magil

I saw a picture in FOUR WHEELER (MARCH 2003) of a 2003 4runner presented at SEMA auto show in Toyota booth - it had a winch mounted right inside of the stock bumper. It also sported tons of other TRD mods, front light bar. Has anyone been able to find any info on this?

Thanks for your input.

Good Times

That was a custom 4runner for the auto show. ( I think, the gry w/ the cladding one right?)

It has some aftermarket black steel wheels and tires. Also has a winch that was custom bolted to the stock bumper. Some other notable stuff were accessories such as a roof rack attachment etc etc. No lift.

As for parts none are available at the moment except for the wheels.

If you're looking to mod your 4runner, expect some waiting time. If you want to add a winch up front, I'd recommend you attaching it to a steel bumper first as it'll be more stable, durable and will protect the winch if you are in an accident. TJM/ARB are still in development for steel bumpers so expect to see those maybe by the end of the yr or earlier (?).

if you the route of bumper and winch, the stock suspension will not be able to handle the added load (weight) so therefore you'd have to lift your truck. Lift companies are out making sets right now and expect to see those hit the stores soon (summer/fall).

Daystar Spacers are in final stages of testing and should have some spacers out soon.
Revtek Spacers and Cornfed are also making spacers so expect those too .

Downey Suspension will have coil/spring and shocks available by the end of summer or fall time.

OME (makers of quality Prado parts) will have 4runner parts now as the Prado and 4runner are the same!

I'd say lift first and then get bumper/winch But I know the more u search on this forum the more stuff you'll want to add Hope you have deep pockets cuz this board will make ya broke!


Lance

magil

Thanks for the good points! It makes sense to wait for the suspension mods to come out b4 putting a winch. I was worried about the weight too ...

I am finding that this truck seems a bit too low comparing to Taco I used to drive.

Where do you go wheeling in SO Cal? I am trying to find something close to Ventura county.

Thank you.

Good Times

yeah unfortunately we lose abit of height: atleast 1.5" or so.

The trails that I've gone are in the san diego area. hopefully as soon as I'm lifted, I can go hit up some bear trails!

But I gotta say, we have a far more sophisticated 4x4 system that so long as we take the correct line, our 4runners can conquer any line that any previous gen 4runner/tacoma goes.

I've been able to hit any trail that a 3rd gen has so I'm pretty proud!

Since you're in the ventura county area, there are trails in Hollister Hills area that should be closer to ya!


driver skill accounts for the majority of whether the truck can go thru a specific trail or not! the other is just on the vehicle itself.

magil

I agree with the driver point ...

Can't wait to hit the trails to see what we can do.

Thanks again.

Good Times

no prob, anytime u wanna go somewhere, I know there are alot of local guys here that would like to hit some local trails! just post it up in the forum and we'll make sure to reply!

Fear is planning a bear run on the june 20-22 (i think) but I don't think my stock will be able to handle to run... still thinking about it.

I'm free on most weekends so if u want to go somewhere hit me up!

Lance

magil

where's "bear run"?

Sorry I just don't know yet.

I was researching places near where I am:

Oceano Dunes
http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=1209

and

Hungry Valley
http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=1201

Are the two that I've found so far ...

Good Times

bear is Big Bear Mountain.

Hungry Valley is 2wd friendly too so that one should be definitely fun for first time trail runners

Big Bear has alot of trails but I've yet to hit any of em! One of these days.... hehe

magil

Big Bear sounds like a lot of fun ...
It's kind of far from here though

Are "bear runs" typically overnight?

Good Times

bear runs depends on who setups the run itself.

Fear is from san diego so he's making it a weekend run along w/ 10-12 vehicles. Looks like they're camping or logging there (not sure).

But for me, I'd prob just do the day run instead cuz I'm only about 1.5 hrs away.

magil

well I'll probably hit the Hungry Valley first, my girlfriend is all worried already - she's seen the Travel CH program on rock-crawling and now she thinks that 4 wheeling is all like that - falling off the rock, rollovers, etc..

Good Times

ahh don't worry, one of the recent trips i took to san diego, we almost lost a 4runner after about 3-4 hrs of hell we finally saved it so...

most of the trails are safe so long as you are careful ... let me know, i might be interested!

magil

Rollover?

I'm thinking going next weekend still haven't figured out the details. You'd drive all the way to "Hungry Valley" from where you are?

jalaber

Here is the specs on the Global Extremes 4Runner...pics on my 4th gen page.

Global Extremes 4Runner Aftermarket Modifications:
Safari Gard Inc. front bumper
Safari Gard Inc. winch mount
Safari Gard Inc. rear bumper
Safari Gard Inc. rock sliders
Goodyear Wrangler MTR 265x70R17 tires
Allied Wheel beadlock wheels
Hella Rallye 4000 lights
Hella FF300 lights
Yakima roof rack and net
Pelican cases
Superwinch X9000
Odyssey battery 1700

calrockx

hey magil, i went to hungry valley last february. it's pretty fun, there's a lot of trails and variety to the area. i'm in santa clarita, and it took me must under an hour to get there, so you should be able to make it in under two. other than that, and the local wheeling i do around here, i don't know of too many other areas to go. i hear there's some good places to go in orange county, but never really experienced anything besides ortega. anyway, if you want to check out some pics from hungry valley, there's some here

JGage

I still haven't been able to get a straight answer on the front guard.

Slib77

Went to Hungry Valley last month. Tons of fun. Been going riding there for years.

From Ventura just take the 126 across and go up the 5. You'll see signs. You can also go in the back way from Smokey Bear Road.(Lake Pyramid exit.)

They have a pretty cool 4WD course with mud holes, rock crawls and small hill climbs.

Maybe we should get a meet together and roll up there in a big group.


Late,
Serge

Good Times

Slib77:

If you want to set something up in Hungry Valley, I'll be willing to check it out myself. I'm sure if we plan it right, we'll get a pretty good turn out!

Let me know, I'm free on most if not all saturdays

Lance

Slib77

Good Times,

We should plan for something maybe at the end of the month. I'm usually free on Saturdays as well. Best way to do it is to just come up with a date and commit. We should have a good turn out.


Serge

Good Times

Serge:

I can do the end of the month! june 28th! (sat)

How does that date sound to ya? if it works, just start a thread in the offroad trip section.

I'm sure there are alot of los angeles members here that wouldn't mind hitting those trails out there.

Lance