Thanks space junk.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Thanks man! There is a lot of time that goes into a custom bumper; cutting, grinding, welding and a whole lot of staring to figure out what your going to do. But, if you get the chance to hang out with someone doing metal work there is a lot that you can learn from just watching.

 

That rear bumper is amazing. Its pretty much exactly what I was imagining for my 2nd gen 4runner with the factory tire swing out. Due to the hinges from it I cant buy a pre-fabbed bumper. But your design is like perfect!

Well Done!

 

Could you take a picture of your tailgate latch area looks with the tailgate open? I'm curious how that looks.

Also did your rear end drop with the added weight of the bumper? How heavy did it wind up being?

Once again it looks really great. Plus now if someone rear ends you they have a totalled car and you have a couple scratches to touch up.

 

Thanks!

I would say the bumper is right around 100 pounds, but I never set it on a scale. I could move it around alone, but it took another person to help me set it in place between the frame rails (it was a tight fit). Yes, the rear of the 4Runner dropped with the weight of the bumper but I forgot to measure before I installed it. The rear suspension rides a lot smoother with the bumper installed, I also had a small u-joint vibration before I installed it (from the amount of lift & driveline angle) and now that is gone. The down side is that it lifted the front even more (like a teeter totter), so I really need to get started on the front bumper.

Here are a couple pictures with the tailgate open

 

Before I started on the side braces I needed to do something about the exhaust. I plan on routing it above the frame and having it exit by the bumper. While I’m not ready to take on that project, it was still in the way and looked horrible. Not to mention the first time I go wheeling it will get caught on something. So I broke out the sawzall

Before





After

 

I cleaned up and trimmed my frame plates, then installed them

 

Then I cut/fit the side braces and installed them



I’m really happy how they turned out, all the tubing flows nice and it should be more than strong enough. I still need to brace the inside of the frame rails, but I need to make some other decisions about the build before I do that.

 

Nice!

 

looks good. is there any type of special paint you use?

 

fold down tire carrier coming soon? front bumper plans? oh and another reason I went with a tubular upper control arm was because i don't have the rubbing of the spindle on the coil anymore, and of course it doesn't rub anymore now that i have my bumper and winch up front... you should also do a diff drop to help out the angle of the CV joints. also i don't use my sway bars (i do plan on putting the front one to use once i can build quick disconnects) but the rear sway bar broke off the first time i went wheeling and got tangled in the coils... i've driven the truck up to whistler and back multiple times and to yakima and back (olympia is home base) and i don't feel like the rear sway bar is needed, or atleast its more of a hassle having it on specially when i want to wheel

 

so the tube upper arms seems like the solution to the coil issue but you need the non uniball design. not sure if anyone makes them any other way

 

Thanks!

It's Rustolem Hammered spray paint, the label says it's black but it's more of a dark metallic grey with a little texture. It holds up better than any other spray paint I've used and it's easy to touch up.

 

Thanks for the input! I'm going to wait until I finish my bumpers, sliders, skidplates, etc before I replace the upper control arms. I would be replacing uniballs all the time with the road conditions we have up here. It’s an option, but there’s a couple other things I’m going to try first.

I ordered limit straps for the front; if Steve at SS is right about the upper control arm bushings and the lower shock bushing controlling the amount of down travel, the weight of my tires and wheels are going to wear those bushings out in no time. Each wheel is around 35 pounds and with a tire it’s close to 100 pounds, that’s a big difference from stock. I really think they are a good idea with my set-up.

I have a 1” diff drop, it comes with the SS1.2 kit. Thanks for the heads up!

I drove for a couple weeks without the front sway bar and it was scary! I really think it depends on what coils you are running, it seems like the guys w/o sway bars are running the stiffer OME coils. The coils that come in the SS kit are really soft. The kit also comes with rear sway bar drop brackets which I hope that will keep the links from breaking but we will see. I plan on making some sway bar disconnects, but that is down the road because I have more important things to take care of.

I’m not going to have a spare tire carrier on this 4Runner, it adds a lot of weight and makes getting into the cargo area a real PITA. With my beadlock wheels I don’t have to worry about loosing a bead, I also have air and a plug kit so if I get a nail/etc I can fix it. I could tear a sidewall, but that’s very unlikely with the kind of wheeling I will be doing in this rig and the fact I have Kevlar MTR’s (knock on wood). When I’m on longer and/or camping trips I will have the trailer, which has two 35’s on six lug wheels. The trailer will have a smaller spare, or two donuts, depending on space (there’s no room for a full size spare). I can always rob both tires from the trailer, park it on jack stands, and drive to the nearest town to get replacement tires if everything goes to hell.

 

I had a busy and productive day in the shop…

I got my Lotus lower control arm skid plates installed

 

I also painted the spoiler to match the rear bumper, it was starting to look little sad. It’s not perfect, but a lot better than it was.

Before


After

 

I switched the running light LED’s and turn signals back around to the stock configuration, the lower LED’s are brighter and better suited for a turn signal.

Before


After

 

You always need more light when you’re out on the trail or camping, so I added an extra LED light into the rear tailgate.







My camera exaggerated the light output, but here is the LED cargo light in the stock housing along with the extra LED light.

 

That is a great idea for interior lighting. Is that one from superbright led's too?

When I redid my taillights to LED I wanted to do my back up lights with that style but was amazed that the clear/white LEDs were so much more expensive. Your's lOok great, might just suck it up and go that route..

Looking forward to the front bumper