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

To be fair, it doesn’t sound like it’s all of them… maybe his beef is just with *Prius* driving elementary school teachers.

Speaking of load bearing, I once saw a gal load up at least 800lbs of river rocks into the back of an OG Prius. Those cars are quite the beasts of burden lol.

I didn’t ask her if she was an elementary school teacher though.

 

Yeah, I’ll add a detector to the list lol.

I appreciate you posting your experiences with all this. Very instructional for those considering doing what you do…even if not at such a hardcore level lol.

I’m curious…what are your thoughts on a future 4runner hybrid? I wonder if it would simplify some of the electricity management for something like what you are doing, or if tying into the on-board battery system would be a headache due to potential complications/ problems.

 

Not something I did but something I want to do and brain storming.

Has anyone tried using TRD Pro roof rack to mount radio antennas? Any one used these M5 screws location to have some sort of clean mounting system for the GMRS antenna? Thinking of changing MXTA13 to a MXTA25. Looks like MXTA25 just come with antenna (no mounting thing or cable, no nothing).

 

This kind of stuff always requires some creativity. Mounting something to a round surface like that would leave the antenna vulnerable to getting torn off easily, probably leaving damage behind. Those screws also look fairly little, so it wont take much of a branch to rip it off if it gets wedged between the a flat mount and the round tube. Even if you made a mount with “half-round” piece of steel, it doesnt look like one of those screws is enough.

If it were a flat faces roof rail, it would be easy enough to make a mount with angle iron. Two holes to bolt it to the roof rail, and one hole for the antenna. Round tube complicates it.

Maybe a mount that clamps on on both sides to the upper and lower tubes? But you’d have to drill and bolt, or weld, some sort of flat surface for the antenna to mount on

 

I've got the same thing w/o the inclinometer. Love it. I have heart/respiratory issues, so we have to be careful.

I attached mine with Monsanto 2-sided tape.

 

They have this thing but looks fugly.

 

This was the mount that came with my midland, which I modified a bit to fit on my roof rail. You can also do a mount with angle iron that is the height of the flat face of the rail.


With two round tubes (one on top of the other like on the Pro rack), you would have to bolt two flat pieces together sandwiching both tubes…then mount an angle iron to that mount…so you can have a flat surface for the antenna

 

Is this all I need if I go with that mount?

1) The Antenna - https://midlandusa.com/collections/...cts/micromobile-mxta25-3db-gain-ghost-antenna
2) Cable - https://midlandusa.com/collections/.../micromobile-mxta24-low-profile-antenna-cable
3) mounting bracket - https://midlandusa.com/collections/...mobilemxta23-roll-bar-mirror-mounting-bracket

So about 100 bucks + tax to upgrade from 2.1db to 3db.

 

Yes. Lol, now that I look at that mount, it’s made to be clamped over round tube. I had forgotten about that fact because I threw the other half away and cut down the remaining piece lol.

So there you go! Easy solution!

You might have to trim off some height off the mount with a hack saw depending on if it interferes with the round tube below the the tube you are mounting it to. So maybe not perfect, but this kind of stuff always requires a little extra work. You could also pit some rubber or foam sheet between so the mount doesnt clamp directly to the metal, and it will make it more stable

 

Switching over to the Bridgestones using port takeoffs from Toyota's Long Beach PIO crew...

After researching so many different reviews and watching video, I have determined that the Dunlop AT20s, while they drive nicely on dry surface and are rather supple and quiet, or just not safe enough to have family in the car with me on a rainy day.

While there are plenty of reviews that don't like the Bridgestones either, they are more road tires, which will be its primary function for its first few years.

 

pretty happy with 3" Old Man Emu decal off ebay

 

damn man no need for window shades or even tint with the sticker murals you have going on.

 

Haha first step is admitting you have a problem, right. I used to manufacture stickers at home as a young skateboarder. The Runner's paid off, to each his own I guess

 

Kmeeg, I’ve seen mounts like these while I was researching my own setup.

https://www.utvsource.com/rugged-radios-antenna-mount-for-horizontal-tube/?sku=UTVS0082729&source=google&campaign=PMaxTARGROAS&gclid=CjwKCAjw8symBhAqEiwAaTA__FP2-DwMe9D9MD2nk4J0EXa7NcaNEKxbiaNv7uM_08dwSSc3WqrPPRoCGuIQAvD_BwE



I’m sure I’ve seen other tube mount options besides these as well.

