Team Pez Build and Adventure Thread

[TeamPez]

First ever build thread so here we go.

2002 Toyota 4Runner SR5
Complete elocker
Toytec/Eibach lift. Now upgraded to 861's in the rear for the added weight
CBI front and rear bumpers
315/75r16 Toyo MT's on 16x8 Fuel Ripper wheels
SPC UCA's set to F currently
Stubbs HD-SKO sliders
X20 Comp 10,000lb winch
Rocky Mountain Racks Matterhorn
Tepui Tent
B&M cooler with inline filter
Airaid Intake
Random ExtremeLed lights and cool switches





Bought in completely stock in June of 2017



After the wife played bumper cars with our 4th gen and a Tundra



The "intention" was for the wife to daily the new runner and leave it stock. That lasted about 2 months. Rear coils were shot so in comes the Toytec lift along with wheels and tires. 265"s. Regretted that decision almost instantly. Too small for my liking.




After that it was game on. Sold the wife on the mod here and there line which turned into back to back to back. Go figure. Had to put her in a different daily so I'd have full access to the truck. Here wife, drive this and leave my truck alone.



@eimkeith may know what this is all about.



Matterhorn from the guys at Rocky Mountain Racks

 

[TeamPez]

Took it out on a few trips up by Rainbow Falls just west of Colorado Springs with a friend of mine who also "had" a 3rd gen.

 

[TeamPez]

Next up was sliders from Stubbs Welding. This guy was great to work with and I had them made and to my door within a week.





Then goodbye to the chrome emblems. All the cool guys are doing it..........

 

[TeamPez]

Leap of faith purchase as I quickly surpassed the purchase price of the car via needed upgrades. CBI dual swing rear and hybrid front bumpers. Going on a year and I love these bumpers. Also added the Sonoran Steel poly body mounts in the rear as I'd read about people having issues with the bumper contacting the body on hard hits. The only option I've questioned is the full front hoops. They are a little lower than I would have preferred compared to my friend who has the same front. I may modify them one day.

 

[TeamPez]

July 2018. My brothers and I took a week long trip in the runner. 3 days in Ouray area and another 3 days in Moab. Great times and plans to make this an annual outing. Hoping to time it with FJ Summit this summer.



Blue Mesa Reservoir


Corkscrew Pass


The Alpine Loop starting at Mineral Creek Trail. First time I realized the superflex coils couldnt handle the weight of 3 guys and a ton of gear. Low riding. 861's when I got back home.


Engineer Pass


Imogene Pass with a look at the Black Bear switch backs. Plan to tackle that this summer.




3 epic days in the books. Now off to Moab............

 

[TeamPez]

Moab July 2018. Plan was to camp. 104 degrees and we wimped out. AC and shower in the hotel was legit though.

Welcome to Utah


Hell's Revenge and Fins and Things. Had a blast. I really need to remember to take more pictures. Better pictures wouldn't hurt either.







Booty shot



After an awesome week it was time to head home to Colorful Colorado

 

[TeamPez]

August 2018. After replacing the superflex coils with the 861's it was off to Buena Vista to run Tincup and Hancock Pass with my friend Will and my pups.

The Mac Attack. My road buddy. Makes every trip and is his favorite thing in the world.



Camping near Buena Vista



Will's 3rd gen although he has since started a 4th gen build



Tin Cup Pass



Stopping for lunch



Tin Cup Summit (nailed my rear diff for the poser shots)



Hancock Pass

 

[TeamPez]

Late August 2018. Wheeler Lake Trail with Jon. This dude has a dope 2nd gen for crawling and a built 3rd gen for camping. Best of both worlds.



Playing around at the V-Notch



Bowling Ball Hill. Wheels took a beating on this section while running the 265's



Heading back down

 

[TeamPez]

Busy. Busy. No time for wheeling or camping. Did buy a RTT slightly used. Made it out to Vegas for Barrett Jackson. Then took the wife to Mexico for a week and had to snap a shot of the Toyota dealership in Playa del Carmen.



So cool. Sold for 24k




Toyota Mexico style

 

[TeamPez]

November 2018. Snow camping and wheeling with Will, Alex, Hayden, and Jim. Great times plowing through the powder. First time I realized my 265's couldn't follow their 35's. Hmmmmmm. This trip is where I started contemplating the upgrade and all that would be required to make it work. Sold.



