mynameistory's not-a-build thread

Slapping on yuppie accessories do not a build make, so this not a build thread. But, I like to keep track of stuff so here we go.

Originally, I bought a CPO 2012 Tacoma TRD-OR with 6MT close to 6 years ago. The previous owner had it for about a month and put on about 1700 miles. Picked it up for $31K and put close to 70,000 trouble-free miles on Phoebe, as I named her. The only thing that I really changed was adding the +1 KO2s, which were worth every penny.

My lady and I knew we wanted to start having kids last year, so I began thinking of how I could comfortably take kid(s) plus our two pit bulls on trips. We briefly considered putting a hard shell on the Tacoma and putting the dogs back there, but we were concerned about their accident safety and lack of cooling on hot southern California days. We also thought about replacing her Prius with a larger car, even a minivan, and keeping the truck. But that would mean family trips would have to stay on paved roads. Since I was using the bed more and more for camp gear and less for "trucky" stuff and motos, I began considering a 4Runner as a minivan on a truck frame.

The truck sold in January to a private owner for $24K, he came down from Fresno to get her. Stick 2nd gens are kind of a rare duck, so I was able to get great resale. 77% of original value in fact! Hope she is still loved and taken on adventures.

As far as 4Runners go, I had been on the lookout for the past two months- I wanted a used Trail Premium with KDSS and a plain cargo area (no sliding rear tray). I was looking everywhere on private listings, craigslist, classifieds, etc. Most dealers and private parties wanted above $40K for their used(!) trucks, which is just a hair under what new ones cost.

I didn't really care to get a new Off-Road version. Other than the name change, the ONLY updates to the truck for 2017-2018 include C-pillar emblems, TRD stitching on the headrests, and faux carbon fiber overlay on the center console. No thanks, not worth the price premium.

Finally, after riding my motorcycle for a few weeks, I found exactly what I was looking for in February. 2016 Trail Premium. 15K miles on the clock. Toyota CPO warranty. KDSS and plain rear cargo. Previous owner had installed weathertech floor liners and the EXACT tires I wanted (275/70R17 BFG KO2s). And the price was $36K, which is just above trade-in value. The problem was that the truck was in Portland OR!

It ended up not being a problem at all. The dealer took off $200 for my Southwest flight and that was the lowest they could go on the price. Flew up early on a Saturday, dealer picked me up from PDX in the truck so I could test drive it back to the dealership. Paperwork was signed in less than an hour. Spent some time exploring the Japanese Garden and eating BBQ. Crashed at my sister-in-law's (conveniently located in nearby Beaverton). Woke up at 4AM on Sunday to drive home on the scenic route (Willamette, Crater Lake, Modoc, Susanville, Reno, Bridgeport, Mammoth, Lone Pine, Mojave, home). Fantastic trip.







Not my first choice in color but it is growing on me. All in all, I'm happy. The 4Runner certainly is a lot more plush and crammed with electronic goodies, though I really enjoyed my Tacoma because of its analog simplicity. The lady appreciates the auto transmission, she always got flustered driving stick in the Tacoma. I'll miss the 3 pedals though!

Decided on Rhea for her name. Like her sister Phoebe, she is a Greek Titaness and "mother of the gods". She gave birth to Zeus and, like her sister, also has a moon of Saturn named after her.

 

First thing was swapping the wheels. Everything that could be said for Dustin at FN Wheels is true and more. Fantastic customer service and a great deal for these beautiful, light and strong wheels. He recommended the Six Shooters for their conservative offset, since I don't plan on lifting anytime soon with these 275/70s. He even accurately predicted that the small offset push would result in a slight rub on the flaps. I did a bit of clearancing with a heat gun, but I still need to pull them back a little more with some safety wire.

Decided on matte gunmetal over bronze. Wasn't sure if I would get tired of bronze, and the truck already has a lot of color. Happy with my choice, and happy with saving 9 pounds per corner!

I sold the take-offs + spare on Tacoma World for $450, so the final cost was $110 per wheel out of my pocket! I have 5 wheels to match the 5 KO2s, and have started a proper 5 tire rotation.

