R4Adventure 04 T4R SR5 v8 Rocklander Build

Hi fellow forum members. Thought I would start a build thread right off as I have so much going on with this build. I've been busy in the last year since I bought this 4Runner, so many of the postings are from the past, but I think there is still value in sharing.

I have several years experience working on Toyota’s and many more years working on a variety of different makes. I hope you enjoy my build thread as much as I have and get some useful inspiration along the way.

Here is my 4Runner as it stands today:


List of mods - as of 06/07/2024

Exterior mods/additions:

• Sherpa Princeton roof rack
• Extreme LED X6S Dual light bar
• Xprite RGBW LED Rock Lights used as area lights in the roof rack
• Amazon special ditch lights
• Heretic Studios BA-2 Amber lights (x2) for trail lights
• Blacked out grill and rear bumper trim
• Anzo blacked out headlights
• LCI LED tail lights
• Body mount chop
• Extended inner fender splash guards

​

Interior mods/additions:

• SpeedoHealer v4 - Odometer and Speedometer calibration
• Auxpower 6 gang switch panel
• Scangauge II
• Eonon Android stereo w/backup cam and integrated dashcam
• Desert Does It - seat risers with mole panel
• Desert Does It extinguisher mount with Halguard HR3 extinguisher
• Ram mount mod to center console stack
  • w/12 volt usb ports and voltmeter
• Hardwired Midland MXT75VP4 GMRS radio
• Dual USB and 12v outlet mounted on back of center console
• Factory installed DVD player delete so I have full use of the center console storage
• Center console organizer
• Cross Industries Off Road - Third Row spare tire carrier
• Driver and Passenger side Paracord Grab handles
• Driver and Passenger side F3Fab visor molle panels

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Suspension / Wheels:

• Bilstein 5100 suspension lift with OME coils front (OME-886X) and rear (OME-895)
• Total Chaos upper control arms
• Stainless steel extended brake lines, front and rear
• Durobumps front extended bump stops
• Timbren rear extended bump stops
• Spidertrax 1.25” wheel spacers, front and rear
• Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T 295/70R17 x5
• Method Racing 312 17x9 wheels in bronze x5
• 2nd Gen T4R rear sway bar links (1” longer than stock 4th gens)

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Armor and Recovery:

• CBI High clearance front bumper
• Warn EVO 10s winch
• RCI Front skid
• RCI Transmission skid with CAT guards
• RCI Transfer case skid (Own but not installed yet)
• RCI Gas tank skid
• RCI DOM bolt on rock sliders
  
• 41.22 Hitch Slider
• Rotopax Traction Boards
• Bunker Industries Mini traction boards

​

Engine / Drive-train mods:

• Bold?? performance muffler and custom exhaust tip
• X2 27F AGM battery
• Dirty Parts Toyota alternator voltage booster
• SDHQ Aluminum battery terminals
• Trigger 6 shooter mounting bracket modified for Auxpower relay box
• BlueSea bus bar
• Rear 8.2” 5th Gen 4Runner non-locking axle assembly swap
• Front and Rear diffs rebuilt and rear geared to 4.56
• Front and rear ARB air lockers
• ARB Twin air compressor with custom mount
• ARB 1 gallon air tank with Mountain Off-road mounting bracket.

Overland Gear

• Freespirit Recreation Aspen 49” hardshell RTT
• Freespirit Recreation load bars for Aspen RTT
• Freespirit Recreation 270 awning
• Setpower 45 Quart 12v Car Fridge/Freezer
• Bluetti EB70s 712Wh Solar generator
• Bluetti 200w solar panels
• Ecoflow Wave2 Portable A/C unit

​

 

The journey so far.

I purchased my 04 4Runner Sr5 v8 earlier this year after returning from an awesome trip to Moab with friends from a local Toyota off road, Facebook group. At the time, I had a 2018 Tacoma TRD OR which was already on a great build path, but I built it more for overlanding, not crazy rock crawling.

How this 4Runner looked when I bought it:


This 4Runner already had a great foundation. A few key selling points was the v8 (of course), practically rust free frame and body (major plus living in the salt belt) and a plethora of off-road parts, which included 2.5” Bilstein lift with a 1” body lift, a CBI front bumper, full RCI skid plates, rock sliders (which I need to install) and a lot of spare parts. The previous owner had opted for the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T tires (295/70r17). These tires were still fairly new.

