2015 4Runner TRD Project

[High Country Nomad]

A few years ago I posted a thread asking the EXPO community about the new 4Runner as I was preparing to finally part ways with my 10-year love affair with Land Rovers. Additionally, my wife was pushing for the relationship to end. With more positive feedback than negative I pulled the trigger on a new 4Runner TRD Pro in July of 2014 with expected delivery in October when the first batch came into Big Horn Toyota in Glenwood Springs CO. That day came and my wife, son and dog took the Range Rover Sport for a final 3-hour journey to trade her in and start our new Toyota lifestyle. En-route the air suspension acted up again, check engine light came on and the windshield was attacked by a nice size rock. Big Horn didn't even look at the RRS and gave me what the promised and we were on our way.
Below are my previous 2 LR's that I owned between 2004 & 2014 - Both served me well, but served my mechanic's wallet better.



Below are pictures from Day 1 and 2 weeks later after my 1st piece of kit to be added - ARB Touring Rack



The following Spring it was finally time to take the TRD on her first real trip, so we chose the Kokopelli over Memorial Day weekend 2015. By this time, I had I taken my Eezi Awn awning from the Range Rover and installed it on the ARB Rack, also picked up an ARB Roof Tent & a set of Rocky Road Sliders for the trip. Below are a few pictures.




After that trip I realized that we were a tight fit, I bought too small of a rig for the trips that we like to do. By the way our dog is a 90 lb malamute and we were expecting another child, so I spent the next few months looking at options and then just decided to stick with the TRD and make the most of it. That's when I probably went overboard.

The first thing I did was sell the ARB rack & Tent. The ARB rack is awesome and I've had 2 ARB racks & Kangaroo killers in the past, but the touring rack left no room for extras and I really wasn't a fan of the zipper on the tent cover. With both sold in 1 day on the web, I ordered a new Eezi Awn K9 from Equipt, 3 days later it was installed. I then mounted the awning and found a Eezi awn 1200 RTT on EXPO Classifieds down in Denver and grabbed that immediately. With a full size rack, smaller tent and overall lighter load things were looking better. However I still wanted to fix the rear sag I had on the Kokopelli, so I sourced a set of ICON Overland Rear Springs and a front spacer from Toytec - I kept and 50,000 miles later still have the TRD Bilstein set up in front and back and have had no issues to date. With a heavy duty spring in the rear I ordered a CBI Rear Bumper with tire swing and fold down table.



Over the next few months I picked up an AT Overland Fridge Slide/Grill Combo & ARB 50 QT Fridge on the EXPO Classifieds. I tried a few mounting ideas, but over a few months of driving around on the trails, the set up didn't feel “tight”. So I purchased a Goose Gear Plate System. I removed the factory sliding tray and in went the Plate, then very securely mounted the Combo & Fridge. They have been there 8 months now and still rock solid. I ended up adding a Front Runner Slanted Water Tank to fill the void the between the rear seat and the Fridge and it fit like a glove, also makes for a great shelf for my fishing gear.

When it came time to renew my plates, I got some inspiration from a fellow Expo Member - MTN4RNR -



My Discovery had a nice ARB Bumper & Warn winch set up and I began looking for something to suit the TRD, but the only options for front bull bars didn't really grab my attention. Then I found a semi hidden set up from SS Off Road and purchased their slimline bumper and a 20” EPIC light bar to hide behind the grill. I prefer big Round lights, but with nowhere to mount them up front, the light bar was my only option to put light up front. I brought the bumper to Slee Off Road and had them install a new Come UP 9500 lb remote winch and an ARB Air Compressor under the hood. With the new weight in front, Slee also installed new SPC Upper Control Arms.

I'd like to say I'm done doing anything else to the TRD, however I may go with a dual battery set up from Off Grid Engineering in the Spring. We have many more trips lined up for 2017 already so pictures will follow.

Below is a list of the accessories I've added so far.

Eezi Awn K9 2.2 Meter Rack

Eezi Awn Series 3 1200 Roof Top Tent

Eezi Awn Series 2000 2M Awning

Alu-Box 42 Liter (For Kitchen/Dry Food Storage)

AT Overland Combo Slide

ARB 50 QT Fridge/Freezer with Remote Temp Gauge & Transit Cover

Comeup Winch 9.5 RSI

Southern Style Offroad Slimline Front Bumper

CBI Rear Bumper w/ Swing Away Tire Carrier

Raingler Nets Barrier Divider

Front Runner Slanted 13 Gallon Water Tank

Blue Ridge Overland Attic

ARB 12 Volt Air Compressor

Slee Offroad Air Compressor Bracket

Icon Overland Springs

20" Light Bar behind Grill

Rigid Dually Lights on Rear Bumper

5 BFG KO2 285/70/17 Tires

 

[High Country Nomad]

Adding a few more pictures of the build.

 

[ViperNL]

Nice rig. I really like that rear cargo / bumper set up. I'd like something like that for camping. Is the swing out a big annoyance in daily use? You have most of the window blocked that way too, in case you wanted to put something in back. Where do you put most of your cargo when camping with 2 kids, a dog and a fridge?

