When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Finished the brake upgrade (FJ vented rotors, 89 V6 calipers, ceramic pads, stainless braided brake lines), and the front differential swap to 4.56. Ready to roll now, first official voyage with the 5th wheel tomorrow. Will report the findings, fingers crossed.
Last edited by takethetruck; 07-01-2017 at 07:22 PM.
It went well...lol
That's Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park a few miles before the 12000ft mark and the truck did great! We ended up taking the rig all the way out to Sierra City, CA to camp with family for a week, and stopped at RMNP on the way out, and Gunnison National Park and Great Sand Dunes National Park on the way back. Put over 4k miles on and made it home without any issue, and averaged 13mpg over the course of the trip. Kept it slow and steady, in the power band around 3k rpm up the grades and down shifted when necessary and leaned the Weber out slightly in the higher elevations. Even pulling the salt flats in NV at 100 degrees with the A/C on full blast (the temp gauge never lifted above half). If this doesn't solidify the little 22r as one of the most reliable engines ever built, I don't know what would.
Here are some more Yota-centric pics from the trip:
After entering UT on US Hwy 40 west-bound
Camping at Chapman Creek Campground off CA Hwy 49 (wife and daughter in the foreground).
On the Yuba River with family, south of Sierra City, CA
Pulling grade up Sacramento Pass in NV on US Hwy 50 headed back East (note 3k in 2nd at the crest doing 25, the long 6-8% grades were a little brutal)
Camping at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The grade going into the park was really steep, I'd guess 10%, and the only time I had to down shifted to 1st going up to the campground's 8k+ elevation. But enjoyed 70 degree highs while it was in the 90s down below.
Took the road down the canyon to the Gunnison River 2k ft elevation change at 16% grade (obviously left the 5th Wheel back at camp for that one)!
Didn't get any shots of the rig at Great Sand Dunes National Park, but did take the truck (only) up the "road" to Zapata Falls just outside the park and I do not recommend it for those without independent suspension - and it was made worse by the stiff rear suspension in the truck (for the fifth wheel). It was like driving up hill for 3 miles in a creek bed in a covered wagon...but the falls were cool.
Only things I might change before another long trip is bump the gearing to 4.88, as the 4.56s only put me at stock ratio with my 31s, and maybe an auxiliary fuel tank.
Had a helluva' good time, and got more compliments and stares than I could count.
Last edited by takethetruck; 11-02-2018 at 05:49 AM.
Great pictures, that looks like an incredible trip. I kinda thought you were crazy from your first post, but looks like the truck really did well. Thanks for sharing.
Nicely done! Truck is very clean, and I fully appreciate the desire to modify it to suit your needs vs replacing it. I'm planning to put a 5th wheel hitch on my 91 xtra cab. It's got a 1kz diesel with a few tweaks so I have no doubts about towing, and seeing your success is very comforting. I have f150 leafs in the rear that didn't squat much with almost 1000lbs of rocks in the bed, but might pull a leaf and add airbags for the sake of ride quality. Looking forward to further updates.
Well, finally bit the bullet on some built 4.88s from Marlin with an ARB locker for the rear. But I also went up to 33" BFG KM2s so basically won't gain anything. I may end up going in more of an overland direction and selling the fifth wheel... we'll see. I'll post up pics on the differential install and results, pretty jacked about having the ARB locker.
Last edited by takethetruck; 12-17-2017 at 04:10 PM.
I'm done at 33s, so hopefully won't see 5.29s in my future. As far as seating I swapped a bench (had the buckets originally) in from an Xtracab and we got a narrow (17") car seat for the center. It's cozy, but works.
Last edited by takethetruck; 12-17-2017 at 04:03 PM.
Selling the Bigfoot to focus on overland-equipping the truck (finally got my wife onboard!), would love to see it go to a Toyota enthusiast so here's the link to the Craigslist ad: https://fayar.craigslist.org/rvs/6483693557.html
Finally sold the fifth wheel, and picked up a Snugtop for the truck. The plan is to fix the holes in the bed from the fifth-wheel hitch removal, bullet-line the bed and bed rails, put the cap back on, build a sleep platform with a long pullout drawer to house my 18" Cook Partner, cookware, ect. And somewhere to strap the Worthington 6lb Aluminum LP tank near the rear driver's side, I also picked up an ARB Elements Fridge that will be hitch mounted to a Küat Pivot and a custom fabbed hitch-carrier. AGM house battery will be built into the sleep platform, not totally settled on this though - may do solar and goal zero, or something. 7gal Roadshower and ARB awning (small 1250 model so it can be rear mounted on the cap, so we can cook in the rain). Pretty excited to get her kitted out and get out in the thick of it, will keep updating as the build progresses. My Toyota Rocinante.
Last edited by takethetruck; 04-05-2018 at 05:21 PM.
Thanks! Looking forward to getting back closer to basics and the increased mobility of not dragging the camper around; though I'm sure we'll miss some of the comforts.
Got the bed lined, tail-gate ladder installed to make ingess a little easier, and a Maxxair Deluxe Vent fan installed.
Also got my house-battery setup figured out:
I decided to go all out on an Inergy Kodiak 1100w Lithium solar generator. It will power the ARB Fridge for 5+ days without charge, it'll fully charge off the truck DC in 4-5 hours, and with 100w of solar I can basically stay out indefinitely. It's really a pretty incredible unit and I'm excited to put it to use.
Now I just have to get the damn sleep platform/drawer system built.... Onward and upward!
Last edited by takethetruck; 05-05-2018 at 08:27 PM.
After pausing for a partial house remodel, I've finally gotten back to the truck. Built the drawer system out, and I'm pretty proud of the way my design is turning out (pics below). But I've taken my sweet time planning out the wiring for DC charging the solar generator and integrating the 100w Renogy Eclipse solar panel (will go into greater detail when I get it all buttoned up and tested). Hopefully will knock it out this week and put the lid on the sleep platform. Then I'll just have to drop cut a few access hatches and should be ready to get out and actually use it!
07-01-2017, 07:20 PM
