What have you done to your 5th Gen 4Runner today?

Nearing 5yrs, my spare is nearing 8

 

Wife went out shopping so I had a free evening to wash my truck and give it a coat of Chemical Guys sealant/wax. I applied using my new DA polisher and wow, I've wasted so much time in my life in the past applying wax by hand. Took maybe 30-45 minutes to coat the entire vehicle and wipe it off.

 

2023 T4R Limited full time 4wd:

Installed TW IR NANO CERAMIC at Tint World to back, sides, moon roof and windshield. Used FL legal tint levels all around and clear on windshield. This is their highest rated product/ Plutonium Grade Scratch Resistant, ect. Cost me $1K incl. tax. Lifetime warranty. Changed the entire look of the vehicle. Very nice. Only 4K miles, can't wait to run out the orig tires to change to 275/55/20.

 

Had to upgrade to a heavy duty struts just for the ladder after installing my C4 ladder. Learned the hard way that I needed it, basically the stock ones was not strong enough to hold up the hatch and it landed on my head. There are struts for gas can and ladder.

 

which struts did you go with?

 

With the ladder alone I needed to just barely assist opening. With the empty can on it took some effort to lift but stayed up on its own. Strut upgrade is high on my list though, just have to revisit the dozens of threads talking about the make and model people are using; I'm hoping I saved the info the first time I was digging through.

 

Looks good, I'm considering the Eibach stage 1. How much lift from stock? Did you do some trimming of the front wheel well for the 285s?

 

This is the struts I went with. They offer 2 types, one for ladder only and the other one for ladder and gas can. I don't know the part number for the one for the ladder/gas can. You can email them. They get back to you quickly.

 

It can support over 200lbs.

 

I have the C4 ladder and 2 gal rotopax mounted on it. I have had no issues with the set up and I do frequent rough trails. I vent the rotopax each day when on a trip.

 

Had to replace brakes so upgraded to PowerStop Z36 kit with the zinc plated rotors and carbon fiber pads. Since she’s got so much extra weight I wanted some extra stopping power.

 

Thanks for that. I was only a little worried after I installed everything and then read on the C4 Fab website "up to 2 gallon size Rotopax can be attached"

 

I did mount my rotopax closer to the top of the ladder to keep the weight closer to the pivot point. Even with doing that I had to change to stronger struts. Stock ones could not hold the weight. The colder the weather the quicker the hatch would hit me on the head. No issues since changing struts.

 

Check out my build page, the details are there.

 

Picked up blk aluminum alloy grille mesh from post office, finally

4x8mm

 

It gave me 2” in the front on the bottom clip,(bought them pre-assembled) and 1” in the back, i used a line laser to measure, the spc’s are set at the +2.0° castor and they rubbed the Mudflaps at full lock , i ended up just taking them off. I love the way it rides and looks now, they should come stock like this

 

Seems to clean up nice, iunno, cross my fingers my tire guy is comfortable and it balances

 

That looks interesting. Do you think it will be more branch-resistant than the stock grille?

 

Arrgh! Amazon lost it in PA, found it after 3 days, and lost it again in NJ 3 days ago, still not found. Now I have to start all over again.

 

So ya I think so, or hwy rocks, and debris and leaves. I got the idea from fellas on here who zip tie mount it behind grille for extra protection. I've toyed with mocking it up in front of the grille even.

 

Wow man!
Amazon just lost my Lamin-X order yesterday, no front door photo but told it was delivered

 

I used to race motorcycles and the smell of slicks would turn me on. This pic just gave me that smell.

 

not trying to scare you. just curious because of the sidewall lugs.

 

My observation based on a small sample size is that, while the probability of error in an Amazon shipment is quite low, after the first snag, the probability of a second error in that delivery is at least three or four times higher than the first. Something is amiss with how well they can get a found package back on its way.

Wrong house is one of their favorite mistakes. I probably talk to my neighbors more often about misdirected deliveries (mine and theirs) than anything else.

 

Don't point that thing at me!

 

Ahh gotcha, so are these serrated shoulder lugs an older looking style

 

Yeah I had that to me about a month ago. I ordered a DVD series for "Married with Children" and few small things for the 4R. Well the small items arrived, but the DVDs were not there. Amazon driver took photos of the boxes on the front porch.

Made request on Amazon to replace the DVDs. And they shipped them right out (no questions asked). Two days later, they arrived.

About a year ago, a buddy of mine, his birthday was coming up. He had moved across country to Cali into a new apt., and I asked for his new address. Got him his birthday gift off Amazon, and it arrived a day later. Amazon left the package at a locker at his apt complex. He went to go get it, and it wasn't there. He text me saying it wasn't there, and I requested a refund or replacement. And they sent a new one out. Took a couple of extra days. But he got it that time.

I still think the driver left my DVDs somewhere else and that Amazon driver in Cali stole that birthday gift.

 

Perhaps of more real consequence, I have license plate mounting HW incoming. I'm getting antsy driving around with out-of-state temporary tags and out-of-state temporary title and registration. NJ DMV lead time has reportedly gotten back down to two weeks from a pandemic high of four months, so there's a fair chance I'll have them soon.

 

@backpacker I don't know how registration itself works in NJ and temp tags. But in MS, you have 7 business days to a vehicle tagged. Now problem comes in when you buy a vehicle from out of state (ie I live south of Memphis and my vehicle was bought from a Memphis used dealership). And it took about 30 days for title and paperwork to get to my county tax assessors office. Sometimes, it takes longer. If you buy in state, you can go straight to the assessors office that day. Just have necessary paperwork.

Now you wanna talk a REAL mess, Shelby Co. TN (Memphis) is the BIGGEST and most populated county in TN. The tag offices are spread out all over the county. There have been back logs since prob 21. Lines out the door. And there have been days when the offices close so they can "catch up" (whatever that means). The county mayor of Shelby Co. has called the woman in charge of that office to resign (even though she is elected to tax assessor). I'm just glad I don't live there.

 

Installed black metal mesh behind my grille for radiator protection.