A Bone-Stock Toyota 4Runner Takes on Tumbleweed. It Does Not Go Well! Can We Even Get It Unstuck?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 25 вер 2024
- Thank you to the following sponsors for supporting this series:
C4 Fabrications (bumpers, rails, skid plates) - c4fabrication....
Sherpa Equipment (roof rack) - sherpaec.com/p...
Fox Factory (Fox Shocks) - www.ridefox.co....
BDS (lift) - bds-suspension...
Warn Winch - www.warn.com/z...
AEV (Wheels) - www.aev-conver...
BFG Goodrich (KO2 Tires) - www.bfgoodrich...
Perry Parts (bumpstops) - www.perryparts...
And a special thank you to RiderJustice, riderjustice.c...
To learn about James Buff’s Rocky Mountain Toyota RoundUp, go to (www.rockymount...)
Plan your next big trip with onX Offroad, now available for Apple CarPlay/Android Auto enabled vehicles. Available in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Download it now! Click the link to use promo code “TFL” and save 20% on an annual membership: webmap.onxmaps...
( www.alltfl.com ) Watch more videos from TFL Studios! Welcome to a brand-new TFLoffroad series, featuring this (currently) bone-stock Toyota 4Runner SR5. In this "4Runner to ProRunner" series, we're going to turn this SUV from a decently capable off-road rig to a true beast, so come along for the ride!
The Fast Lane Truck ( / tfltruck )
The Fast Lane Car ( / tflcar )
TFLoffroad ( / tfloffroad )
TFLbike (www.youtube.co... )
TFLnow ( / tflnow )
TFLclassics ( / tflclassics )
TFLtalk ( / tfltalk )
TFL Podcasts:
TFL Talkin' Cars Podcast ( redcircle.com/... )
TFL Talkin' Trucks Podcast ( redcircle.com/... )
#toyota #offroad #4runnertoProrunner
Thank you to the following sponsors for supporting this series:
C4 Fabrications (bumpers, rails, skid plates) - c4fabrication.com/?rfsn=7433525.116e927
Sherpa Equipment (roof rack) - sherpaec.com/products/crestone
Fox Factory (Fox Shocks) - www.ridefox.com/subhome.php?m...
BDS (lift) - bds-suspension.com/
Warn Winch - www.warn.com/zeon-10s-winch-89611
AEV (Wheels) - www.aev-conversions.com/product-category/tacoma/
BFG Goodrich (KO2 Tires) - www.bfgoodrichtires.com/auto/tires/all-terrain-t-a-ko2
Perry Parts (bumpstops) - www.perryparts.com/
And a special thank you to RiderJustice, riderjustice.com/overlanding/
To learn about James Buff’s Rocky Mountain Toyota RoundUp, go to (www.rockymountaintoyotaroundup.com/)
Please put it on a weigh scale in the end to show everyone how there is no payload left.
@@fabulousoffroaddesigns5080 Right after you show them your spandex panties ;)
This is a example of having the right tires for the right terrain
I bought AT tires for my SR5 right away. Cost me $1k for new tires but worth every penny. At least I didnt spend $11k like the red 4 runner owner did! That would wipe out my bank account and put the 4 runner in TRD PRO price range. Thats expensive territory imo.
@@HVACRDUDE Now try surviving a head on collision against a 4runner....
4:17 Lifting your truck does not give you more travel. Travel on IFS Toyotas is limited by the upper and lower bump stomps, so when you just lift your Toyota, you are sacrificing droop for clearance. Tinkerer’s Adventure has been instrumental in dispelling so many of these often wrong talking points about Toyotas.
Exactly
Little more clearance though 👍
Only way to get more travel is longer arms or extended travel kit
Yes it does, it give more wheel travel up and down
@@lawrencefranck9417please read my comment again.
James Off-Road Recovery
“We won’t get ‘em out.”
🤣🤣🤣 But thanks for watching
these guys do not know how to use trees in their recovery. These guys could learn a lot from "Matt's Off Road recovery"
You guys are saying it's the tires. But I think all it needed was a cargo ladder and a Toyota racing stripe decal.
All joking aside....
Hi everybody! James here from the video. The day I've been dreading -- the posting of this first episode -- has finally arrived 🙂
First off, a big thanks to the TFL crew for including me in this series. We hang out and do cars / wheeling stuff on the weekends, so when they told me about this project I was excited to be involved.
Second, to Eric (my recovery trainer friend who is the expert I defer to): I DO have gloves, they were in the recovery bag rather than on my hands where your voice in my head was telling me that they should be. Sorry sir, I'll do better next time.
