What have you done to your 5th Gen 4Runner today?

Finally got some pics!!

 

Pulled out my furamax with the runner. Wife had it so I got bored and drunk and took the dialysis out the trails

 

Yesterday was the first time I took out the 4runner where 4x4 and locker was necessary. It was at a friends property, the back 40 of his farm. We had been warned about bogs that would swallow those farm tractors with the monster truck tires

Well, guess what? My passanger side found the bog!!!



This got buried so quickly past it’s axles! Dangit! I knew the bog was close, but I lost track of where I was. I barely tried to rock it out and it sunk. Turns out, it was basically an 8-12 inch mat of organic crap and mud floating over water.


We tried winching it out with my buddies jeep, but quickly realized we needed to dig out the wheels. I dont have traction boards yet, but we went home to get some 12x6 boards so the tires could get ramped over the mud ledge by the winch. We dug for a while in merciless heat. Shovels could barely penetrate the bog surface mat, so we used the machetes as “sod cutters”, which helped. Eventually we got enough out behind each wheel to put the boards down. Hooked it up to the winch, and with a bit of load alleviating throttle assist, out she came!!!

Well, that was fun! The days adventures yielded only a couple of folded over mud flaps, which I was able to reclip into the holes, and a dented corner on the plastic front bumper, which I suspect will pop out.

Here she is post recovery:




And the big hole we made lol



Lessons learned? Umm,

1. Listen to the nice farmer man when he tells you about the mud bogs. Just because he smiles when he says it, doesnt mean it’s fun. Just because you think you know what a bog is, doesn’t mean it wont be worse than expected.

2. We were pretty much laying down fresh track in tall grass/swampgrass. Perfect situation to lose track of where you are in relation to where you shouldnt be. I was a bit too cavalier about the whole thing, where maybe I should have walked the surface to verify the bog edge.

3. We were close to home, so we were able to get shovels and water. But let me tell you this, without water, those shovels would have been worthless. Digging time was about an hour, and we went through almost two gallons of drinking water. Some we needed to clean mud off hands, but most we drank.

4. Machetes make really good sod cutters in a pinch. The longer the better. We avoided any injury, but it’s good to note that muddy hands and machetes are an extremely bad combination.

5. Glad to have her underside mostly clean again, but be prepared to spend an equal amount of time cleaning to time out on the trail, if not more. I hate mud.

 

Well you went out on the deep end and just jumped right into it.

That is some nasty stuff but glad you got out and no one got hurt. Lessons were learned and that provides you more experience for next time you go out creating a new “trail”.

You have more guts than most people do and that is cool to see you were not afraid to try something that most people won’t. You may or may not have gotten very far but you surely know now.

Keep having fun and don’t let this one bad experience ruin the next chance to do it again.

 

Hope it comes soon. Even the two months was painful for me, but glad I didn’t sacrifice and go another route.

 

Attempted to install my Apex recovery points yesterday for KDSS but realized I don’t know the torque specs for the crush bar when putting back on
(I have to remove to mount them)
Anyone know this info?

 

Looks good

 

Sounds like an adventure

 

Found a shady place to park.

 

First tackled the headlight lowbeam bulb conversion from the stock H11 to Phillips H9.

That went well so after studying a couple videos I installed the CTH convex mirrors with LED's. Huge difference in the driver's side view





And the Sprint Booster installed...

 

Spent some time getting at the nooks and crannies to get the mud off from my bog adventure. Nice and shiny with a bit of fluid film spray. Even the brake calipers needed attention, as mud got into every last crevice.

 

What was supposed to be a day spent finalizing the packing for our trip out west was spent dealing with police and insurance when my wife got rear ended at a red light. Luckily no major damage but the lady that hit her didn’t want to go through insurance and didn’t want the police involved. That didn’t boad too well with me so I spent roughly 3 hours on the phone with her insurance filing the claim for her. Taking my wife’s 4R to Toyota today to get a quote. Her insurance company wants us to use their shop and after a quick “no that it’s a brand new 21”it’s going to to Toyota they must have gotten the picture. Luckily her insurance agent is local and is moving really quick. However we did find out from the lady the reason she didn’t want to go through insurance is she already has 2 other claims pending within the last month.

Very lucky she hit the ladder or it could have made the hatch in operable and no telling what other damage could have been done. Surprisingly the ladder minus chipped powder coat took no other damage.

 

Glad everyone is OK Just as an FYI, going to Toyota is possibly not the best idea. Generally dealerships don’t have body shops, they sub out the work to whoever they use locally. You’re better off finding a local well known and trusted high end body shop and taking it there for repairs.

 

We thought about that but our Toyota dealership actually has a really good body shop that repaired my Tacoma after wrong line up at Windrock off road ended up with me on my side. However that was at least 8 years ago

 

With my experience now I will use my insurance for repairs and let my insurance get the money from party at fault. I'm so done with dealing directly with other party's insurance.
I will provide my insurance the police report (The paper the police officer give you at the incident) + pic of the other party's insurance.

