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

For all the discussion of problems with aftermarket LED lighting, I haven't seen much discussion of using ferrite beads to tame the transients. Is anyone doing that?

 

Finished all the fabrication on my custom front bumper


With a small skid plate I also made:


I need to get it off to the powder coater.

 

One thing is for sure: I won't be carrying the spare on the roof.

Addition: My Arizona hiking buddies insisted on E-range, I wasn't going to second-guess that bunch.

 

So I got them working after I wrote that post. Sure enough, the 20A high beam fuse was blown. What threw me off was all the projectors were lit up so I thought the high beams were on. Nope, that's normal and once the fuse was replaced it was obvious. I love these lights and so much brighter than OEM LED's. My lows are aimed a bit low but tomorrow I'll get them set correctly. Thanks for the info CO4Runner!

 

That looks great! Is that aluminum or steel?

 

Steel. Thanks.

 

Maiden voyage of the new roof rack today. Worked perfectly, with the three straps, the 12ft kayak was locked down tight, absolutely no turning in the wind like I was getting when I had the two malone bars

 

Nothing fancy just some vinyl.

 

Does the entire back side of that stick to the hood surface?

 

that looks very secure. i am no kayak expert but wouldnt it be more aerodynamic if it was upside down?

 

I think so too.
Plus some manufacturers (hobie for example) will void warranty if it isn't stored the right way, even during transport.

 

I’m not sure, to be completely honest, if this is the correct way to transport this particular kayak. It’s how they loaded me up at the fancy-pants kayak store I bought it at. It was carried like this on my old sienna for a few hundred miles with no problem. There’s also a fair amount stuff and protrusions topside that would potentially get in the way or break if I strapped down upside down. But now you guys got me worried lol. I might try upside down next time to see where crossbar touchpoints would fall on the kayak.

 

I had a manual from hobie (cant find it now) that warned me not to store it with weight supported by base, when not in use. This is closest to what I could find:
https://www.hobie.com/articles/storing-your-kayak,85/

I am sure native also has something similar written up somewhere.

 

Glad to help out. FWIW, mine were aimed low out of the box as well.

 

What did you use for blacking out the interior silver trim?

 

Overlays I got off Amazon. I also can’t stand the carbon fiber look or gloss black. I went with the matte black overlays from High Flying.

they are pretty good you still kinda see some sliver around the seems. But overall I’m happy.

I also got the buttons and steering wheel trim from AJT Designs. Top quality!!! I wish they made a full trim conversion kit. But I got everything I could from them, the rest from Amazon.

 

Did they say why? I'm also in AZ and need real tires soon

 

This looks great!!! Excellent work! I would love one when I get to that point

 

Nice! thats how I haul my kayaks.

 

Too many sharp rocks and often being great distances from possible assistance. They were more adamant than I expected, but I trust their judgment. They're the kind of people who are out all the time and never say much about it unless you ask.

 

Thanks. I looked around online some more, and didn’t see anything specific on the Native yak I have. But it does appear that this is how most people transport bigger fishing kayaks. The wide flat bottoms are probably the factor that makes it easier to distribute the loads.

Although, the reason I made the roof rack was because with only two cross bars, I couldnt keep it tight. It kept getting loose because the two crossbars were too close and were essentially bending the kayak like you had mentioned. And every time I re-cinched the straps, I started to slowly crush it with the pressure. I figured that out after stopping three times in an hour-long drive to retighten it.

The three bars in the new roof rack support the yak much better now. Im also using wide dense foam blocks to help on the contact points. I drove about an hour yesterday in sunny hot weather, and it did not loosen up or lose it’s shape.

 

I ran e load wildpeak atw(285 75 17) on my old jku. I loved them! The rode great for and e load and where excellent in the snow. Your going to like them

 

Yeah, I took the 4R to work today through everything from open road speeds to urban congestion. They're not much noisier than OEM tires and they don't induce as much sluggishness as I feared they might.

 

Wow..this looks amazing. Did you document the build (YouTube, instagram, etc??)

 

I can powder coat it for you. You might not get it back but it will be powder coated.

 

@Bandit Runner I'm not gonna lie, there is no front bumper I'd choose over that one if you ever make it available for sale. Feel free to dm me if that possibility ever arises.

 

@Bandit Runner

I have no intention to high clearance cut my bumper, but damn if I wouldn't for a bumper like that. Excellent job.

 

Agree, that pretty much looks extra perfect.

 

Decided to act like a 10 year old playing with hotwheel cars ….for science. My neighbors think I’m crazy lol.

I was curious if I could replicate a “full stuff” condition in order to see if I could get rubbing on my new 285/70-17 K02s on stock Off road rims. So I put my downsloping driveway and wood ramps to work. What I was trying to do is to get one of the front tires to roll down the curb, while the other one stayed up. Didn’t quite get there, but at least the passenger tire is a little lower than it would have otherwise been on flat ground. The downhill slope I hoped would help force the tire toward the body mount given the amount of flex the LCA busing has. Maybe the angle pushed it back a little as intended… hard to tell. However, it looks like it’s not really close to rubbing when it’s turned at an angle where the tire is closest to the body mount.







And here is the out-take…because I was too impatient to wait for a spotter lol.


jammed it up pretty good against the transfer case crossmember. No damage at least.