If my daughter can do it - you can too!

2 weeks prior I installed a Body Armor bumper and Smittybilt X20 winch on my 2019 TRD Off-Road - daughter liked what she saw and drove (6 hours) to Dad's for some help installing hers. She did most of it herself.







Oh, just in case you're wonderin, she's got an 11 yo daughter and married to her handsome Air Force husband....

 

Nice!

Power tools really help. I did mine w/o them. Picked up a set of Milwauki Tool power tools a few months ago.

 

"..Body Armor bumper and Smittybilt X20 winch on my 2019 TRD Off-Road.."
I'm putting together a list of front bumpers I'm considering mostly similar to the low profile/single hoop hidden winch type. I do the spreadsheet OCD thing for major modifications..lol
Would you provide the part number for the bumper and winch? Thanks!

 

As a "retired" mechanic I accumulated a lot of tools over a 25+ year span. However, from the mid 90s to a couple of years ago I added very little to my tool inventory. Then, for reasons unknown (maybe boredom), I bought a Hobart welder and somewhat learned how to weld. Then I got on a DeWalt kick and now have everything I could possibly need in the way of a cordless 20volt tool. They have not collected dust. I am more active (mechanically) now at 77 than I have been in the past 20 years. Friends & family now call my place Pop's Garage. I do notice that my pain med usage has increased a bit - more activity on increasingly aging joints but the joy I get out of helping myself and others is a personal plus - and once again I'm learning new stuff daily! I got a call last night from my step-daughter whose 19yo son just bought a '05 Runner and wants to swap out the OEM radio for one that can accommodate a backup camera - guess he was gonna attempt it himself but Daddy said you ain't touchin it unless Pop is overseeing it...

 

Awesome! Great looking 4runner

 

It's like you already know how these animals gonna react!!!!

 

Great job. Love seeing people do there own work. Even more so when our kids share the same passion as us.

 

Back when my daughter had an FJ cruiser, I helped her install her lift and bumper in my driveway.

She is above average mechanically competent, but really doesn’t like to get her hands dirty.

 

Thanks for your comments - I so agree!

 

Thanks - she's put a lot of work into it and does most herself when capabilities allow..

 

When my middle daughter was 15, she started helping me work on my pickup. Changing the oil, transmission oil, air filter, etc etc. In return, I taught her how to drive in it. She loves that Little Truck so much, when she graduated boot camp and got stationed at Camp Pendleton, I let her use it while she was there. She would come home on some of the long weekends, stuff like that, and we'd work on the truck together.
She even got the hyd shop at the Station Motor Pool to make up a new set of hoses for the Power Steering. Nice way to get a set of free hoses It helped that she is a tall, blonde, girl. Even got a number of modeling offers while she was at Camp Pen.

Now, she won't let me sell the truck for anything. She wants to buy it off me, to teach her 3 sons, all of whom plan on joining the Corps when they graduate high school. One even wants to go to college, and become an officer! She wants to teach them how to drive a manual transmission in it. I am nowhere near ready to give it up yet, but when I do, it's hers, and she knows it

Pretty impressive, that a single truck can last for 3 generations worth of a family! Toyotas are just bomb-proof!

That 4Runner sure looks in a lot better shape than my two. Love that bumper, I really do. I welded up a brush guard on my 2 87's. I can't wait till my lovely wife lets me put one, or a new pair of bumpers, on the 99. Maybe even some side steps. Are you going to put something like that on yours, or your daughter's? Or even sliders?


Have fun, all!
Pat☺

 

This is awesome to see. I had my 2 and 6 year old daughters help me put together a victory 4x4 roof rack last night. Start them young haha.

 

It's great to see kids learning about cars from their dads.

I helped my dad with a brake job on a 49 Mercury when I was 10 years old and that hooked me for life. I've always tried to do my own work when it was within my capability and it has saved me $$$. Now, my son (Junior in college) has never had an interest in working on cars even though I've tried to engage him to help me. He's more than happy to ride in my old Mustang GT Convertible but when it comes to working on it, not interested. That said, he does love paddling same as I do and we have paddled many hundreds of miles as a result - He paddled his own kayak on a week long 120 mile river paddle trip when he was 10 and I took him to the Boundary Waters when he was 15. I'll take that as a suitable substitute...

Cheers,
-Bob

 

To all the above: It took a very long time to establish this rapport with my youngest daughter - I have another daughter, 2nd oldest, who stopped our relationship years ago so maybe it doesn't make up for that but it is so treasured - just like what you all have stated. Working with your kids is just so special. Not all kids are mechanically inclined - that's just the way it is and always has been but we love them all no matter what. Pat, give her the damn truck!

 

I have the same bumper/winch. The bumper looks great but comes with some of the worst powder coat I have seen. Either going to have to remove mine and have it redone or clean the hell out of it and spray it to get me through to when I can have it redone. Had the guy that owns the place I have taken a few things over the years and just recently and he just shook his head

 

There ain't no "ha-ha" about that - they are at a perfect age to start learning this stuff. We generally think that its just a lark to try and teach kids anything when they're so young but in reality kids this age are simply sponges for information, especially if they have an interest in it. God bless ya for getting them involved. My grandson was fully operating my Yamaha Rhino when he was 5 - could barely touch the pedals but he was doing it and doing it well due to the previous two years sitting on my lap and teaching him to focus. Whenever he got "sidetracked" (acting like the 3 year old he was) I'd simply say that's enough - you can't do it. It didn't happen over night but he loved steering it down the street on Pop's lap and by the time his feet could touch the pedals he knew to stay focused on the road without any coaching from me. I'm just amazed at what young kids can learn with the right coaching to learn things they really like to do. This is especially true when the kid wants to do what "we" do - they want to learn the big boy stuff so guys take advantage of this. Be patient, even tempered, consistent, loving and don't let gender hinder their enthusiasm to learn - they're all kids in the same bucket until they get old enough to figure out the boy/girl thing - then they get weird and unteachable and we get stupid...

 

Well said. You’re correct.

 

RSG angled sliders already installed! And broken in at Windrock Park in Tennessee ;-). Along with a full set of steel skids, lift, snorkel, molle panels on the interior, roof rack (as the picture shows), c4 ladder, and many other little mods I can't even remember right now, lol. The list continues to grow always! I have an '86 SR5 4x4 Runner in the garage too, the poor thing keeps getting neglected because of my 5th gen, but I'll work on her one of these days *sigh*.

 

This is a Southern Style Offroad bumper, and the Smittybilt 10k X20 Winch that they actually sell on their site as well. Great customer service!