Chris in Milwaukee's "CheeseRunner" build

I think (hope) that'll be my next purchase. But I could probably use a little more under armor so I can enjoy some harder stuff in our local area.

 

Can’t afford a proper Gobi, so I threw together something in the garage with some scrap lumber. Might have enough left over for a ladder.

 

New accessory for CHZRNR. It matches and everything.

 

CHZRNR got some new boots this week. 285/70-17 KO2s look mighty fine on these trail wheels! And the stock offset makes sure we don’t rub (much).

On a sudden sharp-ish turning deceleration I do *just barely* rub on the mud flap, but I can heat treat that a little. Failing that I’ll have the alignment shop push the wheels forward a smidge.

Otherwise absolutely pleased. Now to get them on the trail!

 

Viper cut would solve that.

 

Yeah, no

 

Looks great!

You'll probably want to do the fender liner mod.

 

Is there anything you would have done differently at this point?

 

Chris, Hows the snorkel been? Any probs with it?

 

I agree. I haven't had an opportunity to do the little things yet. Fender liner mod, heat treat the mud flaps to flatten out that bump are first to do when I get a spare minute. @McSpazatron suggested the same as he's running the same combo as me and had a recent trip to the local offroad park to validate his configuration.

 

Not a thing so far. I haven't regretted any of my choices to date. If there was one thing, it may been either choosing to have my front bumper powder coated before it left the factory (I bought it raw and took to a local coater; the coating wasn't particularly effective against corrosion) or Raptor/LineX it instead. Otherwise it's performed great in every situation I've dared put it through to date!

 

It has really done an admirable job. No problems to speak of (although it did have a tangle with the automatic car wash once). Earlier this summer, @Thatbassguy, @McSpazatron, myself, and some others did a trail run up north and it was seriously dusty AF that weekend. While others were talking about the condition of their air filters, mine was spic 'n' span. I was quite pleased.

Of course, the old guys at the coffee shop ask me quite frequently, "You take that thing under water yet?!" And then they chuckle and go on with their morning. Sure hope their neighborhood doesn't flood.

 

Interesting to hear how effective the snorkel was at keeping the air filter clean. I’ve heard that’s really a big reason people get them, not just for water. They even make snorkel heads with more twists and turns that help separate the dust from the airflow before reaching the filter.

Which makes me wonder, do you have to clear dust out of that snorkle after while?

 

That's good intel. I'm trying to decide what bumper to go with, and whether it comes unfinished or not is playing a big factor in my decision making, along with watching install videos...not that I'd be doing my own install, but more from the perspective that my gut tells me that the easier the install, the better of a "solution" the bumper probably is.

That being said, I'm tempted by the ARB bumper except for the fact that the camera relocation supposedly changes some things with the 360 cam. Need to understand that more to be sure.

I was watching an Aussie video about snorkels, and the big point they made is that it was more about dust than anything, which makes a heck of a lot of sense. They also said you might end up with a bunch of bees in there, so if you hear buzzing, maybe wait to change your air filter.

 

That's a good question. It looks pretty clean in there, but I haven't honestly taken a peak from the filter end using a scope or anything. Might be worth a look. I wonder if driving in the rain or snow helps to keep things clean? I know that most of the time the design of the head keeps the rain on the periphery which allows it to drain out slots in the head and (hopefully) not so much to the airbox. The airbox does have a drain hole, though, so it won't sit.

There is a cyclone head that I've seen for them that makes it look a bit like a funky mushroom. It's not really a look I care for, but if I were out west and driving through it all the time it might be worth considering. I like the style I have more and will keep it until I need to change it.

 

Well this thread has been helpful. I just made the first "mod", if you can even call it that, to my 4R which is KO2 load C in 265. GREAT tires. I've been scratching my head about which direction to go with lift and kind of landed on Dobinsons. I was going to go with the 1.75F/1.25R option as I was afraid the 2.5/1.5 would look funny with 265's, but your 4R looked great with that setup!! And that has the added benefit of being more suitable for 285's, if I ever want to upsize. Not sure if I ever will though.

Forgive me if you already covered this, but what observations have you made (other than looks) when jumping to the 285's and would you say it's worth it? I'm talking about on-road and off-road performance, mpg, and really anything else you've noticed. I always wonder how many of the people going with bigger tires are doing so just for looks, and how much a ~1" larger diameter tire really benefits with ability to clear obstacles, handle rough terrain, etc.

