Ur2ez 2014 Build Thread

[BrianSD_42]

Truck looks great man. I was good running with you on the trail.

I was quite surprised by the 5th Gen's ability. Good times!

(Oh and if it were me I wouldn't worry about bumpers. You can aren't going on those kind of trails anyway right....)

 

[wfo9]

Nice to see someone really using their truck and pushing the limits a bit vs just talking trash about how capable it is in stock form. :sleepy::sleepy::sleepy:

I'm sure you were very happy to have the mods you have done out in those conditions. I know the feeling of always wishing you had done more though...

To me part of the fun of it is trying it, struggling a bit, then finding/engineering simple solutions. Then doing it the next time with ease... Somewhat of a puzzle...

I need to do a build thread at some point. I've done a few unique things to my truck, but never put it all together in one place. I've already forgotten about half of it.

 

[REVELC]

It's gotta take some balls tearing up a new $35,000+ SUV like that.

Being as unbiased as you can how would you describe its capabilities?

I have toyed with the idea of getting a base model SR5 4x4 and adding a lift, tires, and lockers for the price of a TE since I'd end up lifting it anyways.

What are your plans?

Why didn't you like the Toytec lift?

 

[ur2ez22]

Truck looks great man. I was good running with you on the trail.

I was quite surprised by the 5th Gen's ability. Good times!

(Oh and if it were me I wouldn't worry about bumpers. You can aren't going on those kind of trails anyway right....)

Thanks, you as well! The 5th gen is very capable...would prefer a few more things to be done to mine and not have to jump on a 7 hour drive straight from the end of the trail next time though! But don't judge the 5th gen's capability from that day...I was overly cautious, and I was tackling some obstacles more difficult than I'm used to so my skill and comfort levels both had to increase as we went along the trail. There are others on here who would run circles around me in their 5th gens.

And nope, no plans on running trails that requires new bumpers...just don't tell my wife that, she's seen the bent hitch ring, trail gouge out of the rear bumper and 3-4 trail rash areas on the front bumper so I don't think she'll believe you:angel:

Speaking of [MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION]...you got some great pictures of my rig on Top of the World. Thanks for sharing them! I thought my wife was taking pictures in general, but turns out she was greedy and only took pictures of me so I don't have anything to share. I do think there may be a few GoPro videos from my windshield that should have some decent footage of you in there though since you were in front of me for half the trail. I'll get to reviewing and editing those eventually...but I think this was one of those moments where I found the rear bumper and/or the hitch with that ledge!

 

[wfo9]

Being as unbiased as you can how would you describe its capabilities?

I have toyed with the idea of getting a base model SR5 4x4 and adding a lift, tires, and lockers for the price of a TE since I'd end up lifting it anyways.

No real difference between sr5 and trail besides the rear locker. If you add the locker you have all the same capabilities. If you add the front locker as well... you have more. It's capable. Not quite at built Jeep Wrangler levels.. but it surprises most people. Bulk and weight is what holds it back (and the obvious limits of IFS). Great for overland and up to aggressive trails if setup correctly.

 

[ur2ez22]

No real difference between sr5 and trail besides the rear locker. If you add the locker you have all the same capabilities. If you add the front locker as well... you have more. It's capable. Not quite at built Jeep Wrangler levels.. but it surprises most people. Bulk and weight is what holds it back (and the obvious limits of IFS). Great for overland and up to aggressive trails if setup correctly.

Agreed, the SR5 is capable of going more places than most of the drivers (myself included right now) are capable of taking it. I chose the SR5 because the trail was hard to come by at the time and I specifically didn't want the KDSS suspension because I'd end up ripping it out eventually anyways (and at the time, the only trail models I could find nearby all had KDSS).

I chose the ARB twin compressor specifically because I have zero patience when it comes to airing back up, but also because I wanted the flexibility of running lockers a little bit further down the road. I'll likely only do a rear locker as I don't know if I'm to the point of running trails where I'd also need a front locker, but before I do either of those I want to do front and rear bumpers and get better suspension.

