Lok47
Observer
All good things must come to an end. That includes the ownership of my 1999 Tacoma, which I purchased in 2006 right after I graduated college. It was completely stock and spent it's life as my DD, hauling bikes to various trails/tracks, mountain bikes, dogs and various other activities. As my career progressed, it became the third vehicle for my wife and eventually became the weekend utility vehicle for us.
Well, priorities are changing and we're expecting our first child. Since my current DD is a Volvo hatchback, the spare Tacoma needed to make way for a baby seat carrying, motorcycle hauling, weekend Home Depot going vehicle. I ended up finding a 2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 in Flagstaff with 177k miles that drove nicely and appeared to run very well. It was a bit rough on the outside as the bumpers were discoloring and the interior was a bit dirty from hauling road and mountain bikes on the inside. I made an offer and got the vehicle for less than what I sold my Tacoma for.
I ended up pulling off the rocket panels as my first order of business, since I kept kicking it on my way into the truck. I was a bit under budget when purchasing this SUV, I decided to splurge and pick up an ARB bumper from Wil @ Sierra Expeditions. The customer service was excellent and will call delivery came within a week. I'm definitely going to be doing more business with those guys!
As I began tearing in the bumper, it dawned on me this was the first modification I've ever done to a 4 wheeled vehicle. I've modified a ton of my bikes in the past, but never a car or trunk. I guess an ARB Bull Bar is a good place to start!
For the bike hauling end of the business, I found an used MX Ultimate Hauler on Craigslist. If anyone needs to haul a dirtbike on a hitch, this is the way to go! It's super easy to load the bike up. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.
So, this is a build thread for my 4Runner. It will serve the following purposes:
1) Getting the family and dogs outdoors
2) Hauling my motorcycles to trails and tracks
3) Road trip vehicle/exploring the sights of the Southwest
Next items of business:
1) New headlights (I found one of them had broken mounts), they've been ordered and are on their way! ~DONE!
2) 2" Lift: Maybe OME or Ironman?
3) Seat covers
4) Roof rack basket or some sort
5) Sliders maybe
That's a start so we'll go from there!
Well, priorities are changing and we're expecting our first child. Since my current DD is a Volvo hatchback, the spare Tacoma needed to make way for a baby seat carrying, motorcycle hauling, weekend Home Depot going vehicle. I ended up finding a 2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 in Flagstaff with 177k miles that drove nicely and appeared to run very well. It was a bit rough on the outside as the bumpers were discoloring and the interior was a bit dirty from hauling road and mountain bikes on the inside. I made an offer and got the vehicle for less than what I sold my Tacoma for.
I ended up pulling off the rocket panels as my first order of business, since I kept kicking it on my way into the truck. I was a bit under budget when purchasing this SUV, I decided to splurge and pick up an ARB bumper from Wil @ Sierra Expeditions. The customer service was excellent and will call delivery came within a week. I'm definitely going to be doing more business with those guys!
As I began tearing in the bumper, it dawned on me this was the first modification I've ever done to a 4 wheeled vehicle. I've modified a ton of my bikes in the past, but never a car or trunk. I guess an ARB Bull Bar is a good place to start! For the bike hauling end of the business, I found an used MX Ultimate Hauler on Craigslist. If anyone needs to haul a dirtbike on a hitch, this is the way to go! It's super easy to load the bike up. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.
So, this is a build thread for my 4Runner. It will serve the following purposes:
1) Getting the family and dogs outdoors
2) Hauling my motorcycles to trails and tracks
3) Road trip vehicle/exploring the sights of the Southwest
Next items of business:
1) New headlights (I found one of them had broken mounts), they've been ordered and are on their way! ~DONE!
2) 2" Lift: Maybe OME or Ironman?
3) Seat covers
4) Roof rack basket or some sort
5) Sliders maybe
That's a start so we'll go from there!
Attachments
Last edited:
