Road Tripping Build-With build info/travel reports

A little behind on this build, but I figured I'd go ahead and start it now. I have gotten a ton of info from here and tacomaworld, and would love to give inspiration/advice to any questions people have about my vehicle. Forewarning: It's not that impressive, and I'm not that knowledgeable You can also check out my instagram if that's your speed, I put up a lot of pictures of this and all my other hobbies, its @viciousbison

Anyways, I had a 2015 Tacoma and got my 4runner brand new in August of 2018. My wife and I have discovered a joy for traveling to national parks and trying to visit all the ones that we can. She wanted something a little more comfortable than my Tacoma and something more "family friendly", so the 4Runner was perfect!

Current Build:
2018 4Runner TRD Off Road Premium (Approx 28k miles on it currently)
Suspension: (Put on at approx 9k miles)
Front-
Installed 11/22-2.5" Fox Extended Travel Coilovers w/ RR
Removed 11/22-2.5" Icon Extended Travel Coilovers
Icon Delta Joint UCAs

Rear-
Metaltech Long Travel Rear Springs
Icon Extended Travel 2.0 Shocks
Metaltech Extended Brake Lines
Metaltech adjustable lower trailing arms
Installed 11/22-Durobump bump stops
Removed 11/22-Bumpstop Relocation Brackets
Installed 11/22-Superpro adjustable sway bar endlinks

Armor:
Shrockworks Sliders-Installed 11/2019
Backwoods Adventure Mods Hi Lite Bumper-Installed 04/2023
Will update this list as things are added!

Tires:
Falken Wildpeak 255/80/17
Replaced 09/22-BFG KO2-275/70/17

The old Tacoma:




The 4Runner, day I got it:


First camping trip:


I only took one picture of the suspension components, but so far I love it. I went with Icon Stage 3 with Metaltech "long travel" springs. Not true long travel, but you do get more suspension travel out of the kit. At the same time, I purchased new tires. I went with BFG KO2s. I had 285/70/17 Cooper STT Pros on my Tacoma, and remembered the substantial hit to MPGs that I took. I knew I was planning on driving this thing everywhere, so I went just a bit bigger, but not all the way to 33s just yet. If I do go 33" tires, I will prob go with a 255/80/17 or something similar. Really only went with the BFGs because they were cheaper than the Cooper ST Maxx, which is what I was really hoping to get.

Icon shocks before I ripped them out of the box:

The truck after the lift, tires, and the most important mod of all-tinted windows!

 

First trip in the 4runner:
(April 2019)
We traveled with some friends on a road trip from Louisiana to Utah. We traveled through New Mexico to Petrified Forest, to the Grand Canyon, then Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches then headed back home. Really were able to enjoy the more spacious interior over the Tacoma. We fit 4 adults in the 4Runner with an ice chest and all our baggage.

Stopped at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, off of Route 66


Lunch stop at the Grand Canyon:


Other car was following us, so I got a ton of wonderful pictures of my rear end


Getting into Utah


Zion, had to go where the 4Runner couldn't


Being in Louisiana, we don't really get any snow, so when I saw some off the side of Hwy 12, I stopped to see what it was like to get my tires in snow


Another shot on Hwy 12


Arches, by far the most 4Runner friendly place to play at


My wife decided she wanted to try driving, to see why I get so excited about it


The point where I decided I should turn around, being a little inexperienced and not really having the recovery gear/another vehicle to help me if I got in a tight spot


Final odometer from the trip, was a great trip and fun but hard 7 days

 

Badlands Trip (June 2019)
Took a trip to the Badlands, Jewel Cave, Niobrara River for my little brothers graduation present. Got a new camera recently, decided to try it out with some astral photography.

Parked in the badlands looking at some trails


First attempt at astral photography, something I am really enjoying getting into

 

Nice truck

 

Thanks! I went a little over the top on my last truck, so it was nice to kind of start over and be a little more sensible with this one. I am loving it so far.

 

Nice build! Love the trip pics!

 

Nice truck, I've had mine a year and have only tinted the windows... maybe one day!

 

Thanks! To be honest...they can do a ton with no upgrades! I do what I can, but have spent way more on traveling in it lol.

 

WOW! Hard to believe those are 265's by looking at the pictures. I guess black wheels make a huge difference in how it looks. How much lift did you get front and rear?

Thanks!