I find it ironic that I have gone full circle when I started getting into off-roading. A 4th gen 4Runner with v8 was my vehicle of choice, back in the spring of 2018. Well, I have wanted a v8 4runner for longer than that, but anyway. All I could find at the time was v6 models and GX470’s (before everyone started seeking these out). In hindsight, I should have bought the GX, but somehow ended up in a 2012 FJ Cruiser, which I miss dearly.

I only had the FJ two weeks before heading off to Colorado and hitting some trails in the Breckenridge area.



I really wanted to make the FJ work. Already had purchased an OME lift, Total Chaos UCA’s and still my favorite Method wheels, the MR312’s in bronze. I desperately needed to do the body mount chop and pinch weld mods, but surprisingly, that was all that was required to stuff 33x12.5 tires onto a stock FJ. Of course I had to add 1.5” spacers, just because.



The FJ had a significant rust problem, and it was already past the recall period to have the frame replaced. Breaking bolts was a common practice and ultimately, I didn’t have the time or resources to fix the frame, though I hindsight, I regret selling my FJ. The FJ is one Toyota that I really want to get again.

One thing was for certain, I discovered I really enjoyed traveling to cool and scenic trails. So I splurged and traded up to a 2019 4Runner TRD OR premium with KDSS.


Fortunately, most all the parts I bought for the FJ transferred to the 4Runner. I did not install the 1.5” spacers though, as the MR312 wheel offset was perfect. The 4Runner had many of the cool features that was found on my 2012 FJ, which included a rear locker, ATRAC and the manually operated transfer case. Though the 4.0 v6 had torque, in the Colorado mountains, it seemed to run out of breath easy, but that was really only a problem on the hwy. Overall, I really liked the 5th gen platform.

 

Then covid hit and I was in a remote working status - which resulted in my new 4Runner just sitting. At this rate, the warranty was going to run out before I got any good use out of it. I had also recently sold my house and felt like I was using my new 4Runner more as a truck than an SUV. So I took the advice of a good friend that had been telling me for years to buy a Tacoma. It was during that time when inventory for both new and used cars was at an all time low. I was amazed to even find something close to what I was looking for and local to me. I got my money back on the 4Runner, which still had under 10k miles. The dealer sold it for 10k more than what I paid for it brand new. Crazy days we live in.

This leads me to my 2018 Tacoma TRD OR crew cab. It felt a little cramped at first, coming from a 4Runner and being 6ft. But after getting used to it, the Tacoma is almost the perfect size. I have mostly great things to say about it, except for the normal complaints about the transmission and lack of power.

I was on a solid build path with my Taco as I had not anticipated buying another vehicle. Even had an RSI SmartCap on order to replace my Diamondback HD cover.



While at Moab in 2023, I discovered a few things. One, I love crawling rocks. The Top of the world trail was an experience, to say the least. Two, going on the trail with a relatively new and clean Tacoma that still had a lot of equity was very nerve racking. I even destroyed my front, steel skid plate on the trail. It did it’s job though. Ultimately, I knew I wanted to do more trails like that, just not with such a new truck. I needed something else.



I could probably start a build page just on my Tacoma, even though I don’t own it anymore. It’s a very capable truck that I will miss.

A friend from our Moab group owned a v8 4Runner and was getting things ready for the trip when one of his close friends offered to sell him a J80 Land Cruiser for a great price. The LC was already kitted out with oversized tires, a front bumper, winch and armor. This one also had three factory lockers (front, center, rear). It was a no brainer, especially for what he bought it for.



TLDR, I bought my friends v8 4Runner and so far I have had no regrets, though it’s turned into more a project than I anticipated. Honestly though, all my vehicles are projects. lol.

I had to make a tough choice. I really liked my Tacoma and had put a lot of work into it, including the high clearance front bumper and winch. I don’t have space right now to own two off road vehicles plus a BMW project and keeping the Tacoma would mean re-purchasing a lot of parts that could be transferred to the 4Runner. So I opted to sell the Tacoma and transfer as many parts that I could. It was a lot of work, but saved me a ton of money. Sure, I could have tried selling my Tacoma with everything on it. But you will rarely get a 100% return on what you invested into your vehicle.

