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Thread: 4x4Mike's 2007 4Runner

  1. #1

    4x4Mike's 2007 4Runner

    I finally got around to uploading some pictures so I thought I'd share the progress on the 4th gen. So far it's been a perfect vehicle and I'm having a lot of fun with it. It's got a lot of power and torque for the mountains and has done great on snowy roads and trails. Miles per tank is about the same if not slightly better than the 3rd gen and the added weight, what ever it may be (don't care), hasn't hampered it offroad. I did have a width issue on one trail but the 3rd gen wouldn't have made it either.

    This first pic was the day after the lift. I didn't take any pre-lift measurements but the lift made it higher. Prior to the lift I had some rubbing in the front but that was taken care of with some fender liner realigning. Shown also are the Stubbs HD-SKO sliders I welded on.






    Another welding project was a bracket for my ARB compressor. I've had York OBA on my past two vehicles (17+ years) and it's great and hard to be without. I chose the dual compressor as it had the highest output and seemed reasonable from a size perspective. I wanted it under hood and had seen it mounted on the driver side online so I went at it. There is a larger pocket on the passenger side but I wanted to leave that spot open in case I decide to put a second battery or winch solenoid in that location.






    After the lift I received my CBI order of a front skid. No pictures here but it's a heavy piece of bent metal and it's on. It covers from just behind the bumper to the first cross member. I'm still running the stock transmission/transfer case skid but will make a new one out of the 3rd gen belly pan I kept.
    Last edited by 4x4mike; 04-16-2018 at 06:44 PM.

  2. #2
    In front of the CBI skid is my C4Fabrication low profile bumper. I went this route because I plan to run a winch in the future and I wanted another light bar. After having one on the 3rd gen I couldn't be without. Theft protection is as important as the light and this bumper does it all while retaining most of the factory bumper and aerodynamics. The bar is from ExtremeLED and is a 30" single row combo bar. C4Fab sells the bar and the cut out is especially for this model. Fit and craftsmanship is top notch on the bumper. It's very stout and just clean. I'm still working on a permanent license plate mount and hopefully what I have will keep me out of a ticket. Hopefully the red DMV paper in the window does the same. It showed up in the mail one day as DMV just recently found out the title changed hands.







    Another item on the list to take care of was a rear cargo shelf. I had built one for the 3rd gen and it ended up being a vital piece to our travel. I decided to build one out of 80/20 and while I have mixed feelings about working with the product it turned out pretty nice. In short it's just overkill for an item such as a shelf.
    I covered the top of the 80/20 with sanded 1/2" maple ply and covered that wood with spray can bedliner for a tough less-slip surface. I also stuck on some LED strip lighting that plugs into the new dedicated rear USB outlets. The fridge slide is mounted to the floor and I utilized threaded holes that hold down the 3rd row seats. Fridge is plugged into a new dedicated 12v socket. Future additions to the shelf may include a pull out cutting board/work surface but I'm afraid it will be too high to use comfortably. I've got a cool idea in my head but might also see about connecting something to the fridge slide to work on.










  3. #3
    Shelf and bumper look awesome!

  4. #4
    Thanks. Thanks for the help with the 80/20 as well.

  5. #5
    Looks Great Mike!

    Is the fridge new? I don't remember seeing that before. Do you leave it in the truck all the time?
    93 4runner - 3.0 5spd
    2005 LandCruiser

  6. #6
    I've had the fridge for about a year and had a similar set up with the shelf in the 3rd gen. It's much taller and a bit wider and longer than the ice chest I used to carry so I had to make provisions. My shelf in the 3rd gen had two height settings and neither was tall enough for the fridge so I had to make new support arms. Now in the 4th gen I built the new shelf around the height of the fridge and I am getting used to the new storage space/area.

    I should do a post about the fridge. I've talked myself in and out of one for something like 8 years and always sided with no. For no good reason I changed my mind and of course all of my concerns became real life but it only took a short time and a bunch of money to get used to. The fridge "just kind of showed up" and while my wife knows all about them I didn't really bother to try to sell her on one. One day into our first trip with it she told me she loved it which was awesome but little did she know there was a lot on my end to keep it powered, etc. It lives in the garage unplugged but gets used in both of our vehicles for day trips, tail gating and the kids sports, outside of longer trips (camping or not). It's been used in the house a couple of times, because I can, as well as in cabins and bear boxes. As such I've built in some portability to my system and it's been working out well.

    The shelf has been great in both 4runners but ultimately its part of a system. This picture is from a trip we took to Corral Hollow and Slick Rock where we stayed in a friends cabin. Because we weren't camping we didn't have a lot of extra gear but I also didn't have what we did bring in bins or Action Packers. I'm not a fan of drawers for my use but the bins obviously contain and keep all of our crap organized. While this is far from ideal the shelf made things easier.


  7. #7
    The 4Runner looks great, Mike! Does the 4th gen have considerably more interior space than the 3rd?