 

Got rear ended coming up to a stop light and surprisingly no damage. I have on video but it says can't upload because of extension ?! Anyway, person was on phone and doing 20 mph or so. If you didn't have ladder, I suspect there would be no damage as well. I wonder if Toyota will just put a whole new hatch on in a case like this ? Glad everyone is ok, keep us informed on fix.

 

Yeah I sent the pics to our dealership and they said with it being creased and bowed down they will most likely order a new hatch. We have our dash cam footage from hers but the file is too big. We sent it over to the woman’s insurance company this morning and luckily on our side she also texted my wife about an hour or so ago asking her to please reconsider filing it with insurance and she knows it’s her fault and a brand new truck but she can pay for all damages and a rental. I decided to look her up and she’s an orthopedic surgeon here in knoxville. So she does have the money to pay for it. But I feel like it still needs to be taken care of by her insurance incase anything else comes up.

 

Well in a completely bs turn of events our insurance is now handling it. Turns out the jeep the woman was driving did not have insurance on it. So state farm says there’s nothing they can do.

At Toyota now and they are saying with the bottom being folded in they will be replacing the entire hatch assembly but will reuse the glass and plastics. The black trim around the handle will have to be replaced though as the ladder contacted it and cracked it (I didn’t catch that part) and for deminished value I have to wait until the work is completed and have the truck appraised. (Never dealt with that so not sure what happens there )

 

Just got the OME springs in. Already have the UCAs, differential drop kit and spacers. Ready to put the lift on. Just waiting for the Kings 2.5s. Probably be waiting a while.

 

So I didn't take measurements before I installed the lift, but here are the measurements after. I was targeting 2.5" lift front and rear. (Keeping factory rake)

Measurements are from hub center to bottom of fender, near full tank of gas.

Front Left: 22.25"
Front Right: 22.50"
Rear Left: 24.75"
Rear Right: 25.00"

Do these numbers look right?

 

That’s exactly how I mounted mine.

 

Yes, they seem just about right. Maybe a little less than 2.5" lift in the front though.

I did a 2.5" front lift and 1"rear lift.

Here's my numbers for reference:

DF 22.875 PF 23.125
DR 22.875 PR 23.1875

 

A part of me wonders if maybe I got more lift from the back than expected. I definitely seem to have slightly more rake than before. What's weird is it seems like my steps are level though. I measured ground clearance of the steps for front and back, I got 19" for both.

This picture is before the lift. In this picture, while the rear wheel well looks like I have the factory rake, the rocker panel almost looks lower in the rear compared to the front.

 

Installed some early father's day gifts from my son. The organizer is really good, makes the glove box much neater. The seat covers aren't a perfect fit but good enough and the main reason is that I must rub my fat ass on the bolster when getting in as there is already wear on it. I'm hoping these protect it. Bigger concern is the rip in the weather stripping. Any ideas on a glue or something to fix that with. I'm being careful not to rub it any more.

$53 FH Group Full Set 3D Air Mesh Car Seat Covers - Universal Fit, Low Back Front Seat Covers, Airbag Compatible, Split Bench Rear Seat, Washable Seat Cover for SUV, Sedan Gray

Amazon.com: FH Group FB062GRAY115 Universal Car SUV Truck Van Seat Cover Premium Fabric with 3D Air Mesh Airbag Compatible Gray: Automotive

$20 JDMCAR Compatible with Toyota 4Runner Accessories 2010-2023 2024 Glove Box Organizer and GX 460 (2010-2023)，Insert ABS Black Materials 4-Runner Compartment Tray

Amazon.com: JDMCAR Glove Box Organizer Compatible with Toyota 4Runner Accessories 2010 - 2020 2021 and Lexus GX 460 (2010-2021)，Insert ABS Black Materials Compartment Tray - New Design: Automotive

 

I see a dark green 40 series sharing the driveway in that top photo... very cool.

Btw, which brush guard is that?

 

Black Horse. Easy to install (except I couldn't get the bolts on the frame loose and needed help). Liked it so much I bought one for the wife's RAV4 (she has a habit of bumping poles)

Unfortunately, I can't drive the FJ due to health issues, so I'm selling it.

 

Ah okay, thanks for the information. I like how it seems to have an upper and lower bull bar, plus the ability to mount lights.

Sorry to hear that. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if I could afford it. I'm sure you'll sell it quick and for a good price, and the next owner will probably love it as much as you probably have. Take care man.

 

Thanks, I think I might have some of this in the garage.

 

Beyond Wraps Shorty. Now maybe I won't go blind or have to drive with right arm extended and hand open to block the glare on the way home from Lacrosse practice

 

I did, piece of cake but I have some nice experience wraps. Patience and don't be afraid of it