2014 4Runner (Mini Fridge) Build

[SixthSnail]

Hey guys. I thought I'd move a build over here now that I can make posts. I bought this in February 2016. I've been slowly building it up. I'll update this more when I get a chance later today. It's a start! I call it the Mini Fridge because my father thinks his Yukon looks like a refrigerator.

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Summary of Mods:

Front Suspension:
Icon RR Coilovers with CDCV
Icon Tubular UCAs
Icon S2 Modular Secondary Shock System
Icon Omega Bypass RR Shocks as Secondary Shock
SS Extended Brake Lines
Spindle Gussets
Sway Bar Delete
Wheeler's Superbumps

Rear Suspension:
Icon Overland 3" Coil Springs
Icon Omega Bypass RR Shocks
Icon Hydraulic AirBumps
Heavy Duty Rear Sway Bar Links

Armor:
Icon LCA Skids (Mounting Point for Secondary Shock)
Relentless Fab Sliders with Top Plate (Linexed)
Relentless Fab Aluminum IFS Skid
Relentless Fab Stingray Front Bumper
Relentless Fab Dual Swing-Out Rear Bumper

Storage:
FrontRunner Outfitters Slimline II 3/4 Roof Rack
FrontRunner Bottle Opener Attachment Turned Into CB Antenna Mount
FrontRunner Hi-Lift Attachment
FrontRunner Roof Top Tent Kit

Wheels/Tires:
Toyo R/T 285/70/17 (33")
SCS SR8 Wheels in Matte Dark Bronze (17")
Body Mount Chop

Performance:
AFE Cold Air Intake with URD Mass Air Flo Sensor
Magnaflow Catback Exhaust
ARB Rear Differential Breather Kit Mounted in Storage Pocket

Lighting:
TRS HID Conversion for the Headlights (5000K)
Morimoto TorchX 40" Lightbar on Roof Rack
Rigid Industries Amber Fog Lights
KC Hilites Flex LED on Roof Rack

Interior:
LED Interior Lighting
Heated Seats
Husky Liner Floor Mats and Storage Mat Over Third Row Seats
Custom Match Headrest DVD Players
Viper Remote Start/Security System with Smart Phone App
Valentine-1 Radar Detector on Ram Mount
Uniden CB Radio

Exterior:
Custom TRD Decals from @CBoy808
SR5 Badges Removed

Audio:
Alpine 8" Navigation System
Amplified JL Audio Stereo System
JL Powered 10" Sub

Recovery Gear:
48" Hi Lift Extreme Jack
30' Recovery Strap
Bond Mini D-Handle Shovel on Quickfists on Rack

Overland Gear:
CVT Mt. Cayley Roof Top Tent
Nexgrill 2 Burner Grill

 

[Tim]

Wow! Looks like a nice clean build. Wouldn't have realised how much had gone into it from the photos!
Out of interest... how many beers can you get in the 'mini fridge'?! Sorry, couldn't resist.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[SixthSnail]

Wow! Looks like a nice clean build. Wouldn't have realised how much had gone into it from the photos!
Out of interest... how many beers can you get in the 'mini fridge'?! Sorry, couldn't resist.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

haha thanks! Yeah it's been a fun project. Some changes are coming though. Full length roof rack and King suspension are happening this month. Pretty excited.

Also the answer to your question is enough!

 

[Steve]

Full length roof rack

What rack are you going with? I was originally going to put a K9 on my 2016 TEP, but ended up installing a Prinsu a dew weeks ago. I'm very pleased with it, and it is *so* much quieter than the Thule crossbars and extended Yakima LoadWarrior I had on before. Pics in my sig.

 

[SixthSnail]

What rack are you going with? I was originally going to put a K9 on my 2016 TEP, but ended up installing a Prinsu a dew weeks ago. I'm very pleased with it, and it is *so* much quieter than the Thule crossbars and extended Yakima LoadWarrior I had on before. Pics in my sig.

I'm going with Prinsu. I had one on my tacoma and liked it a lot.

I like frontrunner, but a full length rack is like 1200. Just couldn't swing it when I could sell my current 3/4 rack and buy a prinsu for not much more. Also my 40" lightbar will fit nicer than it does right now.

