Yuman Desert Rat
Expedition Leader
Rumor has it that it's new port of berth is SLC. I'm sure that you'll see a lot more of it.
2013 Toyota 4Runner, Equipt Edition Build
- Thread starter Equipt
- Start date
Equipt
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Yep, that's me.
First of all, my apologies for the incredible delay in commenting on this thread. The last 3-4 months have been a whirlwind of activity, and I haven't been very good in keeping up. I returned to Prescott in early/mid August after 6-7 weeks on the Alaska Solo Trek. My wife and I decided to move back to Salt Lake City, Utah. 3 Trips to SLC by then end of August. Left for Ireland/Scotland/England on Sept 2 for 2 weeks. Returned to SLC homeless and our expected residence fell through while on our trip. Found temporary accommodations for the boss and left for Overland Expo East 4 days after returning. Returned to SLC in mid October. Found a more permanent place and moved in November 1. Still unpacking a bit. So anyway, the 4Runner took a bit of a back seat for a while.
Salt Lake City is again my base camp. Lived here all my life, with the exception of the last 2 years in Prescott AZ. We missed it, so we moved back. Equipt's warehouse is still in Prescott, and I will be there often. Contemplating a second shop here too. We'll see.
Cheers,
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
That is a great question. I haven't weighed it with full kit. Honestly, I haven't felt a need to. When I changed the suspension with the lift, I chose the stock plus 800 lb option. Heaviest they offer. I went through too many suspensions on the 100 Series, finally ending up with as heavy as they made. So I figured why wait. The interior cabinets set actually weighs less than the seats I took out of the second row. The fridge and slide are maybe 100 lbs. On the roof I have a rack, tent, table, awning, case, recovery gear. Thumbnail weight of 250lbs. Front bumper and sliders would maybe reach 200 lbs. I added about 550 lbs to the truck, but increased suspension capacity and tire rating. Even fully loaded, and the Chaser on the back, the truck still runs with a little stinkbug action in the rear. Solid as a rock. I expect that a rear bumper and future auxiliary tank will smooth that out.
cheers,
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
Mario at AT Overland has is all figured out. Contact him for an idea of what is possible. I haven't had a chance to catch up on that part of the plan yet. Hopefully sometime soon. What I can tell you is that it has turned out to be a great system. Quiet. Solid. Light. Tough. I am really happy with it.
Cheers,
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
Ultimately, the solution was an ARB front bumper and the removal of the mud flap portion of the fender flare. The ARB Bumper requires trimming back the front wheel well liner and attaching it a bit more forward to the bumper. When I installed the Slee sliders, they lined up with the bottom of the flare without the mud flap. I removed it. Every once in a while with full turn and compression I will hear a little rub. It's liveable. It's like saying my eye hurts with my finger in it. Well, don't put your finger in your eye. Solved. I don't do full turns in compression. Solved.
Cheers,
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
Falken Wild Peak A/T Long Term Review
Falken Wild Peak A/T Long Term Review
In the summer of 2013 my 4Runner was used for the production of a promotional video for Falken Tires. I was the recipient of a set of 5 Falken Wild Peak A/T tires, 295/75R17. At the time I had a set of BFG All Terrain TA's on the truck, so we took them off and put the Falkens on. Great! I was right in the middle of the Chaser 2.0 renovation and needed a couple tires for the trailer. I stored the other 2 tires for future use.
So, 1.5 years and 40K miles later I had pretty much run the Falkens down as far as I felt comfortable. The still have some tread on them, and I actually switched the 2 best of the set onto the Chaser. I put the TA's back on the 4Runner for my cross country trek to Overland Expo East and Northeast Overland Rally.