 

[High Country Nomad]

Nice rig. I really like that rear cargo / bumper set up. I'd like something like that for camping. Is the swing out a big annoyance in daily use? You have most of the window blocked that way too, in case you wanted to put something in back. Where do you put most of your cargo when camping with 2 kids, a dog and a fridge?

Thanks! The bumper does block my view out the rear window and it does get annoying, especially when my wife forgets to latch and drives away. The only thing I like about it is the fold down table, it's much easier than packing a camp table in the 4runner. We have gotten pretty good at packing, even for a full week. I have room on the roof for 2 large cases that hold camp essentials, dry food and even room for firewood somehow. Both my kids are in car seats, so we stuff duffels across the floor and more between the car seats. Then I have room for our camp chairs, fishing gear and dog food on top of the water tank - with the netting in place it holds everything up from falling around. I also have a Blueridge Attic on the ceiling for extra jackets and kids pillows. On the right side of the fridge I have room for 2 recovery bags, first aid kit & a bag of chips. It all works out for now, but I assume in the next year we will be up sizing or buying a trailer.

By the way, the trasharoo makes for a great diaper bag.

 

[ViperNL]

Nice, about to buy a 4Runner as well and in a similar situation, with 2 kids in car seats and a dog. I looked really hard at an F150 supercrew (and secretly a raptor or 2) because of the back seat space and cargo carrying capacity. Plus they offer a bunch of nice features for a somewhat reasonable price, compared to a 4Runner (heated and cooled seats, rear locker optional on pretty much any model, leather adjustable memory seats). But in the end my wife wasn't really having it. I'd like to end up with an adventure trailer, she's thinking pop up or travel trailer, lol.

 

[Abe Froman]

Your set up looks good.
The tailgate table seems massive compared to the jeep ones!
Don't feel so bad about the tight confines of the T4R...we went from a pop-top sprinter to a Jeep Wrangler 4door. It's tiny!
Still haven't a clue how we are going to organize the jeep without a trailer.
I'll do a roof rack, but can't do the high COG of a RTT for where we live and the passes we drive over.

 

[dman93]

As someone who went through the pickup-to-SUV transition with two kids, many years ago, just remember they DO get out of car seats and start needing (though not necessarily wanting) less stuff as well, as they get older. In our case we actually downsized from an 80 Series LC, when our kids were 10 and 12.

 

[p nut]

... The only thing I like about it is the fold down table, it's much easier than packing a camp table in the 4runner....

I thought that the Eezi Awn rack had a slot underneath for a table? I may not be remembering it right, though. That's a nice set up you've got. Hopefully you can still make it work with the 4Runner and a trailer.

 

[High Country Nomad]

Nice, about to buy a 4Runner as well and in a similar situation, with 2 kids in car seats and a dog. I looked really hard at an F150 supercrew (and secretly a raptor or 2) because of the back seat space and cargo carrying capacity. Plus they offer a bunch of nice features for a somewhat reasonable price, compared to a 4Runner (heated and cooled seats, rear locker optional on pretty much any model, leather adjustable memory seats). But in the end my wife wasn't really having it. I'd like to end up with an adventure trailer, she's thinking pop up or travel trailer, lol.

I'm in the same boat, I show my wife pictures of the Adventure Trailer every day, and she punches back with a picture of a 30' travel trailer. I keep telling her she'll be pulling it with her old 100 series while I sit shot gun and relax. Then she throws out the pop up trailer idea and i come back with the adventure trailer. I have a feeling we'll be tent camping another year.

 

[High Country Nomad]

I thought that the Eezi Awn rack had a slot underneath for a table? I may not be remembering it right, though. That's a nice set up you've got. Hopefully you can still make it work with the 4Runner and a trailer.

It does or can, but I have the shark fin antenna that blocks the potential table slot. When I get rid of the 4Runner some day, I'll put the eezi awn on my our cruiser and then get a table from Equipt.

 

[High Country Nomad]

Goose Gear Plate & AT overland Combo Install

I found a couple of pictures from the day I swapped out the factory sliding tray for the Goose Gear plate set. The reason I bought this plate was so I could mount the fridge & grill slide tightly vs. how I had it prior. It's rock solid now and I have no bouncing, sliding, creaking noises or anything. It also created a bit more room for storage behind the seat.

 

[Dalko43]

How much did your raingler net cost and how do you have it fixed to the ceiling? I've been thinking of getting one for a while now to keep my dog in place in the back, I just am not sure how I would secure it's top end.

 

[High Country Nomad]

How much did your raingler net cost and how do you have it fixed to the ceiling? I've been thinking of getting one for a while now to keep my dog in place in the back, I just am not sure how I would secure it's top end.

It was about $200.00 and I drilled sheet metal screws in behind the headliner. Honestly there are probably better cheaper options out there. It was a pain in the neck to get it installed and after all that, my dog climbs right over the top. It's great for keeping stuff from flying forward.

 

[Ryanmb21]

that front runner tank is perfect in a 4runner. I recently picked up one up and am very happy with the fit. Nice build.

 

[Hltoppr]

So, it's my understanding that you are still running the TRD shocks front and rear with the front spacer and rear Icon springs?

I'm looking to improve my angles and add some capacity in the rear, and was thinking about giving the Toytec kit a shot....

-H-