Project Alpha Bound - 1985 4Runner Adventure Truck Build

[ab1985]

Ok, after some reading I don't see how that could have caused a problem. It doesn't change anything, but at least I don't feel like a ************** (anymore than usual at least). Guess I'll know more tomorrow.

 

[ab1985]

Well, Colorado was not meant to be this year. I ended up having both the transmission and transfer case rebuilt. The guys at Moab Offroad in Louisville, KY did a great job getting things turned around quickly, but losing that last week of prep time ended up putting the kibosh on my plans. At least it happened before I hit the road. When I got the truck back last Friday I pushed as hard as possible to finish things up in time to depart. Sat-Mon were dawn till dusk marathon wrenching/welding/wiring/running-to-the-store sessions. By Monday at 6 P.M. I had had enough and decided to take off just to get away from the garage and house which meant keeping it local.

Day 1 was Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area via Daniel Boone National Forest from Prospect , KY. I got in late and got a fire started enough to relax for a few minutes. The next morning I ate, hiked to Devil's Jump, and went to check out Barthell's Mining Camp. The mining camp ended up being closed (despite the sign that insisted they were open). I decided to head back into to town and visit the museum in Stearns, KY. It was hot and I had planned to be in the mountains by now so I decided to shoot down to Great Smoky Mountain National Park for a couple days.

Camped at BSFNRRA:

Breaking camp takes ~15 minutes:

Devil's Jump:

 

[defrag4]

glad you got her back on the road. I dig your flip-down setup for the stove and the propane mount. pretty good idea

 

[ab1985]

I do have a several notes and build pics, but for now I'm just going to post some trip pics. I'm tired and when I get more time later this week I'll update the tech.

Day 2 was BSFNRRA to GSMNP. I entered at Sugarlands (driving through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is THE suck), and drove to Balsam Mountain via Newfound Gap and the Blueridge Parkway.

 

[ab1985]

glad you got her back on the road. I dig your flip-down setup for the stove and the propane mount. pretty good idea

Thank you! I've read your Baja trip and your hiking reports and really enjoyed them. :elkgrin:

 

[ab1985]

Day 3: I decided to take Balsam Mountain Rd off the mountain. This is a scenic, unmaintained road that stretches 28 miles between the ~5500 ft mountain top down to lower elevation then across the Cherokee reservation at the bottom. I crossed the park again via Newfound Gap Rd and decided to crash at a KOA just outside the Townsend entrance as my 12V outlet was on the frizz and my fridge was warming up. I know it's a cardinal sin in the overlanding community. With my fridge warming up and the fact that I never got to hooking up my shower it was justifiable in my book. It was clean and right on the river so it was nice to be able to swim and relax with shore power:

Leaving Balsam:

 

[Deleted member 9101]

3) I need to be able to sit upright inside the truck in case if prolonged bad weather

You know you have two front seats right...lol (sorry, bad joke...lol )


Seriously, awesome rig!!!

 

[ab1985]

Day 4: I headed to Fall Creek Falls State Park 2.5 hours west of GSMNP. By the time I arrived it was hot and I wanted to cool off. I hiked to a couple of the swimming holes, saw the dried out fall bottoms, and grabbed a shower in the very nice bathhouses. By now it was Thursday and I had relatives from New York flying into Nashville to evacuate the storm so I decided to crash for the night then make my way to Nashville on Friday.

 

[ab1985]

I spent the weekend in Nashville hanging out with family and made the return trip to KY today. Very tired.

I'll update the tech over the next few days. I will say that an 80 series LC may be in our future as my wife and daughter are expressing more and more interest in road tripping. Not sure what that means, but I may scale back some of the 4Runner upgrades depending on how that works out We shall see.

 

[defrag4]

whats the deal with tarp over the topper?

 

[ab1985]

Good question - I didn't make curtains prior to the trip and needed privacy at that location so I draped a tarp over the truck to block the side view into the windows.

 

[Duder]

Awesome rig man. I like tan 4Runners! Seems like you've been thoughtfully considering all aspects of your build. Keeping overall vehicle weight down and maximizing cargo room is definitely important on a small 4-cyl rig.

I have an '86 std. cab short bed pickup, in the sweet 80's cream/tan color, that I'm currently rebuilding. It's all stock but I'm hoping to have it set up similar to your rig soon.

Will continue checking your thread for ideas...so keep posting.

 

[ab1985]

the sweet 80's cream/tan color

Mine was that same color prior to the PO doing the rattle can desert scheme.

There are definitely some things I'd do differently. I'll get back to updating the build info soon.

 

[dsrtdcab]

Awesome build and write up. Makes me want an old school rig! I'm making a trip from MA to Moab this October and your updates and ideas have given me a few more items on the 'do to' list. Nice work and keep the write up coming.

Nick

 

[Duder]

Mine was that same color prior to the PO doing the rattle can desert scheme.

There are definitely some things I'd do differently. I'll get back to updating the build info soon.

Too bad about the paint, but hey, at least it still looks good in pictures.

Anything you post about the build will be helpful to me since the pickups and 4Runners are so similar. I try to absorb as much as I can before starting any new project, so it's appreciated!