That was a lot, but hoped you enjoyed the read. My adventure build is well on its way and I have already been making some critical choices.

 

My first mod - a new battery

The old one was wearing thin and was the smaller battery size found on the v6 model. I have had pretty good experience with the X2 Northstar AGM batteries, which is what I ran in my Tacoma. After doing some digging, I found that the standard battery on the v8 equipped 4Runners, is a group 27 battery. My 4Runner even still had the larger battery tray.



When I installed the battery, I took the opportunity to transfer the SDHQ battery terminals off the Tacoma.



The last part of this mod was installing a Dirty Parts fuse to up the output on the alternator as the AGM battery requires more than the standard 13.2 volts.

 

2UZ Timing Belt And Other Maintenance Items

I did this last year but thought it's worth posting as there might be some valuable tips for someone. Having done this job, I can also answer questions for anyone thinking about doing this. Note that this isn’t a how to, as there are plenty of detailed forum posts and YouTube videos out there already and I would be happy to share the ones I found most useful. This post is more just an overview of my experience performing this job.

When I bought my 04 SR5 4Runner, it had @ 193k miles on it. The previous owner didn’t have a record on the last time the belt was changed but had inspected it and didn’t find any excessive wear.

However, anytime I buy a used vehicle with high millage and no documentation, I like to get everything as close to current as possible. I got things into motion to replace the timing belt. While performing this job, it’s also an opportunity to inspect and replace several other important, regular maintenance parts, such as the water pump and thermostat.

To get started, I opted to go with the timing kit for the 2000-2005 2UZ from YotaShop.com

https://www.yotashop.com/timing-kit...r-timing-belt-kit-w-hoses-2000-2005-kit-1151/



This kit consisted of mostly parts from Aisin, which manufactures many of the OEM parts on the 2UZ. It included the timing belt, serpentine belt, new pulleys, cam and crankshaft seals, water pump, thermostat, pulley tensioner, Aisin FPIG and upper/lower rad hoses, which are for the 1st gen Tundra and will not work on the 4Runner. So I just gifted them to a friend that has a couple Tundra’s.

 

Tools Recommend For Doing The Timing Belt

If this is the first time you have done this job, it’s extremely important that you spend a lot of time researching before starting and to take your time. The 2UZ- FE is a zero interface design, which means the intake and exhaust valves enter the same area as the pistons do. So if the timing belt is off, you run the risk of the valves coming in contact with the pistons. The effect is catastrophic. Make sure you have all the minimum parts and tools at the ready and give yourself plenty of time to do this job. If additional parts aren’t required, this will probably take a full weekend.

That said, here’s a short list of highly recommended specialty tools I bought. Having the right tools makes any job easier, but I can’t say these are required.

• Crankshaft pulley holder - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q1W36L7/
• Gear and Pulley Puller - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08T67YTR6/
• Lisle Shaft Type Seal Puller - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FPYW4K/
• Cam Pulley Holder - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KSEJ6Q/

Also, removing the radiator to perform this job is highly recommended for several reasons.

1. You can fit an impact gun to remove the crank pulley bolt. It’s on there very tight.
2. Less chance of damaging the radiator.
3. Good time to inspect the radiator and all it’s connections.

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Be sure to shield the condenser. I used a thick piece of cardboard and hung it in place.

 

It was time to get to work. There was a lot of dried dirt all over the engine from the last off road trip the previous owner went on. The dirt was made worse by the fact that the inner fender shields were missing and it wouldn’t have mattered after the 1” body lift. So I ordered, new extended ones already.

Beyond the dirt, there was hardly any leaking oil or crud on the motor, which is a very good sign. I am optimistic that the bolts will come off easily given there is hardly any rust.

Like my friend had mentioned, the belts looked to be in great shape. If I had to guess, the last timing belt job was probably done around 40k miles ago. Looks like the person or shop kept to factory parts too, not the cheaper aftermarket ones.



