Dreidel

ok so i can honestly say ive never thought of selling my truck at all up untill last night and not to worry im not going domestic but im thinking of switching to a 2nd gen runner.
my first inspiration was mossyoak with his 3rd gen from pirate 4x4 right up untill i priced a local 3rd gen for sale on craigslist and im thinking the 2gen is a bit more practical for a budget trail rig my nest inspiration was 4rnnr33 and his runner.
ive always wanted to own a crew cab pickup but i ended up with reg cab toyota pickup and then in my random scouring the internet for random toyota stuff i ran across this

crew cab toyota pickup was all i was thinking
if i do it i will retain the roll down window for the back glass i like the idea of using a pickup rear window but imo i like the rear glass following body lines (like on this truck) not trying to making its own but thats all personal preference of the builder
does anybody know if a standard pickup tailgate will fit on?
anything special to look for when purchasing other than normal stuff?
where are the rear seatbelt mounts on these truck because it seems like everybody has to cut them off to do this. is there a way around this without doing tons of extra work?
i dont use my bed a whole lot so i dont mind have less of a bed and when i do its never anything big so no big deal
i am actually considering doing this i am handy with tools and what i dont know i am always eager to learn
the body work is going to be new to me any advise for somebady who has never done it i know that when your welding you have to keep the metal cool to keep from warping so tacks only and not super close together
so tell me what you think and im open to opinions

Dreidel

maybe a bed extention i know i know approach angles and such but im not a hardcore rock crawler and when it does get taken offroad it will probably be just mud and fields and stuff. i was kinda thinking just getting a 1 inch body lift to lift the front of the truck and building a 1 inch sqaure tubing frame that goes under the entire bed so that when i bolt down the front of the bed(ish) down that it will hold the frame down so i can bolt the extention to the frame just to act as some reinforcement that way i dont throw something in the back of the bed and fold it over on itself by accident
still open to suggestions

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

So you bought that thing or it is what you are thinking about building? The 8274 on the front of the Runner you pictured is nice...
Mossyoak's 4runner is awesome. I would love to build one down the road.

Dreidel

What I'm thinking about building
I wish I had that truck in the pic don't know who's it is but they did amazing

Stu Pidasso

I kind of like the line between the bed and the cab that you see on pickups. To me, and this is just my opinion, the four doors with the tiny bed look very much like the Honda trucks or the Chevy Avalanche. They kind of have a car/family truckster kind of feel to them. Nice fab work none the less and I respect anyone's choice for their ride.

yota864x4

i kind of agree with stu, i like the line of seperation. theres just something that makes it look better. if it is done right though it can still look awesome, i have seen a couple. from my research, it takes a lot of work to retain the roll up back window. you have to do some notching in the well which would then be something for you tire to catch on when stuffed. so then comes the idea of notching the tailgate itself, but then the rear window can only go down halfway.

my roommate wanted to do this and i was trying to convince to take the back of a pickup bed and put it on. than you have the option of the pickup tailgate and also more aftermarket tail light options since there aren't hardly anything for that 4runner. its all up to you though and i cant wait to see what you decide!

Luvmeye22re

The thing that kills me about that mod... is the LOSS of cargo space and it just doesn't look right TO ME and me only. I can see the benefit in off camber situations where you lay it on it's side or even just touch a rock without actually needing to flip it back on it's wheels because you don't have to worry about losing the rear windows breaking and jacking up all that extra sheet metal. If I was to build a full out crawler again I would not use a 2nd gen 4runner personally. An extended cab pickup would be my ideal....

If you can accomplish the task of making a 4Runner look like that, making a pickup tailgate fit and work will be no problem, fab and weld is all it is. The sky is the limit really. I've seen many a 1st gen 4runner with pickup tailgates on them.

Also for just mud and fields, it seems excessive but each to their own. Have fun with it if you have the extra cash to just buy a $Runner and chop it up like that, I would do the same, just not with the same vehicle.

yota864x4

^^^ this. i would rather have the covered so i can have all the storage space to have tools and supplies out of the weather and a lot easter to get too rather than crammed into a tool box and in a bed

Dreidel

I know it does seem excessive but I'm not doing it to get rid of top weight and I thought of the pickup be last night but I want to do it because I like it. Everybody asked me why I isn't just buy a 4wd but I wanted a 4wd and I had the parts for a sas I just like doing stuff like this because of the skills you learn and the fun I have doing and having the unique vehicle

Dreidel

i understand what your saying but and if you have a runner because you wanted a toyota with covered cargo area keep it i understand where your coming from and thats probably why you bought the suv

im thinking that if i cut the runner cab behind the seat all the way down and seal that back up i can take a chopped pickup bed at the middle of the fender i would have that extra bed from after the wheel well, only thng im worried about with it is definatly having the line of seperation between the cab and the bed right in the middle of the wheel well anybody know where a pic is of somebody with a cut up runner that used a pickup bed

Stu Pidasso

There is a guy on here that cut a runner and built a flat bed on it. He had a link suspension and managed to close off the back of his runner. The bed, if you want to call it that, was really more of a place for all of his rigging for the suspension, gas tank, and tire. It eventually burned up and he built and sold an s-10 blazer as his next project. I will try and find it.

Dreidel

i wouldnt mind the sliding glass pickup window but i would have to chop it up just right to get the window to follow the body lines and seal the back of the runner
i like that flat beds but i like being able to throw stuff in the back without having to strap it down all the time

Stu Pidasso

I have been searching for the build that had the 2nd gen runner flat bedded. I believe he had cut his rear hatch and sectioned it to wear it could open from the top to the middle. Do not hold me to it. I suppose you could also cut the cab of a truck a few inches before the bend and then transplant it to the back of your runner. It also may be possible to find a place that makes glass for chopped vehicles and having them make a rear slider.

yota864x4

i was just giving my opinion and stating what all i have found from my research. ultimately it is your vehicle and you can do with it what you want. if done right than it could look sick.

as for your question about the bed line in the middle of the wheel well, im sure it would look a little something like this


heres a pic of another one that i found

Dreidel

yota86 i wasnt trying to shut out what you were saying if thats how it sounded i was just saying people have different needs and generally people buy a suv for family cargo type vehicle not to chop it all up like i want to as for the pics i like the first one but the second one doesnt really suite my fancy i guess

stu i kinda like both the sliding and the auto, i would rather have the auto but at the same time i wouldnt be against the sliding as long as i could mount it at the same angle as i would with the rool down window thats what 4rnnr33 did with his was cut out the back of a cab and fab it in there really good work (tried to post pic but couldnt c&p for some reason)
only things i didnt like about it was the bed got cut off and the window goes almost straight up but other than that i love it if i were to do it i think i would notch the back of the cab and bend it so it followed the lines of the rear doors ya know

Dreidel

any other ideas?
im thinking maybe instead of having the roll down window is keeping the runner window cause i like the size and just having it fixed that way the top in there and clamp it in so it doesnt leak i suppose 4 windows and a sunroof is enough air lol

Dreidel

anybody else have any opinions

Stu Pidasso

I am thinking here. I got my engine together and I have been prepping it for install. Hopefully I can drop it in today.....we will see. Then I can look some more.

falcon5nz

Get a double cab Hilux Ute

Swimmerboy2112

iTrader: (2)

The rear window will not be able to roll all the way down, it will hit on the wheel wells. I briefly looked into doing this.