Two timestamps explain the reasoning behind my poor choice in recovery vehicle placement here: 13:44 and 15:31. What you see at 13:44 is my winch line having a straight shot to his factory recovery point. I was trying to not damage the bottom of his front bumper by doing a recovery from a lower angle, and the spot I put my truck was the only place I could do that low angle pull. 15:31 shows the winch line rubbing on the bumper from the higher angle of my second choice of recovery location -- where I put the Ram to recover us both -- which I should have used initially. Because the irony of the whole thing is that the bumper I was worried about damaging is being upgraded in the next episode 🙂
Not shown in the video: the part after I also got stuck where we all realized that this video was going from "built 4Runner recovers stock 4Runner" to "built Ram recovers two stuck Toyotas" and had a big laugh about it. When I got home I jacked the front of my 4Runner up, took off the wheels and washed the mud out of every crack and crevice in my fill plate and skidplates and front suspension.
The lessons to take away from this video: mud sucks. Street tires aren't great in mud. Wear your gloves. And most of all, have fun.
I hope everyone here enjoys the series 🙂we had a great time making it.
I'm impressed how well your 4Runner performed. Of course it is easy to second guess anyone when you are not there. My 2014 Trail is set up similar to yours except the cut away front bumper. My winch being on a hitch mount would have probably buried in the same spot as the stock truck. The 3" lift, 33" tires and locker may have helped some. Good job overall!
Nice job on the video. I was glad to see how well your 4Runner performed. I have a similar setup on my 2014 trail. I don't have the cut away front bumper though. Would be interesting to see the difference. It's easy to second guess a recovery when not there...Peace.
@@kurtburkhardt5862 yeah that first drop into the mud is super steep, I ended up washing a ton of mud out of the fill plate / skids and that's without me getting stuck. I wouldn't want to do that spot with a receiver-mounted winch on the front.
Hey thanks for doing the video and remember that more stuck = more views. 😂 Love your truck and looking forward to seeing your series!
Ur claim to fame
I went off-road with my bone stock SR5 4runner, I have no problem. I can go wherever they go, 3" raised isn't much different, it's all about your driving skills.
This will be a great series. Look forward to that stock 4Runner's evolution.
Love the SR5.. just jelly of the TRD though 😂
A bone stock with better tires would have made a huge difference
Tires, tires, tires, tires, tires..... where the rubber meets the road. It's all about the contact patch.
@@NoToBigBro that's true, but there's 'bone stock" and then "bone stock with a tire upgrade." Run it with street tires first, then do a lift and tires and run it again and it will show you just how big a difference that mod makes.
@@backwoodstherapy No, just change the tires and lets see what, if any difference tires make as they become more aggressive. A lot of people think changing the stock tire for a mild all terrain will make a massive difference but it doesn't. You usually have to go to something significantly more aggressive to make a difference, especially in mud.
@@davep2945 I can tell you from personal experience, those Dunlops will do a lot in every terrain and weather(especially with the TRD abilities)but the slop shown here, no way. Surprised the TRD on KO2 did it so easily. Dedicated MT's are what I would expect see make it through that pit. Love my TRD OR and I am impressed with the Dunlops, but even I would not challenge it in that slop. lol
Not in that mud, the stock truck high centered, it might have gotten slightly farther before high centering, but that was mostly a ground clearance issue.
Did you notice how the Ram didn't drive down to the stuck vehicles and winched from firm ground? What did the modified 4Runner do?
Get stuck
Got closer with nature, that's the main part of off roading right ? 😅😅😅
James here 🙂 owner of the modified 4Runner.
I initially tried a low pull to keep from damaging the stuck 4Runner's bumper when attaching to its factory recovery point. As we found out, he was a lot more stuck than I initially thought.
To recover both trucks, I placed the Ram in the spot I should have used initially. Mud sucks.
Why is he not inside the vehicle holding the brake whilst winching and then drives closer getting into more trouble to try winch the second time round?🤔😂
Yep. Winching 101. Surprised I witnessed this on this channel.
That was hard to watch
And did they say he is going to take over the series?
Yea those were all basic winching SOPs that he broke. Unfortunate since a lot of people will watch this and try the same thing.
@@aaronlima1993. Agreed. Winching has never been their strength.
Side note for 4Runner owners, use extreme caution when using those OEM front tie down points for recoveries. They're not ment to be a recovery point.
„Lifting the truck gives you extra down travel“ - that sounds a little backwards 😅
C or E load ko2s??
Even a new set of BFG AT’s on the stock suspension would make a huge difference. Street tires are simply not Off Road worthy!
I don't think this guy has ever used a winch
Oof
Trying not to judge but I was getting frustrated watching.
I quickly rushed to the comments section to find this. That was all kinds of cringe.
For someone who doesn't know, what was the issue?