The Toytec suspension is nice if you want the lifted look and added ground clearance but don't plan on doing anything too rough, but if you're going to run any of the harder trails then the two things that bothered me while up in Moab were how easy it was to come up off the ground and lose traction (solved with extended travel), and I also want something that is going to handle the weight better. The 5th gen is already very heavy but adding a few hundred pounds in sliders, skids, roof rack, etc. softens up the Toytec enough to where it gets really mushy and bouncy on the tougher trails. There were a few times where stiffer springs with better valving likely would have prevented my rear end up from coming down on the rocks and also prevented it from bouncing around so much every time I feather the brakes on awkward angles. But when I ordered the Toytec kit, I never thought I'd be adding all this weight so soon...it's addicting!

 

[ur2ez22]

Nice to see someone really using their truck and pushing the limits a bit vs just talking trash about how capable it is in stock form. :sleepy::sleepy::sleepy:

I'm sure you were very happy to have the mods you have done out in those conditions. I know the feeling of always wishing you had done more though...

To me part of the fun of it is trying it, struggling a bit, then finding/engineering simple solutions. Then doing it the next time with ease... Somewhat of a puzzle...

I need to do a build thread at some point. I've done a few unique things to my truck, but never put it all together in one place. I've already forgotten about half of it.

I vote yes for you to put a build thread together, your signature says just enough to make us all curious!

And yes, very glad I had the mods I have, especially the skid plates up there! It's amazing how quickly you can learn and adjust every time you try new terrain. At the beginning of Fins n Things, I quickly drug my hitch on a rock and panicked a little bit. By the end of the trail, I was much more comfortable with where it was and how to use it to my advantage to get through the trail effectively and without damage. I didn't think I'd be tackling trails like this until I had a few more mods done, but I'm glad I did and the truck handled everything without any issues other than driver inexperience a couple times.

 

[REVELC]

I feel like the SR5 makes sense if you want to wheel it. The price difference on the trail doesn't seem like a winner if you're going to end up replacing stock components.

Sorry to hear about the lift giving you trouble.
I have the Boss lift on my 3rd gen and I love it.
But Moab pushes even purpose built rigs to their limits. I can definitely see limited travel being a nuisance.

If you want real offroad performance why don't you stuff a solid axle under there? It can't be that much more than a quality long travel kit.

Keep the posts coming. Inspiring stuff!

 

[wfo9]

Question, did you have the swaybars on?

If so, you really need to try it with them off (or at least the front off and extended links in the rear).

It will feel pretty sketchy on the road... But you can take it off at your wheeling destination or just deal with it.... I actually have a disconnect setup for my front (absolutely love it), but it is still prototype and all custom fabricated.

The difference was pretty amazing the first time I tried it.

 

[ur2ez22]

I feel like the SR5 makes sense if you want to wheel it. The price difference on the trail doesn't seem like a winner if you're going to end up replacing stock components.

Sorry to hear about the lift giving you trouble.
I have the Boss lift on my 3rd gen and I love it.
But Moab pushes even purpose built rigs to their limits. I can definitely see limited travel being a nuisance.

If you want real offroad performance why don't you stuff a solid axle under there? It can't be that much more than a quality long travel kit.

Keep the posts coming. Inspiring stuff!

Thanks! I just want to keep having fun with this thing.

To the best of my knowledge no one has successfully gone to a solid axle on the 5th gen yet. But if there's a way, that's beyond my focus or budget right now...I'll have to learn to appreciate what I've already done since my new house will be done being built in a couple months and that'll take up funds for awhile between new furniture, shudders, landscaping, etc.

 

[ur2ez22]

Question, did you have the swaybars on?

If so, you really need to try it with them off (or at least the front off and extended links in the rear).

It will feel pretty sketchy on the road... But you can take it off at your wheeling destination or just deal with it.... I actually have a disconnect setup for my front (absolutely love it), but it is still prototype and all custom fabricated.

The difference was pretty amazing the first time I tried it.

