John101477

hey everyone sorta new here and still gathering info for my work in progress 4runner. unfortunately it is an automatic to start with but oh well. so here is what i have done with it and kinda the direction i am going. first off after $1400 worth of fix-it bills, it is finally legal and most everything works and of course part of the $1400 was new fluids everywhere. So I bought a Trail Gear bumper and a Smitty Built RC8 winch (so far i love it). now i have added some new tires Toyo MT 31x10.5/ 15 which i love as well. I do not plan to raise the rig at all but i have added an add a leaf to the rear to rid myself of the saggy butt syndrome. My direction here is basically a go anywhere do most anything type of rig that is still comfy to be in. I do alot of landscape photography and hunting so while i won't be doing alot of rock crawling, i will be in the rocks alot. I had thought about a swinging rear tire carrier but am leaning towards a roof rack instead. my problem is that i can't find any type of kits for this specific to my year? along with this i am also doing a mild audio system ( mild for me as i used to install major systems when i was younger). maybe some role out boxes in the rear? a camera holder in the front for quick grab? and a air compressor. I would also like to add electric lockers but still reading up on them, we'll see. anyways your thoughts and experiences would be apriciated.

yoder519

sorry to say this but i want to be the first. pics or it didnt happen

John101477

so what your sayin is i need to post pics of the rig to get advise on what I'm doing?

John101477

ok here is my rig
https://www.yotatech.com/attachment....1&d=1236530410
https://www.yotatech.com/attachment....1&d=1236530554
and the root of all evil!!!
https://www.yotatech.com/attachment....1&d=1236530554

John101477

ok what happened i tried to upload some images of the runner and i can't seem to find them

John101477

https://www.yotatech.com/attachment....1&d=1236533214
just trying againhttps://www.yotatech.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=728https://www.yotatech.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=72888&stc=1&d=12365334 1087&stc=1&d=1236533366

John101477

ok there are the pics. and this last one is the one thing on the truck driving me crazy right now
https://www.yotatech.com/attachment....1&d=1236533492

toyNG

Looks good! Regarding the roof rack and swing out spare carrier, shouldn't you be able to fit a 31" tire in the stock spare tire holder? A spare on the roof will decrease your mpg, and a swing out tire carrier will obstruct your rear view mirror. Obviously, both aren't huge deals, since so many people run these setups.

Regarding lockers...I would say just wheel until you feel that you need them. From what you've described, you might do fine with open diffs. You'd be surprised what a stock 4runner with good tires can do.

That winch is a good idea since I'm guessing that you probably do a lot of your photography alone and in the early morning when the trails don't have many other people on them

John101477

The spare tire deal is more of a just in case. but really no to neccessary. out in the snow i could spend hrs under the rig digging out the tire.

lockers- I only thought of lockers to get into some of the worst places, but wanted to do electric cause my wife may drive the rig once in a while and if it is wet on the road, i don't want the lockers engaged

I am alone alot so when I am out and about crossing the ponderossa or headed cross the back of shasta, lassen, or tahoe, I want to be safe. the winch was a must. I have even set up an emergency box in the back that holds all the "boy scout" type things.
After 2 years of sitting, it is finnally starting to look like a capable rig..

myyota

Thanks for posting the picture of the trail gear front bumper, im ordering one for the front of my 86 4Runner in a couple of weeks. My 86 4Runner looks just like yours, but i have 14'' inches of lift and 37'' tires, Detroit locker in the rear and an ARB up front, duel cases and 4.88 gears.

John101477

17in of lift? WOW. nope not gonna do that. My butt would tip over backwards on some of the hills I have to climb. I had originally thought about 3in of lift, and still may. but for now, it is what it is. around here 37's are always a bit over kill. even the guys that run the Rubicon usually only run 35's. Last year my brothers in laws took me out in BFE Florida and there were some guys with monster tires, that's where they come in handy. My god some of those rednecks come up with the weirdest stuff. 70's fire chicken on 44's and bigger but it was cool to see them in the DEEP mud.

bigt

deff go elocker in the rear or air lockers front and rear.. i would go dual lockers just case you wheel alone alot.. better to have a more capable truck.. nice truck..
to find a truck with that little rust up here would be unheard of..a guy who came and looked at my 93 today couldnt believe how clean the truck was.. mostly they are shot...

myyota

My 4Runner is being built at my cousins house in Garden Valley right now, but its almost done. I do want to take it on the rubicon a couple of times before i move to Idaho next year. My cousin also has an 86 4Runner with Dana 60`s front and rear with 39'' tires and as much lift as i have on my runner, and he can go just about anywere he wants with out getting stuck. I forgot to mention that my 4Runner also has a solid axle up front.

