Kootenay's Pro4X Frontier

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
Like all good vehicles after buying it I decided to test it out stock, until I needed mods. First some light offloading. The truck was perfect

It handled well and the dog loved the cab, and the back for quick trips in t
After that came a camping trip pulling the trailer. It previously had been towed all over by my Avalanche only needing a set of airbags to handle the ride on poor roads. With the Frontier I went with load distribution hitch instead.

It worked well, but i still found the stock springs soft. Then I pulled my dads old Healey Sprite down to the US, He owned it since 1964 and we found a buyer for it. After towing it down my Dad used the money to buy his own Pro4X.

It was on this trip I found out had bad the stock headlights were. I could not perceive much of a difference between the high and low beams. So the Rigid Light bar was the first install. It was successful enough that my brother and my dad decided to get the same ones. Here is a shot of my truck with the smoke lens covers on versus the 4runner without.
Current pic, and follow me on instagram if you want. https://www.instagram.com/kootsfrontier/ for the more truck focused posts.
Untitled by kootenaycycle mountainworks, on Flickr
 

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kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
In the spring it was time for my annual family camping trip. Packing enough gear for two kids and my wife with only short box meant I would have to be creative. We normally are used to lugging a trailer around, but this time decided to try tent camping in the spring in the desert. I had hoped that my Oldman Emu kit would have arrived in time and the Lokka but neither made it. Despite the overloaded look I was under weight. I made it to Salt Lake city the first night. The drive although long, was not horrendous. My severe bumper dragging rake was not great for fuel economy. And trying the 85 swill did even more to hurt the fuel economy. I got a quick tour of the ENVE composites factory in Salt Lake then crashed in the passenger seat for the night. Next morning I grabbed some groceries loaded up the Grizzly cooler and made it all the way to Hurricane.

Spent the week on Gooseberry Mesa. If you haven't been here, don't bother. The camping was great, the trails were great, the weather was... umm... sometimes great.

I managed to ride Grafton Mesa on first day then took a long adventure into Vegas to find my family at the Airport. Stopped in the Sand Hollow for some cliff jumping then followed a random trail for a while.

We did some excellent exploring and biking while we were there. We found the Lava Point area to be spectacular and one of the trip hi lights. The group also decided to take the kids out to the White Trail point to go for a hike. That was a neat drive.

The drive home did not go as planned. Watched a couple of young girls spin their Subaru into a guard rail. Helped them out for a few hours then stumbled upon a great rockabilly band in Salt Lake and the Cattlemans club. Drove till I found a Starbucks and slept there for the night. Woke up to a beautiful sunrise.
 

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justbecause

perpetually lost
that trailer looks like quite a load.
The stock springs arent great, I have liked having the 2 pack AAL. they claim the AAL does not change the load limit, but it squats significantly less with the AAL than stock when I hook my little trailer up.

I have not had an issue with my OEM (I think) headlights, maybe you just need to replace the lamps?

what band did you see?
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
that trailer looks like quite a load.
The stock springs arent great, I have liked having the 2 pack AAL. they claim the AAL does not change the load limit, but it squats significantly less with the AAL than stock when I hook my little trailer up.

I have not had an issue with my OEM (I think) headlights, maybe you just need to replace the lamps?

what band did you see?

The trailer is 3800lbs loaded for camping and 19ft long, so not to much of a load. As for the band I cannot recall their name.
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
Last week I had to make a quick business trip to Revelstoke to test some bikes. I decided to take a more civilized, less populated route to get there.
Screen Shot 2016-05-19 at 3.19.23 AM.jpg
I looked into the Grey Creek Pass, but looks like 2.8metres of snow still at the summit, so I drove around to Creston, but took the bypass through Arrow Lake then up the Kootenay Lake for my first Ferry Crossing.
IMG_2384.jpg
From there I continued up along the lake as the sun started to fade. Stopped for a late and quick roadside dinner
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Then I took, the hard to believe it is a highway, Highway 31. This narrow gravel road was very scenic from what I could see from the light bar. It traveled along some beautiful old growth Cedar forrest. It started raining so heavily that I actually had to use 4wd to continue on some of the steeper uphills. I will be coming back to visit this road during day light hours at some point. Although I feel during daylight it might not feel as abandoned or remote. If it is not popular with the dual sport crowd, I am sure it will be soon.
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I then caught the last Ferry of the evening and rolled into my camping spot for the night. It was raining so heavily and I saw more then enough bears on the way in, that I decided to spend the night sleeping in the passenger seat rather then setting up my tent. That and I was very tired. I awoke the next morning to great a view and had a very relaxed coffee and oatmeal breakfast. I used my trusty old Coleman Peak camp stove. For my 16th birthday I had asked for an MSR whisper lite, but my dad decided to get me the peak. This thing has been stellar and had been everywhere with me. It burns white gas or kerosene, and always lights up.IMG_2408.jpgIMG_2395.jpg
 