    It's interesting to see no V8 emblem on the grill. I thought all V8 4Runners had a V8 emblem. Maybe I'm mistaken, or did you swap out the grill?
    -Daniel2000 4Runner Sport | V6 | 5spd | 4x4 | Leather | 265/75-16 BFG AT/KO | OBA | BudBuilt front skid

    1990 4Runner SR5 | V6 | Auto | 2wd | 3.90 rear | Cobra CB | 265/65r17 Bridgestone Duelers H/Ts | '08 Tacoma 5 spoke rims | Has an 11:1 crawl ratio! SOLD

  8. #8
    Never tough about a fridge in a bear box but we don't get up to bear country all too often. Love to see how that works, I'm thinking long extension cord?

    So you are saying the fridge is well worth the money? I've been on the fence since my big trip last year, your opinion might just swing me.

    Truck looks great!
    93 4runner - 3.0 5spd
    2005 LandCruiser

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by DHC6twinotter View Post
    The 4Runner looks great, Mike! Does the 4th gen have considerably more interior space than the 3rd?

    It's interesting to see no V8 emblem on the grill. I thought all V8 4Runners had a V8 emblem. Maybe I'm mistaken, or did you swap out the grill?
    The 4th gen is bigger in every dimension but not huge. My wife's 2012 Honda Pilot feels larger (wider and more interior room) but I'm enjoying the extra room in the 4th gen. The 3rd gen always felt crammed. I'd say I'm of average size but if I were any larger in any direction it would be very uncomfortable (that's what she said). The passenger area in the 4th gen is considerably larger (leg room, width, and height) which is so nice. When all 4 of us were in the 3rd gen it felt like a clown car and the first comment from anyone who rode in it that didn't have a 3rd gen would be about it's size. In short, the 4th gen is many many times more comfortable to sit in and drive. The seats are more comfortable and the increased width of the vehicle gives more room towards the door and a wider center console is nice for both front seat passengers.

    The cargo area is also larger. I have the 3rd row option but have the two seats removed. The 3rd row option has a different floor and rear interior plastic but I don't think it cuts down on space. The largest difference is the floor as a portion of the seat mount to it. The rear (middle) seats are also different since they have to tilt forward for passengers to get in the back. The major bonus to this is that the rear (middle) seats recline. This is almost standard in vehicles now and my kids like it. The 3rd gen middle row had very upright seating and the few times I was a rear passenger was less than desirable.

    The emblem. It's supposed to have the emblem but it wasn't there when I bought it. The grill is stock for the '07 SR5 trim. I can see where it goes (or was) and I figure someone swiped it prior to me owning it. I might pick one up but it hasn't been high on the list. Before too long I'll do plugs, wires, and filters so I'll probably poke around Camelback and see if it's worth it to throw it in the cart. The extra 10 hp would be fun.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by RobG View Post
    Never tough about a fridge in a bear box but we don't get up to bear country all too often. Love to see how that works, I'm thinking long extension cord?

    So you are saying the fridge is well worth the money? I've been on the fence since my big trip last year, your opinion might just swing me.

    Truck looks great!
    Man, I looked everywhere for the picture of it in the bear box but couldn't find it. Picture a brown bear box with an ARB fridge in it and you'll get the idea. On that trip we were staying in brand new Forest Service cabins and they only had heat. No water or power. I didn't want the car cut open like a tuna can, or be THAT guy, so I played by the rules. I never used a huge ice chest and I'd say the fridge, while tall, is about the size of ice chests most people use.

    You'd have the weigh the benefits between an ice chest and a fridge to determine if it's worth the money. I'm not made of it so for me it was expensive, as were the items I chose to buy to support it. Sure it's nice but I never had issues with an ice chest for up to 5 days, even in the summer. The fridge does add convenience in some areas but takes away in others but again it's personal.

    Off the top, cons. They are large, they are heavy, they are expensive, they require power and they create heat.
    Pros. No ice or soggy food.

    I had a good system with regular ice chests without soggy food and for trips less than 5 days I never really needed to find ice. If the above cons aren't an issue they might be a good choice. I will add that I did purchase additional items to support the fridge for my use. In the end I paid about as much for these items as I did the fridge.

    For one I had to reconfigure the cargo area. This required the building of new shelf legs. I bought a slider as well as heavy duty 12v sockets and 8g wiring for each of our vehicles. To supplement the vehicle power I built a new solar charged battery box. There is an old post on UY about these. This one is my 4th and it contains a 55ah AGM battery and Victron charge controller with Bluetooth. It can be powered with any of my mobile solar panels but I mostly use my 100w flexible panel that I attach to the roof or roof basket with large magnets. The magnets are mounted in the corners and allow easy on and off between our two vehicles, attaching to bear boxes or removal to catch the sun on the horizon. The nice thing about the flexible panel is that it is super thin and you can't see it from standing on the ground on either vehicle. The magnets also hold it in place while driving. The battery allows me to operate with the vehicle off, without fear of draining the starting battery, or away from the vehicle.

    Again I should do a post about the fridge and how I run it. When I got it I did a bunch of research and everyone has their own method.

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