Met up with Scott and Steve for a quick run at Hollister Hills on 8 August. It was pretty dry apart from the mud hole which was filled with water. Didn’t take too many pictures or video this time. We started at the obstacle course and played there for a while. There we found some guy in a old Dodge decided to leap before he looked. It turned out that the mud hole was deeper than he thought and he drowned the Dodge. See pics below.

After that we went to the quarry where traction was limited due to the dust and loose sand. I had to take a few attempts on areas were it would normally be easier. We went up to Hector Heights and it was very quiet, as we were the only people there. We then went down to the bottom of Truck Hill to have lunch under the trees. After doing truck hill we returned to the obstacle course, again to search for some mud. The Jeep attempted a small but very rutted little mud hole and got stuck twice (it only had 2WD as the front drive shaft was disconnected due to different gearing).

We then proceeded to the hole Michael did last time we were out. I decided to give it a try. Everything went well apart from bashing my running boards a bit. I really need to get those sliders, but till then the running boards will have to protect the side of the vehicle. The Jeep the attempted and succeeded doing the hole as well. It did really well to get up on the steep side with loose ground and only 2WD. Here are some videos of it.

Low bandwidth Windows Media Toyota Hole (700KB) Jeep Hole (400KB)

High Bandwidth MPEG Toyota Hole (6MB) Jeep Hole (3MB)

Below are picks of what not to do when going through mud and water, first get an understanding of how deep it is. At least he has an indoor swimming pool in his car now

 

nice.... im heading up there on wednesday... so how deep is the mudhole really? if its past his hood, and he is stock, i probably shouldnt even try... my truck just barely sits at where a 4x4 toyota sits at... and i only have 2 wheel drive! i will be out there with a 4x4 ford explorer as well as me in my truck, so if anyone wants to join us......

 

If I had to guess I would say the mudhole was more than 3 feet deep at its deepest as the Dodge was still going down.

 

andries- nice job on the hole -- well driven; not a thing you could have done about those running boards. but one critique: no honking!

 

I would say that the word probably is an understatment. We watched that hole swallow a full sized chevy with around 6" of lift and 38" swampers. there was also a toyota with probably 4" of lift that sucked watter in there and blew his engine sky high. Please for the sake of your vehicle, do not go in there.

 

I'll try to improve my honking skills. But you are wrong on the running boards, there is something I could do, get them sliders!!! I'm looking at sliders Firsttoy is working on with Hanna, they are completely bolt on with no drilling or welding and XREAS compatible, so lets see maybe I'll have some next time round. Also I think your tires would grip a bit better on the loose dirt especially with the sidewall thread will actually have some bite, which would have helped.

I think I'll wait till it rains again at Hollister before going, so it will be muddy. I need to improve my mud skills.

 

Looks like fun. Just curious Bulldog-yota how much clearence do you have from the ground to the bottom of your running boards?

 

15 inches to the bottom of the running boards. It was more sliding a bit sideways that got me, as there was a high piece to the side. I would have been ok if I didn't go a little to my left, but I tried to avoid the ditch on the right.

By the way I'm still trying to get something together for the Sierras this year before the snow.

 

Great write-up bulldog! I had a fun time, but next time I'll need my 4runner for some muddy play. I'll get my pictures developed today.

 

How much clearence would you gain with sliders instead of the boards? 15 inches isnt very much but i guess thats not too bad for newer runner. My stock height pickup has about 18 to the bottom of the frame. Also a run in the sierras sounds good.

 

I bet he would gain 3-4 inches. The running boards look pretty tall.

 

I seem to remember hearing that the frame is actually lower than the running boards on the 4th gen.....

 

Never checked. Judging from how hard Bulldog landed on his running board and the very small amount of damage it did, he could have landed some of his weight on the frame. I don't know for sure though - didn't crawl under and look.

 

Ok, I'll measure to the frame tonight. And the other points. I looked and it didn't touch the frame. (note to self: need more lift, note to ARB or other suppliers: get those suspension kits, front bumper, rear bumper, lockers and sliders for the 4th gen coming)

The running boards actually were hit cause I skipped alittle more to the right than planned.

The 4th Gen in my experience so far has three points to check for:
The front skid plate below the sump, the brackets by the tranny on the frame (this actually the lowest point) and the skid by the gas tank as it hangs a bit lower than the frame (dont know what they were thinking). Lance does a lot of rock with his so he can easily say where his problem sites are.

To me the height to the frame is academic, as sliders will pick up most of the beating there. AT the moment my running boards does a bit of the duty, at least in a warning capacity. My biggest concern is tha gas tank as it hangs a bit low and in a bad spot by the rear wheel. Will need some heavy duty skids there at some point.

 

The low gas tank is a problem on my 1st gen too! That's good you didn't land on the frame, i'm suprised the running boards took that much weight - what kind of brackets do they use?

 

I think the low gas tank is a characteristic on all 4Runners (?)
The running boards are held onto the body (not the frame) with 6 12mm bolts and 3 brackets per side.
I bent one "sliding" down a minor ledge. Bent it up but just short of touching the body so got lucky. Leaving them on, I think you risk stripping out the bolts, puckering the body, bending the running boards into the body. They are convienent for getting at the roof though and the ladies like em.

 

The running boards didn't take the weight, they just brushed against the side if you look carefully on the video.

So just for measurement on my Runner:
Running boards 15"
Frame 15"
Gas Tank 11.5"
Brackets (pipes) by tranny 11"


Defintely need more lift and better articulation would also help.
Sliders and bumpers are also just what the doctor ordered.

She's still a mall queen, till the next round of mods that is!!! But apart from the sliders I haven't seen anything in the bumper and suspension department availible that I would get. The Downey suspension kits maybe, but lets see what comes out next year.

 

Andries,
What was your setup going down that hole? I mean were you 4Lo (sounds like it), 1st and diff locked?
I take it you didn't use DAC since that would have let the truck go too fast down...

 

Yep you pretty much got it.

 

Damn, sometimes you feel like command center going to defcon1 ------>diff lock/check----->1st/check---->4Lo/check....DAC off-on/ check....