U.P. First Gen 4Runner

[Arivalsend]

I thought this would be a good time to start a post on my ongoing first-gen build up. This has been ongoing and has run into some weather related setbacks as my garage barely fits a stock Tacoma. This being a bit taller I have taken to working out in the weather, when it allows for it. And so with on the snowy days I read about our wayward 45 troopie heading down into copper canyon (great read!). And on the sunny ones I take time to fit out my truck for summer and eventually fall travels down into central america. I thought the best place to start would be with the most current project and flush things out a little later on the rest of the build.

I am currently working on a sleeping platform which maintains the ability to use the passenger seats when I want to take suburu/civic owning friends to out on adventures. After some thought on it I decided against a framed, floor mounted platform due the the extra weight of the wood/materials used and my need for clean space under the platform to stow gear and my travel essentials. So I began by pulling out all the internal plastic and carpet. I brushed off the wood working skills and visited my local steel guy. After some planning and measurements I was ready to begin. I used maple slats throughout to retain strength, while at the same time I was able to get away with using some lightweight 1/2 plywood for the decking. The internal bracing is 1" steel cut and painted to fit. I weighed the option of using a different material wood/aluminum but in the end opted for the clean and simple approach of steel runners. They weighed in at under 30lbs for all the bracing I will use. The pictures here were taken before I began work on the front segment. I will update once I run to get some batteries for the old camera. The mounting points are all shimmed out with rubber and the steel runners are padded on the top to keep a nice tight fit with no noise/vibrations.

The platform is nearly completed as of tonight with just a few more finishing touches to work on. I am building a front section that is hinged and easy to remove from the side slats in order to carry passengers. The steel trusses are also super easy to fit and remove when necessary. I have cut the wooden sections to fit very snuggly and so do not have rattles and no need to mount in allot of hardwear through the steel beams. Any suggestions or ideas are always appreciated. I do not plan on using carpet on the top. I would like to stick with just the clean wood. In place of the floor carpet I am installing a heavy duty rubber Toyota bed mat. Its a half inch thick and a bit heavier than the carpet, but for utilities sake and cleanability it should do the trick. I am hoping to try it out this next week. See how cold this old 4runner will get.

 

[toyota_jon]

awsome, I'm planning on building one for my 1st gen soon. I just took out my rear seats, in the 3 years i've owned my truck i can count on one hand how many times i've had people sit back there. i'm gonna build one section with drawers up to where the dip for the rear seats is, and then another section which will be hinged with access from the front seats. You must be a pretty thin guy there sure isn't much room between the platform and the roof

 

[upcruiser]

Looking good! I like the use of the Maple in there, nice touch. How in the world is your 4runner so clean? Did you pick that up in CO and bring it back to the UP? I can't remember the last time I saw such a rust free 1st gen around these parts.

 

[Paul R]

More pics!
This will be really cool I'm excited to see what you do with it
I love the first gen 4-Runners

 

[Streakerfreak]

Nice to see you started your own thread. It looks like your on to a cool start. Lets see some other pics too:elkgrin:

 

[adrenaline503]

Off topic, but is that a Badland bumper?

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

Looking very nice in Da U.P.! Love those 1st Gen Runners! :REOutIceFishing:

 

[Dave Bennett]

Lookin' good!

 

[sami]

i'll be following this

 

[Arivalsend]

Hey everyone thanks for the responses. Great to hear that you guys are up for some more pictures and developments. I have been keeping an eye on many of your builds and they have given me some great ideas thus far. UP Cruiser I completely hear you on the rusty, trusty 4Runners. This one has a fun past and was originally owned by a fellow expo member from down Nevada way. I tracked it down in proxy through its second owner back here in Minnesota. They both did some great work and it was never run on the salt slick roads of the midwest. In was garaged in the winter during its stay in Minnesota. I will wait for the prior owner to post up and see if he remembers the rig. In the meantime I am going to post up more pics and developments.

Toyota Jon it will be really interesting to see how your rig and rear build turns out. It is a smallish space. I am 6'1" , 180lbs, and I can totally stretch out with about 20inches of headroom above. It's very akin to a topper platform, but with a bit more room in my opinion as I have spent a good deal of time in the latter. So far I am pretty thin, but with a upcoming trip to the southern world I am hoping to get down on some good eats and of course the fine central american suds :beer:

After shivering a winter away it will be great to get back to the mountains and then on into the tropics.



On to business. The rear bumper is a Badlands Explorer bumper. It's overall fit and finish is fantastic. The welds and bends on the bumper are really second to none that I have so far seen. The only complaint that I would have with it is the hinge setup. It has dual pivots that are bushed with polly, coupled with long steel pins. It is very stout but has a certain amount of play when loaded with my 33" spare and two spector cans, plus my assorted shovel/axe ect. I will post up some pics of it and I am working on sourcing some bronze bushes to fit one/both sides of it. I just talked to Jeff over at Badlands and he was nice enough to send me over some new bushes to see if that is the root of my problem.