I’m not out of the woods though as I noticed the radiator is in bad shape. The upper radiator hose, inlet on the radiator was missing a big chunk out of the plastic and the lower transmission cooler line was crushed really bad, severely limiting the flow of fluid to the transmission.



And the radiator fins had a large, deep gouge in it that had already been leaking. It’s time for a new radiator.



I didn’t want to skimp here nor did I want to pay top dollar for a replacement radiator, direct from Toyota. I did research going with an all aluminum CSF radiator, as I have one in my E46 M3, but I am not ready to make a significant investment just yet. After doing some digging, I found that Denso, which is the OE manufacturer for the Toyota radiator, makes a direct replacement and it is half the price. I also read somewhere that the design is improved over the Toyota spec part. So I opted to get the Denso model (Part # 2213124) and have had no issues so far. Purchased mine through RockAuto, if your interested.

After removing the radiator fan bracket and inspecting the pulley, I found that it also needed to be replaced. I ordered the Aisin part from YotaParts. The original also had striped threads for the A/C compressor mount, so a new bracket will solve both issues.

 

Got the new cam and crank seals on. Using the Lisle shaft type seal tool made this part easier while also reducing the chances of scratching the cam or crank shafts.

NOTE: If your v8 4Runner, Tundra, GX470 or Land Cruiser has the newer VVTI equipped 2UZ (starting in 2005 on select models), replacing the cam seals requires removing the camshafts and is not worth the effort unless you have a serious oil leak in those areas. I understand that this is not a common issue. That said, mine is an 04 and does not have VVTI, so I opted to replace the seals.



And the crank seal as well. This seal is accessible even on VVTI equipped models.

 

The rest of the reassembly is pretty straightforward…. Now where did I put those small bolts?

Another handy tool I picked up was a spill-free funnel from Lisle (Part # 24680) that made burping the radiator a piece of cake.



All the homework paid off as this job only had a few hiccups and I should be good for at least another 90k miles. Took the 4Runner on a trip to South Dakota and everything operated as expected. Transmission even seemed to shift better with the flow to the cooler not being restricted.

 

Since buying this 4Runner, I have been hearing some grinding noises that sounded like bad bearings (ask me how I know what this sounds like). I figured with nearly 200k on the clock, it was probably a good time to replace the wheel bearings, starting with the fronts.

I ordered a set of pre-assembled hubs using NSK bearings on YotaBearingsAndHubs.com. Price was reasonable and I received my order in a short time.

Time to get to work. You can see the small garage I have been working out of. It’s all I got and I am making the most of it until I can buy a house or land. Housing market is still crazy.




Front hubs are an easy job. Hardest part is breaking the axle nut loose, but a good impact gun makes short work of that. If you don’t have access to an impact gun, find a long bar that you can slip over a big ratchet. The bolt torque spec is about 175 ft lbs if that gives you an idea.



Old bearings didn’t look to bad but you could feel the slop in them and some roughness compared to the new bearings. These may not be what’s causing the metal dragging noises, but still worth replacing.

Here’s the new hubs.




While I had the wheels off, I thought I would check tire/wheel combo differences and using wheel spacers or not.

At the time, my Tacoma still had the Method MR312 17x9 wheels wrapped in Nitto Ridge Grappler 33x12.5x17. The 4Runner was still running the Level 8 MK6 17x9 wheels wrapped in the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss 295/70R17 tires.

I really liked the Level 8 wheels and they matched the 4Runner very well. However, I didn’t have another set of wheels to put on the Tacoma as I wasn’t going to sell the Method wheels either.

Comparing the tires, I have had a great experience with the Ridge Grapplers. They worked great in all seasons, though they did slip a little in the snow. On the rocks in Moab, UT, they were super sticky with loads of grip. The MT Baja Boss tires on the other hand are a little quieter, have the best winter traction rating out there for an off road tire and they are reported to be almost a 34” tire, well 33.7”.

Setting the two tires side by side, you can tell that the Baja Boss’s are noticeably taller than the Ridge Grapplers.

Ridge grapplers are in the front. Baja Bosses in the rear


Grapplers on the left and Bosses on the Right



Here you can see the drivers side with the 1” spacer and the passenger side without them. The Method 312 17x9’s are naturally going to stick out a little.




