GrnGrand97's aka "Operation Mall Crawler" Build Thread

[GrnGrand97]

Finally got to test out the suspension and got the snorkel and ditch brackets installed. Still have a ton of parts to install.










Snorkel and brackets






Still unsure of round lights, mocked up not installed


VS Stock

[Seanz0rz]

Looking good! I'm still not sold on the ditch light idea though. I'd have to see some in action to see if they glare up the hood.

[GrnGrand97]

Looking good! I'm still not sold on the ditch light idea though. I'd have to see some in action to see if they glare up the hood.

In theory they should be pointed to the side and down away from the hood. I won the brackets so I figured why not put them on. Still deciding on lights.

[GrnGrand97]

My buddy and I decided to partake in a 3 day adventure in the Telluride area. He has been really wanting to get into the Overlanding scene and has been looking at the new 3rd Gen Tacoma TRD OR. So we decided to take out my 3rd Gen 4Runner and see what she could do. Our 1st stop on the list was Ophir Pass and camp at Alta Lakes.

We decided to take the long way to get the Ouray and go through Cottonwood Pass and down. This way would an extra hour to our drive, but neither one of us had taken that Pass. The top of the Pass was pretty cool, turned out to just be a well maintained dirt road, but offered some great scenes.



Next stop: Ouray and then the Million Dollar Highway to Ophir Pass.

Ouray is a pretty cool little town, definitely was worth the stop.



Now we are off to the Ophir Pass on the Million Dollar Highway. This highway felt a little sketchy with no sway-bars in the rain




After 6 hours of driving, we finally made it to Ophir Pass

At the summit




Going down the summit was at least a little fun

[GrnGrand97]

The town of Ophir, which used to be a supply hub for all the mines in the area


Now that Ophir is done, we are on our way to our camping spot at Alta Lakes






4Runner camping


Quick review: This trail was extremely easy, but pretty beautiful drive. Not sure if I would do this trail again, except as a way to get to Alta Lakes. It could have been because we were already on the road but overall wasn't too impressed with the trail. Seeing the town of Ophir was kind of cool though.

Up next: Telluride and Imogene Pass

[GrnGrand97]

Day 2: Telluride and Imogene Pass

After we broke down camp we decided to head down to Telluride and spend part of there day before we would hit up Imogene Pass. Telluride is a pretty cool town, and the free Gondola is an added bonus.

Leaving Alta Lakes


The beginning of Imogene Pass: We started in Telluride

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psos4mxbje.jpg

Looking at Black Bear Pass and Bridal Falls
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psoqr7ojtj.jpg




At the top of Imogene 13K feet up









Heading down:




The stream crossing. It is a lot stepper than it looks. The Wrangler in front of me smacked his tail pipe and I smacked my trailer hitch



The campsite for the night. We camped on a nice cliff face that you could see down into the old mining town



Our little visitor


I would highly recommend doing Imogene in reverse, starting in Ouray. It's a lot more technical starting in Ouray.

[GrnGrand97]

Day 3: Black Bear Pass and Last Dollar Road

Here is a shot of my KO2's at the beginning of Day 3. They held up great, tackled everything we threw at them.


This was a cool "Rescue" truck at the bottom of Imogene


The beginning...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps3okjz4tr.jpg


A cool flex spot we found before we started to head down the other side of Black Bear Pass


Heading down



Telluride



The point of no return


Looking down Telluride


Well this looks fun





We made it


Bridal Falls

[GrnGrand97]

Our camping spot on Lost Dollar Road

[YotaFun]

Awesome pictures dude! Thanks for sharing, looked like an awesome trip!

[GrnGrand97]

Awesome pictures dude! Thanks for sharing, looked like an awesome trip!

It was an awesome area of Colorado to go explore.