put it up on some free image site such as webshots and then just drop the link on here.

or if you have a personal website, you can put it there and link it here.

 

Good Times - your wisdom is priceless. Here is the web page with the picture of the Hitch and a few others if you get bored.

http://community.webshots.com/user/damlaker

Thanks again.

 

nice pics Damlaker. The one with kids is cool.

Yes that is a factory installed hitch, btw.
I agree with Lance, the weight is going to be an issue. A winch is going to be close to 80-90lbs alone. Add the ARB bumper, some sliders and you are well above 200lbs right there. You are removing stock bumpercovers but plastic is pretty light.

Also remeber where the weight is makes a huge difference. 200lbs. in between the wheels (passengers, sliders) is not a big deal. 200lbs. hanging off the front of your rig- that's a big deal! It's going to definitely affect everything: handling, suspension droop...

just my opinion but if you are thinking of going ARB bumper/winch, I would save up for Donohoe or SAW coilovers and do it right from the start.

If you want a immediate fix for ground clearance, do the spacers. You said you like the on-road handling and plan to tow so I would stay 2.5" or around there to keep the daily drive characteristics as close as possible. Just my opinion.

 

Let me clarify my last statement: You do have the higher rated hitch. The 5000lb hitch actually tucks up where that notch in the plastic bumper is.

265/70-17 (about 31.5") will fit in the spare location. You have a bit of wiggle room by dropping the spare slightly and pushing it back while tightening it back up.

you can post here with anonymizer.com! Read in "yotatech on the web"

 

hey, FT, thanks for posting that ... that's the cutest thing i've seen all night!

 

Sweet pics! You have the heavy duty hitch (now standard on the V8's). I think it is rated to 7500#

 

here's one you can use as your avatar

 

Thanks everyone for their input and suggestions. At this point, I think I am just going to lift the Truck 3" with NE pacers and rear shocks. Not sure when I will add the ARB Bumper but if it causes some "sagging" or drop, I may rectify it with Air Lift bags. In any event, I only wanted to go up 2" to 2.5" anyway so if I start at 3" I will probably end up where I want to be.

First Toy, thanks for the the thoughts on the size of the spare. Makes complete sense. As I become more Tech savy, I will try to post pictures on the body of the e-mail. Thanks for doing that form me - my sons will love it when I show it to them tonight.

Skip the rest if you don't want to read soft sided jibberish about the value of wheel'n to me and my boys.

I am sure all of you work demanding jobs. While I have no complaints for the choices I have made, I really work long hours during the week. I see my sons briefly in the morning and for an hour or two before they go to bed. The two kids in hanging out on the parked 4Runner are my two oldest boys (7 and 5). We also have a baby boy 9 months old. I go off roading with the older ones 4 or 5 times a year. I started out taking them not really sure if they would like it, get bored etc. There is a lot of standing around and waiting when someone gets stuck or needs help. They run around in the woods or play video games in the truck and basically hang out with me. They like the bouncing, the mud, getting stuck etc. Unlike out west, the logging roads and trails we go on can be challenging but we are never really going that fast and we certainly do not have to worry about falling off of a mountain, cliff or big rock.

Because I live in the "challenged midwest", anytime we go wheel'n it usually involves an overnight hotel stay. They like this part as well. I guess my point is that as a family - offroading gives us a reason to get away and enjoy all aspects of a father and son weekend. My wife who is a stay at home mom is relieved to have a quite weekend with the baby. It works for everyone.

Thanks again to everyone

 

Damlaker:

Sounds like everything is lookin good in life for ya I personally don't have any children yet (yet alone a family) but I'm very confident that we can all relate to you in some way or another.

It's always great to see members bring their children to enjoy the outdoors. Yes it might get boring at times but it's good to see that this is not just a big boy sport but rather a time for everyone to get together and enjoy eachother's company. As you frequent yotatech more often, you will notice that we have a section dedicated for trips and planning in which alot of them do cater towards families. I know I'm way's off from where you are but I'm sure we'll all cross paths one day on some big yotatech event

Btw, this forum can get soo addicting that you're gonna have to watch your back pocket as it has been rumored that it is one of the sources of people going broke

Good luck! (more photos! )

 

First Toy - the help never ceases. I now have an Avatar. Just so no-one thinks I am swearing or a Lakers fan (altought I am a Phil Jackson fan - go Bulls), my screen name comes from the fact that I have a Lake House on a Lake called Dam Lake. The jokes went on for years "Boys, isn't that a pretty Dam Lake"; "Zeus (black lab), get out of the Dam Lake".

 

First Toy - the help never ceases. I now have an Avatar. Just so no-one thinks I am swearing or a Lakers fan (altought I am a Phil Jackson fan - go Bulls), my screen name comes from the fact that I have a Lake House on a Lake called Dam Lake. The jokes went on for years "Boys, isn't that a pretty Dam Lake"; "Zeus (black lab), get out of the Dam Lake".

 

that's the perfect avatar.

p.s. -- if you happen to find any spare children, please send them to me.

 

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but this is somewhat related to the topic...Any problems with the receiver-mounted removable winches? Seems like a good idea as you can keep the weight off the overhang when not in use, and keep the winch safely tucked away in the garage when your not offroading. Seems it would be pretty easy to fab in a receiver to an aftermarket front bumper, etc... see...
http://www.warn.com/truck/mounting-s...receiver.shtml