Still debating as the spacers do give the 4Runner a more aggressive stance. TDLR on my chosen wheel/tire combo, I kept the MR 312’s and swapped over to the newer MT Baja Boss tires. Win/Win in my book.

 

Ram Mount and Power Port
Now for some fun mods. I need a place to mount my phone and or tablet while traveling. The 4th gen doesn’t have a lot of great options for mounting rails or such, the the 3rd gen Tacoma has.

In the Tacoma, I had the Expedition Essentials accessory mount and loved it. As you can see in the pick, it was one of my first mods on the Taco.


The 4th gen 4Runner requires a little more creativity and fortunately there’s plenty of great examples out there to inspire me.

My main concern is that the mounting location is just plastic, so it needs more reinforcement to handle a larger tablet, especially while traversing rocky trails.

Using a piece of metal from the dvd player mount that was in the center console (dvd player was gone when I purchase the 4Runner), I cut out a small piece of metal to act as the backing support.




Then using a hand file, I made space to fit a power port, close to the mounting bracket.



This looks pretty good!



All wired up and ready to go. Now I have a voltmeter on the dash as well.

 

Interior Spare Tire Mount
I am not normally a fan 3rd row equipped SUV’s that were not made for 3rd row seating. Leg room is non-existent and all storage is lost.

That said, this is a rare case where I am able to benefit from this option as my 4runner originally came equipped with 3rd row seating. The seats were gone by the time I purchased it, which just made things easier.

Though I am researching high clearance rear bumpers, it is not a high priority right now. But I still needed a solution to mount a matching spare wheel/tire.

Fortunately, I already had five for the MR312 wheels when I bought them for my FJ Cruiser. I just needed a way to mount it securely.

Enter Cross Industries Off Road, who makes a kit that utilizes the latches on the rear wheel well used for securing a 3rd row seat. This kit is made for the GX470 and 4th Gen 4Runner.

https://crossindustriesoffroad.com/products/3rd-row-spare-tire-mount-gx470



This is exactly what I was looking for. It’s still recommended to use a tie down strap to prevent the tire from bouncing on bumps and rough terrain.

This setup works great and I can mount it on either side of the interior. Honestly, I like this setup for a multitude of reasons.

1. Tire is not exposed to the elements.
2. Accessibility
3. Less weight hanging out on the back of the vehicle.
4. Overall length of the vehicle is not extended by the spare tire carrier, which is especially important to me right now.
5. It's easy to remove when not needed and returns to the interior to factory.

Only significant negative is that it takes up a lot of interior storage space.

 

Sherpa Roof Rack

This is a foundational part and needed if I want to run the roof top tent that I bought for my outgoing Tacoma build.



I looked at both the Sherpa and Prinsu racks. I did not consider any of the others, like Front Runner, as I needed a lower profile rack as clearance is a concern right now. My 4Runner is currently my DD and the parking garage at my job has a low clearance. With my current lift height, it’s a tight fit. This also applies to my apartment garage.

I ended up going with Sherpa. Nothing against Prinsu and though the Sherpa was more expensive, I liked the design better and the rack appears to be more solid. That said, installation was straight forward and I was able to do this solo.

When I purchased the Princeton Sherpa rack, I also bought the ExtremeLED dual color light-bar, and I carried over the Heretic ditch lights I had on my Tacoma build and am now using them as chase lights, though I probably need something to dim them.



I also installed some Amazon special rock lights that are mounted on the rack for area lights.

This was a great opportunity to transfer over the Auxpower 6 gang switch kit that I had on my Tacoma. The popular choice is the 8 gang switch, which the aftermarket has a lot of bracket designs for. Going the 6 gang route meant I had to get creative with the bracket.

I found a bracket for another switch that closely matched the dimensions of the 6 gang switch box I have. Here's a link if your interested.

https://triggercontroller.com/product/trigger-toyota-tacoma-bracket/

This is the bracket that I started with:


I did needed to elongate one of the front holes and the rear holes were almost perfect to mount a BlueSea's bus bar. I think it turned out pretty good. I also like the fact that this 6 gang switch setup uses standard relays, which are easy to replace if one goes out.





And mounting the interior switch was easy. The 4Runner center stack has plenty of open space to mount it.

