For armor, I installed rock sliders and a full hoop front bumper, both of which were made by Outdoor Logic. An Iron Man 9500 winch sits inside the front bumper, and I use Mag Light clamps for attaching my front license plate to the fairlead rollers. I recently added a CBI rear bumper with swing-out tire carrier, a foldout table, and protection bars on each side. I went with a Savage front engine skid, and plan to add a transfer skid in the near future.
The 4Runner sits on OME struts paired with 882's on the front and 891's on the rear. I pulled the front sway bar off. Added the ToyTec adjustable LCA's to the rear. Recently I added a 1.5" 4Crawler body lift. The rear differential is re-geared with Nitro 4.88 gears. Front and rear are equipped with ARB Air Lockers.
For rear illumination, I wired in lights attached to the backside of the Baja roof rack. Also added some Vision-X rock lights with the Ricochet Off-road light brackets for the kit. Inside, I installed a center rocker panel switch, Alpine head unit, homemade aluminum rear deck plate with a 50 qt. ARB fridge on a slide that is wired directly to the battery.
I'm a regular at Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area (BMRA). If you don't know where that is, then join us for our annual Lone Star Toyota Jamboree and you’ll get to experience a very nice off-road park. I have ventured into super lift park in Arkansas, wheeled all over northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Future destinations on my list are an expedition trip to Big Bend National Park, as well as Summit in Ouray, CO.
I really like this 4Runner and have no regrets. The size of the truck is one of the features I like the best. It is a little tight on long trips, but on the trails I love it. The width and the wheelbase, along with the lockers and gearing, make it a blast for off-roading.
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