Driver side A pillar grab handle.

I got Jason's bracket today and used the KTJO pillar & parts and they went together awesome!!!! Man it's a solid, sweet setup for sure.

 

Any photos of the finished installation? I'm revisiting ordering the KTJO set, just for the pillar cover...

 

I am getting ready to place an order for the KTJO kit, in order to have the A pillar trim look like the passenger side. These are photos of the finished product by @Brandonium on the other 4R site:



There's somewhat of a gap in places at the top. I don't think @Brandonium has been on this or the other site since August to clarify if he did anything about the gap...

If the pillar trim I receive looks anything similar to that, I will take you up on your suggestion of inserting some foam behind the headliner edge, and see if that takes care of the issue.

What the heck...

 

Well, I gambled and lost. The KTJO trim piece did not work with Jason's bracket in my case. Where I had mounted the bracket, the threaded clip did not line up with the bottom hole location in the KTJO trim/handle. I tried my best to get it to work, but it was off just enough to not work. The only way I can see it working with the bracket is to remove the bracket and flip it 180 degrees, as the hole in the bracket is offset to one side, and would probably line up if I flipped it. I don't particularly want to remove and remount the bracket, though...maybe if I used the next larger size screw, or put in a couple of nutserts to mount the bracket with.

 

Try to install with the supplied rivnut and gun that the kit came with. If it looks suspect or doesn't work out put the original trim back on and say f it. How did the trim piece look? Any issues?

 

Do you have a pic? Mine worked perfect.

 

Can't do that - I already have Jason's bracket mounted. That was the reason I got the KTJO kit, to see if the trim piece and handle would work with the bracket. I'm not a fan of that rivnut attachment method.

 

If I had mounted Jason's bracket with the KTJO trim piece on hand, I could have lined up the holes to match. I mounted it to work with the oem handle. The bottom hole is about 1/4" too high for the bottom KTJO handle bolt. There's some wiggle room with the threaded clip, but not enough to line up with the bolt. As stated, if I flip the bracket end for end, the offset hole in the bracket will be lower, and would probably then work.
I took plenty of before photos, but when I couldn't get the bolt to thread in, I put everything back the way it was with the oem handle and trim piece, and didn't take any more photos...

The KTJO trim piece and handle look just like the factory pieces, both in texture and color.

For a visual of what I mean, I borrowed a photo of Jason's bracket from @Saker's T4R.org thread when he introduced a lot of people to this mod. The area circled in yellow is what lined up with the KTJO bottom handle mounting hole. As you can see, there's just not enough room to move that threaded clip and still have a place for the bolt to go through. Another thought is, I could drill the bracket right there instead of flipping it.



My bracket:

 

@Saker, would you know if Jason's bracket could be rotated 180 degrees?

 

I sure don't......why not just move it down some or drill the bracket a bit? I think either would work.

 

Ya, try flipping it first though, give that a shot. Just use the same screws to check it and if it works good leave it or upsize them. I see what you mean now

 

Are you referring to the whole bracket or just the nut clip you have circled?

 

The whole bracket. It seems if the offset hole was on the other side, the KTJO handle would line up better. Moving the nut clip doesn't help, as the bolt is lower than the hole in the bracket.

 

You can't flip the whole bracket because the mounting plate is angled for the "A" Pillar.

 

I appreciate it, thanks. I thought that may have been the case, but couldn't remember.

I had actually already decided to stick with the oem handle - it's really solid, and I really don't feel like modifying the bracket to accept the lower bolt placement, possibly weakening it.

The KTJO kit is going up for sale. My loss, someone else's gain.

 

Are you going to use the bracket on the OEM setup?

 

Yes. I already had the OEM grab handle installed, then decided to see if the KTJO trim & handle would work. Since it didn’t, I put the OEM setup back on.

 

Sorry it didn’t work out for you.

 

Thank you. Sort of disappointed; I had high hopes, but knew it was a gamble. Word to the wise - if you go this route, install Justin's bracket at the same time as the KTJO kit to ensure alignment of the bolt holes.

The consolation is the bracket & OEM handle are as good as advertised, and a perfectly acceptable setup.

 

@glwood54 Is the OEM handle and the KTJO handle different sizes? Mind posting a side by side pic of each? Thanks!

 

They're pretty close, but not exactly the same - there's a couple of photos in the for sale thread I am currently running for the KTJO kit that show both:

https://www.4runners.com/threads/new-in-box-ktjo-drivers-side-grab-handle-kit-abq-nm.29036/

 

No luck on the for sale thread. I will revisit this project when the weather warms up.

 

FYI KTJO4X4 is having a sale on the A pillar grab handles. 41% off at the moment!

 

Clearance items due to cosmetic 'imperfections'. The standard set is still the same price - $170 + shipping.

 

Just received these and I can't seem to find any defects - not even a scratch. Will see how things go once I install but so far the quality seems pretty good! pics for reference;

 

Install of KTJO Driver Side Grab Handle on 5th Generation 4Runner 2020 Year. Modified kit by using M6 metric rivet nut and bolt instead of what was supplied. Great fitment no problem at all and kit arrived on time and without issue.
https://youtu.be/zkaq9e-iSXI

 

Nice job. I like your attachment method much better than that small rivet nut and bolt they provide. Good thinking.

I got the KTJO kit a while back, hoping it would work with Jason's bracket, but the bracket hole was just enough off that I couldn't get it to work. I put the kit up for sale after that, but haven't had any interest. So I think I'll revisit this when the weather warms up, by modifying the bracket to work with the KTJO handle spacing. If you look at the photo of the mounted bracket in post 128, the hole is offset to the top end of the bracket. I plan to make the bottom of the hole about 1/4" lower so that nut clip will slide a bit lower.

The bracket is a great mounting method, so I hope I can make it work. Wish me luck!

 

Good Luck glwood54 I hope it does work for you as I really use that side handle.

 

I recommend the combination of the A-pillar grab handle and replacing the flip-down grab handle over the door with an FJ Cruiser grab handle. I use the FJ handle to pull me up and the KYJO handle to set back into the seat. Almost painless!

 

Pics?