Overall, I am very impressed with the build of the rack. I plan on using it to run either my roof top tent or other gear depending on what adventure I am going on.


The rack light setup is pretty bright too!

 

Solo Mounting My Roof Top Tent

Now that I have the rack installed, I can mount the Free Spirit Recreation Aspen roof top tent that I bought while I still had my Tacoma. At the time, I had pre-ordered an RSI SmartCap and had already been waiting about 6 months. It would have been a cool setup.



I was hoping to have all this before Moab, but it didn’t work out and after returning, I bought the 4Runner with plans to sell the Tacoma. But I still had my tent and of course wanted to use it. Here’s some pics of it after I got it. Man, I miss my last garage and just seeing a Tacoma with a SmartCap, I miss my truck too.





Though this is a lighter tent compared to most roof top tents on the market, it still weights about 135lbs and not something one person can just pickup and put on the top of a lifted vehicle. Sure, I can ask friends to help, but I am a very independent person and work at being a creative problem solver, if I can, so that I am not any more reliant on others then I need to be.

Also, my 4Runner wont fit in my garage with the tent installed and I am not comfortable leaving my 4runner sitting out in the parking lot here any longer then needed. We have had lots of break-ins and vehicles stolen.

So I did some research because I figured I wasn’t the only person with this problem and came up with a novel solution, though still not 100% fool proof.



Using both a dolly/tent holder and a ladder like frame equipped with a small winch, I am able to pull the RTT up into a position that I can then push and pull the tent to a good resting spot.



I originally had the winch mounted at the top, but the tent dolly was blocked by it. So I returned it and bought a more compact winch that is mounted at the base of the ladder.



And then I use a winch pulley at the top.



To secure the ladder to the rack so it doesn’t shift or pull away from the 4Runner, I used some long hook bolts to secure it. Not sure how much a difference these make but I don’t trust pulling and pushing the tent dolly around without anything holding the ladder in place.



Then using blocks of 2x4’s to support the tent while pulling the tent dolly out from under it. Then I remove the ladder.

I don’t have a picture doing this, but you can see in this pick that blocks positioned on the rack.



At this point, I just need to start removing the wood blocks to start lowering the tent into the roof rack. If all goes well, I have been able to install/remove my RTT in a little under an hour. Note that the load bars were already on the RTT.





At the time of this posting, I have already used this setup a few times and have done a few tweaks to the setup to improve safety. Overall I am very happy with how it all works. Not as nice as a ceiling pulley system, but I don’t have a garage tall enough to do this.

Best part is, the tent and ladder don't take to much space in my garage when stored.


That said, if anyone is interested, I am happy to share the parts I used and can even take measurements.

 

Routing Power To Solar Generator and Fridge

In prep for an upcoming trip to South Dakota, I needed a way to keep my solar generator charged as it was keeping my fridge running while the 4Runner was turned off. This was not as straight forward as I anticipated. I should have guessed that behind the rear console trim was a big air tube that feeds the rear vents. This is very similar to the 5th gen I had.



This mod will reduce the flow a little, but I don’t regularly have rear passengers much. It’s hard to see in this pic, but I needed a thick backing plate for two reasons:

1. The usb and power outlets are too deep and will come in contact with the back of the console storage area.
2. The contour on the rear console trim is not flat.

I choose to use a scrap piece of wood, trimming it into shape and drilling the two, requisite holes for the power ports. I may later 3D print a better part, but this works for now.



All in all, it came out very well and does what I need it to do. Now my Bluetti EB55 and SetPower RV45 dual zone fridge have power and are a great setup for my current needs. I just need to build a better platform to secure them while off roading.

 

Finally Some Adventuring

Time for a break with friends. We had been planning this trip for awhile. This was a great opportunity to get away and check out the 4Runner and the roof top tent combo. Our small group wanted to go some place less traveled, were the scenery was great and dispersed camping areas were plenty.

We opted for the Badlands and Black Hills areas in South Dakota and we where not disappointed. I wasn’t expecting the last minute idea to take kayaks, that was a surprise. This trip was intended to be laid back and with no plans to do any crazy trails or visit touristy areas. We just wanted to get away and relax.