 

not a knock bro. carry on for sure!

 

I think the second option seems pretty neat with some black paint.

Thank you for sharing..

 

Finally got around to installing the ARB differential breather valve on the passenger side of the engine bay. Install wasn't bad at all!

 

You have a link for that kit?

 

Got it on Amazon, here's the link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QBQYNF0?smid=ASH3J3QJ61MH

 

The rack can be a tempting mounting location, but it's important to understand a little about how radio antennas work. Mobile antennas use the vehicle body as a "counterpoise" for the antenna. But the antenna mount needs to have a clean connection vehicle body for this to work properly.

This will mate to the outer shied of the coax. A simple continuity checker will verify this. There should be continuity (a dead short) between the threaded part of the coax connector at the radio and the mounting fasteners to the rack and to the negative power connector with the coax connecter disconnected from the radio and NO ANTENNA on the mount. There should be no continuity (open connection) between the center pin of the coax connector and the shield or negative terminal, but full continuity between the center pin of the coax connector and the center pin/tab of the antenna mount.

I'd also recommend using a quality antenna mount and coax. Tram/Browning used to be good names in CB decades ago, but they're now owned by Chinese manufacturers and the quality just isn't there. Look at Pulse Larsen, PCTel, Maxrad and EMWave for quality antennas and NMO mounts. Also, the "phantom" antenna as shown in post #25934 may look cool, but these antennas are sub-par performers at GMRS frequencies. You'll get better results with a simple 1/4 wire whip (about 6" tall) or a modest gain antenna (about 36" tall).

There are some very detailed, comprehensive, discussions on antenna and radio installations in several forums over at Radio Reference (radioreference.com).

 

Just returned from the first big trip with our trailer. Great Sand Dunes, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Grand Teton NPs. 4R got through the sand dunes with the trailer with ease.

 

Simple, but got my plate moved to the spare tire to free up more space on the swing out.

 

Installed Nguyen Lo Pro bumper.

And burned in TCM recovery points.

Also cut the tail pipe.

 

I really like that bumper but the "for off road only use" caught my attention. Can anyone educate me on that? I don't think it's a general disclaimer but maybe it is.

Very nice. I am doing Moab next summer and the rear bumper dragging is expected. Had my eye on this as solution.

 

Looks fantastic! Can’t tell with the lighting, but is it painted Nauti blue?

 

FWIW, I'm gonna use it on the road. My factory bumper took a beating in Moab the 2 times I was there. The corners especially. Was just a matter of time before the bumper succumbed to the rocks. This was the highest clearance bumper that I found.

 

Yep. The wife insisted.

 

Been painting my new skids all week and finally installed today. Dang that was a lot of work lol.

These are super heavy,(and heavy duty…1/4in steel for the front two plates) but they seem to be the only option I could find that covers the LCA frame mount tabs.

In was thinking of lowering my lift a bit…but a side benefit of this skid setup, is that it lowered the 4runner for me.

This pic is shows the first three panels installed.

 

Had my guy burn some TCM recovery points.

You didn't paint HELP on it.

 

I installed some Air Lift airbags this morning in preparation for my dirt bike hitch carrier that I'll be using for the first time tomorrow. Between the bike, carrier and my gear in the cargo area it will be about 400 lbs. I'm sure it would have been fine without the bags but I got an open box Amazon warehouse score so these were only $90.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098BLD5B1?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

The install was straight forward but still a pain in the ass for me for two reasons. I have a coil spacer installed by the previous owner, which made getting the coil in and out a PITA by myself. The second problem was my own stupidity. I got the airbag in the coil, coil back in the truck, shocks/panhard/swaybar bolted back on, and then realized I didn't put a hose clamp on the connection on the airbag. After monkeying with it for too long, I undid my work and put the clamp on. Overall, took me about 2.5 hours.