Father/Son Tat Trip- 2016 T4R Trail Premium

[GSDforLife]

Pretty productive weekend; after attending the Memorial Day service in which my son sang God Bless America to represent his Troop and pay respect for all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we got some more preparations accomplished for our upcoming trip.

• Picked up some provisions and started working on the menu for our days on the trail
• Ordered a coffee pot and stackable camping cookware as we are realizing very that space is at a premium
• Paid for our fishing licenses in Tennessee and Mississippi so we can hopefully catch a meal or two legally
• Tried out the new KO2s and had my son spot me on a trail so we can work out our communication style

This coming week we expect to:

• Get the C4 Fab bumper back from powder coat
• Get the bumper and winch installed
• Set the appointment for next week to have the Toytec 3" lift installed and get this thing a little more clearance and leveled out

Pics to follow....

 

[GSDforLife]

Some pics of the trail and finally at the top of Mount Beacon in NY. A fun time and my son did a great job as the spotter. Pretty proud of him. Going to have to hose this off some time this week.

 

[GSDforLife]

Pack, unpack, make a menu, check it again. Oh, did I mention that I have a thing for efficiency, and that I had OCD and ADHD before it was cool?? Should have waited to do this for a little bit longer; it will just beg for me to relook at this another 2-3 times.

 

[JusticeZ33]

Your truck is coming along really well.

 

[GSDforLife]

Rig is in the body shop getting the C4 fab bumper and winch installed. Really hope the winch fits; the only thing I'm stressing. Confirmed the suspension will be done June 12th. Lamin-X fog lights and grill markers I will do this weekend. That was a little Yoda like. Pics to come.

 

[ngurney]

Just signed on my T4R last night! Following what looks like a great build!

 

[GSDforLife]

I guess we all have been through this with our builds, but I am incredibly frustrated! Need a little advice, reassurance and an overall pep talk. Brought the T4R to a body shop (reputable) to have the @C4Fabrication lo pro winch bumper installed as I have a very little amount of time to do it myself and it needs to get done. The gentleman who owns the shop, who is an exceptional technician is ill; the reason this is important is I waited for him to get back to have this done. He has another guy doing the install and I get a call today that the winch is having fitment issues, he seems to not be following the instructions I sent him and the light bar is too short. I show up and I am not confident that this guy is at all competent in doing custom work. I couldn't find a light that is correct, but I did find brackets that may remedy this situation. Further, I had a close relative pick up the bumper from powder coat who made it a point to tell me that the bumper was dropped off "without a scratch" yet when I showed up there is a chip out of the powder coat on the top rail. I know it is really 1st world problems, but I just needed to vent. Thanks for listening to a Type A perfectionist just pissed about how it is (not) going. Have a good day all. Anyone know a way to touch up powder coat and "seal" it so it doesn't peel? Thanks OB crew for any and all advice.

 

[JusticeZ33]

Not sure how "correct" this is but if its not a big scratch you can always just use black touch-up paint from Autozone. I did it on my gobi rack and so far it has worked well. You have to get the the one with the scuff tip to clean and file down the powder coat before you paint over it so there is not an edge to catch on the powder coat. If your scratch is bigger, than not sure.

Sorry to hear you are having issues with the rest of the install. I take it they already cut your OEM bumper. That is usually the hardest part of the install, the rest is just 8 bolts (if it bolts into the frame like mine does) that are really easy to get to. Cant speak to winch fitment but if C4 says it will fit it should fit. Is it hanging up on the AC line? Might need to bend that slightly to make sure it is not rubbing against anything or you rub get a hole in it. Don't use tools, just your hand to bend it a bit since it is super soft.

 

[GSDforLife]

Good news/bad news. Good news is that we got the T4R back today with the new C4 fab bumper and winch installed. I really like the look and the apparent functionality. I have to do some wiring tomorrow. The bad news is i got beat over the head for the install. I originally was going to install this with a friend of mine, but my schedule is crazy. When I originally met with the guy I hired for install he said 2-4 hours at $100 an hour for labor. No problem as I dont have much time. Picked her up today and he says $800 for the install. Wanted to call the cops and report the robbery. I didn't; just a very expensive lesson. Make your time and do it yourself. At the end of the day, you will also feel better you know you did it yourself. Chalk this one up to experiecnce. Funny thing is the up fitter doing my suspension next week is only charging me $500 more for a complete rebuild of the suspension with alignment. I got taken to the cleaners on this one. Pics to follow tomorrow when it is light out. Just need to figure out how I will mount the front plate now. Moving along......