@@soota6083 he should of got more lined up with the stuck vehicle (if posible he would of been fine where he was at first) then #2 there was no reason to continue to move closer and closer to the stuck rig untikl he put him self i n a comoramised position #3 he kept just bumping his winch withch is ok in some senarios but when thats not working hold the dam button down and let the winch donits thing thats what there for. #4 and this is more preference that loop thing he has on his winch line is garbage either stick with some type of hook or use something like a freedom winch line that has no hook its just a loop and has a built in soft shackle more or less thats wgat i have on 3 of my current rigs and 1 that i sold and i think 4 of my friends have switched to them si ce using and seeing mine used
Watching tommy offroad makes my head hurt, he seems to forget theres this thing called momentum and if you stop in the middle of an obstacle or go 2MPH then you’re done for mate..
It's TFL, they don't do any significant off roading. They are typical Colorado yuppies..
This is the truth but they are all like this 😂
@@jeepinintexas6215yes
$11,000 in upgrades and still running the factory spare.
Great review Tommy! 👍 2 Great vehicles, but the biggest difference seems to be in the tire choice and amount of ground clearance.
Love this content. Love seeing base 4Runner stuff. Would love to see you guys try it with the same base model but better tires and maybe a front level kit
I don't know the first thing about off-roading or winching, but I feel like if I was winching someone I wouldn't want to be on a muddy slope. Why did he have to be down there and then get closer? Short winch? Shouldn't he have been in his car to help pull too at the same time? I think I would have done better
You're talking about common sense. You are also talking about the ability to analyze a situation and develop a smart and safe plan of attack. Vs. winging it. Trial and error. And plum stupidity. You will find a lot of people don't think before they do. Worse when they have been drinking and or are on narcotics. Have been observing this common human behavior all my life. You just have to rise above it and look past the fact most people don't slow down and think through a problem before acting out a solution.
Hi! James here from the video, happy to explain the choices (and mistakes) I made during the recovery. It's hard to get a full sense of the location and options from the video.
I had two choices for winching locations, the one I initially chose and where the Ram ended up pulling us both from. I chose the original winch spot because I wanted a lower angle pull to try to not damage his stock bumper when using the factory recovery point. The Ram's location was the better choice, but risked damaging his stock bumper due to the higher angle.
Here in Colorado we don't do a lot of recoveries in mud, although snow recoveries are similar (but there's less / no suction effect). For mud and snow a kinetic rope (like a big rubber band) is often the smoothest way to recover, but you need a bit of runway for that to work. In the location on the video, once you exit the mud hole you either immediately turn 90 degrees right or 45-60 degrees left. So there was no space to pull with a kinetic rope in a straight line.
In hindsight I should have put my 4Runner where I ultimately put the Ram and not worried about his stock bumper, because we're replacing it in the next video anyway 🙂but the main issue is that I misjudged how stuck he was.
Its all the tires. Rubber makes a huge difference
Rubbers will really save you some trouble
@@tuckerhiggins4336 😱😜
@@tuckerhiggins4336 Thats what SHE said!🤣
haha this was great. Glad you guys had fun on this. Absolutely love this course
Everybody loves to shout, it's the tires, bro! But it really is so much more than that. Just putting the same size mud tires on the SR5 without addressing the approach angle issue and perhaps the underbelly clearance issue would have resulted in the same situation. It was just plowing too much to get any momentum. The red 4Runner carried momentum in and out. If he had approached it slowly or stopped it's unlikely he would have made it out either. There are a lot of factors at play in these situations. Unfortunately, even guys into the scene don't always understand why things work the way they do. Instead, they understand what works but not why. For instance, the supposedly knowledgeable guy in the red 4Runner said lift increases travel but that's generally not true. In fact, in combination with larger tires and stiffer springs or greater preload rates lift can actually decrease travel and usually does in almost all of the inexpensive lift kits out there. But whether anointed by others or self professed, so called experts dispense all sorts of myths, rules of thumb that haven't applied in fifty years or just plain false information. Not because they are malicious but because they don't know any better. I still see journalists claiming to be truck guys who don't know what payload capacity means. Or they say adding heavier springs increases you vehicles GVWR. Legally it doesn't and given there are other components in the load path that matter, functionally it may not either. There's a lot of bad information out there spread by otherwise well meaning but misinformed people. Be careful.
This is the case in every industry, too. As you gain more expertise on a subject, you discover how many people who travel in those circles are just idiots.
Everyone tune in! Slick all seasons preform terribly in deep wet mud! Who knew!
An expert that needs more experience .
so $11k doesn't really make that much difference, the sr5 is really, really good offroad, just get tires. got it.
The factory tires are horrible on the sr5s. I only upgraded to Michelin defenders on mine which obviously is no crazy off-road tire by any means and it is beyond a night and day difference. So yes, sr5 with better tires is the way to go!
