Mr. Leary's 3rd gen 4runner

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
Been sanding and repainting my rear axle this weekend, a bit at a time. I bought it up north, and rust has been the achilles heel of an otherwise wonderful purchase.
 

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
So did some water / mud crossing this weekend which ended up kinking my winch cable and shearing the bolt theat secures the cable to the drum. I had to do multiple pulls and did not take the time to properly re spool the winch before the last sideways pull. I had to cut the cable to get it out. I will be purchasing my new synthetic winch line tomorrow. I am set on the Masterpull Superline XD.
 

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
Yep. I just keep shakin' down all my recovery gear and replace the weak links as they come to the surface.
 

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
So I got a PM from tdesanto saying he would sell me his old wire cable... so I don't have to pony up the big bucks for a while. :)

Carry on... :sombrero:
 

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
So as I prepare to install the new roof rack and the multitude of associated lights, I wonder where the heck I am going to put all the switches. The_Mrs. has informed me that I cannot interfere with her favorite place to put her feet while napping in the truck.

So... where else could I put a bank of half a dozen switches?

Are there any hinged covers that could be mounted between the glove box and the Air Bag panel?

I would like to use switches that match the style of my ARB switches and light up while activated. These switches will take up plenty of room and I believe I would be wise to leave room for future additions.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
Thanks, Jacque. I would like a compatible cover for the switches. One that I can flip up to get to the switches and flip down to protect them from feet! :sombrero:
 

Bonked

Observer
I should have started with the gears and the locker. If I had those from the beginning, I likely would not have built this truck as much as I have, and spent more on trips.

NOOB here. I'm just beginning my mods (appear to be MANY) and don't want to make mistakes, as you mentioned in the quoted post. Don't know if I missed it, but did you ever re-gear to compensate for the 255/85's? I'd like to move up from 265/75's and assumed I'd have to regear to 4.88. I plan on adding an ARB rear locker and probably would regear at the same time, BUT that is $$ I could spend on trips, as well! What advice do you have? Leave the stock 4.1 gears, add the locker now, rune the 265's, and spend the extra $$ on trips. OR does the extra 2" (or so) in tire height warrant spending the cash now.

Might I add, I also have sagging rear springs, skid plates, sliders, bumper(s), etc. to contend with!

First post, so I hope I'm not hijacking your thread. Is this PM material?

Bonked
98 4RNR Stock...for now!
 
Last edited:

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
NOOB here. I'm just beginning my mods (appear to be MANY) and don't want to make mistakes, as you mentioned in the quoted post. Don't know if I missed it, but did you ever re-gear to compensate for the 255/85's? I'd like to move up from 265/75's and assumed I'd have to regear to 4.88. I plan on adding an ARB rear locker and probably would regear at the same time, BUT that is $$ I could spend on trips, as well! What advice do you have? Leave the stock 4.1 gears, add the locker now, rune the 265's, and spend the extra $$ on trips. OR does the extra 2" (or so) in tire height warrant spending the cash now.

Might I add, I also have sagging rear springs, skid plates, sliders, bumper(s), etc. to contend with!

First post, so I hope I'm not hijacking your thread. Is this PM material?

Bonked
98 4RNR Stock...for now!

Sorry I missed this one. I need to keep better track of my build thread.

While a regear to compensate for the taller tires would be nice, it is not needed. If you want for power, turn off the OD.

As always, the answer is... it depends.

What will you do with your truck?

I appreciate the taller tires, because what I use the truck for includes rocks out in Arkansas, and the occasional river or lake crossing that can get deep or muddy.

I could do most of what I do now with my old 265/75/r16s.

For most "expeditions," including the recent trip to Arkansas, the tire size was less important than the locker. Airing down with the locker will get you places... tires give an extra boost once you're already locked and aired down

My advice... go play in your truck a bit... air down and see what you can do. A winch can get you through a lot in the meantime, and is your lifeline in case you get in over your head.

Buy a good electric or hand winch, and learn how to use it.
Invest in sliders and some basic recovery gear. Enjoy your truck, take trips. YMMV. Lockers and gears are expensive, and are no substitute for proper recovery gear.
 

TBS

Observer
do you have any idea where that latch came from? I like how sleek and simple it is but i cant quite see the details of how it works.....those rear
bumper pics are well past due!
 

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
do you have any idea where that latch came from? I like how sleek and simple it is but i cant quite see the details of how it works.....those rear
bumper pics are well past due!

Are the pics on page 5 insufficient? Let me know... I can snap some before the alterations start.

I had a few mechanical booboos on the Ouachita Overland trip.

Starter worked intermittently the whole trip... and we found metal shavings when we removed the old one.

I found out that you cannot get an aftermarket alternator wet like you can a factory Toyota alternator... or you will end up with a problem. In this case, the voltage regulator shorted out, and was only pushing 15 amps when tested(supposed to push 170).

I also broke the small ceramic element insode my circuit breaker... causing an intermittent power shut off / no start condition for the truck.

So, basically everything electrical broke on my truck this weekend except my DieHard, and I ended up limping the truck through the rest of the trip and home by bypassing the circuit breaker with jumper cables.


Fixing junk... thanks Chris and Wes! :)
IMG_1096.jpg


... and the ghetto fabulous fix that got me home...
IMG_1706.jpg
 

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
As The_Mrs. and I prepare for our short weekend jaunt to PINS, I am rushing to complete my rebuild of the rear cargo area. I have incorporated a fridge slide out for the 60Q Edgestar, a new gear storage compartment, and I will finally be able to install my power inverter. During the installation, I will be removing some of my sound system (1 of the amps and my sub) to make room for future electronics / comm. equipment. I hope to get some pics up tonight. I have been snapping a couple here and there during the process.

I finished brainstorming my tailgate table idea last night as well. I will install hinges and some 1/8" steel plates that I have in the garage. The trickiest part of the design was figuring out how to achieve a horizontal load bearing surface. I was stumped until I noticed the positioning of my recovery points on the truck and the L brackets on my old cargo box. I can just weld the L brackets to the top of the recovery points to be level with the top of the bumper. That way they will provide an strong support that extends 3" out from the hinge point. It will be large enough to place the dual burner stove. Between that and a folding table, we can have a full kitchen without bringing along the trailer every time.

Pics coming... probably late, as usual.... :)
 

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