96 4Runner 303,522 miles

Addressed the shifter issue- the truck was popping out of 2nd especially and occasionally 4th mostly when in 4Lo.
I'd already adjusted the metal frame that fits between the body gasket and boot gasket by cutting out the section that was getting hit when in 2nd gear after replacing the trans mount. Now that the motor mounts and possibly even because of the new body mounts I'm getting shifter interference again- except this time it's enough to pop it out of gear if I am in 4wd Lo and especially if it's somewhere I didn't suddenly want to be not in gear.

Pulled off the pleather boot and the rubber boot gasket to see what's going on at the metal frame.
2nd


4th


some chopping, some downward bending


2nd


4th


Chances are without the 1" body lift this wouldn't be a thing, but that and the 1/2" I gained from the new body mounts and the position shift from the new engine mounts all came together to make it a thing.

 

Colorado/Utah vacation 2018

First the 96 did this (kid took pic) just outside Kansas City, Missouri


Starts with spending the first night at Wilson State Park in Kansas. A nice sunset, decent weather, somebody running along the shoreline in a loud boat with very bright lights multiple times during the night.


We cut through Idaho Springs which was a pretty drive with multiple 3rd gens parked here and there and ended up at Winter Park Colorado. We camped up Vasquez Road, the same area that a bear put its paws all down the '96 last year. This year we made sure to pack any smellable away. It was a good plan as a bear interrupted our sleep making crunchy noises at the camp across the street. We all scared it away.


Annnd now it's time to go make dinner.

 

Welcome! You all out and about now??

 

After a good ride on the Tipperary Creek loop where we saw this guy


And then on to Rabbit Valley and the Kokopelli trail
pronghorn


Probably the steepest drop on the trail, there is also a tall somewhat loose climb and a squeeze between a boulder and a drop-off that the 4Runners manage fine

 

Hi coopster- I've been back for over a month now, just getting around to a trip report. I keep seeing all the beautiful pics of the color changing aspen posts but am stuck at home because work. We're not getting much here, either. Guess the drier conditions aren't good for the pretty.

 

After a night up above Moab at the Whole Enchilada trailhead
Hiking towards Burro Pass


My husband rode the trail while me and the kid hung around Moab.
Afterwards we headed to the Needles District and Elephant Hill






I have a few dash cam movies but haven't had a chance to weed through them.

 

Off-roading, hiking and camping at Needles then off to Glen Canyon Rec area to take the Ferry which we missed the last run by not much. Apparently it had a part failure and quit early. We spent a night there, waited the next morning for the ferry which apparently was still broken, then took the long way around on our way to Hole In The Rock in Escalante on the other side.
There were some interesting areas there to explore, like Devil's Garden, Dance Hall Rock, Hole in the Rock, and some cool slot canyons. Cool slickrock formations on the way to HitR too.
Our campsite was really nice and quiet too.




Hole in the Rock hike which was cooler than I thought it would be

 

Peekaboo slot


Spooky slot, arguably the best of the two
IIRC 10" is the narrowest it gets

 

The drive between Glen Canyon Rec and Hole in the Rock is beautiful and very foreign to us green everywhere tall tree and lots of vegetation area dwellers. We went back through Capitol Reef and on to Grand Mesa for another quiet night. We did get snowed on by a little ash here, not too bad. The fire was pretty far away.


And then over to Crested Butte via a lot of gravel and up Pearl Pass.
That was a lot of rock!






It was beautiful. There are iirc 9 designated dispersed campsites on the Aspen side of Pearl Pass so we slept there

 

From Pearl Pass to Salida for a quick ride on the S mountain trails before an afternoon storm and off to camp on Old Monarch Pass
The pass was really windy so I parked the truck to create a lee for the tent. Sometimes we used both trucks to create a less windy zone for the tent.

also it is pretty.

Spent the next day driving the dirt side of the mountain, over to Pitkin, then to hwy 50 for gas and food at Gunnison


And up to Tincup where we picked up some lemonade and popcorn from a little girl with a stand then onward to the pass


Over to St. Elmo then an attempt to Grizzly lake.
I took one look at the wall complete with winch anchor and decided against


but the hubby had to give it a try. Of course it looks 'flat'- this is partway up. I ended up pulling the bikes off the rack to avoid damage to them.


We decided not to winch up and drag our underbellies up the rock and sparing the driveshafts, exhaust and gas tanks potential damage.