TFL coming in with another cool series? I'm all in!
I have a Jeep Wrangler JLU Sport. It came with street tires. The first thing I did was have the dealer add rock sliders. The second thing was to drive it to Discount Tire and have 4 Goodyear Wrangler UltraTerrain tires put on. They were the same size so no additional clearance but really good traction off road. Then I learned it capabilities while driving it for a couple of years and then added a lift and larger tires. While it is not a Rubicon it goes off road where I feel comfortable driving alone. I am not a rock crawler or an overlander but enjoy driving easy to moderate trails in the desert and in the mountains.
And the best part is you have a Jeep and not an ugly TuRD!
This dude bought it new and then dropped another $11,000 in three days?! Man, teachers don’t get paid enough. It hurt me to spend $1200 on my BFG ATs for my 150k mile 2015 4Runner Trail.
Hi! James here from the video. Happy to explain that "$11K in 3 days" comment if you're interested.
I started offroading in Colorado with a 2011 FJ Cruiser. Over 7 years / 65K miles I bought used bumpers, used suspensions, used roof racks. Multiple instances of each, installed most of it myself in my garage never having done a suspension install before. I just watched and experimented and learned on my FJ, over 7 years with more cheap used parts than you can imagine.
In 2018 I sold the FJ for $32K, that's properly built with ~65K miles (today it would be worth ~$42K). It was completely paid off at that point. Having already experimented on the FJ, I knew exactly how I wanted to build the 4Runner. So I bought the 4Runner with a loan, used some of that $32K from the FJ for mod budget and applied the rest to the loan. All said and done, I had a probably ~$20K loan on a brand new built 4Runner.
I've known a few guys with crazy jobs who can afford to drop big money on trucks they overbuild then rarely use, that's not me. I've known many more folks like you with a high-mileage daily who want to do as much offroading as they can with a limited mod budget on a truck they can't break because they drive it to work Mon-Fri. My FJ was my daily for about a year, after that I bought a $3000 Honda scooter and rode that to work. It used one gallon of gas a week. Coldest I ever rode to work was 16 degrees, fortunately it was just a 6 mile ride.
Do you own tools, have a space to work on your truck? Love this hobby so much that you're willing to spend the next 12 years of your life building a vehicle (or two) and the knowledge base to use it better than / more than most? Then you can do what I did too. The main thing I see people unwilling or unable to invest is time. The money is the easy part.
Thanks for watching!
@@jimmy-buffett That makes sense, thanks. The FJs are super pricey and you’re right that if you’d have been able to see the future and wait to sell it you’d have gotten a lot more. I appreciate your method, dedication, and response. It’s a very nice 4Runner! I’ve put an additional 10k miles on mine, 7,200 of which have been road trip miles (4Runner= a great road tripper minus the fuel economy but that’s a trade off for capability and reliability) and about 160 of those miles have been gravel or off road. Thanks.
@@jimmy-buffett I appreciate and respect the transparency here. Thanks for the info!
Currently driving a 1987 4runner turbo sr5 through bobcat trail in gary MN while watching!
From the removable top era! Do you ever go topless?
@@-Jethro- all the time! And I even Put a canoe up there after
My 4Runner is 95% stock. The only thing I changed is the tires and brakes and I guarantee I can clear this course. A good set of tires make all the difference!
You want to be careful lifting these ifs vehicle, to much lift and you run into issues with control arms and cv angles.
Not to mention you won’t get more down travel as this person said as you’ve increased spring rate to lift the vehicle.
Yea biggest issue is definitely the cv boots
I don’t think Roman has a problem buying Grant a new back bumper of choice. 😂
A 3” lift and some new tires make a world of difference. I love this new series ❤
A 3" lift is rarely done correctly. What is a panahard bar lol
Just tires will make big difference
3" is huge for IFS. 2" is preferred.
@@remembermorrison why is 2” preferred for IFS? Is there any way to make 2”+ suitable for IFS, such as upgrading control arms etc?Sorry for multiple questions, just trying to learn more to better decide on my own my lift
3” is too much for a 4Runner without doing quite a bit of work. 2.5” is max and 2.0” is best.
😂😂Welp, as a 2022 sr5 4 runner owner sometimes things don't go as planned. Love mine but i know how far to go before getting in over my head. 🥃🥃🥃Great work guys buy that guy a beer for the fun video!!
I have to agree with most of the comments here. Replacing the stock Dunlops helped me a lot with regard to traction. They can’t help much with the obstacles, but you can often overcome that limitation by choosing a good line.
That said, looking forward to the series and seeing all the stuff I can’t afford to do to my 4Runner 😂
Super excited for this series
I wheeled my little samurai with jeeps and full size trucks for many years, so I learned very early that the rear of your rig needs to be tethered to a tree or something before you winch someone out.