I plan to mount a 42" plano case and a set of recovery traction boards to it along with the tent. Also will have the lightbar, alley lights, and rear facing lights along with my current shovel/axe mounts and an awning!

 

[Steve]

I'm going with Prinsu.

Already on order? T4R.org had a group buy, but it is taking Zach forever to get them out. One guys is at 10-1/2 weeks just waiting for an extra crossbar. With a your 2014, you should be okay with the included crossbars, but Zach isn't listening to those of us with 2015 and newer that the shark fin antenna interferes with the rear bar, so we all need to order a 1X1 bar for that position.

 

[TGF]

Nice truck. Fun to see someone mention their audio upgrades. Tunes for the road is not negligible.

 

[SixthSnail]

Already on order? T4R.org had a group buy, but it is taking Zach forever to get them out. One guys is at 10-1/2 weeks just waiting for an extra crossbar. With a your 2014, you should be okay with the included crossbars, but Zach isn't listening to those of us with 2015 and newer that the shark fin antenna interferes with the rear bar, so we all need to order a 1X1 bar for that position.

I have a shark fin. Wonder if it's an issue? I'll talk to Zach. I'm a long time customer so he gave me a small discount.

Nice truck. Fun to see someone mention their audio upgrades. Tunes for the road is not negligible.

Yeah man. Keeps my mind off of every little noise my truck makes. Very soothing haha.

 

[Steve]

I have a shark fin. Wonder if it's an issue?

It shouldn't be. Toyota moved the shark fin back about an inch in either 2015 or 2016. t4r.org link --> 418

 

[SixthSnail]

It shouldn't be. Toyota moved the shark fin back about an inch in either 2015 or 2016. t4r.org link --> 418

Thanks. That is odd.

Have you heard the rumors of Toyota bringing back the V8 in 2018? I'll have a hard time not ditching the 14 for a new one at that point. In all my love for this rig, the V8 is the one thing that would make me drop it in a second.

 

[Steve]

Have you heard the rumors of Toyota bringing back the V8 in 2018?

Yep, along with dozens of other rumors. I ignore them until it is on the lot. Jeep has been going to bring their pickup back for 20 years. :)

 

[SixthSnail]

Yep, along with dozens of other rumors. I ignore them until it is on the lot. Jeep has been going to bring their pickup back for 20 years. :)

Yeah. If that ends up on the lot though, I'll be extremely interested. Probably gonna sell out and cost so much though if it happened. If Toyota was smart, they would make it a pro only option and so many people would buy a pro just for that.

I am super happy with the V6. I think a regear will get this thing to where it needs to be. Just debating between 4.56 and 4.88 gears. I'm bumping up the tire size again when I get the chance, back to 285/75/17 (34")

 

[SixthSnail]

Alright! Should have my King suspension and Prinsu Rack this month. Then I'll be moving onto my drawer project and ripping out the third row of seats.

 

[SixthSnail]

Time to update this with some trip reports. Bear with me as there are some old ones. Please forgive me in advance for being a poor photographer. I'm learning and getting a decent camera soon! haha

South Rim of the Grand Canyon:

My girlfriend, Lindsay's family rented a houseboat on Powell for a week and Lindsay and I saw it as a perfect opportunity to hit the grand canyon on the way home. This was my first taste of overlanding with my old rig and I loved every second.

I was driving solo to Powell as Lindsay hit the road with her family a few days before (I had work and had to pick up the new CVT Mt. Cayley tent from Goose Gear).

All geared up the night before and ready to hit the road at 4am the next morning.

We got to see Rainbow Bridge in Lake Powell. This was a big bucket list item for me.

Horseshoe Bend was close enough to make a short stop.

Unfortunately we didn't realize how close we were to Antelope Canyon and didn't stop there.

We stayed a night in a small town in the middle of the desert called Tuba City. Strange town where prohibition laws are still in effect.

After that rest, we wound up in Tusayan, AZ. This was the start of our trail when we finally hit dirt.

Grand Canyon Railway

Thankfully it didn't rain on us, but it had rained a lot recently.

