Cheap 4runner mods, emphasis on cheap

Just say no to bull bars

 

Or, pay attention when driving and avoid the deer, etc!

As my Federal self-defense instructor said "Situational Awareness is 90% of being safe!"=That's what I taught in my bear safety classes for Federal employees.

 

Just as an update, I did this (and hope I connected the wire harness correctly, since the terminals were oriented differently on the replacement) and I am extremely happy with it. It really eliminates the blind spots and looks (because it is) OEM, which is very nice. Not bad for about $100, and slakes some of the bitterness I have about not having BSM.

 

I emailed 2 Toyota dealerships and no response from either. I bet it is not something they are interested doing.
(Not comfortable doing by self. Want to do it with dealership so I can go back if anything going wrong, like heating not working or mirror itself fall off,..)

 

Honestly, it’s very easy to do yourself. I could orient my mirror with my hand behind it to show you how to pull yours off. If I recall, you have about 3” of extra wire slack behind the mirror. So you just kinda brace your hand so you don’t yank it more than 3”. Then unplug the wire.

It’s about as easy to put the new ones on as putting two legos together. You just plug in the wire and press the new mirror into place until it clicks.

The heating wire is just a single little plug. For what a dealer will charge to do the swap, it’ll pay for the mirrors themselves. So if you do it yourself and don’t like them, put the old ones back on and you’ll still have more money in your pocket.

 

I'm not sure deer work like that

 

Avoided hundreds (including moose, elk, mulies, blacktails, etc.) during 20+ years as a Federal Wildlife Biologist. Only hit one white-tail in West Virginia that came out from behind a tree on my right=no time to stop!

 

A first for me yesterday- had a large squirrel fall about 50 feet from a tree and land on my hood, then slid up over the windshield. Scared the absolute sh!t out of me!!! It was SOOOO loud I ducked! There was an old guy walking on the sidewalk next to me and the look on his face was priceless! He was absolutely dumbfounded.

 

We were driving to Portland along the Columbia and had a bald eagle grab a squirrel off the side of the road and almost fly into our windshield!

 

I ran into a wild mustang on my motorcycle. How that SOB got on my motorcycle I will NEVER know (insert rimshot here).
I was going to work on the highway, shortly before dawn, the Teusday before Thanksgiving, 1992. 1985 Kawasaki 4 cylinder police bike. Awesome ride. I loved it. Anywho, I saw a roan horse run across the road, left to right in front of me. No big, I thought, I'll just swing over to the left, go behind him. No other traffic to be seen, so a fairly safe option. At least it was, right up until the black horse right behind the roan turned the white blaze on his face towords me.
Next thing *I* knew, I was walking around in circles, picking up pieces of the bike, and a couple guys were telling me I had to lay down, I'd been in an accident. They guided me off the side of the road and I passed out again. One ran down to a nearby Border Patrol inspection station to get help. That was about 4 or 5 miles away.
Anywho, I lost my left eye, from my head bouncing along on the centerline. Neato bright yellow stripe down the side of my helmet. We figured the horse reared up at the last second and rode the fairing up and over, scraping me off the back. Me and the bike bounced off down the road together, roughly. Bruised my heart, had a heck of a bruise from the gauge set on my chest, messed up my eye, lotsa road rash. Yes, I was wearing leathers, not to mention a few layer of pretty thick clothes. Believe it or not, Yuma did get cold on rare occasions.

Yes, I think there are times that some of the animals are simply invisible to humans traveling at highway speeds, so some kind of protection, ANY kind, can be a huge benefit. Not that I could have put a bull bar, or brushguard, on a motorcycle, but on a 4 wheeled vehicle...

Have fun, all!
Pat☺

 

Interesting - is that plug and play without cutting and splicing? I assume you had to take out your head unit to connect it??

 

While snake collecting in the Mojave at night (along Edwards AFB), we leaned the best way to avoid jackrabbits was to steer AT THEM! If you swerved to avoid, they'd run in front of you every time!

 

I was on my way to work one morning, on the highway out in the middle of the desert near Yuma, Az, on my motorcycle. A jack came out of nowhere, I went one way, he followed. After a couple of those, he turned directly away, during a turn, and my front tire ran right up his fluffy little tail.
I thought, Oh well, so much for him. When I got to work the WORST smell ever rose from my bike's engine. I looked, and there were bunny-guts all OVER the engine. The smell was horrific. Later that day, I had to steam clean the bike. Heck, I couldn't even get close enough to it to ride home. BLECH!!

Yeah avoid those jackalopes at all costs. They STINK when they get cooked on an engine or exhaust system!