Jim's Tacoma is legit



@Alex Fleming mobbin back towards town and lunch



Lunch. aka Rocky Mountain Racks rally

 

[TeamPez]

Along with the addition of lights came the addition of wires. A whole mess of wires. Solved that problem with a custom fuse block tray (design inspiration from Ripcord). Some Blue Sea items, paranoid fabrication switch panel, and switches from OTRATTW. Tedious wiring but well worth the final outcome. My buddy Jason has access to some cool equipment.

 

[TeamPez]

The cool part of having your birthday and Christmas two day apart........ Awesome gifts from a great family in a short period of time



The winch install. Pretty straight forward. Remote mounted the control box instead of cutting my grill. Wasn't too bad. The wife even helped. You know whats great about a wife with small hands..................... They can reach into tight spaces to bolt your winch to the bumper.

 

[TeamPez]

December 2018. Ending the year with a bang. Wheeling China Wall Trial with Jon(3 Gen) and Ryan (Cruiser).





Then it happened. Crossing the South Platte. Broke through the ice which I expected. New winch came in handy. Jon caught this on video which is posted up on my Instagram @andrewpez9298. Not sure how to load video on here. The unfortunate part was the breather tube had fallen off my transfer case actuator motor. Filled up with water and was stuck in 4wd for about a week. Thank god for the forums as I was able to track down the problems 1000+ posts later. Had a bad sensor on the TC. Water in the actuator. Ended up breaking the 3" O-ring. Long story short I fixed it and all is good.

 

[TeamPez]

January 2019. Learned a lesson on how to save big $$$$. Never visit Alex, Will, and Hayden at Rocky Mountain Racks. Drove up to Fort Collins with my son to check out the RMR shop. Awesome space. Alex throws his 35 spare on my truck to test fit and I'm sold. The 265's will need to find a new home. Unfortunate as they only have 10,000 miles on them. On to "bigger" and better things.



Cool shot on the way home



Not too long after the new beef arrives. Toyo MT 315/75r16

 

[TeamPez]

Quick 1 night trip camping and snow wheeling with Jon. The cold doesn't bother me as much but damn the wind sucked. Didn't fully deploy the tent as we didn't set up camp till 11pm near 11 Mile reservoir. The flaps blew in the wind all night. Didn't get much sleep but still better than doing nothing all weekend.

Pre trip prep including a new black cover for the Tepui



In search of an epic camping spot




Cold pup loves the heater. Maco burrito.




The next morning it was frigid. Packed up quick and hit the road. We got stuck several times in deep drifts. The wind created a crust on the snow to the point where I could stand on top of 3 foot drifts and not break through. The trucks just stuck in the deep stuff. Winch and jerk straps came in handy.

 

[TeamPez]

35's mounted and balanced. SPC UCA's installed and set to F. This made it all real. With the tires now mounted I started to visualize the fabrication required to pull this off correctly. About 3 inches of lift and no body lift. Full blown tub is necessary in order to clear at full bump full lock. Honestly couldn't count the number of hours I spent researching those who had successfully pulled this off on their rigs. Which actually led me to this forum. The guys on here who have fit 35's proved to be a wealth of information. Thankful for that.




Maybe I should mount the 35's on the wife's truck...........




And installed

 

[Road Bull]

Nice work!! Very nice choices you have made along the way man.

 

[TeamPez]

Nice work!! Very nice choices you have made along the way man.

Thanks. Plan has always been to take it out and realize shortcomings out on the trail and move in that direction. That process has served me well to date. Only issue is it never stops. Actually I guess that's not an issue. Keeps it interesting.

 

[TeamPez]

Fitting 35's. When I committed to the bigger tires I knew there would be cutting involved. Big step for me as I'd honestly never planned to modify this truck with a cut off wheel. I was able to justify it with my long term vision and adventure plans. I needed to make the runner work for me and fit my plans for the future. So under the knife it went.

Test fitting with the front suspension out and cycling full bump lock to lock. Fender will need to be modified but setting it off to the side for now. Started making marks on where I was hitting the firewall




First cut. Still hitting



Second cut cleared at full bump full lock. Just barely. Currently trying to decide whether to clearance a little more before I install the patch or leave it as is. Clearing by 1/4 inch at the bottom of the wheel well (down by the slider). Also by 1/4 inch at the back inside of the tire near the floorboard area (hard to describe but viewing from inside the truck looking down at the inner most part of the cut)



As it currently sits awaiting the patch job this coming weekend.

 

[TeamPez]

Tub job for 35s finally complete. Plenty of clearance. You can tell which side I welded. The crappy one of course. Had the fenders rolled for a factory look after the trimming so need to repaint and button this thing back up for the next adventure.