I haven't tried that yet, but I just may have to take you up on that. I'm hoping to hit some trails in Sedona in the next month or so even though it'll be a little ridiculous wheeling in 110 degrees. And I've been watching your thread about what you're trying to do now with the quick disconnect...curious to see how it holds up and what kinda pricing the fabricator may set of they choose to offer it to the masses! Wouldn't solve the softness of my current suspension (which was fine before I weighed it down with skids, sliders, rack, etc. and my wife nicknamed the truck Bessie) but I'm sure I'd enjoy the other benefits until I can get new suspension!

 

[wfo9]

I haven't tried that yet, but I just may have to take you up on that. I'm hoping to hit some trails in Sedona in the next month or so even though it'll be a little ridiculous wheeling in 110 degrees. And I've been watching your thread about what you're trying to do now with the quick disconnect...curious to see how it holds up and what kinda pricing the fabricator may set of they choose to offer it to the masses! Wouldn't solve the softness of my current suspension (which was fine before I weighed it down with skids, sliders, rack, etc. and my wife nicknamed the truck Bessie) but I'm sure I'd enjoy the other benefits until I can get new suspension!

Try the swaybars off for sure. It will change things up quite a bit. I'm having trouble remembering what it was like when I first did it, but I knew I would never go back to having a front one one when in the rocks...

 

[phx4rnr]

Thanks, you as well! The 5th gen is very capable...would prefer a few more things to be done to mine and not have to jump on a 7 hour drive straight from the end of the trail next time though! But don't judge the 5th gen's capability from that day...I was overly cautious, and I was tackling some obstacles more difficult than I'm used to so my skill and comfort levels both had to increase as we went along the trail. There are others on here who would run circles around me in their 5th gens.

And nope, no plans on running trails that requires new bumpers...just don't tell my wife that, she's seen the bent hitch ring, trail gouge out of the rear bumper and 3-4 trail rash areas on the front bumper so I don't think she'll believe you:angel:

Speaking of [MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION]...you got some great pictures of my rig on Top of the World. Thanks for sharing them! I thought my wife was taking pictures in general, but turns out she was greedy and only took pictures of me so I don't have anything to share. I do think there may be a few GoPro videos from my windshield that should have some decent footage of you in there though since you were in front of me for half the trail. I'll get to reviewing and editing those eventually...but I think this was one of those moments where I found the rear bumper and/or the hitch with that ledge!

I want to get out to moab one of these days. Are sliders needed? I have n-fabs right now, so I would probably just remove them when I go, and put them back on after.

Where in AZ are you? We are setting up a camping and wheeling trip in sedona next month if you want to join!

 

[ur2ez22]

I want to get out to moab one of these days. Are sliders needed? I have n-fabs right now, so I would probably just remove them when I go, and put them back on after.

Where in AZ are you? We are setting up a camping and wheeling trip in sedona next month if you want to join!

I only used the sliders a couple times and probably could have avoided using them at all, but n-fabs will hang too low so I'd definitely recommend removing them for that trip. Skid plates are the bigger issue, unless you stick to slickrock trails skid plates take the biggest beating in Moab.

I'm in the East Valley, when are you guys thinking of hitting up Sedona? Some great trails there too! I only had a chance to spend a day up there a couple months ago, been wanting to get back up and try some more trails. Have to time it right tho, those pink jeeps can be EVERYWHERE when the weather is nice!

 

[phx4rnr]

I only used the sliders a couple times and probably could have avoided using them at all, but n-fabs will hang too low so I'd definitely recommend removing them for that trip. Skid plates are the bigger issue, unless you stick to slickrock trails skid plates take the biggest beating in Moab.

I'm in the East Valley, when are you guys thinking of hitting up Sedona? Some great trails there too! I only had a chance to spend a day up there a couple months ago, been wanting to get back up and try some more trails. Have to time it right tho, those pink jeeps can be EVERYWHERE when the weather is nice!

April 22-24th. search for and join AZ toyota collective on facebook, The event is in there!