Have fun all!
Pat☺

 

It was pretty simple. I did have to remove the head unit to plug in one wire,(I think). Might have been more then one; it's been a while and I have an old man's memory, lol. And you have to run a power wire from the battery and provide a ground. With all that said, it was really pretty easy. I ran the wires under the carpet on the driver's side and up under the back seat. And it won't be turning any heads at the traffic lights but it does what I wanted which was to give me a little more bass for my own enjoyment. It sounds pretty good. After I installed it I added some music to my Spotify that showcases the bass. Then I played with that for a while and now I just enjoy listening to my favorite songs with sufficient bass..

 

4R Pro's.

Anyone come up with a way to hack the 2021 4R premium from turning the radio or phone off when you shut it off ? Everything stays on in my 2018 GMC Sierra when you shut the thing off, and you get to choose the time duration as well.

Thanks~

 

Press the start button without pressing the brake pedal? So car won't start but stay in accessory position.

 

These velcro net bags are good for keeping important, lightweight things handy. Dog poo bags, shower/baby wipes, rain jacket, toilet paper, watch cap, sunglasses, etc. The main thing: the TP never gets smashed, wet, and you never have to dig for it.

https://www.amazon.com/DiMiK-Univer...Net+storage+velcro&qid=1639598424&sr=8-2&th=1

 

I think he means AFTER it's been running, when you shut off the car, not kicking the phone out of the bluetooth connection for a period of time.

 

Kill the engine in neutral instead of park and it'll leave the stereo on for about 20 minutes. I discovered that accidently.

 

Love this light idea, just ordered them! What is the power source? Do you need to get an auto a/c converter to plug in? If you could provide the link to Amazon for the power source that would be super stellar!

Thanks

 

Does anyone have any suggestion for a 5th generation cup holder/cell phone holder solution? I cannot seem to find a good place to put me cell phone while driving that wont end up on the floor. There just never seems to be enough cup holders as well.

Thanks in advance for any ideas, links to the item in Amazon would be a huge help!

 

Check out ProClip.
Mounts:
https://www.proclipusa.com/collections/dashboard-mounts-toyota-4runner-2019

Then a device holder:
https://www.proclipusa.com/collections/iphone-car-mounts

 

Got one to try out, thanks!!!

 

Thanks for this!

 

Had a buddy years ago who totaled a Corolla or Corona on a jack. Hit it with the bumper and it bounce up and came through the passenger floor. Said it exploded l;ike a grenade on the inside of the roof. Was doing about 100 in west Texas. Or so he said!

 

Probably the first mod for every 5th gen owner. A good blackout kit. OEM is too expensive! Here's a good aftermarket option! Steering wheel emblem is available too.

https://yotaxpedition.com/collections/5th-gen-4runner-exterior-black-out-kits

 

Screen protector from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083JT71BB?ie=UTF8

Applied the same as a screen protector on your phone, and I found the image to be sharper.

 

I've had that same screen protector on for almost 2 years and love it. Easy to wipe off and, as noted, seems to be much sharper.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdvCvUzbAsg

See link to DIY bed platform - super solid and wrapped in nice clean dark mat - works great but just preferred my tent in the end - $100 for the whole thing including tie downs!

Text David - 604-716-2784 and I can send some pics. Apologies if this is not the etiquette - I tried to post in for sale but I am new member and trying to make room in my storage!

 

4th Gen Cup Holder Solution
I ran across an article featuring cup holder adapters and bought some to test. These have expandable bases - you put them in the existing holder, turn the top, and little arms come out and snug them up.

These are the three I bought:

Amazon Basics Expandable Car Cup Holder

Upgraded 64oz Large Cup Holder Expander for Car


And the winner, the Seven Sparta Upgraded Cup Holder Expander.

I like the Seven Sparta for several reasons. The base expands enough for a tight fit in the OEM holder; despite the little rubber tabs looking flimsy, between them and the rubber coaster, everything I put in it stayed upright; and it has a feature the others don’t – you can reposition the base for an offset fit. They did this so two would work in most side-by-side setups (like 4th Gens have) but I’ll only be using one so I moved the top back, away from the climate controls, as shown in the pics. Having items up around the climate controls doesn't bother me b/c I use the Auto setting exclusively and just change the temp, which is easily accessible even with the biggest cup.

This is the best solution I’ve found yet and for $25, I highly recommend it.

Note - these pics are before I did the offset adjustment.

No surprise that this big bastard doesn't move around:



And this is big enough to stay put too:



But I thought there was no way this would stay upright. It proved me wrong - stayed just like this for my entire 41-mile commute over back roads, interstates, and city streets.



The offset screw holes:



Base reinstalled with offset:



Final placement:



Update 15Sep23: I've had this for a couple of weeks now and it's golden. Highly recommend.