So we abandoned that idea and headed back over to Old Monarch Pass for another night with plans to mountain bike from Marshall pass on down.

 

 

The next day we did Medano pass via Great Sand Dunes. They'd gotten a great deal of rain the day before and the sand was mostly pretty solid, no worries getting through it. Medano was pretty and we saw several 4Runners. Still trying to locate a few pics, saw a few nice 3rd gens.
and sadly had to head back to Kansas and Wilson State Park and then back home.

Now I have to get around to the videos and figure out where the Medano pass pics ran off to.

 

Looks like a lot of fun! You're better at posting pictures than I am.... lol

 

It looks like you had a lot of fun, Hab!

One of these days I will get over to that part of the country and do some exploring.

Thanks for sharing your adventures!

 

And it only took almost 2 months. I still have a ton more to weed through, would like to put up more of Pearl and Medano passes especially.

We did! Doing some exploring is highly recommended.

 

looks like a great vacation Habanero! Pics of the scenery and trails are awesome

Just curious what the home depot buckets on the roof were used for?
How much weight did you have on the roof racks? I was planning on a couple of 5 gallon gas cans but some folks were saying it would cause a top heavy feeling...that whole pesky center of gravity physics BS..

 

Okay....just remember you asked!

The Let's Do This bucket is for....um....doo. The grey briefcase looking thing on the rack is a toilet and, well, the, um, end results get packed out.

(you asked)

Pett toilet

Wag Bags
https://www.austinkayak.com/products...k-Wag-Bag.html


This year we weren't doing the Maze district so we each had two 2-gallon gas cans. I had those, the bucket which never got more than 1/3 full, a bones bike rack and the toilet so not a ton of weight this time, under 50#.

I have used two 5 gallon tanks, a bike rack, the toilet, the sometimes full bucket, and a shower enclosure on the rack in the past. I didn't notice being top-heavy (a lot of weight inside the truck too) or feeling uncomfortably more tippy than normal.
I did originally put both 5 gallon cans in one corner of the rack. That was a mistake as it bent the load bar. The next time I put one on either side. Same trail but no bent bar.
If you haven't got one I recommend one of those shakey siphons with hose long enough to easily reach the gas tank filler. Much more convenient. I also fill the cans as they sit up on the rack rather than fill and lug them up there. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass...ops-e-z-siphon + longer hose from hardware store
So far the best conventional plastic can I've used is the No-Spill. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/gas%20can
Here's from a few years ago with everything but the Bones bike rack, hubby has chairs, table and gas cans.


This year with the smaller cans in the front center of the rack


There's no way I'm putting gas where someone can run into it, I lost some childhood friends from a scenario like that when their rv was rear-ended. I'd rather have it up out of the way thank you very much. It would be either that or a well-protected aux tank underneath, but I'd have to move my air tank to do that.
To each their own.

 

haha, i figured the bucket was a poop pot. Thanks for the info on driving characteristics. I am just gonna have to throw some junk on the roof and see how the truck drives. Having weight down low to sort of counter balance the top load makes sense in a physics science sort of way.
I have an assorted collection of cans ranging from the 2.5 gallon NATO style (they tucked away nicely in a spot on my old tacoma) to the 5 gallon Nato type.
I also have some of the 4 gallon Rotopax that i like because they lay nice and flat. I have thought about an auxillary tank in the back where the spare use to mount. It would probably be a transfer tank and not full all of the time. with a 16 gallon tank at 14-15 mpg the range on my 4runner is pretty limited.

 

You all touched on this in the past, on someone's thread; How about the weight and does it effect the roof structure? Did anyone ever come up with a solution?
I reckon an exo-skeleton would be great, as well as keep things sort of unbent if you tried an inadvertent sommersault. Altho a bit 'protrudy'.

Hey Hab! It looks like you all avoided the rack on the bonnet adventure this year! (wasn't that last year or so, the rack put a good scratch on the hood?)

 

I hear you on limitation! The Rotopax look like they'd be nice for setting in the rack, but oh, that price!

Maybe when we were talking about Chef's 1st gen fiberglass with a rack on it? My remembery is not doing its job...

It was last year on Black Bear Pass, same drop-off the 5th gen flopped on. I did avoid roof rack hood kissing adventures and yep, you might be able to see some of those dents in photos. Luckily it seems to have left most of the paint intact so that's good. Despite the hits I took on pearl (my skid plates did their job and are showing it) nothing budged.