SilverRunner's Build and Adventures Thread

Figured I'd start my own build thread. So here it is.

Picking my 4Runner up in April 2022.




Within a couple weeks of ownership I ordered some RSG sliders and booked a trip to an off road park. I've always enjoyed off roading and camping. When I was young my father would load up his CJ7 and take the family into BLM land in New Mexico. I always had fond memories of this and was excited to try it again.

Took the wife to Merus off road park in Palo Duro Canyon to learn how this rig worked. Did a couple guided tours here with a few other rigs.








This was the first off roading I had done in years and was immediately hooked. This was a good change of pace from race cars and dirt bikes.

The fact that the wife didn't seem to mind the mild off roading and really enjoyed the camping was a huge plus. We found a good hobby we could enjoy together... as long as our campsite had a decent view and I could cook a decent meal that is.

 

Went to Merus quite a few times in 2022 and toured around Texas and Oklahoma before I decided I wanted more ground clearance and some decent tires.

Decided on OME nitrochargers and Nitto Ridge Grapplers 285/70/17 tires. Also installed some SPC upper control arms and threw on some RCI skid plates for good measure



Trying out the new setup with my father in the passenger seat



While doing a couple mods here and there to my 4Runner I helped my father fully restore this old CJ7.
Total frame off restoration. Kept the original AMC v8.



Aand of course after you get stuck a couple times you justify buying a winch. So I decided on a C4 low profile bumper and a warn 10s winch. Drove about an hour to my families place to install it with my father. The look on his face when I started cutting up the 4Runner... Well, he ended up liking the finished result

 

Kept going camping every chance I could. One of the places I visited a lot was LBJ grasslands. It's one of the only places near Dallas that offers dispersed camping.

 

Went back to Merus for Texas Toyota Takeover 2. The event was from Thursday to Sunday. I ran with the blue (novice) group and got some experience doing some of the more tricky obstacles. Lots of rain came in over the weekend but we persevered even if it meant winching out of flooded creek beds and losing traction boards in the mud.

 

Explored East Texas quite a bit. Even decided to cross over Toledo reservoir and explore Louisiana

 

After exploring Texas, the wife and I decided to take our first long trip. From Texas to California.

Our first camp on the route west was at Palo Duro Canyon. The wind was killer and quite the storm came through. Luckily our tent held up and the next morning the skies were clear.





Back on the road until we hit New Mexico where we had our own gas station tacos.


And setup camp back in Cibola, Nm. Where my father used to take me wheeling all those years ago.

 

Took the long route out of Cibola just enjoying the trails






Back on pavement and headed toward Arizona

 

Of course had to stop and the Meteor Crater


The Grand Canyon




And the petrified forest






And finally made it to sunny California where the plan was to relax and hangout with my in-laws

 

Really enjoyed exploring California with the wife. Pretty crazy how in Southern California you seem to be within an hour from mountains, beaches or deserts. Being raised in Texas, I chose mountains

Big Bear Lake


Angelus Oaks

 

On the way back to Texas we hit a few more trails in Arizona and Cibola and folded a cam tab. Alignment was off but the rig still drove just fine all the way back.



I knew I could get some cam tab gussets welded in when I got home

 

It had been a while since I welded anything so I decided to have a local off road shop weld up the cam tab gussets and do a body mount chop. Just wanted to future proof the rig if I ever wanted to go with bigger tires.



I didn’t realize it at the time, but this work was terribly done. And I’d have to correct this later on

 

After a couple months at home I started getting very curious about Arkansas. Being located in Dallas there are only a few locations nearby that allow dispersed camping. Finding trails on public land is even more difficult.

Off road parks are fun, but exploring public land, national forests and BLM land out west really was something special.
Arkansas being only 4-5 hours away was very tempting. So we packed up the rig and headed North East.



Lake Ouachita










If you live in north Texas, go check out Arkansas! Beautiful land and plenty of trails to have a little fun

 

New shoes!
Some RRW 17x8.5 -12

 

After about 15,000 miles and plenty of rough roads my SPC upper control arms were shot. Called SPC and they denied any warranty for the upper ball joint since I admitted to using them “off road." SPC uses a proprietary ball joints and I couldn't justify replacing this expensive part every single year.

I called Tread Depot. They are an off road shop that actually focuses on Toyotas. I got their opinions and decided on Apache Off Road UCAs. These use factory sized ball joints so I can get them at any parts store. Got some spindle gussets done at the same time since I had seen a couple get bent at Merus.

Turned out great!

 

Swapped out all interior + puddle lights with Diode Dynamics LED's. Also added some Rado designs molle panels and shelf in the back.

 

On my way to work I hit some road debris hidden at the bottom of a puddle.