 

[Daryl 32]

The installer had obviously never installed a winch mount and bumper to a new gen 4runner if he gave you an estimate of 2 to 4 hours. It takes about 40 minutes to get the front bumper skin and impact bar off to be able to start the winch mount install. Then there is the cutting of the bumper skin and such to put it all back together, $800.00 or $100.00 an hr is pretty hi though!

Waiting for the pictures of the new bumper.

 

[GSDforLife]

So here are some pics with the new C4 Fab loPro hidden winch bumper finally on. I am very happy with the construction of this bumper. I have no affiliation with the company, nor do I get any discounts, but would just like to pass along my thoughts on the product I received. The welds were very nice, it looks great on the rig and is functional. Should have used speed liner or something equivalent rather than powder coat in hindsight. Also, should have definitely just installed it myself and saved a $hit ton of money as it really looks pretty straight forward. I also wired up the grill markers real quick this morning.

 

[GSDforLife]

Next up is to figure how I am going to mount my front plate. In the great state of NY, not having the front plate attached is all the man needs to pull you over and write you a ticket to help justify his salary. Looking forward to next week to finally get the suspension done and eliminate the rub and level this thing out. Getting closer to our trip and really looking forward to it. Will also be getting the DJI Phantom 3 all set with some dyed props for the upcoming Trans America Trail trip. Are dyed props functional? No, but it is fun to personalize things sometimes.

 

[tinyOVERLANDER]

I liked your idea with the compressor switch box. There must be something I use that idea on.

My cousin and I will be starting the TAT sometime in mid/late July... going all the way, NC to OR.

It's great that you and your son can do things like this together... great memories will always be with both of you.

 

[tinyOVERLANDER]

Next up is to figure how I am going to mount my front plate. In the great state of NY, not having the front plate attached is all the man needs to pull you over and write you a ticket to help justify his salary. Looking forward to next week to finally get the suspension done and eliminate the rub and level this thing out. Getting closer to our trip and really looking forward to it. Will also be getting the DJI Phantom 3 all set with some dyed props for the upcoming Trans America Trail trip. Are dyed props functional? No, but it is fun to personalize things sometimes.

I've used this one for years and has worked great for me. And... if you want... you could make one. It just clips onto the your fairlead side rollers.

 

[tinyOVERLANDER]

I guess my link didn't link. So... search for
Smittybilt 4432 License Plate Mount Bracket for Roller Fairlead

 

[GSDforLife]

I liked your idea with the compressor switch box. There must be something I use that idea on.

My cousin and I will be starting the TAT sometime in mid/late July... going all the way, NC to OR.

It's great that you and your son can do things like this together... great memories will always be with both of you.

Have a great time! I wish I had enough time to do the whole thing. I definitely will someday. We have been doing a lot of planning and work to the rig. Will be documenting it on Instagram and YouTube. For our personal documentation, we will keep a daily journal of our experiences which I will turn over to him along with all the maps of where we went as a keepsake as soon as we return. Take care.

 

[GSDforLife]

I guess my link didn't link. So... search for
Smittybilt 4432 License Plate Mount Bracket for Roller Fairlead

PERFECT! Just one click bought it. Thank you.

 

[GSDforLife]

@halffastjohn put me right on to the the smitty bracket above which I ordered right away. But, when I woke up I decided I didn't want to block the fairlead with anything so I went straight to Home Despot and spent $2 hard earned dollars and made a little something. Very sturdy and will now have to process a return to Amazon as soon as the other arrives. Thanks @halffastjohn for giving such a good suggestion so quick. My inability to just wait and leave things alone and got the best of me today.

 

[GSDforLife]

It's Sunday and a good time to give thanks. I joined this community because I know I'm not the smartest guy in the room. That being said, I would like to thank @A10MileHusker @JusticeZ33 and @halffastjohn for following the thread and being supportive both here and on Instagram. Our upcoming TAT trip is such an important one to my son and I and we are building little by little. I never was really big into social media or forums and I can't believe we are rapidly approaching 1000 views! We will be stepping up our game with a YouTube channel shortly. Our trip will definitely be well documented. Thanks all for checking in and your ever valuable feedback. Have a great Sunday all

 

[GSDforLife]

A little progress today, but progress nonetheless. Put the lamin-x on the fog lights. 1 part functionality 1 part personality. I like it. In hindsight I probably should have done the wet application rather than the dry. When I cut on of the tabs off it sliced a little more off than should have been. If it were wet I could have moved it over. Still hard to tell.