Our trip was already starting off with challenges. I could not find my wheel lock which meant I couldn’t swap out a tire if I needed too. I took a big risk, but I wasn’t going to cancel this trip last minute. Because I spent so much time looking for the wheel lock, I felt rushed with organizing my gear. Fortunately, most of my camping and off road stuff was in the same containers and bags that I used for the Moab trip with my Tacoma. You can’t see it here, but I also have my fridge and solar generator in place of the second row seat (removed) plus parts and tools on the passenger side. Regardless, with the setup and the RTT, I was still able to setup or break down camp is less than 30 minutes. AMAZING!



Our group opted to meet at a Village Inn across the river, in Council Bluffs, IA, to have breakfast before hitting the road. Already, we were attracting attention.



I was pretty cool, traveling with a group of kitted out Toyota’s. I will admit that I missed my Tacoma, but really enjoyed the v8 in the 4Runner…. just not the gas mileage. (I will talk more about the poor mpg later, it was really bad).

The Black Hills, South Dakota isn’t to far from Omaha, which would give us more time to relax and not be so rushed. We opted to take i29 north, passing through Sioux City, IA and then on up to, Sioux Falls, South Dakota before heading west through the Badlands. I wasn’t expecting the crazy wind, and with both the RTT and kayak on top, I was surprised to still be on the ground.



We weren’t to far into the trip when I started having electrical issues that was effecting my hard wired GMRS radio that I just installed. The GMRS would lose power and then turn back on. Rinse, repeat. Eventually, I just unplugged the radio and used my handhelds that I was glad that brought.

Our first major stop was at a cool spot outside of Crooked Creek Township, near Wall, SD and just north of the Badlands National Park. This dispersed camping spot was recommended to us by one of my friends, coworker. This dispersed sight sits on the outskirts of a sunflower farm too.





There’s no cool mountains in the distance, just rolling hills, but the view was still pretty amazing. This was a contrast to the rocky boulders and cliffs that I saw, camping in Moab, UT earlier in the year. The sun was setting fast and it was time to get our tents setup, eat some dinner and relax.





Magic hour was pretty cool with the sun setting off in the distance.





Even the moon rise was pretty cool. This was September, 2023 when the moon was supper bright.





It got pretty windy overnight. Seems to be a common theme up in South Dakota. Didn’t help that we setup camp at the crest of the hill. Ironically, after the wind died down, I had a coyote not more than 20 feet from my 4Runner yapping for an hour. lol.

First night in the RTT was an experience. But honestly, not a bad one. Waking up to a view like this made it worth it.



We saw a few vehicles driving down into the valley when we had setup camp and was interested to see what was down there. After having breakfast and packing everything up, we decided to venture down the trail. It wasn’t crazy, but did have deep, washed out ruts. You could get to our camp spot with a Civic but traversing the trail beyond that point really isn’t recommend unless you have a 4WD. High clearance isn’t required, but beneficial.

Here you can see up close, the crooked creeks. The creak looked pretty low.





This was probably the most challenging part of the trail…..not really.



We found a cool spot towards the end of the trail. I don’t have pictures, but beyond where we parked was a large grouping of prairie dog’s. The whole trail experience was safari like. We weren’t interested in blazing new trails so we turned around and headed back out and off to our next destination.



For our next stop, we decided to head to Pactola Lake, so we could do a little Kayaking and fishing. Pactola is a pretty big lake. And staying consistent to the theme for this trip, it was very windy.



Most of our fishing occurred in a cove as the currents would keep forcing us back to the docks if we stayed in the open water.



The next dispersed spot didn’t have as cool of a view, but it was still nice and secluded. We only had one neighbor who was far enough away that we still had privacy. Here we stayed a few days and just relaxed. Was even able to go down to Rapid City to restock on food and beverages, and stop at Cabela’s. It was great up until the last night.

One of my friends had bought a used rtt and it didn’t include the rain fly. Unfortunately, we had a rain storm come through during the night that dump on us for about 30 minutes. It was enough that my friend and his sleeping gear was soaking wet. We found a tarp and secured it over his tent and got him a dry blanket to get him through the night.



Convoy is ready for the trip home. To bad as I was just getting comfortable. Overall, this was a much needed and relaxing trip where a lot was learned and more things were identified with my setup that I needed to address.