Other than that I just finished the front segment of the platform. It is nearly identical to the rear with the exception that I used a bit taller maple stringer on either side as this will be the passenger section if I have it setup as such and I want to flush it out a little more than the rear. I will post up some shots tonight after work and you guys can tell me what your thoughts are on it. I also just tore out the center/shift console and box. It was pretty ratty and I decided instead to install a maple/steel console with a maple box. This has been my project for the past couple of nights and I will get some shots of that as well. I have a Marlin t-case in the rig as well and so I worked that into the layout and it was also one of my reasons for wanting to clean up this area. More shots to follow along with a full vehicle writeup. Please send over any ideas improvements that you chaps think up. :av-7:

 

[taco chaser]

That's a clean 4runner, cool build up.:beer:

 

[4cruzer]

yes, cool build indeed. My favorite platform of all, nice to see another first gen on here, ESPECIALLY nice to see another custom center console in one!!
For ideas, see mine here
I'll be keeping my eye on this one..

 

[adrenaline503]

Cool, I am think if getting the Badlands bumper since I just crunched my truck. Could the swing away portion be easily removed if I wanted to haul something with the tailgate down? It would be rare, I just want the option.

 

[Arivalsend]

Cool, I am think if getting the Badlands bumper since I just crunched my truck. Could the swing away portion be easily removed if I wanted to haul something with the tailgate down? It would be rare, I just want the option.

That is the real strength of this bumper is that with it's two pull pins it comes off in about 60seconds. Very quick and easy even with my full size spare on there. I would really encourage you to check out the Badland bumpers and be sure to call over there and talk to the guys. I had a couple conversations with them and they are very good at helping you assess your rear bumper space needs and in getting you over a bumper that will do the trick for you particular uses. I am very impressed with their outfit and have already told myself that when my ARB up front falls off I will be going with one of there front winch bumpers. If you need any closeup pics let me know and I will get them out to you. If you end up getting a explorer let me know becuase with any luck I will have sourced some bronze bushes by then and will have more info for you on that. :REOutArchery02:

 

[Arivalsend]

Updates

Alright its been a raining/sleeting weekend up here in the U.P. but I have had the skillsaw, drills, grinders out and a big military tarp setup over the 4Runner. So the going is a little slower, and the center consol that was slated for completion is still in the works. I was able to fit and install the front portion of the sleeping platform. I found that with the size of the 1/2 decking it was far easier to pull out the platform in segments rather than the one piece or hinged design I had initially intended upon using. This way I only have four bolts to remove, all of which are bushed out with rubber washers and locking hardwear. The front segment of the platform comes apart in about two minutes. Total weight on the front with the steel is nearly 30lbs, including the maple runners used. Although I pulled out my stock lower bench seats and lost some weight there. I am currently working on a very thin high density foam pad to fit in this area instead. This will allow me to run my spector water cans behind my seat without having rear bench interference. Here are a few shots of the current platform. I am working on a rear locking door for the storage area and will post up some updates on that. I am welding up a angle iron divider to be run in conjuction with the roll bar to help divide up my load.

The center consol evolved from using a solid maple box/top/consol area to integrating 1/16 steel with the wood design to aid in the addition of future switches and controls if needed. I also built the box with a false bottom and a second storage area. I plan on putting in an additional battery soon and liked the design of 4Cruzer's switch pannel within his fine home built consol. I am currently working on finding some black leather to use in making my shift boots, and I am trying to decide between using my curly maple lid for the consol box or making a padded leather cover for comforts sake....ideas guys/gals? Here are some pictures thus far.

One annoying little item I am hoping I can get some help on from everyone here is a loud squeak coming from my back area (it has been there since I bought the truck). It only occurs from impact, which can be any road cracks or bumps. I originally thought it to be the rear door, and it very well may be. I had the cover off and have lubed up the gearing inside and the spring tensioner as well. Still no dice on stopping this darn squeak. Its pretty audible and really will drive me nuts this summer. So come on all you 1st gen 4Runner owners/prior owners. Did you run into anything of the sort. Could it have something to do with the fiberglass rear cover? I was considering pulling it off and having a look to see if it needed any padding ect. I am not sure if these require foam as do toppers, but I may just layer some in there as a preventitive measure. Any ideas?

Today I am working on rewiring my compressor and locker arrangment. Its my day off and I am hoping to figure out an area on the dash to place these.

I have no area on the dash as it sits for them. Every nook is used for factory switches ect. I am planning on either placing them on my consol area or on buiding a custom box for them that will sit next to my factory altimeter on the dash. I am more in favor of this atm due to the risk of bumping them if they were on the consol. Ok well I am off to get to work here. The tarp is still setup and that has been my best friend here of late. I just keep thinking about the southern sunshine.:sombrero: