After 10 years of amazing adventures, it is time to say goodbye to our beloved 4Runner. In essence, the vehicle was carefully packaged to serve as a two-person camping rig with solid off-road capabilities while still fitting inside a typical residential garage (our garage door opening is 83" high). It has nearly 4” of lift versus the factory setup. 3 inches were achieved with the Toytec spring/Bilstein 5100 lift and nearly 1” was obtained with the 275/65/18 General Grabber ATX Load Range E tires. The Sherpa roof rack and CVT Mount Hood RTT were carefully selected to keep the overall vehicle height down to our spec, albeit only by an inch or so. The Baltic birch drawer system was built to allow us to keep recovery gear, camp chairs, kitchen gear, silverware, etc. on board at all times so it is easy to head to the mountains on a moment’s notice.
Upgrades include:
The truck is pretty clean for its age and runs really well, despite the fact that it's done the Alpine Loop, White Rim and a host of other off road adventures. We love it but we are getting ready for a 10 week trip next summer and need a bigger rig.
Known issues:
I'm going to create a walk-around of the rig this weekend, weather permitting, but feel free to ask any questions not covered in the description above or the photos.
If you've read this far, thanks for your interest. I hope it serves someone new as well as it has served us!
Upgrades include:
- LED headlight lamps (currently running Amazon LED low and high beam lamps installed this year)
- JBA Upper Control Arms (installed in May 2022)
- Bilstein 5100 front and rear shocks (front May 2022, rear 2015)
- Toytec springs front and rear - 3” front and 2” rear. The rear springs are heavy-duty rated to accommodate the RTT, drawers and camping gear without sagging (2015)
- Adjustable rear torsion bar, installed to accommodate the lift (2015)
- Spidertrax wheel spacers – installed in 2015
- Sherpa rack – Installed in November 2020 to accommodate the RTT (love this Colorado company!)
- CVT Mt Hood RTT – installed in November 2020
- Ironman Instant Awning (2m Long x 2.5m Wide) including integrated dimmable LED lighting – installed on the driver’s side – June 2020
- 42” Light bar – installed in June 2022
- Ice-Co VL45Pro single compartment fridge and Rough Country tilting fridge slide – Fridge purchased in June 2021 and slide in 2022 (can be removed from the sale and price adjusted accordingly)
- Custom drawers and storage system – installed using drawings and guidance from @theadventureindex in Jan 2021using top tier parts including Baltic birch, 500 lb drawer slides, etc. Love this setup!
- Rear hatch lights – installed around 2022 to provide lighting below the hatch for cooking and drawer visibility
- Tent was upgraded in 2021 including multi-color interior lighting, USB and standard 12V power ports wired up from the cargo area of the 4Runner where the Bluetti sits
- Increased wiring size to cargo area of the cabin to increase wattage flowing to charge the Bluetti EB700 battery/inverter
- Morimoto ángel eyes – installed these halo rings into the factory headlight unit, including black-out of the silver parts inside (2022)
- Raptor style lights (2022)
- It currently rides on General Grabber 275/65 18 E-Rated All Terrain tires (32.2”) on blacked-out (Plasti-Dip) the original factory Limited wheels. The spare is a non-blacked out factory 18” wheel with a used 275/65 18 Goodyear Duratrac tire on it.
- Tow controller – vehicle has factory tow package but it didn’t include the tow controller unit so I added one for our one real towing effort - a 2500 mile drive with a 3800 lb travel trailer in 2018. The truck has very rarely been used to tow trailers but the controller has worked well when that has been needed.
- The grille, logos, wheels and a section of the rear bumper were blacked-out with Plasti-Dip for a unique look - there are lots of silver 4Runners in Colorado.
The truck is pretty clean for its age and runs really well, despite the fact that it's done the Alpine Loop, White Rim and a host of other off road adventures. We love it but we are getting ready for a 10 week trip next summer and need a bigger rig.
Known issues:
- The truck has 220,xxx miles on it but is in very good overall condition. It doesn’t burn or leak oil. There are no rattles or squeaks inside the cabin when driving and it shifts and handles perfectly. It has 4 wheel low and a locking center differential.
- There is a rattle from the front end on occasion when off-roading. I have not been able to determine the location of the sound but believe it is likely a trim piece not suspension or drivetrain.
- It has been many places offroad and, thus has some pinstriping from branches. Paint has a beautiful shine, given it has been in the garage most of its life but there are blemishes here and there.
- The leather condition, overall, is really good but there is some noticeable wear on the left edge of the driver’s seat. This has been covered with seat-colored adhesive protective tape. The heated seats are a true luxury when camping in cold weather!
- 4Runners are extremely reliable and high-quality vehicles but there are some well-known and common issues, one of which is the front brake calipers. I have replaced both front calipers over the years since they can stick over time.
- The TPMS system has been disabled (via a jumper wire) rather than deal with replacing the sensors at each wheel. I don’t believe there are any system malfunctions so the owner could install new sensors, remove the jumper and program the electronics to function again, if so desired.
- There are around 10 very small hail dents on the hood dating back to a storm we encountered while camping in Utah in October 2015. We don’t even notice them unless we are looking for them but they are there.
I'm going to create a walk-around of the rig this weekend, weather permitting, but feel free to ask any questions not covered in the description above or the photos.
If you've read this far, thanks for your interest. I hope it serves someone new as well as it has served us!