 

Yeah, the black wheels make a big difference in the looks for sure! I got right around 2" in the front, and a touch over 3" in the back. Once the springs settle some, I'll bring the front up a bit more to get it closer to level.

 

Do you remember what size tire came When you purchased it? Great color!

 

Thanks!! It was the stock Terra Grapplers, I think they came out to 31". Not quite as big...I can look later and let you know for sure though!

 

Nice, and your running 265’s?

 

Nope...finally went double check, and I was incorrect. Thanks to you and @danssr5 for catching that for me!! Updated original post, but they are 275/70/17s.

 

I’m backing down to 265’s again on the Fox 2.0’s. Thankfully the shop I went to are willing to work with me.

 

Wow! They are wiling to swap out your tires?? That's awesome!

I really like the 275s, on the big trips I've taken I've seen a less than .5 mpg drop between those and the stock tires. On my last truck, it was more significant with 285s. They were also mud tires though, so that may factor in as well.

 

I am not complaining at all, trust me. The 285’s rubbed on a full left hand turn which was not conveyed to me when I picked up my rig. I found out when I got home and tried to back up into a parking spot. They are swapping then same tire in 265...

 

What tires do you have? KO2s?

 

Toyo OC A/T II's. They are great tires.

 

Finally got a break in a hectic schedule to install sliders. They are Shrockworks, install was simple and took about 2 hours with just myself. Planning a few camping trips soon, so hoping to get offroad and have some more pics.

 

Been a hectic few months, got a few new mods. First and foremost, the carseat mod! Which is the whole reason I got the 4runner, so glad that finally paid off. Also had a rear diff breather kit from my Tacoma that I got after I blew the rear pinion seal by clogging the diff vent. Never put it on, so I put it on the 4runner and ran it into the jack compartment. If the fumes get bad, I'll relocate it to the gas cap but I don't anticipate it being too bad. It's pretty hot down here in Louisiana, but hopefully will hit some gravel roads with the baby this weekend.

 

Fallen way behind on this thread, but figured it was time to attempt to update it. I had one kid, then decided to have another while in the process of moving to a larger house, so that made life a little more hectic and moved this to the backburner. I'll try to put things in chronological order, let's see how far off I end up!

June 2021-We took a trip out to Colorado to see some parks and visit friends. Were able to do some hiking and sightseeing, really enjoyed Rocky Mountain National Park. Also saw Great Sand Dunes and a few others in the North Texas Area.
Pre Road:

Grand Total Mileage:


Alibates Flint Quarries:


Great Sand Dunes:


Rocky Mountain Park:

 

Not too long after getting back, I noticed a rougher ride. Upon inspection, I found that my front shock was leaking and had failed. I contacted the closest place that could do a rebuild, Southern Style Offroad, and had them get me fixed up. Great to work with, fast turnaround and were pretty communicative during the whole process.

Had a helper during the process of taking the coilovers off:


A few pics from the rebuilder, including before/after of the coilover, the shaft after it was cleaned, and the seals.

 

Sept 2021-New house, new family member, nice new shop to work on the 4runner.

 

June 2022-

The next big trip we took was back to Colorado, to visit friends and introduce the new baby to some long distance friends. Before the trip, I wanted a few quality of life upgrades. I replaced the stock headunit with an android auto headunit, I got the plug and play kit from TrailGridPro. I like the fact that I didn't have to splice wires, didn't have to worry about integrating all the steering wheel controls, and didn't have to mess with any curveballs I didn't expect. I paid a little more, but it was worth it to me.

Between this trip and last trip, I swapped out the KO2s for some Falken Wildpeaks. I finally went to 33s, over the 32s that I had before. I was interested to see what the MPG difference would be between a wider 32" vs a skinnier 33". I've been trying to keep it as close to the original MPG as I can, while pushing as far as I can in the build. So far, I'm within 1.5-2 MPG from when I got the truck, so I'm happy with that!

I also wanted to better organize the back cargo area. Traveling with one infant was rough, and I knew it would be tough with two. Between the pack and play, extra bags, food, strollers, etc. it was a nightmare trying to unpack stuff and repack the kids every time we had to stop. I didn't want a full drawer system(yet), but I built a platform that I could just organize everything better. I made two compartments at the bottom, one fits a suitcase we have perfectly, and the other is a box with snacks/food that I can easily access. On top, the ice chest is on one side and a bag with diapers/baby wipes that I can easily move so I can put a kid there to change a diaper. It made a world of difference on the trip, and helped way more than I expected.

