Chris in Milwaukee's "CheeseRunner" build

Thanks so much, Chris. Of course I can’t notice any lean in the photos, it looks perfect. It’s a perfect ride height, imho.

 

I think so, too. Once in a while, when I think to myself, why didn't I do 3" springs? But then I snap out of it.

I'll put 285s on it the next time around, and I'm sure I won't be thinking it then when my old body is trying to get up and in the truck!

 

I think the height is perfect as well! I went 2.3" and 1.5" and I wouldn't want to go any higher.

I think the rear wheel wells look weird with 3" of lift unless you run huge tires. I'm on 285's (32.8") and think this lift and tire size is really perfect for the 4runner. I got to really get into it in the sand and gravel on Friday and couldn't be happier! The Bilsteins handle better when you beat on them, apparently!

Also, @Chris In Milwaukee , great detailed write-up on everything! I wish I had written mine as I went so I would have remembered the details better. I also wish I had seen the lift install video you posted as it looks like your method was better than mine!

Fyi, @Oldtoyotaguy , I believe I have the same winch as you (Warn VR EVO 10S) and it fit in like a glove. I have the SOS bumper. I might have adjusted the AC line slightly, but I think we just removed the bracket bolts and shifted it a little.

 

@Chris In Milwaukee , the 4runner is looking great! Sorry for talking your ear off!

We're obviously not the Instagram type, as we didn't even take a picture of the 4runners in your driveway!

I hope you get good use out of the Skybox!

 

What the heck were we thinking?! We’re never going to hit ten followers at this rate!

Great seeing you again. Let’s find a place to go when they let the chains off of us!

 

Lol!

Agreed! Keep me posted if you hear any more about the Pipeline. Many of the forest roads up there are pretty entertaining in addition to the actual trail.

 

But dang it, if I put 285s on it won’t fit in the garage with the carrier on top now.

 

Easy fix.

Just air down before you go into the garage.

 

Good excuse to get an onboard air compressor!

 

But then what would I whine about? “But honeeeeyyyy... I neeeeed a new garaaaaage...”

 

Good point. A bigger / better garage should always be pursued.

 

I thought that this swing-up license plate thing was going to be a good idea, but it’s not really. I had to trim my plate so it would swing up without hitting, and even then it only goes up so far before stopping. A pull out of a hole is going to rip off the plate or damage the rope. Reckon I’m just gonna zip tie it to the grill unless you think it’ll cause airflow problems. Otherwise I’ll have to find a different bracket that mounts/swings farther. Not a particularly smart design. I’m kinda surprised considering how smartly designed the other products are.

 

Maybe at the pivot point of the hinge, use a wing nut and bolt to be able to take it off when you go offroad easily. Or some kind of a bolt with a pin thru the end.

 

That's a good idea. The hinge that came with it is pretty well untouchable, but changing it to another is doable. Thanks for that tip!

 

On Wisconsin!

 

Now THAT is some Wisconsin spirit right there!!



Very cool!!

 

As a follow up since I did the suspension install, I finally took it on a trail ride recently. With the guidance of @Thatbassguy, I was introduced to a mild collection of sand, gravel, mud, dirt, and rocks. The Dobinsons suspension from @Crikeymike at Exit Off Road performed admirably! The corrugations on some of the dirt, sand, and gravel roads seem to be an adversary of shocks, and I appreciated what I have very much. I didn’t really do any analytics on them, like taking their temperature, but they kept things nicely in check. Mine are the twin-tube shocks, by the way, not the expensive ones. Maybe when I start challenging the truck more I can take some more quantitative measurements.

I can’t say enough good things about it. Coupled with the KO2s @25psi, the day on the trail yielded great performance and zero drama. Most of the stuff I did was level or downhill. Looking forward to some climbing activity on the next trip.

 

Thatbassguy & Chris in Milwaukee,
Where were the photos taken? I live in Clark Co. & I'm in the dump truckin' jobs, and some of the places I have to "touchup" with gravel have some very interesting side roads attached to them, some are possibly rocky/sandy climbing, some low muddy areas etc. Just not sure of the accessability of all these trails. At any rate they are 3 hrs or so from you, also have some access to gravel pits/sand pits and scales, in case you would want to weigh your ride. I can try to find out about where one could actually go without getting in trouble.

 

They were out and about in northeast Wisconsin. There’s a pretty extensive trail system in the National Forest and we were trying several different terrain types to get a feel for the upgrades. I lived in Marshfield before coming down here to MKE area and have friends in Pittsville and Neillsville. I’ll bet there are some fun places to ride over there!

 

Nice! I live by Neillsville, and know a bunch of Pittsville people. I was also thinking of around Hatfield, Lake Arbutus, there are tons of trails waiting to be explored, might even get to see the elk herd around there. I'm just not sure about accessing the trails I've seen around Black River Falls/ Hatfield though. A bunch of this is state owned.

 

Nice! I've spent a lot of time just north of you in the Medford district. There are many nice little lakes and great places to camp!

I would be interested in this. I can add it up in my head, but I'm sure that I'll miss things. I'd like to get the weight with armor mounted and empty, and also fully loaded with gear/cooler/ready for a road trip.

 

The pits with the scales are close to me, and just a hop and skip away are all these trails that are attached to logging roads etc. Some of these could be a real challenge, others may not be. We just got our Runner a few weeks ago, and are anxious to check out it's capability. Would also have to check into this a little more as to where one could go without getting thrown into the "dog pound"!

 

If you're in the national forest, there are motor vehicle usage maps that will tell you what roads are open when, and which vehicles are allowed. Otherwise, ONXoff-road has been pretty handy as well.

But beware; Even if you do your research and stay on the right roads, don't mention your location on any Facebook or other social media off-road pages. Someone will bitch you out claiming you're breaking the law. Just ask @Chris In Milwaukee

 

So this may take a little time, but all sounds do-able. I'm sure we could keep in touch via the Forum.

 

Never a dull moment!

 

@Thatbassguy, the landfill in Menomonee Falls has scales for weigh in/out, but you have to bring garbage.

The scales are only 20lbs resolution, though.

 

This is true, the scales I go on are for weighing dump trucks and semis, but it will get ya pretty close. Like the guessing of yardage.. enter rangefinder! Anyway, I know the owners and I don't think they have a problem letting me weigh in, Not sure if they'll let me crawl around in the pit though. There are lots of interesting obstacles in the larger gravel pits, along with a pure sand section, I would like to recreate the Crawl control video I saw(is it real or make believe)?

 

That's great to hear!!

I run the same pressure as you in trail or long dirt roads. Tire pressure makes a massive difference in control and ride quality on corrugations

 

Truth! At road pressure, my 4runner is miserable on washboards! At 25, not so bad. I also notice that going a little faster can actually be better at times.

 

Verifying, adjusting, and test fitting the template. The Dobinsons snorkel is known to have some variance between the template and the actual snorkel. Making adjustments as needed.

**ADJUST THE TEMPLATE BEFORE DRILLING AND CUTTING! **

Okay, got that out of my system.

The thing is a beast, though. Breaking this thing means you did something horribly wrong. Thanks for the recent special pricing on snorkels, @Crikeymike.

Measure twice, then twice more, then cut once.

Nope, not cutting it tonight. My brain isn’t fresh enough for this right now.