Wow, much has changed in our 4Runner and I never really updated the progress. Since we're now back in the states for six months and our vehicle is waiting for us in Uruguay until October, I figured I might as well update. I've edited the first post of the build thread so it now mentions most of what we've done so far, quick-links to steps of the build, along with things that have failed or been replaced along the way.
Thoughts on performance:
This little vehicle has been great for us. It can be slow going up steep hills in Guatemala or the high passes of the Andes, but I'm overall pleased. We don't need a hotrod and I feel like I can still pass on inclines with a little skill and planning. The fact that we're running 10-ply oversized tires with factory gearing wasn't the best plan in regards to performance, but at least we haven't suffered a single tire issue and it this point we're just working with what we've got on there.
Thoughts on reliability:
One thing I wish I would have done before we left was replace the timing chain and the plastic guides. It felt unnecessary at the time because the engine had been rebuilt within 60,000 miles but I chipped the plastic timing chain guides in Guatemala and had to redo it. I also totally regret getting an alarm installed. The installation was botched and started a short which left us somewhat stuck in Antigua (not a bad place to be stuck). Guatemala was where the bulk of our repairs were done, as I also had to replace an idler arm after the treacherous road to Semuc Champey. The continuous duty solenoid that isolated our batteries fried in Costa Rica and we replaced it with a manual Guest 2111A switch, it's been great ever since. All that said, the 4Runner truly has been reliable and the problems have mostly been simple. I probably could have ignored any of these issues (except a dead fuel pump) and kept trucking all the way to Tierra del Fuego. It's amazing how far this thing will limp its way to where we need to go.
Thoughts on comfort:
We've got the storage pretty dialed down at this point. In the beginning, with the chuckbox inside and above our feet, it sometimes felt a little cramped and more difficult to get in or out. Eventually we ditched the chuckbox and it's been great since. Every month or two we go thru and purge things we haven't used in a while and now we're
mostly thinned down to a definitive kit. We now sleep so comfortably inside (thanks again to the Fantastic Fan!) that we actually prefer to sleep inside our rig versus getting a room somewhere. We've actually paid for dorms just to use their bathrooms, then slept in the parking lot even though we weren't supposed to!
Below is an updated image of our current interior setup. The two blue bins on the bed house are kitchen items and food (when we go to bed, this goes on the front seat). The navy blue bag is our backpacks (this goes on the floorboard when we go to bed). The green bag is our laundry.
More recent photos of the 4Runner
here and
on Facebook
Plans after the trip:
Our setup has been working so well for us that we have decided we will ship the 4Runner back to the states when our time in South America is over. We've already put a small amount of money into this vehicle...add the memories we've had with it, and you realize there's too much invested to let her go. We may as well just continue to use it because it's an "unplug and play" vehicle for exploring.
Thoughts for the future:
The first plan of business is to build our cabinets up more. The plan is to build the entire length of the driver's side storage up to the ceiling. For the passenger side, I'd just like to build the section that would cover the rearmost window all the way to the ceiling, leaving the middle sliding window free of obstructions. I feel like this won't mess with driver visibility and it would eliminate the need for storing the two small bins on the bed. I'd like to start the storage cabinets from scratch again, using "flight case" construction to save weight. I'm also looking for the right sized surplus aluminum waterproof box to store on the cab roof, just to keep the backpacks locked up and out of the way until we need them.
I have other big plans, but they'll take serious time and some extra coin so I'll keep my mouth shut until those two items are available.