If you just do it every time, you won't have to worry about calling for help.
I felt bad for that poor samurai being subjected to medieval style torture, pulling some of those big fat heavy vehicles out.
This is gonna be a dangerous series for me, I just got my 4Runner Off Road Premium in Fort Colins CO yesterday.
Kevin, come pay us a visit out in Berthoud!
You guys need some winch training. Someone could have gotten seriously injured and I'm the kind of guy that says safety should be at least number 3. Also using ship hooks is a no no for something that's stuck. Becomes a projectile. Lastly throw a blanket over winch rope incase it does snap. Also lifting 4r does not give it more down travel. Going to midtravel setup may yield an extra inch of downtravel.
The obstacles make it nice to see the ability of vehicles you test, and also the recoveries that are required are also informative.
Only thing informative about this recovery was do t do anything that this dude just did it was a materclass on how to litteraly do everything wrong and look like an idiot lol
@@nathanwoten6236 Say what? Is your spell check broken? Do you not proof read your own comments? While I think I agree with what you were trying to say, might want to re-evaluate how your responses look to others when you call someone an "idiot". Will be more credible if you look smart while saying it. 😉
This will be an interesting series. I have a 2014 Trail (basically TRD Off road). I did take it out with only Stock size General Grabber AT tires. It worked amazingly well. I am now 3" lifted with a winch and 33" Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT tires. I don't have aftermarket bumpers so my approach/departure angles aren't quite as good. It now is very capable and I often end up as the recovery vehicle for others. That was a sloppy mess and the front end was buried. Working against gravity on a slippery slope was a difficult spot. It's easy to second guess. Tying off the pulling vehicle or being up higher on dryer ground would have helped. May have still needed a heavier vehicle anyway. Physics is tough, was a good learning moment for everyone to see...
Amazing!!!! So happy to be part of this series.
See you guys in the next video!
The stock '24 Runner SR5 with Nitto Terra Grapplers would have no problem especially in A-Trac.
Ah this is that day from over 2 weeks ago I have been waiting for! SWEET! I would say you did not have to do this for me, but you obviously are. 🤣 SR5, same color as my rig. Tires on the SR5, same as on mine. However, I discovered watching your contestants going through Tommy's demise, there was no way my 4R TRD stock on those Dunlops would have made it. I believe I said as much in the comments section, in at least 1 video. So, you really did not have to prove it would not do it on my account. 🤣 I already acknowledged that limitation. But still, it was kind of you to illustrate it. lol And it was nice you(Tommy)gave those tires a little credit out there. I know they won't deal with the slop, never said they would. But they will take people further OR than given credit for. The modified TRD OR with KO2's did better than I would have thought. And that is saying something, as I know how capable it is in stock form.(on the Dunlops)
I thought about going over there with my stock 4Runner, I guess I'll stick to dirt roads for now. 🤣🤣
Could have probably winched him out easily the first try if he just kept the winch going. 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off.
Also doesn’t help to come closer. Winch is stronger when spooled out.
initial winch rescue showed greenhorn level.😅 thanks for sharing. enjoyed!
I’ll be interested in how you build out the SR5.
Hi! James here from the video. In Colorado, as long as you have ATRAC (which the SR5 does) you can build a very capable trail rig. The most likely traction issue these trucks have on the trails here in Colorado is lifting a front tire, which requires a front locker to fix. ATRAC applies the ABS brakes to the slipping tire, which helps to keep it from spinning and puts energy back into the other wheels to get you moving.
The TRD Offroad gets Multi-Terrain select -- configurable ATRAC that lets you vary the slip -- but also crawl control and a rear locker. For all the trail running that I've done in my FJ and now 4Runner, I've used the lockers about ~5 times. ATRAC gets me over 99% of obstacles.
This can vary based on your terrain, I think the rear locker would be better in mud than on our rocks here in Colorado. But for Colorado specifically, ATRAC is enough and your SR5 has that.
I’m sure no one in the comments has ever made a mistake before, especially on camera.
If you approach things on a bit of an angle instead of driving directly into it you can go alot more places without bottoming out. If you actually drive a stock 4runner and have decent tires on it you will be amazed at were it can go. You dont need crawl control and the other fancy stuff, lockers are a huge help though.
If he is a hardcore offroader why does he still have the OEM spare tire/wheel ? I run Duratracs on OEM wheels in the winter and 255/80-17 Ridge Grapplers on the Trd wheels for Summer on my Trd Off-road.
Hi! James here from the video.
I still have the stock spare tire because I've had exactly one tire issue in ~12 years of extensive offroading here in Colorado, and that was from a bent valve stem that didn't cause an issue until I tried to air it up at the end of the day. Oh, and that was on my FJ that did have a full size spare 🙂 because it was on the rear door.
