What did you do to/in your 5th Gen today?!

[Avalon786]

Picked it up from the dealer!

 

[OregonTrailRunner]

Escaped the rain

Oregon's famous wet weather moved in this week and blew out the coastal streams putting a brief stop to my Salmon chasing in tidewater. Not to worry. The east side of the Cascades always has a little sunshine and there are Steelhead in the Deschutes. Couldn't prove that by me, but a nice day under mostly sunny skies....

 

[Jhalko]

Informed it that we are going to Moab this weekend. Started packing... :usa:

 

[rpontbriand]

Informed it that we are going to Moab this weekend. Started packing... :usa:

One of my favorite vacations. The drive blows from Colorado, but its worth it!

 

[Zach_F]

I did not exactly do anything to my 4runner but I worked on a bracket design for mounting a little air compressor I picked. I am planning on screwing the bracket to the inside of the engine compartment, just behind the air intake. There are three screw holes that I can use. I am pretty sure this will work but would love any feed back to my design. I have a friend that is going fab it up for me.

Caveat: I am no engineer. Those three mounting holes seem too close to each other. It'll hold, but the general placement of the screws all toward the top could introduce flex and rattles, possibly compromising the screws over time. Especially driving over rough terrain that wants to bounce that compressor up and down. If you could add a screw toward the bottom of that plate or to one of the triangular braces, it would be better. Of course, this may be all but moot if you are using thicker, more rigid material.

Feel free to tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about. I don't; just thought I'd share my opinion. :cheers:

 

[dsfra]

"Great Extrications" Has Landed

This week it was finally time to head up to Chilliwack, British Columbia, to pick up our new 19' trailer from Escape Trailer Industries. We had already put down our deposit to reserve a spot in their production schedule and made a trip up to the factory last May for a tour of their facility, and spent the better part of an afternoon with one of their exceedingly patient customer service people talking about all their available "standard options", as well as the special custom tweaks that we wanted - they only sell direct from the factory and build to order not to stock - and then we had 3 months to finalize the final specs on our "build sheet", which involved a few phone calls and about 40 e-mails back and forth.

So we headed up there on Sunday, had another factory tour during their lunch hour on Monday, then had the 2 hour orientation at 8;00 Tuesday morning. Stayed the 2 nights at the spanking new fancy-schmantsy Hampton Inn in Chilliwack, and made it a point to enjoy ourselves thoroughly since this was going to be the last time we're spending money on fancy (for us) motels for the foreseeable future. The Escape people handled all the importation red tape, and towed the trailer to Sumas, just over the Washington border. For once we actually had a pleasant border guy going back into the US, and then met up with Manfred - who had taken the trailer through the commercial border crossing - at the Bob's Burger Joint on the main (and only) drag in downtown Sumas. Hitched up and were happy to see the butt-end of the 4Runner only sink about 1" with the ~ 310 lb tongue weight - love those Timbrens. The trailer towed great, even with the nose a bit down - apparently dual axle trailers should be level or a bit nose-up (unlike single axle trailers), but plan to get a ball with a 1" rise on the base which should put us about level. No issues with sway, but maybe coulda used a V-8.

Having looked at the other options in the small travel trailer market, it was a no-brainer to go with Escape - top quality, great people to work with, and the current favorable exchange rate really helped. Would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking at trailers at this point. And believe it or not - while your trailer is in production, they actually go out to the shop floor twice a week and take pics of your trailer and e-mail them to you. Talk about warm and fuzzy...

 

[pauldavis]

Caveat: I am no engineer. Those three mounting holes seem too close to each other. It'll hold, but the general placement of the screws all toward the top could introduce flex and rattles, possibly compromising the screws over time. Especially driving over rough terrain that wants to bounce that compressor up and down. If you could add a screw toward the bottom of that plate or to one of the triangular braces, it would be better. Of course, this may be all but moot if you are using thicker, more rigid material.

Feel free to tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about. I don't; just thought I'd share my opinion. :cheers:

Your concern is valid. I am using three existing threaded screw holes on the inside wall of the 4runner engine bay. That is why they are positioned where they are. I should look to see if I can connect the bracket to at least one more location underneath or to one of the sides.

 

[Styer]

Currently sitting at the shop getting my alignment done post lift install

 

[kwill]

Your concern is valid. I am using three existing threaded screw holes on the inside wall of the 4runner engine bay. That is why they are positioned where they are. I should look to see if I can connect the bracket to at least one more location underneath or to one of the sides.

Actually, I used those same three holes and angle iron to mount a pretty heavy compressor and it has been rock steady. I think you can see it in this post:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/gener...ht-duty-portable-compressors.html#post2167095

 

[PhilJ]

Waiting on the shipment, but the wife got me WeatherTech bug and side wind deflectors for my birthday.

Next summer I'll add:
-Rack
-Lift
-Light Bar
-Rims

 

[lowcel]

I just drove mine to the doctor so they could tell me that I don't feel well. However, when I was sitting in the 4Runner waiting to go inside I noticed a guy looking at my wheels. Eventually he was on his knees looking at them. I opened the window to see what was going on. Apparently he loved my wheels but couldn't figure out what they were.

 

[ToyotaDoodz]

I set out 9,386 flags at veteran's graves in 4 cemeteries in preparation for Veteran's day. (Nov 11th)

I'm humbled and tired, but it's a good tired.

 

[DannyLlama]

I set out 9,386 flags at veteran's graves in 4 cemeteries in preparation for Veteran's day. (Nov 11th)

I'm humbled and tired, but it's a good tired.

You know, I'm generally not a fan of war and sending young people to end their life for whatever political agenda, it used to be for defense.

But - you are a good man Sir and I applaud your efforts, very honorable effort.

 

[rpontbriand]

RCI transmission skid added to the engine and radiator I already have in place.

 

[Engineer]

Not to day but last week got the front windows tinted in 35% 3m , came out very close to the rears and am very happy. If anyone is looking for a good tint shop in the Twin Cities I would recommend Bravo Tint. Also lost my garage space to the wife's new wheels.

The window tint picture is pretty terrible but it’s the only post tint photo at the moment and yes that Ford is massive, without a single scratch.

 

[carlomagne]

did a quick edit. debating if i should paint the silver bumper valences black.

 

[ST1FLER]

did a quick edit. debating if i should paint the silver bumper valences black.

DO IT!
:bigok:

 

[Lugboot]

a-yup.

 

[NoDak]

I would think the silver would break up the looks, but that's just me.

could try a different color to break up the front end looks.

 

[pauldavis]

I think the black Valance looks awesome. I never liked the silver anyways. It looks so plastic like.