Armor Part 3: Rear Bumper, Hi-Lift Mount and Jerry Can Mounts; Trasharoo

With all of the armor on, it was time to put on some of the optional mounts.  The Hi-Lift positioning is dictated by space constraints caused by the carrier itself and the spare tire.  The Hi-Lift Handle Keeper is a must to prevent rattling and also to keep everything in place.  Here, we see the Hi-Lift and the jerry cans mounted in position.

The Trasharoo is fitted over the spare tire, which then required taking the license plate off (normally mounted in the center of the spare tire).  For this trip, I zip-tied the license plate to the Hi-Lift.  Once the license plate has its LED lights wired up, it won't be so easy to remove the license plate.  A better solution will be necessary, and with the holes on the mounting plate being as small as they are, I am not certain using male/female spade connectors will be an option.

An additional benefit of the Trasharoo was the ability to carry some firewood.  Though I loaded the roof with some extra firewood too, for a shorter trip the Trasharoo's capability of carrying wood would have done just fine.  To keep things clean, I also used a trash bag lining the inside of the Trasharoo.

Armor Part 2: 4xInnovations Front Bumper, Winch & Skid Plate

After the rock sliders went on, the next step was to paint the other pieces of armor in preparation for installation as well.  More rattle can bedliner to the rescue!

For the front bumper, it was also the best time to install a winch.  The truck weighs approximately
4,000 lbs, so an 8,000 lbs winch would be more than sufficient.  Though there are several companies making winches these days, I decided to go with a well known, very trusted name: Warn.  The Warn M8000 fit nicely inside of the front bumper.

Under the front bumper, painted a fairly bright red is the skid plate.  No other undercarriage protection was purchased, the theory being that if I hit a rock on the skid plate, I'd back off and try a different line, rather than just keep going.  I wasn't doing anything so crazy that all of the extra weight from additional armor under the truck would be justifiable.  In fact, if it weren't for the winch, I'd likely not have wanted the extra weight of the front bumper either.

Inside the front bumpers resides a pair of KC HiLites Rally 400 4" round driving lights.  These halogen lights are likely not as bright as similar LED lights, but they are 55 watts, just like the OEM fog lights.  This meant that these lights can be wired up to the existing fog light wiring, and can still use the fog light switch on the turn signal stalk.

Unfortunately, although the holes in the bumper are advertised for 4" lights, with the mounting bracket for the Rally 400's, the lights are unable to be pointed straight forward and look a little too far down.  The fix?  I plan on installing a pair of KC HiLites Gravity LED 6" driving lights on the top of the bumper. Then I can also have the happy face light covers!

ToyTec Suspension Lift

As seen in many pictures (such as the one on the left), the truck was getting a bit squat.  With just a hair over 100,000 miles and likely running on original shocks and springs, the suspension was in need of replacement.

After some consultation with a ToyTec representative, we decided that an off-the-shelf suspension left wouldn't work well for me because of all of the additional weight I plan to carry and the type of excursions I like to do.  He went ahead and pulled together a nice kit using several parts for the 4Runner but substituted the rear suspension for Land Cruiser springs and 4th Generation 4Runner ToyTec shocks.  The reasoning was to handle the extra weight from the roof rack, spare tire carrier, armor, sleeping platform and camping gear.

We ran into a few issues during the installation; namely, rust.  Originally a New York truck until I
drove her across the country, most of the rust was a non-issue, but some of it made working underneath the truck a bit tricky. The top of the rear shock essentially broke right off, so there was a bit of PB Blaster, some pulling, twisting and tugging to get everything off of the truck.  New shocks and springs are significantly larger.

Once on, the rear of the truck seemed sky-high, especially since the platform effectively raises the cargo loading area of the rear hatch.  Some settling has occurred since the initial installation and the truck has also been leveled by a Lexology, my local go-to shop (more on this later).

Along with the suspension lift, the front brakes were upgraded to 231mm Toyota Tundra brakes.  With larger rotors, pads, and 4-pot calipers, this is a serious upgrade for the brake system.  Since we were also installing the suspension, extended steel brake lines were also installed at the same time.  The 231mm Tundra brakes are the same as from a 2005 Tundra.  I've always felt that the brakes on the truck was a bit squishy, and these brakes will certainly help.  With more added weight coming in the form of additional armor, the timing of a new upgraded brake system could not have been better.  And finally, the finished product (I can fit my head under the fenders):

ARB Awning Installation

One of the most enjoyable parts of any trip is being able to relax at base camp.  Mostly this means a camp fire at night and perhaps a bit of alcohol.  But on days we set up camp before the sun goes down, some shade is a nice luxury to have.  This is where the ARB Awning comes in handy.  Since the roof rack is a custom unit, a custom solution was needed for the awning.

I purchased the mid-sized 2000 model, which is so called because it is 2000mm wide (~80").  This pretty much runs the entire length of my roof.  There is also the larger 2500 model and the smaller 1250 model.  The 1250 model is interesting because it is small enough to mount to the rear of the vehicle, instead of the side.

To mount to the roof rack, I purchased a few very nice looking modular awning mounts from FourTreks.  Installation was quick and easy, though definitely a two-person job.  The website advises two mounts if you are running the 2000 or 1250 models, and three if you are running the 2500 model.  Just to be on the safe side, I ordered three; however, truth be told, now that I have received and installed them, I am convinced two is all that I need.

Both are great products, highly recommended.

Armor Part 1: 4xInnovations Rock Sliders

Since the last off-road trip, there have been several overnight camping trips and one-day wheeling trips.  One more than a few of those trips, the lack of a lift and the low running boards meant I smacked the running boards on a few rocks.  Having the steps there is a nice luxury for daily driving, but they certainly get in the way for rock crawling.

It was clear even from the first few trips that rock sliders were absolutely necessary for the type of off-roading I enjoyed.

Along with rock sliders, there were certain other needs that I wanted to handle with some more armor.  Since the air lockers were installed, the spare tire location had to be re-dedicated to an air tank.  That meant that the spare now resided on the roof, which is no good for drag and gas mileage, and more importantly, is in a very in convenient location should I actually need to use it.  On top of all that, some of the more challenging trails proved to be a bit too much (required a friendly pull from others), and the idea of some self-recovery gear, namely a winch, would likely prove helpful in the future.

And so, a whole lot of armor was ordered, all from 4xInnovations based out of Wisconsin.  Front bumper, rock sliders, a skid plate and a rear bumper with tire carrier and optional camping table.  All to be painted and then installed soon.

First up was the rock sliders.  Since the truck is a "Limited", there are factory flares on it.  With the wider body, a decision was made to get the sliders with a kick-out at the rear.  Another option was whether to go bolt-on or weld-on.  Welding is obviously more permanent, and supposedly stronger (versus drilling holes in your frame to bolt on some sliders), so weld-on it was.  The installation took a good part of the day, since we had to paint and then weld, so there was a decent amount of downtime.

Often, folks like to powdercoat their armor for a clean, even look.  However, the problem with that is once you scratch or otherwise mess up the armor a bit, it's impossible to perfectly match your original powdercoat.  So instead, we went with rattle can bedliner.  Touch ups would be easy this way, and cheap.

With rock sliders on the truck, the look of the truck really started to change, though still quite subtle.  Once the rest of the armor goes on, it won't be so subtle anymore!

The finished product:

Switches!

A small change with the installation of the air lockers and air compressor: switch panel is finally actually useful.

Using a metal bracket in the lower radio DIN position, a 6-switch panel is now in place.  The aluminum panel was plastidipped.  The left three will be dedicated to the compressor and two lockers, and the other three will likely go to lights, eventually.  For now they are removable blanks.

Just a small change, but an important one nonetheless.  This sets up the truck for more modifications in the near future.

On Board Air, Compressor & Lockers

Delivered in December and finally installed.  Front and rear ARB air lockers along with an ARB air compressor and one gallon tank to round it all out.

This air set-up is exponentially faster than the small portable air compressor for inflating tires.  In fact, I can now be done inflating all four tires while friends using the portable air compressors are still working on their first one.

The air lockers haven't been tested since I've not yet gone on routes requiring them, but with winter coming to an end, the mountains and deserts will be opening up again and trips will be taken!  

Using the air compressor to activate the lockers is quite loud.  The air compressor is mounted in the engine compartment and causes a fair bit of vibration - however, engaging the lockers does not require the compressor to remain running for long.  Definitely recommend on board air for convenience sake.

Roof Rack

Delayed update.  The truck, the dog and I have done a few more trips now.  Recently, we also had a few additions to the truck which will be discussed in another post.  Even more goodies are stuck in the garage now waiting for installation.

But for now, the one completed item is a new roof rack.  Ready for usage on longer trips where space is at a premium.  So far, there has not been a great need for it but soon we will start carrying a large propane tank for heat and cooking, which I would prefer not to keep inside the cabin.  Beyond that, space inside the truck has been sufficient to carry the dog and our gear for 2 and 3 day trips.  However, it is very likely more space will be needed soon for longer trips, especially if we included another passenger.

The rack I went with is a full-length roof rack which will allow for maximum usage of the roof.  Built by a local 4Runner enthusiast, it is low-profile and likely will be unnoticed by the untrained eye.  It includes a removable sunroof panel.  His business appears to mostly come through word of mouth, and I heard of his work through the 4Runner forum, where several local members have supported his small business.

The mesh bottom of the rack makes for a great looking rack, but also makes it difficult to install brackets for mounting other accessories.  My fingers can't fit underneath the rack, and the holes are too small to get any leverage.  I've tried a few different tricks to install brackets on the mesh, but in the end have thus far decided not to use brackets there yet.

Next, I need to buy brackets to mount the ARB awning, perhaps add a few ligths, and of course add stickers to the front wind deflectors!