I had three Toyota engineers on a ride-along in my 4Runner in 2019 at FJ Summit, talking about the 6th gen 4Runner. One of the complaints I shared was the limited space for a matching spare tire under the back deck. I haven't tried one of my 33's under there, but I know that the guys who have KDSS definitely have issues with larger tires hitting the KDSS lines. I don't love the hassle of the swingout bumpers on the 4Runner, so I keep the stock spare underneath and roll the dice. Hasn't been an issue yet.
If you've seen any of the new Lexus GX videos in the last week, one of the things that immediately stood out to me was that the tailgate door goes up rather than opening to the side. Every GX before this had side-opening doors, contrasted against the 4Runner's door that opens up. If the next 4Runner's door opens sideways like the FJ and has a spare tire mount on the back...well I'm not claiming credit for that, but I'll be very happy if that's the case.
I just don't understand why you kept moving the red 4R down that slippery hill to winch up the stock 4R? Chock block the red one if it's slipping or move it even higher up the hill, not toward the slippage! 😂
Are you sure James is a professional?
Experts on UA-cam
Experts in the comments
Idk wtf to believe
Bringing the built closer was a mistake, as mentioned. What about using the traction boards to help cross the mud? Maybe help keep momentum across the mud for the steep climb?
Nice demo guys! I'm excited to see what James does with that SR5. I have a 2016 SR5 that I bought used, and am very, (very!) slowly building to be a better off-roader. Tires and wheels were my first upgrade along with better brake pads and rotors. Trying to figure out what I want to do with that low-hanging front bumper, so I can pull the trigger on the right lift.
We just shot the final video with the finished build today, on a training obstacle that I've been using for years near Boulder. You will be impressed with what this truck can do. The SR5 with just ATRAC does very well here in Colorado, I can't speak for other places with different terrain like sand or mud.
For your build I would definitely do bumper first, then lift. Make the decision on both before doing either, but it helps to set the front suspension height correctly when you already have the bumper / winch weight on. As for picking your 4Runner bumper, if there's an offroading club near you attending a Meet & Greet is the best way to see a lot of different bumpers in person. This was one of the best parts of a large event like FJ Summit, you got to see every possibility and figure out what you like in person.
My build is an Expedition One front bumper with OME BP-51 suspension. I won't spoil the next two videos with the choices the owner makes (working with sponsors for the video series), but in my opinion it's a very well built truck.
Thanks for watching!
I'm looking forward to this series, make that 4runner a beast!
Oh Tommy, looks like you got a battle wound on the passenger side rear bumper by the end of the video. Time for aftermarket :)
Good vid. It’s a good truck. I guess it just matters what you’re going to do with it. Thank you.
About to get a 4runner so this is a great series. In our area its really had to find non premium models so the difference in price between SR5 and OffRoad is relatively small so getting the rear locker was an easy choice though ive seen enough videos to know that a-trac can do a heck of a lot to make it so you dont need a locker. I dont have a locker on my truck and the aftermarket options are almost zero so i wish i would have got it from the beginning.
Hi! James here from the video. Where do you live? Here in Colorado, our most common traction issue on IFS trucks is lifting a front tire while climbing an obstacle (which you'll see in the 4th video). I've followed double-locked Jeeps up difficult obstacles like the Poughkeepsie Wall in Ouray, the front locker makes for a much smoother climb than our ATRAC. But in most situations, the ATRAC is just as good.
In ~250 runs in Colorado on most of the named trails in the state, I've used my rear locker (FJ + 4Runner) a total of 5 times. ATRAC for our terrain is that good. If you live somewhere with terrain similar to Colorado, just ATRAC in the SR5 will probably be good enough. MTS / Multi Terrain Select in the Offroad is configurable ATRAC, allowing more or less slip depending on your terrain. If you live somewhere with more mud than rocks, the Offroad with MTS and the rear locker are probably the better choice for you.
Would it make sense on a track like that to put chains on? I would think it would be super helpful during the muddy spots, but would it be bad to drive with chains on during the non-muddy spots?
And RAM saves the day!
We actually discussed this during the recovery, how the video went from "built 4Runner recovers stock 4Runner" to "built Ram recovers two Toyotas" 🙂the winch on that Ram was a lot beefier than my 9500 lb ComeUp.
You didn’t need a rescue if you swapped your All Season Crap Dunlop Tires with the BFG KO2 or Falken Wildpeaks
Was excited to watch this until 0:50 when I saw you're running street tires.
What is the point?
The 4Runner is such a great old school vehicle…..need to get one
They are outrageously priced now.
Great video! One thing that always surprises me is when people upgrade tires but only 4 of them. Always buy 5! I’m curious why the owner of the red 4Runner only bought 4 and is running the street tire as a spare.
