Hey EXPO,
I guess it's time for an intro. I've been lurking for a while before I picked up my 4Runner, and now that I've had it for a couple of months, it's time to say Hi and do one of these build threads.
I'm normally a sports car guy, but we have rescued 2 dogs in the last 2 years, which has forced me to reconsider our vehicle choice. Just around Christmas, we traded in my MazdaSpeed3 and picked up a 2005 4Runner Limited with the V8 with 163000kms. While it's our only vehicle, the V8 isn't a concern as we're a short 15 minute walk to both of our offices, and we honestly drive the vehicle in the city once a week. It makes for a cheap monthly gas bill. After 4 months, I absolutely LOVE the truck.
Obligatory family shot at Landslide Lake, northern Vancouver Island. My G/F is the only one that actually cooperates for photos.
We live in Victoria, BC and are big hikers/backpackers, have done some kayaking trips and are just getting into the off road adventures. I just passed my CISSP exam (IT Security) and am interviewing for a new job next week, so we decided that Easter weekend would be our first trip into some more remote areas of Vancouver Island to defrag.
In pretty much stock form, here is the truck (phone pics) at a couple of lakes we camped at.
McCreight Lake
Lowry Lake
Both nights we were alone, with no one else around, and no cell coverage. As my G/F pointed out, we once hiked a 16km/2100 meter summit, and shared that glorious view with about 70 other hikers (I even called my parents for fun from that summit since I had cell phone coverage). I'm finding it's tougher to get away from things, so this weekend was pretty amazing.
The truck performed rather well on the FSRs, but I'm already bored with the stock rake and the X-REAS/Airbag combo. Seeing as this is my first 4x4, I'm doing my best to get up-to-speed on proper modifications.
Since my truck is currently stock, this thread will actually be documenting the modifications and trips as they happen.
The first real modification will be suspension related. I'm looking to do an OME suspension swap in the next month, and probably add some UCAs as well. Having never lifted a vehicle before, it's tough for me to know if I'll be happy with the OME's, but I think the simplicity compared to the X-REAS/Airbag will be very welcomed. the OME solutions just seem to be very we represented on a lot of forums, so I don't think I can go wrong with this option. I don't think there are too many modded 4th gen 4Runners in my area, so I don't think I can sample other people's trucks to see what I think of the various suspension options.
After this will be a set of sliders and a proper roof rack. I was noticing this weekend that I would have loved to toss the firewood on the roof rack, vs. storing it inside the 4Runner.
I'll probably replace the current tires later this year when it's closer to snowboard season, even though the current Michelin's are in great shape with lots of life left on them.
We're heading into Washington and Oregon in September for a tour of some back roads, and have a couple of Fire Lookout Towers rented, so we're really looking forward to getting out and touring with this truck more. We're also seriously discussing making the trip to the 2015 Overland Expo, as it seems like the most amazing environment to gain knowledge from those that have already been there and done everything we're just starting to do.
Cheers!
I guess it's time for an intro. I've been lurking for a while before I picked up my 4Runner, and now that I've had it for a couple of months, it's time to say Hi and do one of these build threads.
I'm normally a sports car guy, but we have rescued 2 dogs in the last 2 years, which has forced me to reconsider our vehicle choice. Just around Christmas, we traded in my MazdaSpeed3 and picked up a 2005 4Runner Limited with the V8 with 163000kms. While it's our only vehicle, the V8 isn't a concern as we're a short 15 minute walk to both of our offices, and we honestly drive the vehicle in the city once a week. It makes for a cheap monthly gas bill. After 4 months, I absolutely LOVE the truck.
Obligatory family shot at Landslide Lake, northern Vancouver Island. My G/F is the only one that actually cooperates for photos.
We live in Victoria, BC and are big hikers/backpackers, have done some kayaking trips and are just getting into the off road adventures. I just passed my CISSP exam (IT Security) and am interviewing for a new job next week, so we decided that Easter weekend would be our first trip into some more remote areas of Vancouver Island to defrag.
In pretty much stock form, here is the truck (phone pics) at a couple of lakes we camped at.
McCreight Lake
Lowry Lake
Both nights we were alone, with no one else around, and no cell coverage. As my G/F pointed out, we once hiked a 16km/2100 meter summit, and shared that glorious view with about 70 other hikers (I even called my parents for fun from that summit since I had cell phone coverage). I'm finding it's tougher to get away from things, so this weekend was pretty amazing.
The truck performed rather well on the FSRs, but I'm already bored with the stock rake and the X-REAS/Airbag combo. Seeing as this is my first 4x4, I'm doing my best to get up-to-speed on proper modifications.
Since my truck is currently stock, this thread will actually be documenting the modifications and trips as they happen.
The first real modification will be suspension related. I'm looking to do an OME suspension swap in the next month, and probably add some UCAs as well. Having never lifted a vehicle before, it's tough for me to know if I'll be happy with the OME's, but I think the simplicity compared to the X-REAS/Airbag will be very welcomed. the OME solutions just seem to be very we represented on a lot of forums, so I don't think I can go wrong with this option. I don't think there are too many modded 4th gen 4Runners in my area, so I don't think I can sample other people's trucks to see what I think of the various suspension options.
After this will be a set of sliders and a proper roof rack. I was noticing this weekend that I would have loved to toss the firewood on the roof rack, vs. storing it inside the 4Runner.
I'll probably replace the current tires later this year when it's closer to snowboard season, even though the current Michelin's are in great shape with lots of life left on them.
We're heading into Washington and Oregon in September for a tour of some back roads, and have a couple of Fire Lookout Towers rented, so we're really looking forward to getting out and touring with this truck more. We're also seriously discussing making the trip to the 2015 Overland Expo, as it seems like the most amazing environment to gain knowledge from those that have already been there and done everything we're just starting to do.
Cheers!
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