We are definitely coming back to South Dakota and I was very impressed with my 4Runner. This is going to be a great platform to build off of.

 

Identified Issues During The SD Trip

Camping and off road trips are always full of discoveries. And like anything in life, Murphy’s Law will inevitably come into play. How you react to it is largely based on your level of preparedness. That said, some of these discoveries are fun and others may be challenging and ruin the day. However, these bad experiences can still be looked at as an opportunity for growth and to better understand needed changes to help improve your experience. Think, “What can I learn from that experience?” Remember, part of preparedness is discovered through experience. And experience is our best teacher.

That said, I identified the following issues during the SD trip that need to be addressed:

• Replace wheel lock key and purchase a backup.
  • I took a major risk, traveling cross country with no key.
  • Lesson learned - have a back up if the primary can't be found.
    
    • Replacement and a back up have already been ordered.
• Fix electrical issues impacting the GMRS radio and power port.
  • Lesson learned - don't make electrical changes without providing enough time to test before a big trip
    
  • The 4th gen 4Runner has a limited number of switched fuses to tap into.
    
    • Best solution is to add another interior fuse block and run direct to battery with a solenoid connected to a switched circuit
  • I would also like to wire the area lights on the roof rack to be switched from ignition on to direct to battery.
• Fix sticking driver side rear brake caliper
  • I didn’t mention this before, but I had been plagued with the common sticking brake caliper during the trip.
  • These were new calipers, pads and rotors that were installed a few days prior to the trip, too.
  • This got bad enough at times that you could smell the brake pads burning.
  • This likely had an impact on my poor fuel economy.
• Transfer Case actuator leak
  • I checked the fluid level at various stages of the trip.
  • Fluid level never got low but the constant leaking has been bothering me
  • I had not purchased an FJ tcase just yet, but this swap is looking more appealing
    • I have already secured a manual tcase from a 2011 FJ.
• Optional brackets that mounts the 270 awning to the RTT have to much flex and creates a huge gap between the tent/rack and the awning, creating turbulence
  • On paper, these brackets seem like a great idea, but there are not ideal
    • Pro is, it’s easier to mount and the awning will sit higher, providing more headroom.
    • Cons are, there’s only two brackets and the flex when the awning is open, loosing the headroom benefit and more. The gap also creates wind buffeting, which had an impact on milage.
  • I will need to use the standard, roof rack brackets next time and see if that solves these two problems.
• FSR optional hybrid air/memory foam mattress made it difficult to close and lock the RTT
  • This probably is just a case of newb RTT owner
  • It may not even be the mattress that’s causing the issue
  • Ultimately just adjusting the latches allowed me to close the tent, just with a larger gap
    
  • Hybrid mattress is definitely worth the effort though
• RTT ladder is bulky and takes a lot of interior space
  • I need to do more research on this one.
  • Hatch mounted ladder would be nice for solo trips

The take away is that there are always things to improve. In summary, it’s not about the destination, it’s the journey.

 

Total Chaos Upper Control Arms
One of the great things about the 4Runner, GX470, FJ Cruiser and the Tacoma is that they all share quite a few components. Especially the front suspension. In the case of my Total Chaos UCA’s, my 4th Gen 4Runner will be the third Toyota I have owned that these controls arms have been installed on. I am taking the buy once, cry once mindset to it’s fullest.

I ran into some issues getting the lower collar off of my out going 3rd gen Tacoma which required ordering a few parts. I eventually got it off but this was after ordering parts. Fortunately, Total Chaos sells replacement parts for anything on their control arms.



Once I got through that hurdle, I took a lesson learned from changing the control arms clear back on my 5th Gen 4Runner. If you have ever replaced UCA’s on Toyota’s, you will know that removing the long bolt is a royal PITA, especially on the drivers side. Bending the lower edge of the inner fender is required but another step that will make things easier is to grind down one edge of the bolt flange.




This wont helping getting them off initially, but will help the next time your UCAs require servicing.

Got the Total Chaos UCA’s installed and all buttoned up.




While working on the suspension, I noticed the inner boot on the passenger side CV axle has a tear. Another item on the list of things to do.