Clean, Purpose-Built 3rd Gen SR5

Yeah I went out to Montana I was so close to Minn I thought about just driving across the river. But thought that would be cheating.

 

Yeah that would be another thing I didn’t even consider yet

That type of trip (Alaska from MD) is years for me. I’ll probably do all of the lower 48 first.

Talking about finding the right season for a trip, one of the YouTubers I follow just did a really cool trip in Idaho and was talking about splitting the time right in between snow and wild fire season.

 

Yeah and then you’d have to go back!

 

You could take a ferry that takes a few days I believe. Think it leaves from Seattle.

 

Interesting. I was in Seattle a few years ago but I flew out for that trip.

 

My brother in law drove an RV to live there several years ago. I think they drove through Canada and didn’t take a ferry out to Juneau. He moved back a couple years ago and took the ferry back to Seattle. Him and his dog on there, then the drive back across the US.

 

That’s awesome, I bet the freedom of that trip was incredible. I wish I had the time to do that lol

 

Yeah. We didn’t have a chance to go visit when he was there but maybe one day we can visit.

So what’s next for your truck?

 

Im sure that would be a great trip.

Ughhh I don’t know. For about 10 seconds I considered that ARB snorkel that was posted in our thread. Then I snapped back to reality.

Maybe tires? My Grabbers have about half the tread life left but at this point they have 3 plugs and 2 days ago a chunk of the sidewall on one got taken out. So tread-wise they’re fine but I’m not sure I trust them on long distance trips at this point. I’m in the middle of a big trip now (I’ll post some pics when I get back) and I think this might be the last long trip before I buy new tires.

If not tires, I was looking at the RCI engine skid plate. It seemed relatively affordable and I like that it covers the front diff.

What about you?

 

Sounds like you just might need those tires before other mods. I understand that feeling too, just not with my current tires but you know what’s going on with those.

I’m hoping to have some good stuff planned for next year but I’ll keep that to myself for now

First is going to be getting my wife a new car. Either a 24 4Runner or 24 Acadia. The Acadia is going to be a redesign. I’ve no idea why that’s one of her choices but it is what it is. I’ll try and push her to the 4Runner. She’s not a fan of any other similar sized SUVs and trust me, I’ve shown her all of them. Fun times


Even with that, I thought about swapping fenders for the snorkel too. Would have been a nice easy trade if it was the same black. I’ll still be a little jealous of whoever does get it.

The engine skid might be a nice addition. If you wait till around Black Friday, you might be able to get a really good deal or someone selling a TRD Pro skid while upgrading. I’ll keep an eye on FB as I browse.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing about Black Friday deals, and I appreciate it! I think if I do get any skids it will be aftermarket because I keep hearing that the OEM ones are a bit thin. I am keeping in mind that I’m trying to do an armor free build but every time I see how low my front diff hangs, i get anxiety lol

I hear ya on the new car situation, my wife needs a new one in the next year or two as well. Fortunately she loves the new Land Cruiser design so that’s probably gonna be what we get.

I can’t wait to see what you have planned for your truck. Speaking of your tires, I’m still strongly considering the St Maxxx’s for my next set. It seems like people have wildly different experiences with tread life so I’m on the fence.

 

Your wife is the one who refuses to camp, correct?

Logistics of an AK trip would be miserable. Would cost a few pretty pennies as well. Spend at least $3k in just hotels.

 

Yepp. That’s one of the reasons it’s years away if we ever do it, because we would have to come to a different agreement on that. She doesn’t really refuse, she’s just not a big fan.

 

I can’t say why mine tires have worn as bad as they did. Maybe bad alignments and not rotating enough but with only 20k miles that really shouldn’t matter too much.

Great to hear she knows what she wants too.

Is it the added weight or the look of the skids? I don’t think I really notice the Cali Raised one on mine.

 

I scored the aluminum skid for 360 during the labor day sale rci had. Think that would work well for you.

 

I’m just trying to avoid the added weight of the skids since I don’t do any rock crawling, just trails really. I’m enjoying my 21-22mpg on the highway on all my long drives.

That’s why I ditched my sliders a while back. The more and more I think about it though, the engine skid might be worth it just to protect the front diff because I’ve definitely knocked it on some rocks at least a few times. I’ve avoided any damage so far

 

Sweet, yeah that’s not bad at all.

 

I know what you mean about your wife.

My ex and I were together years ago when I had my truck as new. I watched off road videos on YouTube. My ex watched them and drooled over it. She said that seems fun.

Then I asked her about going off road with me, she didn't want to go and said it's boring.. I was like WTF? I said, camping is boring, too? She got frustrated and walked away which she loves camping that she has camping supplies. So she packed her camping stuff with her friends... I was like hmm.. then later, I left her.

 

Where did you install the we boost exterior antenna?

 

On the roof above the rear passenger door, I just followed the recommended placement from WeBoost.

It works really well there. A few days ago I was driving through a rural part of New Hampshire in the mountains, only had one bar. My map wasn’t loading and my pandora was disconnected. I flipped the WeBoost on and it jumped to 3 bars and everything worked again.