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Been a long time lurker on this website and though I would introduce myself and start a little build thread. My name is Bryce and I am from Marin, CA (20 minutes north of SF) and I will be moving to Porland, OR late September to continue with school.
Purchased this truck during my senior year of high school in 2015 and quickly realized how capable these trucks are and got the mod bug. The rest is history in the making...
The week I bought it @ 82k miles:
And how it sits now @ 112k miles:
2001 4x4 Limited 103k Miles
Suspension:
Front: OME 881 / OME Shocks (2.5 inch lift)
Rear: OME 890 / OME Shocks (3 inch lift)
Wheels and Tires:
Pro Comp 7069s
BFG KO2 265/75/16
Armor
ARB Front Bull Bar
White Knuckle Bolt-On Sliders (waiting on order)
Lighting
PIAA 580 Driving Lights
Interior
Wet-Okole Seat Covers
Custom Cargo / Sleeper System
Drove it stock for the first 6 months of ownership until I found a dirt road while near Yosemite and put it into 4wd for the first time => mind blown. These trucks are awesome and have the capability to take you anywhere. Time to sink some cash into this new found love of mine.
Stock camping trip during one of the weekends off while I was working at a skateboarding camp in the sequoia national forest during the summer of 2015
Then came the first of many mods, BFG KO2's in 265/75/16 (32s)
Shortly after that I had lift next on my list. My dad is a toyota gut himself with a built 97 FZJ80 and he helped me pick out the proper suspension: OME 881/890 with OME shocks (he's a big fan of ARB products)
Couldn't have been any happier with the lift but my only regret was doing it before the tires so I would have know that I could clear 33s. The 32s work great but I am looking forward to the day that they need to be replaced
The purpose of this rig is to be a camping truck that doesn't see too much crawling but will one day have the ability to get through some nasty stuff. One of the things the drew me to getting a 4runner in the first place was the ability to sleep in it. With the back seats down I just about fit cozy but wanted a little bit more leg room, plus with all the camping gear inside it was getting a little cramped. So I went ahead and built my first sleeping system. Pretty cheap with everything from home depot and under 50 bucks.
Very nice truck Bryce, the mod bug can be mighty powerful and often followed by wallet moths but there are worse habits to have.
Do you have eventual goals or is it a play-it-by-ear get or make it when you need it sort of thing?
In October 2015 I took a trip with some buddies to Stanislaus national forest. This is what I consider my trucks maiden voyage after installing lift and better tires. Plus it was the first time I had to use 4Lo.
Burned down bridge on foresta road so we had to flip one hell of a bitch.
For the most part it was just old forest service roads but still pretty exciting for my first time getting to really use the truck.
The view from Trumbull Peak, CA. Half dome way off in the distance too
Very nice truck Bryce, the mod bug can be mighty powerful and often followed by wallet moths but there are worse habits to have.
Do you have eventual goals or is it a play-it-by-ear get or make it when you need it sort of thing?
Thanks habanero, love the color of your runner. Don't see that one around too often. My goal at the moment is to build it up as much as I can while I still live at home and have garage space to work before I move up to Portland for college. I have sliders being made right now so hopefully Ill be able to get those one before I go at the end of the month. I like to think that my truck is built enough for some good expeditions (especially with the sliders on order) and am looking forward to being a weekend warrior up in Oregon and exploring as much of its backcountry as I can.
I wanted to rebuild my rear cargo are to be a little bit more accommodating to the supplies I might need while out on the trail. I got some ideas from this website and built cargo boxes over the wheel wells.
Next came the ARB bumper and some PIAA 580s. I dented my "fat lip" bumper pretty bad on my last wheeling trip so I knew it was time to upgrade. I got some PIAA 580 lights too because most of the good wheeling and camping spots are at least 3+ hours from my house so when we go at the end of the week after work Friday we end up at the trail around midnight and not having any decent lights was getting BAD. These guys did the trick...
Install was pretty easy. I later filled the gap between the bumper and body with some foam pipe tubing from home depot
Some things have happened with in my life and the trucks life since my last post. Im currently living in Portland Oregon (hollar if you're in the area and want to go wheeling) and recently started the two year welding program at Portland Community College. My goal is to become a traveling welder for some years until i decide to settle down and do my own fabrication, but thats at least a decade down the line. Latest mods include slapping some sliders on the truck and mounting 33 inch BFG KO2's
The police don't like it when you accidentally park in a reserved spot at in apartment building thats literally 30 feet from the skate park Last gas before the boonies the truck in its natural habitat. spent the last day of 2016 chilling here shooting clays... good times and some damn good beers White knuckle sliders. These are bolt on with self tapping bolts that required an impact wrench to get them on. Ill eventually weld them on when i know for sure if ill be doing a body lift or not (probably will)
I've always wanted a full length roof rack but spending over a grand on one was just not in my cards so i decided to build one in my welding class. 16 gauge 1x1 hot rolled steel square tubing with expanded steel. took about 15 hours over two days to make and I'm pretty happy with the results considering I've only been in welding school for about 6 months and spent most my time learning flux cored even though i mig welded this guy together
Got the roof rack powder coated and took it on its maiden voyage with my girlfriend around central oregon. Rack performed flawlessly, little wind noise on the road but that was to be expected
09-01-2016, 06:26 PM
