01greentaco
New member
Figured I should post up a build thread of my latest vehicle. It's a slow work in progress kind of build but it's meeting my immediate needs and as a new need arises, I modify to meet it.
Going to be copying this from another website so bear with me as the dates are going to be significantly wrong.
Picked up this 2006 4Runner SR5 V6 in January of 2015. I'm no stranger to Toyota as my first vehicle was a 2001 4WD Tacoma as seen below.
(no stock pictures but here it is the day before I sold it)
I loved that truck and learned a lot building it up to an Overland quality vehicle. From the custom camper sleeping platform, to the hidden winch, to the homemade snorkel and rear bumper with swingout tire carrier, I learned a lot about fabricating, welding and modifying a vehicle to meet an ever changing need. But as I grew up I needed something bigger and with a little more towing power so I got a 2008 F350 King Ranch. Talk about a change over the 2.7L Tacoma. I do all my own modifications and upgrades and with the tuner, exhaust, intake and injectors, I had almost 550 HP and 1100 ft/lbs of torque. It was an absolute beast.
Job situations changed and that big of a truck was no longer needed, which brings me to having bought the 2006 4Runner. As you can see, our family loves some 4th gen 4Runners. My mom and two of my sisters each have a 4th gen 4runner so I had been around them before and I loved them.
Can't find any pictures of it stock but everyone knows what a stock 4Runner looks like but here's where it sat after a few months of owing it. Haven't done any extensive mods but plan on getting some as I see needed.
I added a 2" spacer lift to level out the drastic factory rake and it will do for now. By the end of the summer I plan on replacing the worn out factory shocks with some 5100's on all 4 corners.
Got a great deal on a set of 1st Gen Tacoma rims and decided to paint them the TRD Anthracite color and wrap them in a set of BFG A/T (265/75/16)
Just enough off-road capability but still handle well on-road. (I've had honestly most every name brand a/t and m/t on the market and the BFG A/T's are my personal favorite. Great tread life, great performance on and off-road and just a great quality tire.)
I have always likes the yellow fogs on vehicles with darker color body paint., so I ordered a set of yellow Lamin-X fog light lenses and love them. The contrast is perfect.
Around the same time I color matched the grill, mirrors, and rear trim piece on the back hatch because I simply hate chrome when in large amounts. I'm okay with it done subtly on a vehicle but the whole grill was a bit too much for me.
Being 6'1" I don't really need or use the running boards so I took them off one weekend in a matter of about 15 minutes. Simplest "mod" to date.
I had a storage system with drawers, second battery, on board water, recovery equipment, a small variety of tools, and a bunch of other various things I found a need for while out on the trail in my 01 Tacoma. So one weekend I decided to make a drawer system for the rear cargo area of my 4Runner as well. Not nearly to the same extent as the one in my Tacoma but allowed me to organize things much better without them rolling around in the cargo area. Here's what I came up with one Saturday afternoon.
Then I moved into the cab of the 4Runner. I had a back-up camera on my Ford and I simply swear by them. They make hitching up to trailers and normal every day backing up such a breeze so I ordered one for the 4Runner. You can see the screen mounted just below and to the left of the steering column. The other screen is my Ultra-Gauge. I had one in my Tacoma but sold when I got the Ford. I love the real-time data Ultra-Gauges provide so I got another one from a forum member on here (MTD. Thanks again !!)
I also had Sirius XM in my Ford and fell in love with it so I got the Sirius XM Onyx system for the 4Runner. One thing I hate seeing is wires. I try to hide them or avoid them if at all possible. With the Onyx system there are three separate wires (one for power, one for antenna, and one for audio out) It was just too busy so I removed part of the radio bezel and dash to hide all the wires going to and from the Onyx unit. I plan on using a 3D printer or something similar to make a sort of "trim piece" to better make the screen look factory, but for now this mount will do.
While on my "hide all the wires" kick I decided to add two more 12v outlets under the center console for power to the Onyx receiver and to my GPS. They are wired to only provide power when the key is in the ACC position so now there is no more powering on these devices separately every time I turn the truck on.
I also mounted my radar detector behind/under my rear view mirror and hardwired it into the fuse box under the dash, again to a source that only provided power when the truck was on. (no pics of that, but can get some if someone is interested.)
You may notice the switch in the middle and the AUX cord coming from the top of the console as opposed to inside the center console. Well I hated the fact that the AUX input was inside the console forcing the wire to have to come from inside and pinched between the lid and mold of the console and I also hated the fact that if I wanted to listen to my iPod I had to pull the cord from the Onyx unit and vise-versa. So I got a DPDT switch, wired it up to allow for two inputs and one out put and had my Onyx and iPod "permanently" wired in and I had the ability to switch between the two without unplugging anything. I love how this mod came out. Having the iPod input outside and just to the right of the blank switch plates was the best location I feel for it to be mounted. Out of the way of everything and still allows access to all areas of the cabin. Came out looking fairly factory which was the goal.
One last mod is under body lighting or puddle lights as I call them. Wired them into the dome light circuit so when I unlock and lock the vehicle, they fade in and fade out accordingly. Main reasons for this is safety and convenience. Allows me to see under the vehicle after being in a store for any given amount of time and also for my passengers to see what they might be stepping into or onto when exiting the vehicle. I get a lot of compliments and questions about them. They look more blue in the videos but they are a clear, crisp white LED.
That's about it for mods as of now. Future plans include...
1. HID's in the lows
2. Bilstein 5100's
3. Hidden winch in bumper (similar to the one in my Tacoma)
Going to be copying this from another website so bear with me as the dates are going to be significantly wrong.
Picked up this 2006 4Runner SR5 V6 in January of 2015. I'm no stranger to Toyota as my first vehicle was a 2001 4WD Tacoma as seen below.
(no stock pictures but here it is the day before I sold it)
I loved that truck and learned a lot building it up to an Overland quality vehicle. From the custom camper sleeping platform, to the hidden winch, to the homemade snorkel and rear bumper with swingout tire carrier, I learned a lot about fabricating, welding and modifying a vehicle to meet an ever changing need. But as I grew up I needed something bigger and with a little more towing power so I got a 2008 F350 King Ranch. Talk about a change over the 2.7L Tacoma. I do all my own modifications and upgrades and with the tuner, exhaust, intake and injectors, I had almost 550 HP and 1100 ft/lbs of torque. It was an absolute beast.
Job situations changed and that big of a truck was no longer needed, which brings me to having bought the 2006 4Runner. As you can see, our family loves some 4th gen 4Runners. My mom and two of my sisters each have a 4th gen 4runner so I had been around them before and I loved them.
Can't find any pictures of it stock but everyone knows what a stock 4Runner looks like but here's where it sat after a few months of owing it. Haven't done any extensive mods but plan on getting some as I see needed.
I added a 2" spacer lift to level out the drastic factory rake and it will do for now. By the end of the summer I plan on replacing the worn out factory shocks with some 5100's on all 4 corners.
Got a great deal on a set of 1st Gen Tacoma rims and decided to paint them the TRD Anthracite color and wrap them in a set of BFG A/T (265/75/16)
Just enough off-road capability but still handle well on-road. (I've had honestly most every name brand a/t and m/t on the market and the BFG A/T's are my personal favorite. Great tread life, great performance on and off-road and just a great quality tire.)
I have always likes the yellow fogs on vehicles with darker color body paint., so I ordered a set of yellow Lamin-X fog light lenses and love them. The contrast is perfect.
Around the same time I color matched the grill, mirrors, and rear trim piece on the back hatch because I simply hate chrome when in large amounts. I'm okay with it done subtly on a vehicle but the whole grill was a bit too much for me.
Being 6'1" I don't really need or use the running boards so I took them off one weekend in a matter of about 15 minutes. Simplest "mod" to date.
I had a storage system with drawers, second battery, on board water, recovery equipment, a small variety of tools, and a bunch of other various things I found a need for while out on the trail in my 01 Tacoma. So one weekend I decided to make a drawer system for the rear cargo area of my 4Runner as well. Not nearly to the same extent as the one in my Tacoma but allowed me to organize things much better without them rolling around in the cargo area. Here's what I came up with one Saturday afternoon.
Then I moved into the cab of the 4Runner. I had a back-up camera on my Ford and I simply swear by them. They make hitching up to trailers and normal every day backing up such a breeze so I ordered one for the 4Runner. You can see the screen mounted just below and to the left of the steering column. The other screen is my Ultra-Gauge. I had one in my Tacoma but sold when I got the Ford. I love the real-time data Ultra-Gauges provide so I got another one from a forum member on here (MTD. Thanks again !!)
I also had Sirius XM in my Ford and fell in love with it so I got the Sirius XM Onyx system for the 4Runner. One thing I hate seeing is wires. I try to hide them or avoid them if at all possible. With the Onyx system there are three separate wires (one for power, one for antenna, and one for audio out) It was just too busy so I removed part of the radio bezel and dash to hide all the wires going to and from the Onyx unit. I plan on using a 3D printer or something similar to make a sort of "trim piece" to better make the screen look factory, but for now this mount will do.
While on my "hide all the wires" kick I decided to add two more 12v outlets under the center console for power to the Onyx receiver and to my GPS. They are wired to only provide power when the key is in the ACC position so now there is no more powering on these devices separately every time I turn the truck on.
I also mounted my radar detector behind/under my rear view mirror and hardwired it into the fuse box under the dash, again to a source that only provided power when the truck was on. (no pics of that, but can get some if someone is interested.)
You may notice the switch in the middle and the AUX cord coming from the top of the console as opposed to inside the center console. Well I hated the fact that the AUX input was inside the console forcing the wire to have to come from inside and pinched between the lid and mold of the console and I also hated the fact that if I wanted to listen to my iPod I had to pull the cord from the Onyx unit and vise-versa. So I got a DPDT switch, wired it up to allow for two inputs and one out put and had my Onyx and iPod "permanently" wired in and I had the ability to switch between the two without unplugging anything. I love how this mod came out. Having the iPod input outside and just to the right of the blank switch plates was the best location I feel for it to be mounted. Out of the way of everything and still allows access to all areas of the cabin. Came out looking fairly factory which was the goal.
One last mod is under body lighting or puddle lights as I call them. Wired them into the dome light circuit so when I unlock and lock the vehicle, they fade in and fade out accordingly. Main reasons for this is safety and convenience. Allows me to see under the vehicle after being in a store for any given amount of time and also for my passengers to see what they might be stepping into or onto when exiting the vehicle. I get a lot of compliments and questions about them. They look more blue in the videos but they are a clear, crisp white LED.
That's about it for mods as of now. Future plans include...
1. HID's in the lows
2. Bilstein 5100's
3. Hidden winch in bumper (similar to the one in my Tacoma)
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