After about 40 miles of pretty easy fire road mixed with a slightly challenging mile stretch of rutted wash, we arrived to this:

And this view out the new tent's windows.

It was a short trip, but definitely one I would like to take the new rig to.

 

[SixthSnail]

A little background, the Tacoma looked like this when I sold it:

I had done a lot, but I wanted to be able to haul more people. Those 5th gen 4runners looked mean and I got hooked.

I'm looking for one, but I don't even think I have an original photo of the 4runner when I got it. I changed a few things fast. I swapped the wheels immediately, it had KMC Beadlocks. Heavy and I didn't care for the look. Nor did I need them at all. I went with the easy choice of Stealth Custom Series SR8's with a limited edition silver machined lip.

Old wheels:

New wheels:

Other than the wheels, it came with the following goodies:

JL Audio

Sound deadening:

Icon Stage 7 with S2 Secondary Shock System:

And 34" Toyo Open Country MTs which I swapped for 33" R/Ts to save weight. I'll be going back after a regear.

I know what you are thinking, #boughtnotbuilt... But I'm doing my best to make amends... It was set up as a prerunner, but that isn't my style. It's slowly becoming a slow and heavy tank.

 

[SixthSnail]

First Trip in the new rig.

Anza Borrego Desert State Park:

Tacoma World had a meet up in Anza and I couldn't resist a camping trip. I loaned my RTT to my friend for the weekend, so we ground tented it, but it worked out fine nonetheless.

Oh and I got a Frontrunner Outfitters roof rack. Here I am testing it for strength:

Only did a few trails, but the area is awesome. Coyote Canyon was a fun run.

Camp was solid. Met a few new people there.

Fun trip. I was excited to return this year.

 

[SixthSnail]

Overland Expo West 2016:

Lindsay was busy so my Dad headed out with me on the long haul from SoCal to Flagstaff for Overland Expo.

I got a lot of goodies for the rig just before. Wanted to get my Relentless Fab Skid Plate on before the trip so my Dad and I did the install before heading out.

Found my end game rig... haha

Set up camp in the forest. Flagstaff has thousands of miles of forest roads. Beautiful and fun to go fast.

After the expo, my dad and I went to Lake Havasu to install my lightbar. Also forgot to mention the Relentless Fab Sliders that had been welded on at this point.

Lightbar is from theretrofitsource.com. It's a 40" Morimoto bar and I couldn't be happier.

 

[SixthSnail]

Finally Armored:

If you guys haven't noticed, I like Relentless Fab. Not only are Brittony and Eric awesome people, but Eric is the best fabricator out there for Toyota Parts, hands down.

Their only flaw when I ordered was wait time and it was so worth it.

I ordered a rear bumper a while back (Dual Swing Out, Rotopax mount, spare tire mount), and about a month before it was done they released their low profile front bumper. I asked how fast they could throw one together for me and I picked it up the same day I got the rear.

I don't trust many people with my truck, but Eric is definitely somebody I do. He's the man.

The front bumper is perfect, if you see any gap, it's because I hit a tree and my bumper is tweaked :(

 

[SixthSnail]

Returned to Anza:

My friend decided to have his Bachelor Party in Anza. Spent the weekend shooting, wheeling, and eating. It was a blast. Also had recently rebuilt the rear end in multiple ways. Bypasses rebuilt, new Icon 3" overland Coils, and the secondary swingout no longer held rotopax. It now holds a Brute Force Fab single Jerry Can Cage and a 5lb propane tank mount. Soon it will have a quick release fire extinguisher on the side and an Outer Limit Supply med kit under the propane.

Overall awesome trip.

 

[SixthSnail]

A friend and I tried to figure out a way to mount a 2 gallon gas rotopax to my tire swingout for emergencies. We are still working on it, but this is the concept that doesn't work. I got 4 tube light clamps and connected them like so:

Next an aluminum plate got cut to fit and bolt to the clamps. Then rotopax mounted to that on the inside of the swing arm. All worked great until we heard it hit the hatch when closing. I think the next move will be to weld on 4 tabs and eliminate the half inch gap these require.

Goal: