First trip in the new rig

[Forrest831]

Hey guys, my names Forrest im from the Santa Cruz area. I am planning on going to Indian valley reservoir this weekend with my girlfriend.

I’m a mechanic and I got a new to me third gen 4Runner limited and have been working on it in my shop when I have some off time. I’m a little nervous to drive over 3 hours with my car especially for a first time, so I was wondering if anyone has any tips on things to check before overland trips.

So far I have replaced
-water pump timing belt
-tundra brake swap
-transmission shift solenoids
-spark plugs, wires, coils
-and all fluids have been flushed or changed


In addition if anyone has any suggestions or advice about the Indian valley reservoir area that would be great as well

 

[FishFam_logs]

Up that way is relativity chill driving, mostly fire roads. Which will help you locate any loose bolts or connections .

Obvious items would be a fluid and bolt check. Nothing worse than hunting down a rattle a few hundred miles from home on a dirt road.
Check your charging system and battery. It being a used vehicle be sure the battery is good and not getting towards its end of life.
Self recovery tools if you plan on doing any solo exploring.
And just let others know where your going.

Nerves are normal. After 20yrs of playing offroad I still get butterflies packing for trips, lots of what ifs. That tends to fade away as soon as you hit dirt.

 

[Forrest831]

Up that way is relativity chill driving, mostly fire roads. Which will help you locate any loose bolts or connections .

Obvious items would be a fluid and bolt check. Nothing worse than hunting down a rattle a few hundred miles from home on a dirt road.
Check your charging system and battery. It being a used vehicle be sure the battery is good and not getting towards its end of life.
Self recovery tools if you plan on doing any solo exploring.
And just let others know where your going.

Nerves are normal. After 20yrs of playing offroad I still get butterflies packing for trips, lots of what ifs. That tends to fade away as soon as you hit dirt.

Thanks man that’s all good information!