 

A few things to start getting the truck ready for dog hauling. I bought a rear cargo "half-net" from Raingler Nets and am very happy with the fit and finish. Haven't taken a long trip with the dogs yet, but I'm pretty sure their giant noggins won't fit around this thing. Ed from Raingler Nets said that this latest revision has been updated for a tighter fitment, and it looks great to me. I also threw in a few headrest grab handles in the cart, they look and fit fantastic! Short people (the wife) really appreciate them.

 

Swapped the hood this morning. I think the scoop looks dumb, it gets in the way, and throws glare. The bug shield went with it, since it doesn't really seem to do anything except add drag and worry me inside the car wash.

 

Decided to pull the trigger on some Pro takeoffs. From what I understand, the truck was driven home to California from where it was purchased in Texas, and then the suspension was immediately replaced with Icons. So nearly brand new shocks and coils. The only pieces missing where the frame mounts for the rear reservoirs, so I got these Bilstein clamps. Expensive, but available when I needed them, and less fussy to attach.

@Mwray8909 in Ventura is awesome! We swapped the suspension in his driveway. Matt's extremely familiar under these trucks and with KDSS details in particular. I really can't recommend his work enough.

These are entirely stock, no spacers installed. I wasn't interested in "leveling" the truck, I think this is sort of a cosmetic look that people get hung up on and don't consider what the truck will look like when loaded or towing. I just wanted a mild, OEM lift with better than stock performance, and that is just what the Pro kit is. Personally, I think that this is what the Trail/OR should have been delivered with- and the Pro should have had some REAL suspension upgrades that merit those crazy dealer markups.

My first impressions on the road is that this suspension has taken a lot of the harshness from E-load tires away. Very subtle, but I would describe bumps as being rounded off, whereas before it felt like they had corners that jolted (part of this I attribute to the heavy KO2s). Haven't had a chance to stretch them out off the road yet.

In any case, pretty good bang for the buck if you can find some takeoffs!

 

Nice ride.

 

Thanks sir.

Here is the best comparison shot I can come up with. The Barc Red really shifts around depending on how the sun hits it.

 

very nice

 

Looks good, I got the TRD suspension (the FJ kit that was on super sale) and immediately noticed a huge improvement. I’m building a very mild truck as well and for the time being the added inch in the front is plenty.

 

Sweet.

 

I was also curious about the Bilstein part dump, and considered grabbing one of those sets. This one included the rear coils for the same price so I just decided that it would be easiest. What rear coils did you end up picking?

 

I actually kept the stock rear coils. My understanding was the coils are the same across all models so I just replaced the shocks in the rear.

Eventually if I need more height I’ll grab the Wheelers T13 coils and add a small spacer on the front for another inch.

 

We looked at the pro coils side-by-side with the ones that came off. They are definitely a bit taller and have one more wind. All the others (SR5, Limited, and Trail/OR) are definitely the same.

 

What do you use for wax/sealant? You got a nice gloss going there.

 

Dunno, whatever's in the coin-op or local car wash. Thanks though!

 

How much lift did you get with this?

 

By the way, an update for this. It turns out that the stock Pro coils are exactly the same as every other model. Whatever I have in the rear is NOT STOCK, as it definitely provided a mild lift. I've been meaning to get underneath and find out if they have any brand or part number on them. Again, the stock Pro suspension DOES NOT lift the rear (although the Bilstein shocks do have a longer stroke and can accommodate up to a 2" lift without losing stock droop travel).

 

Haven't updated in a while. Here's a few things added. EcoTechne full-length rack. Love the rack but it has a few problems that I fixed before installation. Check out my install thread for notes about powdercoating, hardware selection, and making sure the roof remained watertight.

 

Installed OPOR sliders from a group buy earlier this year. Other than replacing the standard and lock washers for the correct size, I didn't do much. The powdercoat is high quality and they don't stick out too far. They seem stout enough but haven't had the occasion to test them out yet. Here they are with some peanut butter on them.

