Man,I would love one of those... Do you have to do something to your front suspension to keep the front of the truck from lowering _or_ is the weight of little effect ?

 

No, those bumpers (w/ or w/o the winch) are pretty heavy, on stock coilovers, I'm sure the front will sag. If you have aftermarket adjustable coilovers you can just crank them up a bit.

 

The 4Runner is more than impressive so far. Great motor, and coupled with the OME suspension and dozens of traction options (traction control, 3 diff locks, etc.) it performs excellent on the trail!



If you are interested in the play-by-play...

 

That thing looks really nice. Got any more pics of the roof rack? Is ARB going to bring those to the US again? BTW, Im Shawkins on the portal.

 

MMMM ???? Come again ? Did I read 3 diff locks ? Like ARB might have a locker for the FRONT ?

Steve

 

i have a question for you expeditionswest- how do i get a job with you? what background do i need?

 

Yup the front has been out for a few months now. RD 111 or RD 121 (depending on gearing ratio.) Gears greater than 4.10 should get the RD 111.

As always RD23 for the rear.

Good luck

 

Off Topic -- Lefty, how did you run the wiring from your lights mounted on the rack down to the battery, switch etc? Any pics? I like the idea of mounting lights on the roof rack but haven't been able to figure out where to run the wiring....

 

same topic as above.... do you need a 2nd battery to run all those lights? and are they all on 1 switch or multiple? i have 4 lights up top and im trying to figure out how to wire them up the best.

 

I do hire subcontractors from time to time. Mostly experienced OHV trainers or semi-professional drivers.

90% of the income is from my writing, photography and direct technical consulting with the off-highway companies.

Feel free to contact me with your info: guide@expeditionswest.com

 

So, what size tires are they -- 285's or 265's?

 

well i have a background in mechanics and a minor in photography specializing in landscape, action and nature photography. too bad im on the east coast

 

265/70 R17

For those of you with a Gen 4, you are a lucky bunch. This truck is impressive...

 

Good stuff, keep in touch

 

[QUOTE=expeditionswest]

265/70 R17




That's what I thought.... thanks and have fun!

 

OK, now I know its been a couple months since I've been on Yotatech, but now you are starting to scare me... Are there are gears out for the front as well ???

Steve

 

There are a lot of little, but important, details to it, but in a nutshell here's what I did:

I ran power from the battery, through a relay in the engine compartment, into the passenger compartment. Here, I used a fuse connection to run power through a switched relay and ran the wire allllll the way back through the passenger comparment, up through the back hatch and onto the roof. Once there, I just ran the wire forward from the back hatch, along the roof rack, to the lights.

Now, while this is a nice vague overview, there are some important details to remember, like the fact we are using DC power instead of AC so power drops significantly over the length of the wire. Also, you want to ensure you have a properly fused line as well... I could go on and on... My recommendation is to check out the tech section. I got a LOT of my ideas from there...

And not to hijack this thread any more, if you have more questions, feel free to start another thread !

Steve

 

I recall BulldogYota decribing the 4th gen as 7/8th's Land Cruiser at 3/5th's the price. I do feel I got alot of value and usability for the $30k I spent on mine. Safe daily driver (VSC, V8 punch, huge ABS brakes that stop me on a dime), family vacation wagon, off road explorer. Not a hardcore rock crawler, but if I wanted one of those I would've bought a $7k beater instead. I just wish better gas mileage was attainable.

 

If I could only have one truck, the 06 4Runner with a V8 would be it. No question.

I still believe the FZJ80 was the pinnacle of Toyota expedition performance for the US market, but those trucks are old now (1997 was the last year).

I really like the 06, as it addressed the wheel well styling (which I do not prefer), and it has the variable valve timing in the V8.

Through the years, I have tested dozens of 4wd's, and this 4Runner just rocks!

 

For those of you who liked the ARB 4x4Runner, check out the October 2006 Issue of Off-Road :lurk:

A full review...