Nice floating screen, I like it way more than I expected. Android Auto is awesome for the big trips.



Platform fitting:


Loaded down platform, even squeezed in some paintball this trip:


Took my youngest up sugarloaf mountain outside of Boulder:



Beautiful backdrop at RMNP:

 

Icon Trouble, round 2/3:

In December 2021, I had another seal failure on the Icons. I contacted the guy who rebuilt them, they said they had had issues with Icons seals but recommended another seal. They did another rebuild at a discounted rate, so I went with them again. They're also the only place around me that does it. I thought maybe I did something, but the only thing I can think of is I went through a pretty small bump on my property(to me a little bigger than a speed bump) at about 5 mph and figure that may be what did them in. Though I assumed they would be ok with that, but I digress. Once that happened I told my wife that if I had another failure, I was going to switch it up. The hassle of having to pull them off and be without my vehicle for about a week while they were rebuilt/reinstalled was pretty inconvenient. Low and behold, in October of this year they blew again. I fluctuated between going a bit cheaper and getting Bilsteins or getting Fox. I decided to go with Fox because I had them on my Tacoma for about 50k miles, and never had any issues and loved them. Finding 2.5" shocks without RR was next to impossible, so I went the treat yo self route and got some RR. I put them on right before the next trip, and have been pretty happy with them so far.

While I was installing the Fox shocks, I went ahead and installed some new DuroBump bumpstops in the rear and some SuperPro sway bar endlinks in the rear. It's been a goal to try and correct as much of the suspension geometry as I can after the lift, and to see how each component affects the ride. I think all I have left after this is front bumpstops and front swaybar endlinks. I think at least...

2nd shock failure, this was rough in the freezing temps because there was no room in the shop:



Happy clean shocks installed after rebuilds:


Sad blown shocks in October of this year:


Comparison of the stock shocks with spacers that I use while the Icons are being rebuilt, the Icons and the Fox with RR, I figured this was a good comparison pic that someone may find useful:


Happy new fox shocks post install, also greased all my fittings and joints, so I was not as happy and full of grease, because a grease gun is black magic to me:


New rear bumpstops/endlinks I did while the truck was up on jackstands:

 

Nov 2022-North Carolina

Decided to take a little post thanksgiving road trip to go visit family in North Carolina. Hit up a ton of national parks on the way there and back, including Blue Ridge Parkway and Little River Falls in Alabama. I'm a pretty big history nerd, so all the battlefields were a real treat for me.

Chickamauga battlefield is basically frozen in time. Statues/monuments mark every key moment of the battle here, you could spend days following every movement of every division, it was very impressive. Also a pretty impressive pre cartridge gun collection, this is only about a third of the room.



Some hiking at Blue Ridge Parkway:


Little River Falls in Alabama was the perfect spot to watch the USA World Cup game, and views I never expected to see in Alabama.


Finished off the trip by getting off the interstate and taking the Natchez Trace Parkway about as far as we could, the drive was awesome!


The project my wife and I have been working on, I buy a patch at every park I go to and put them in this pin board. Only one duplicate that I'm aware of, I try to keep them unique.

 

That NP board is awesome, great idea.

In 2020 we picked up a runner and did a quick cross country tour, about 18 days there and back. 4runner was great, but the plan all along was to sell it when we got back, that took about a year before we decided to trade it in. A short time after, we decided the 4runner was better than the taco, minus the manual transmission, and traded the taco for our new 4runner this past spring. We just returned from our Christmas thru new years vacation in NOLA. Now to figure out where the next road trip the 4runner will take us on.

 

NOLA, I'm not too far from there! Lol

So you went 4runner to taco back to 4runner?

 

Already had the Taco, added a 4runner to take the cross country trip.

Based on my math, versus renting a RV or 4runner type vehicle, it was cheaper to buy used 4runner (https://www.4runners.com/threads/2018-super-charged-limited.13539/) then come back and sell it. We liked the 4runner so much, we kept it for a while, the only reason we got rid of it, was I couldn't accept having 2 vehicles that got under 20 mpgs. We ended up making money on that 4runner, but decided the 4runner was a way better travel vehicle than the taco. Thus, we traded the 17 Taco for the 22 Runner. Now we have a RAv4 prime and 4runner.