I had 5 on my FJ, with the spare mounted on the rear door. I haven't done a full sized spare on the 4Runner because in ~12 years of offroading here / ~250 runs, I've only had one tire issue and that was a bent valve stem that didn't fail until airing up. I don't like any of the dual-swingout bumpers for the 4Runner -- they're always in the way -- so I'm rolling the dice on not having a full size spare. Worst-case, if I ever do need to use it then it goes on the front and I run in 2WD to save the diff.
A very valid point, and something I've thought about extensively and made a conscious decision about. I've also never owned a hi-lift.
(p.s. I had 3 Toyota engineers in my 4Runner in 2019 at FJ Summit, talking about the 6th gen. one of the requests I made was a side-opening door that could hold a spare, like the FJ. the GX they just previewed 2 weeks ago changed its door from side-opening to top-opening, which makes me think the 4Runner may be getting a side opening door. if it does, 99% chance they put the spare on the door)
Thanks for watching!
Should have called Matt! But seriously dropping $11k to build a true off road 4R you need to install a front locker like the Eaton E-locker Model 14219-1 or ARB air locker ARB-RD111 or ARB-RD121.
Does the 4Runner have tow hooks on both sides in the front? I known Tacoma doesn’t. It has a tie down on one side. Shouldn’t pull on a tie down.
There are factory recovery points at the front of each of the frame rails, yes.
Sorry meant to say recovery points. After further digging it looks like those are tie down loops that Toyota doesn’t rate and says shouldn’t be used for recovery. So in theory 4runner doesn’t have recovery points up front stock, just tow points. Likelihood of fail is very low but outcome of a failure can be pretty bad. Toyota seems to lack here compared to other makes.
@@gs98999 You are absolutely right, at a recovery class I took a few weeks ago the instructor noted that these are meant more for tying down during transport than recovery. He said they are rated to a certain weight rating for recoveries, but didn't know the rating off the top of his head. Fortunately there's two of them so you can use a bridle to connect two of them and spread the load.
The next video is a bumper upgrade with real recovery points.
I’ve got a 2022 sr5 4Runner after coming from a Tacoma trd off road and tires alone without lift you’ll be just fine. Only thing I’d do to make it even better is maybe a shock and springs upgrade something more cushy
James did a nice job on his Toyota, I especially like his tire choice. In my opinion, Goodyear is a far more superior tire than the BF-GOODRICH
And I've experienced the opposite (KO2 vs Duratracs) with traction and longevity. Tried them both, the KO2's were better, but the Falken Wildpeaks that I have on my tacoma now are outlasting both of them and still looking good.
KO2s aren't good. Just old tech. Falkens are better. Can't speak to the gy
@Tucker Higgins Yeah, I can't speak for Falken, but I've tried several different types of BF,G's & all were unimpressive, to say the least.
@THE HVACR DUDE never tried the two you're speaking of, but between BF,G's & Goodyear BF,G's are overrated trash.
But I can't blame TFL for running KO2 or KO3 only because they are giving to them
Did you noticed his tire choice did not include a matching spare?
I bought AT tires for my SR5 right away. Cost me $1k for new tires but worth every penny. At least I didnt spend $11k like the red 4 runner owner did! That would wipe out my bank account and put the 4 runner in TRD PRO price range. Thats expensive territory imo.
Exact same thing I did, these off-road-overlanding mods are too much $$ for 10% off-roading every car sees in its lifetime.
All I did was put some BFG KO2s before I drove my SR5 premium out of the showroom
Warn could use this as a “how not to recover” training video.
Not shown in the video due to time constraints: the same person (me) who picked a poor position for the 4Runner on the initial pull also picked the right position for the Ram to recover us both.
I tried a low angle pull to avoid damaging his front bumper, you can see my first line under tension at 13:22 and that it wasn't touching his front bumper. It obviously didn't work. You can see the higher angle pull at 15:32 rubbing on the bottom of his bumper, what I was initially trying to avoid. Which ultimately didn't matter, because we're replacing the bumper in the next episode 🙂
Line of Approach/Exit & Momentum.
90% vehicle 10% tire
Thank you guys, nice video and I liked a lot the background music, good choice, I love country! 🥰
Very cool video! Looking forward to the series!
You need to mod the 4Runner TRD Off Road because they still only come with crap all season highway tires
Awesome. Glad you are back.
I like how tfl uses terrible driving to make things much more difficult than they need to be.
They really can't drive for shit from what I've seen.
Agreed, we also like how Monday morning quarterbacks who have never been off-road like to lecture us🤦♂️
Lmao, you must have hit a nerve with them for that kind of reply to your comment 😂....
