This thread hits very close to home for me. I drive, a LOT, for work, sometimes have to drive clients and have a kid who plays volleyball that I get to drive everywhere and two large dogs (Ridgebacks) who need space too. Because of this, I can't really build my 4Runner into a full-out expedition rig. That said, when I do off-road, I need to take it more easy than some others because I need to be able to get to work and transport the kid and dogs which is hard to do on my KTM. Battle scars, while cool, also don't work when picking up clients who expect an attorney to drive a nicer rig and not a beater.
My plans are to do something like the C4 Fabrications partial front bumper, aluminum skid plates, sliders and a rear bumper. (Does anyone make a rear bumper where the swing out can be removed?) I will not be building a drawer system, but will build a low profile platform with tie down racks and store my gear in Pelican cases and keep food, beer, etc. in a cooler. When I get them, I'll leave the Maxtrax and Hi-Lift in the garage and only put them on the rig when I'm actually heading out for a weekend (or longer) trip. My goal is to make it very easy to "gear up" when the time calls for it, but to leave the rig as road-friendly as possible the majority of the time. This way, the 4Runner will be road-friendly for work and M-F, but can easily be converted into a off-road rig.