I couldn’t believe what I pulled out of the tire

 

Is that your Dad flipping someone or something off?
I guess us boys never really grow up. Ever. LOL
Nice thread.

 

We really never do
For the record he was flipping off the 4Runner.

He later admitted he was jealous. Then proceed to go buy his own. A 2024 White TRD Off Road Premium.

 

Since two of the Ridge Grapplers were at about 50% life I didn’t really want to replace just one. Around this time I also noticed that the front shocks were starting to leak and the cam tab gussets and BMC done by that shop earlier in the thread were in horrible condition. Defects from the weld started to show. And taking a look at my BMC from underneath the vehicle made me realize how poorly that original off road shop did the work.





By far the worst welds I’d ever seen.

It became obvious to me that the suspension, BMC and cam tab gussets all needed to be redone

 

So I did some research on what to do next. The rig needed new suspension, extensive weld repair and new tires.

Figured I’d knock it all out at once.

Hello 34” Falken A/T4W’s, Dobinsons IMS extended travel suspension, upgraded rear links and some proper weld repair!

Chayton at Tread Depot fixed the cam tab gussets and BMC. Folded the pinch welds, trimmed the bumper for more clearance and threw on some spidertrax spacers for extra width. Even added some minwin end caps for a clean look.














The rig was now solid again and more capable than ever.

 

Took the rig to Toyota Jamboree for a test run. And man that flex was impressive!

I took the rear bumper off at camp so I could really push the limit without worrying about it. At this point I had seen a lot of 4Runner bumpers get ripped off, so I figured the safest place for it was back at camp.

This thing seemed to walk up just about everything I pointed it at.



Wheeled some harder trails with this twin locked 80 series which unfortunately took some quarter panel damage on one of the tighter sections of the trail

 

The only issue I ran into all weekend was the extra droop in the rear caused the driveshaft to contact the fuel tank skid.

I dropped the skid at camp, took the sawzaw to it and cut off the entire corner. The driveshaft no longer contacted the skid plate during articulation.

 

The rest of the weekend went smooth. Had a ton of fun at Jambo

 

Got the rig back home and knew I needed to address that fuel tank skid.

I hadn’t touched a mig welder in 10 years… but I figured I’d need to get over that and give it a shot.

Started by welding the corner back on. This located the mount to help eliminate guess work.


Used some scrap steel strap to move the mount inboard.



Welded the new mount up and cut off all the excess material with an acetylene torch. Then cleaned it up with a grinding disc.


It's not pretty, but I was able to add the mount back to the skid plate without taking real estate the driveshaft needed during articulation.



Still strong enough to jack up the rig by the skid plate. Good enough for me.

 

After getting some practice at welding, and seeing what some extra clearance under that rear bumper can do, I started thinking about a clearance cut for the rear bumper.

I found a company called 80% off road who sells a DIY tubed bumper kit.

I also found a few rigs online running this kit. I liked the idea of chopping up a limited bumper instead of my factory bumper. Not only did the chopped limited bumper look better, but if I decide that I hated it, I could cut off the bash bar and reinstall my factory bumper.

So I found a limited silver bumper from a part out. Had it resprayed on the cheap, and cut it up.


Here’s the tube kit from 80% off-road laid out.


Mocked up the main bar


Welded it up and sprayed it with Steel-It


Finished product.

 

I got the rear bumper done just in time for Texas Toyota Takeover 3 at my favorite off road park. Merus.

I decided to remove the front sway bar to see what this thing could do.

Signed up for the black group. These were the hardest trails open that weekend. There were some very capable rigs out there and I had a great time.

Really got to push outside of my comfort zone and put this rig to the test













https://youtu.be/3fN5hmsuHYY?si=d9XrEtJfrYK7Brpo

 

Great write up on you and the rigs journey.

 

Thanks man! I’ll keep adding to this in my down time. Still have some catching up to do

 

One thing most first timers don't understand is unintended consequences or different aftermarket parts conflicting with each other. Your gas tank skid contacting drive shaft under articulation is great example.

Nice job at camp taking sawzall to make it thru the trail run and pro actively yanking the bumper cover off. I think it would have come off either way you removing it or the trails.

Impressive build being able to hit black trails. Not many IFS rigs pulling this off. Great example of play with the rig in steps seeing what it will do and what you mod to improve it.

 

Like all the rigs running black trails at TTT3, Silver took a little bit of damage.

A couple new scratches, and one headlight down.


Reached out to a buddy that had upgraded to Morimoto's, and got a barely used set of OEM headlights for a couple hundred bucks.

Replaced the busted headlight. A little touch up paint and paint correction and the rig was good as new.