John101477

thanks man! i am gonna wire brush the rust out and see if u can fix that spot. it is really starting to annoy me. thinking about some type of heavy duty bed liner or something of that nature to role over the spot once it is fixed. probably the same stuff I used for the front bumper. tuff stuff and easy to fix when I'm done. not committed to that idea yet though.

John101477

I hate to say this man but if you go to the RUB with 17in of lift on 39's youi better have a tow truck handy. sounds like a beauti of a rig though. i like the solid conversions, but unless your running low with no fenders and spread out tall is not the way to go.

Rock Crawlers moto " lift as much as you need but as little as possible"

Junkers88

Nice looking rig.

Since you mentioned a lot of snow I'd advise against putting the spare under the rig in the factory location. In fact you could probably cut all the spare tire mount hardware out and use that area for some on board air. If you have the ability to air back up after a run into the hills then airing down for traction opens up a whole new way to wheel. You'll get farther with flatter tires, trust me on this one. Get a roof rack for the spare or since you don't sound like you want to run anything larger than the 31's you have you could strap it down in the cargo area or get a roll bar mounted spare carrier.

I still think a roof rack would be a good idea for extra stuff (i.e. shovel/hi lift jack/weather proof box with sleeping bags etc.) and it's a nice place to mount a couple of lights in case you end up getting back later than expected.

Lockers...... well that's one heck of a discussion right there. You mentioned that the wife drives it sometimes so I'm going to recommend against an automatic (lunchbox) locker like the Aussie since it takes some getting used to and is a bear in the ice when you aren't used to it. Go with something selectable like an ARB. If you decide to go the route of on board air like I mentioned above you'll already have an air source for the ARB. Or you could try to source an e-locker axle and swap in the entire thing although you'll need to make sure the gearing matches. Since you have an automatic you probably have either 4.56's or 4.88's.

Good luck and be safe out there.

John101477

oh I'm always safe. The onboard air was an idea as well and thats exactly where i was gonna put it if i took out the spare. I had also thought of the roof rack as a light mount lol. I hate those light bars that they sell for over the cab....
I have not really researched the lockers enough to make a decision, but I do want something i can turn on and off for the wifey. I was checkin out ur rig as well it looks like a great , clean, rig.

myyota

Trust me, my cousins 4Runner doesn`t need a tow truck for anything, with full size Dana 60`s and 39x15.50-16 tires and full bead locks he can get through, over or around anything, infact he is the one that ends up pulling everybody out that gets stuck.

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

Nice rig. I like your train of thought on the build. I'm doing a major build on my '86, and in some respects, I wish I had toned it down a lot. Ah well, we do a lot of rockcrawling over here in AZ so it certainly won't go to waste. On your build I would certainly consider going ARB both front and rear. My reasoning for this is that once you get into selectable lockers, you've already bought off on a fairly high price tag. A portion of that price tag is the air source for the ARB if you go that route. You have to get something whether you have one locker or two so the second locker is really only the cost of the actual locker. If you do this, you have premier lockers both front and rear with total control by you. You also already have your air souce if you get the full size ARB compressor. I've heard reports that it is slow, but at least it is there, all the time, under hood, and doesn't have to take up additional space in your cargo area. I only have one ARB on my build and opted for the mini compressor. I may regret that but we shall see. I'm not a fan of retro fitting the e locker in our rigs as it is quite a bit of fab work and the outcome is not certain of success. If you have a lot of fab skills and fab tools then maybe it's a different story. Here is a link to give you an idea of what is involved.

http://www.sonoransteel.com/phong/re...ic_locker.html

Best of luck with your build.

John101477

Myyota, don't take this as tryin to ruffle your feathers but with 17 in of lift it is not the getting stuck that ur up against. It is the roleovers. Their are parts of the rubicon that would be impossible for a rig of that size. The rig that you discribe sounds like one heck of a mud slinger but in the rocks and steep country, it just won't cut it. It's to tall.