Hey everyone,
I am extremely new to mods/builds, etc, and am new to pretty much everything with vehicles as I mostly have lived where I could bus, or had a beater car.
So I've been doing some research on modifications/upgrades for my '11 4Runner. But before I get into that, maybe I should mention the climate here.
I live on the extreme west coast, an Island off the west coast to be in fact. That means we get a TON of rain, salt covering everything from sea breezes, lots of mud, and some significant winds. We don't normally get that much snow here at all, just a massive downpour of rain from September till May. As the dominant industry here is still logging, there are logging roads of various states ranging from nearly paved, to rocky chunk/sharp dagger city. I know there are some actual 4x4 trails here and there, but as the main industry has been logging here for over 100 years, theres pretty much an active or ancient logging road going everywhere I wanna go for the most part.
So, that being said, I am looking at building my 4runner for our climate, as well as a combo between pavement and these sometimes intense logging roads. Also, this is going to continue to be my daily driver, and my road trip mobile, as me and the wife like to take pretty extended road trips that often go over a few thousand miles.
So far, my thoughts have been towards simple things that I can accomplish on my own.
Gear- Tire patch kit, air compressor, Tool set, Emergency kit, Chains, straps, etc.
Mods- I'm removing the 3rd row of seats to get some weight out, and adding a drawer/sleeping platform
- Removed stock tires, added 10ply Duratracs (Which have been really fun on the logging roads)
That's all I got so far.
Moving forward, I want to make some upgrades. From my reading on various forums, it sounds like a good way to go would be upgrading the suspension/shocks and definitely adding some armour, as I worry going down some of these roads that a big rocks gonna fly up and hit something underneath. I'd also like to add some fun stuff like roof basket, front bumper with winch, and a back bumper that I can mount the spare on as its mounted underneath at present.
Should I get the rack/bumpers/armour before upgrading the suspension? I had read somewhere that its good to add all that stuff first, then load your gear, and weigh the vehicle so you know what level to upgrade the suspension/shocks?
Any tips or thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers all!
-John
I am extremely new to mods/builds, etc, and am new to pretty much everything with vehicles as I mostly have lived where I could bus, or had a beater car.
So I've been doing some research on modifications/upgrades for my '11 4Runner. But before I get into that, maybe I should mention the climate here.
I live on the extreme west coast, an Island off the west coast to be in fact. That means we get a TON of rain, salt covering everything from sea breezes, lots of mud, and some significant winds. We don't normally get that much snow here at all, just a massive downpour of rain from September till May. As the dominant industry here is still logging, there are logging roads of various states ranging from nearly paved, to rocky chunk/sharp dagger city. I know there are some actual 4x4 trails here and there, but as the main industry has been logging here for over 100 years, theres pretty much an active or ancient logging road going everywhere I wanna go for the most part.
So, that being said, I am looking at building my 4runner for our climate, as well as a combo between pavement and these sometimes intense logging roads. Also, this is going to continue to be my daily driver, and my road trip mobile, as me and the wife like to take pretty extended road trips that often go over a few thousand miles.
So far, my thoughts have been towards simple things that I can accomplish on my own.
Gear- Tire patch kit, air compressor, Tool set, Emergency kit, Chains, straps, etc.
Mods- I'm removing the 3rd row of seats to get some weight out, and adding a drawer/sleeping platform
- Removed stock tires, added 10ply Duratracs (Which have been really fun on the logging roads)
That's all I got so far.
Moving forward, I want to make some upgrades. From my reading on various forums, it sounds like a good way to go would be upgrading the suspension/shocks and definitely adding some armour, as I worry going down some of these roads that a big rocks gonna fly up and hit something underneath. I'd also like to add some fun stuff like roof basket, front bumper with winch, and a back bumper that I can mount the spare on as its mounted underneath at present.
Should I get the rack/bumpers/armour before upgrading the suspension? I had read somewhere that its good to add all that stuff first, then load your gear, and weigh the vehicle so you know what level to upgrade the suspension/shocks?
Any tips or thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers all!
-John