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Mo4130

Adventurer
That's awesome!! These trucks are very capable out of the box. Especially since they no long come with those garbage bfgs.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Obrianmcc

Observer
Airbags .... they solved my "under-sprung" condition that was prevalent in my Pro4. A couple hundred lbs of payload would have the front end feel as if it was floating around. I had a 3000lb camp trailer that once I resolved the handling woes, the Frontier had no problems whatsoever pulling.... actually was getting better MPG in the Frontier than my Titan pulling the same trailer ....
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
For sure, airbags were great in my Avalanche. With the Frontier I decided to go with the Heavier springs for the same effect, but still allowing axle articulation. The Avalanche had coil springs on the back so bags did not effect the articulation. I have also heard from most people that the Old Man Emu springs ride better then stock as well so we will see, they finally arrived.:wings:
I also sold the trailer today, the tent camping proved popular with the family.
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
Well I managed to find time to install the Old Man Emu lift this weekend.
IMG_2456.jpg
Did the rears on Sunday, and the fronts on Monday. On Sunday I took them out for a test, and went rock hunting again for the garden. The ride and load handling is much better. I wish this was how the Pro4x came from the factory. It does not look lifted, it now looks right. I can still reach into the bed from over the bedside and grab things. I am very pleased with it.
With just the rears in
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Done with both the front and back
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Mo4130

Adventurer
Very nice! I am waiting on hd springs to put in. I wish I had done it from the start. But that's how it goes. And yes I found the truck to much more comfortable after the lift. Any other plans as of yet? Truck looks awesome by the way
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
Very nice! I am waiting on hd springs to put in. I wish I had done it from the start. But that's how it goes. And yes I found the truck to much more comfortable after the lift. Any other plans as of yet? Truck looks awesome by the way

This was my first time really wrenching on a vehicle less then a year old. So not having any bolts snap was an amazing experience. As for future plans not sure. So far with the lockers, lift, and the other little things I am pretty happy. If I keep dragging my belly, then I would go with some skids. The other thing I am looking at is some rocker protection and a place to use the high lift on the sides.
329.3607.200x150.T_Force_Tacoma_012.jpg
Thinking of modifying a set of these to fit.
 

jhberria

Adventurer
The truck's looking great, man. I love that color on the CCSB Frontiers.

Good idea with the lower protection, although I would probably focus on the rockers before the skids (just my opinion). Everything important on the underbelly of this platform rests above the frame rails, but the rockers sit fairly low in comparison to other makes. Have you considered a good set of rock sliders?
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
The truck's looking great, man. I love that color on the CCSB Frontiers.

Good idea with the lower protection, although I would probably focus on the rockers before the skids (just my opinion). Everything important on the underbelly of this platform rests above the frame rails, but the rockers sit fairly low in comparison to other makes. Have you considered a good set of rock sliders?

Yes that is what I am looking into next. Trying to find some light rocker protection that I can remove steps from when needed. I also want it to be strong enough to use the high lift on. But options up here are very limited. Looking at Trail gear Tacoma sliders, but they are not the design I am after. The available Frontier options have to much of a back order time for me.
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
Started playing around with a roof basket idea. I have been torn about trying to order a Dep Hep style drop in basket into Canada. So I started looking into making my own, then had the idea to use Uni Strut. Turns out my idea is not to unique, others have had the same idea. I am thinking about combining the two concepts. Here is what I have so far.
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I am going to box it in with a more t-brackets. I may also switch it out to Aluminium Unistrut and solid, but this stuff was cheaper while I played around with the concept.
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