Yup I agree, I remember back when Tommy had his gray 2 door JK Sport and was off roading it without the sway bars disconnected getting minimal articulation on the trail. He spent all that money on 35s, Rugged Ridge wheels, fancy Teraflex lift kit and Bestop bumpers but didn't have sway bar disconnects 🤔???
At least some of us actually build our own off road rigs instead of having a shop do all the labor and hard work. I guess they might break a nail handling tools and components. Typical yuppies lol.
My stock SR5 did black bear pass no problems, well I did have KO2’s
you need to cut the stump at dirty deeds
Nice gouge in the rear bumper of grey 4 Runner. The Dunlop Grandtrek tires are absolute garbage. Even Wrangler Adventures with Kevlar would be a huge upgrade but Duratracs are among the very best. I have them on my Tundra and my brother in law has them on his Tacoma.
Honestly the Wrangler Adventures with Kevlar are much better tires than people think. Great primarily on road AT.
@@remembermorrison I had them on my Tacoma for the summer season...very decent tire.
Two people noticing the gouge on the 4Runner's rear bumper 🙂 FYI that was actually there when he bought it.
Dunflops are the worst tire . Road, mud, sand, snow they are pure garbage.
15:01 I wouldn’t be standing there while cable is under tension. I wouldn’t be sticking my head out the window either.
Would a kinetic rope pull have worked? Will probably need 2 30’ ropes.
Hi! James here from the video. I have a kinetic rope, but we didn't have the space to use it on this recovery. After about a truck length out of the mud, it's either a 90 degree turn to the right or a ~45 degree turn to the left. So there was no runway to do a straight kinetic pull.
I've used my kinetic rope a few times on snow recoveries, it's a great tool. I'd rather use it on a truck with better recovery points than these stock ones, those recovery points are coming in the next video!
Toyota owners punching the air rn
Any vehicle can do any trail… once.
What were the tire upgrades? To what tires?
All you need is A/T tires on a stock 4Runner
That guy should start a UA-cam channel called "the virgin wheeler".... but might have a heart attack.....
You should have got a fj40
When you raise a 4Runner 3inches without some suspension changes, you lose about all your down travel.
Lifting your vehicle doesn’t increase your down travel. The expert is wrong to make that statement.
thats why you got to have a pair of boots in the back of your truck
If you want to do serious Off-roading buy a Jeep. Solid front axle offers so many advantages it’s insane!
Tommy literally owns a two door JL and they had a Gladiator.
Street tires never work
What psi would you air down to on the stock tires?
MOPAR to the rescue as usual.
It would have been nice to see the difference if you just added a good set of tires to the stock one.
Hi! James here from the video. For the mud part, I suspect that a better set of tires and engine / transmission / transfer case would have made a big difference. Clearance is still a factor, but the uneven surface of the bottom of this stock 4Runner likely grabbed a lot more mud than an upgraded set of skids would have. Mine has a full set of skidplates, so nice smooth surfaces to slide over the top of the mud.
As it was, I still picked up a ton of mud from the entry drop that took lifting the truck, removing the tires then ~2 hours to wash out.
@@jimmy-buffett I agree yours had a better advantage with all the mods you have made. I would like to see how much just the tires alone would have made. I feel like it would have shown more of the advantages of all those extras you did. Your truck did an amazing job.
What kind of bumper did you put on?
We have 4th and 5th gen 4Runners. Must have mods. 2” front lift… on new truck use Toytec front 2” preload spacer. On rear use Toytec 1.5” spacer lift. Tires install BFGoodrich KO2 stock size 265-70-17 load C. Upgrade to TRD Pro Wheels if you want a little more offset. They come in a few colors and are high quality. Finally have suspension aligned to around 3 degrees of caster to improve tracking at high speed. I’ll explain why all these upgrades are good if anyone is interested below. Have a great day! 😎
Oh boy people are gonna argue about the preload springs all day
@@tuckerhiggins4336 yup... spacer lifts are trash. A good mid-range lift is only around $1200. Horrible advice from Bob Stubs.
@@remembermorrison They are not spacers that go on top of shock assembly. They go on top of the coil spring which requires disassembly of the struts. This is no different than an adjustable coil over shock with threaded collar. The only difference is there is no adjustment. It just sets suspension at a 2” lift. Trust me there is no issue at all with doing this and is a great economical way to correct 4Runner ride height if doing work on a new truck. No reason to throw away all new parts for a complete suspension replacement. Another option is OME lift springs and Bilestein 5100 shocks…. Good to do on a vehicle with more miles.
@@remembermorrison Curious your background to have such a negative opinion. You’ve been reading too much propaganda from suspension lift companies. Lol 🥴🤣
@@tuckerhiggins4336 they can argue but they’ll still be wrong. 😄