I have to say that I am very impressed with this tire. I have been a devout BFG AT guy on my long distance trucks. Hadn't given other tires much thought at all. But the Wild Peak ran out every bit as well as the TAs do. They were very quiet through out the tread life. They responded well to reduced tire pressure, and handled incredibly well on and off road. I put 40K solid miles on these tires, with a good portion of that on dirt roads with heavy loads. No issues at all. None. No flats, no separations, no rim separation at low pressure, nothing. Honestly, I could have pushed them another 5-7K. But I was concerned about the cross country trip and the upcoming Utah winter, so I swapped them out. I would definitely use these tires again, and will consider another these once the TAs have run their course. I have noticed an increase in highway hum now that I have the TAs back on the truck, and they only have 10K on them. The TAs are already noisier than the Wild Peaks were with 40K on them. I believe that stems from the harder composite rubber. We'll see how long the TAs last.
Cheers,
Falken Wild Peak A/T Long Term Review
In the summer of 2013 my 4Runner was used for the production of a promotional video for Falken Tires. I was the recipient of a set of 5 Falken Wild Peak A/T tires, 295/75R17. At the time I had a set of BFG All Terrain TA's on the truck, so we took them off and put the Falkens on. Great! I was right in the middle of the Chaser 2.0 renovation and needed a couple tires for the trailer. I stored the other 2 tires for future use.
So, 1.5 years and 40K miles later I had pretty much run the Falkens down as far as I felt comfortable. The still have some tread on them, and I actually switched the 2 best of the set onto the Chaser. I put the TA's back on the 4Runner for my cross country trek to Overland Expo East and Northeast Overland Rally.
I have to say that I am very impressed with this tire. I have been a devout BFG AT guy on my long distance trucks. Hadn't given other tires much thought at all. But the Wild Peak ran out every bit as well as the TAs do. They were very quiet through out the tread life. They responded well to reduced tire pressure, and handled incredibly well on and off road. I put 40K solid miles on these tires, with a good portion of that on dirt roads with heavy loads. No issues at all. None. No flats, no separations, no rim separation at low pressure, nothing. Honestly, I could have pushed them another 5-7K. But I was concerned about the cross country trip and the upcoming Utah winter, so I swapped them out. I would definitely use these tires again, and will consider another these once the TAs have run their course. I have noticed an increase in highway hum now that I have the TAs back on the truck, and they only have 10K on them. The TAs are already noisier than the Wild Peaks were with 40K on them. I believe that stems from the harder composite rubber. We'll see how long the TAs last.
Cheers,
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
Thanks Nathan,
Had a great weekend birthday celebration. Went to Cabo San Lucas for a couple days with my sweetheart/wife/boss/best friend Heather. I sat on a beach for 3 days and read a book. No schedule, no driving, no set up/take down, no agenda, no nothing. Beers brought to my beach chair. I read "A pirate looks at 50" by Jimmy Buffett, a long time mentor of mine. The book has been on my shelf for over a decade and I had never given up enough time to read it. I thought it was only fitting, given the event. I am proud to say I read the entire book sitting there on the beach.
Well, back to work.
Had a great weekend birthday celebration. Went to Cabo San Lucas for a couple days with my sweetheart/wife/boss/best friend Heather. I sat on a beach for 3 days and read a book. No schedule, no driving, no set up/take down, no agenda, no nothing. Beers brought to my beach chair. I read "A pirate looks at 50" by Jimmy Buffett, a long time mentor of mine. The book has been on my shelf for over a decade and I had never given up enough time to read it. I thought it was only fitting, given the event. I am proud to say I read the entire book sitting there on the beach.
Well, back to work.
drobb
Adventurer
Ace Brown
Retired Ol’ Fart
Just signed on a 2015 T4R Trail and read over this thread for ideas. Great write up and resource. Noted you ran at set of Falkens in 295. You mentioned some rubbing and I too can live with that but wondered how the spare tire fit. The stock tire fits very tight and is only a 265.
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
Hi Ace,
Yes, a 295 size tire will fit in that area. As you say, it is very snug. If I remember correctly, I had to push it forward a little bit to get it to go up in the recess. But it's there, and it seems to be high enough not to drag on anything.
Cheers,
Yes, a 295 size tire will fit in that area. As you say, it is very snug. If I remember correctly, I had to push it forward a little bit to get it to go up in the recess. But it's there, and it seems to be high enough not to drag on anything.
Cheers,