trip coming actually really soon, and I'm planning a trip way up north into New England/Maine/Canada. You see so much more on a road trip than you do flying somewhere, not to mention all the sights you see when you get off the beaten path with your 4Runner.

Sweet! The summer after I graduate (2019) I am going to attempt the MacKenzie trail in BC, Canada. It is going to be a lot of hard work and I'm up for the task!

 

[Unner]

I added some new lights this weekend. I decided to give Rigids a go this time. The duallys have come down significantly in price from what I remember them being.

I went with a pair of amber floodlights and a set of regular spots. For wiring I went a little different of a route. I still had the wiring left over from my old light bar, everything was still hooked up so all I had to do was splice the new harness into the old. I wired the amber ones into that switch. I don't have any more switch blanks and I didn't want to drill a circular hole in the larger blank plate on that side of the dash so I wired the Rigid spot lights into my OEM fog light switch. This means I can't run my high beams and the spot lights at the same time, but there is really no need to. Plus it gives me an easy switch to turn when I use these as high beams and I see another car approaching rather than using the switches down on the dash.

All the connections were soldered, heat shrink wrapped, and then covered in cable wrap. Came out very professional looking I think. The Rigid connectors are very nice also, as well as the lights themselves. They seem well built.

Here's a few pics. Excuse the cell phone pics of the truck during the day.

Wiring harnesses before I tucked them away.
IMG_20170625_121826201 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

Mounted.
IMG_20170625_170554399 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
IMG_20170625_170609727 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
IMG_20170625_170732713 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
IMG_20170625_170746582 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
Ambers only.
IMG_20170625_220110515 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
Looks like some alien creature
IMG_20170625_220033609 by Unner Unner, on Flickr


Headlights only.
DSC07680 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
Ambers only.
DSC07681 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
Hood spot lights only.
DSC07682 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
New Rigid Dually spot lights only.
DSC07684 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
Everything. I aimed the ambers down kinda like foglights, the rigid spots straight ahead, and the old spots on the ditch light brackets got aimed a little outwards, to the left and right of the center of the beam created by the rigids. This should give me good coverage everywhere now.
DSC07685 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

I'm looking forward to seeing these in amber lights work in rain, fog, or dust. Even under normal conditions you can see the benefit of amber lights versus white lights in low visibility situations.
DSC07695 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC07696 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

And some cool beam color patterns made by the spot lights.
DSC07698 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

Looking forward to actually being able to test these out. I haven't been able to use them other than aiming them on Sunday night.

 

[AssBurns]

First of all, the wiring into your factor fog switch is actually a pretty good idea. Definitely going to do that. I'd like to eventually get some amber pods as well to mount in the dead space under my bumper for fog lights. I better that color combo makes things a really nice overall color tone and keeps it easy on the eyes. I've never been a fan of LED's because of that. They have come a long way in the last few years but not quite as far for me to pull the trigger on an all LED light setup. The color combo you have looks really good though!

 

[Unner]

First of all, the wiring into your factor fog switch is actually a pretty good idea. Definitely going to do that. I'd like to eventually get some amber pods as well to mount in the dead space under my bumper for fog lights. I better that color combo makes things a really nice overall color tone and keeps it easy on the eyes. I've never been a fan of LED's because of that. They have come a long way in the last few years but not quite as far for me to pull the trigger on an all LED light setup. The color combo you have looks really good though!

Thanks man!

I like going into the factory fog light switch too. Not like this truck will ever see the factory bumper or fog lights again anyway, so I might as well make sure of the already fused and relayed wires right there.

I'm excited to see how this setup is on my eyes as well. The Rigids have a little bit more blue in them then I'd like, but oh well. They really throw the light and have a nice beam pattern. I'm amazed how far the regular spots shine, it makes me wonder how far the hyperspots would shine.

Also, another reason I wired up the ambers to the non fog light switch is so that I could run them if I have to set up camp in the dark without running my headlights. I feel like they'd be good for that purpose as well.

 

[tS_kStin]

some time next summer. Planning to do a route based around this general idea

View attachment 256925

I live in Bozeman MT (hardly 2hrs north of Yellowstone) and I would highly recommend going all the way up to glacier, it is our other big national Park and I personally like it way more than Yellowstone, though I am a sucker for massive land scapes and such. Yellowstone is great and all but glacier is where it is at. So if you can make it work definitely go to glacier, it would be 6-7hrs from yell to glacier depending on where in each park.

Looks like an amazing trip, I almost did something like it this summer, but my wife and I are going to Indonesia for a month instead.

 

[Chuckles89]

I live in Bozeman MT (hardly 2hrs north of Yellowstone) and I would highly recommend going all the way up to glacier, it is our other big national Park and I personally like it way more than Yellowstone, though I am a sucker for massive land scapes and such. Yellowstone is great and all but glacier is where it is at. So if you can make it work definitely go to glacier, it would be 6-7hrs from yell to glacier depending on where in each park.

Looks like an amazing trip, I almost did something like it this summer, but my wife and I are going to Indonesia for a month instead.

Awesome! Glacier NP was on the list, but wasn't sure if we would get to it. Definitely will now!

 

[JayRolla]

Sweet! When are you going? The Charles Wells books are great. They give you a basic rundown and then you can search sites like traildamage.com to get more details and information on specific trails.

Trail damage went to subscription but still worth it.