 

Took advantage of black Friday sales from the retrofit source and xenon depot, and got the following:

Morimoto 2stroke 2.0 low beams
Xenon Depot Pro high beams with DRL mode drivers
Philips 12793UNIX2 yellow fogs

I wanted bulbs that dropped in with zero modification to housings or dust caps. The Morimotos have a fan and that's fine with me, as they're protected behind the dust cap. The XD highs have passive fin radiators, and the drivers are stuck under the plastic engine bay sills with 3M double-sides tape. The Philips fogs are the most exposed to the dirt and elements, so I think it's good that they have more robust machined heatsinks. Can't drive them as hard but I'm less worried about gunk hurting them.

I'm happy with the light quality from all three sets. The lows are a marked improvement over halogen bulbs and maintain factory beam pattern, hotspot, and cutoff. The highs are very bright and the DRL functions perfectly at about 15% of full brightness. There is a tiny amount of observable flicker remaining- I'd compare it to the hum of a fluorescent light- very hard to distinguish unless you're looking for it. The fogs offer great contrast, are much brighter and wider, and blend the area immediately in front of the truck into the bottom of the headlight beams.

 

the lights look great. i am looking for basically the same setup. im gonna check these out. the more i think about it, the more i want this to be my next mod.

 

Finally got some ski racks mounted. The Yakima Fatcat set can carry 4 snowboards (if there's enough clearance to mount 2 upside down). I love to snowboard and get out any chance I can. It's been tough with the baby but if I'm lucky, my wife will let me take the day.

https://youtu.be/oCTmEMtcwhg

The first set of mounts I designed and made up really sucked. They were too tall, ugly, and a pain to install and adjust. I gave in and ordered a couple of two foot chunks of 1.5" T-slot. Yakima makes a kit to attach to slotted bars (called the SmarT-slot kit). They're made for Yakima crossbars, but with a bit of filing they work just fine in normal T-slot.



The standard mounts are flat, but they have a convertible piece on one side if you need more clearance. This way I can go from 2 boards to 4 boards when needed. The wrap mounts come with the provision to make these work, but I had to make my own since I was using different mounts. It's a stainless 1/4" spacer welded onto some drilled flatbar. There's a corresponding piece inside the flatbar.





The racks work well and are solid at highway speed. I'm happy with them.



Also really helpful during the install was this little doohickey. It's called the Moki doorstep and it hooks into your door latch to provide a sturdy step for extra reach on your roof rack. There are plenty of Amazon and eBay knockoffs but I decided to support the original creators. This piece is a lot sturdier and the padding for protecting your paint is much better engineered than the knockoffs. It's also 4 times as useful as a Gobi ladder for a fraction of the price. Fight me.

 

thats awesome. cool video! i like the moki doorstep and may get one of those. i def dont need a ladder at any point in the near future.

 

That looks clean Tory

 

Yeah that little step is cool.

 

Very nice non-build thread! She’s a beaut!

 

This is a cool little factory addition made possible by Old Red!



All 5th Gen 4Runners used to have this info display in the center of the dash that displayed the clock, compass, outside temp, and MPG/range (from 2010 to 2013 the display was orange). After the 2014 refresh, all of this information was relocated to the tiny center screen in between the gauges in the cluster.

Toyota must have eventually decided to eliminate this redundant source of info and repurposed this location as a cheaper digital clock across all models. However, the display stayed for one year after the dash/lighting change to blue, and it's available only in the 2014 Trail. Besides the normal display, it also shows prompts when you toggle crawl control/multi-terrain select.

Check out (on T4RdotOrg) for info on how to do this conversion with the adapter harness he created! You'll need to take apart the dash and add the harness, as well as source your own display (this one came out of a junkyard in Cape Cod).

 

Very nice build! Those wheels are has anyone tried to fight you over the Gobi ladder comment?

 

Don't mess with those Gobi kids, they'll defend that stuff to the death.

 

Which is weird cuz Gobi isn't gonna do them any favors