Also, did you re-gear? I don't think so unless I missed it in your thread. I may be the oddball here but if I go ANY bigger on tires I plan to re-gear, but to each their own.

 

I do, of course, really like the look. First and foremost. I haven’t had any chance to take them off road yet so I don’t have any performance data points. They’re certainly quieter, but that’s usually the case with a new tire.

A re-gear is on my roadmap, but in the near term I don’t feel like the added weight and rolling mass have been detrimental. I do notice the additional brake pressure that is needed to stop the truck, especially when I’m towing a trailer. So big brakes are also on the roadmap. Both should help when I get additional under armor installed.

Due to a lot of life happening right now, I missed a trip to a local off-road park with @Thatbassguy and @McSpazatron to try out the new boots. I absolutely was not dissatisfied with the 265s. Just trying something different and hopefully beneficial with the added rubber.

 

If you want to hit Tigerton before it closes for the season, you have just over a month as I understand.

Not sure about some of the other places that are more private in nature.

 

Thanks for the response! I do agree that the 285’s look really good. But something about the 265’s with the white letters and the amount of lift you have looked really cool too. My plan (and it seems like maybe yours as well) is to do this in a logical order one step at a time and not make any mods that immediately require another mod, but set me up to have options in the future. Being that my 4R is my daily and I live out west where gas is $$$, I think I’ll lift it and keep the 265’s for now. They seem to be very capable off road. Maybe one day when the 4R is paid off or I have a second vehicle, I’ll start making more extreme mods to it. I’d love to have a front locker for the kind of stuff I do and it would make sense to regear and upsize to 285 at that time too.

Anyway, sorry to hijack your thread with my rambling. You have a really good looking 4runner! Hopefully you get to hit some trails soon. These things are extremely capable.

 

Tell me more…what are these places more private in nature you speak of?

 

Camp Sinawa comes to mind -- some of the local clubs will have events there.

Then there's Quarry Meadows out in Tomah, which is where I gouged up the plastics on my front bumper (which is fine, because those parts will go away when I get my winch bumper and high cut) and pulled the silver bit half off my rear bumper, and bent my running boards (sliders arrive tomorrow).

I'll say this much - I was running with the GREEN group at Quarry Meadows, and they commented on how my conservative style probably helped me out up there. Frankly, I would say that having a lift or improved approach/departure angles on a 4Runner is pretty crucial there. I'll probably avoid hitting up Quarry Meadows for another event until I have a lift.

That being said, if you love off camber, then definitely try to make it out there when one of the WC4WD affiliated clubs has an event there. I was literally hanging on to my center console at times. Also went down some stuff where it felt like you were about to go straight down.

 

Thanks for taking the time! I was traveling when my tire appointment came up and I forgot to tell the tire guys white letters out when I placed the order. My wife dropped off the truck and I didn’t tell her, either, so I get what I get.

You’re right, trying to do things in an order that don’t require me to undo things in the process.

 

Apple Valley, I believe, is a few minutes from my new pad, but is only open once or twice a year. Looking forward to checking that one out without (hopefully) damaging anything. I think maybe @pearing from TW has been there and described it as “scratchy”? Might be mixing venues.

 

The last four trips into the shop I’ve been watching the pad thickness numbers dwindle to 3mm. Figured 86,000 is pretty good for brakes. Thought about big brakes, but $3000 when the biggest I’m going is 33s and my heaviest trailer’s GVW is 2000 lbs, I said nah. Roughly priced factory brake parts. Damn. Toyota Tax is real. So I ordered some PowerStop pads and rotors for about $400 off Amazon. Arrived in two days. Spent the day installing them. Front was easy peasy. Rears were little jerks. After fighting for an hour I threw the white flag and consulted YT. Son of a…. There’s a little hole in the rotor that when you rotate it toward the bottom you can reach through it with a flat blade and twirl a little adjustment wheel to release pressure from the parking brake pads. Then they slipped right off with two fingers. There’s always a secret sauce.

All done now, broken in, and man does this thing stop well! Should hopefully go for another 86,000.

P.S. - Hoped I could find rotors that weren’t cross-drilled, but aside from the expensive South African brand, they all have holes. I’ve heard tale that they get stuffed with mud during offroad adventures. So I guess I’ll stay out of the mud.