Hello everyone!
I'm a bit late getting into this thread, but I'm here now!
My name is Garth and this is my second CM. I was also along for last year's Kokopelli Trail in a 1st gen Tacoma, which I converted from 2WD to 4x4. My girlfriend, Andrea and I drove it from New Hampshire, out to Grand Junction in less than 3 days, and we were pretty exhausted for the begining of the trail.
We had a great time, it was my first experience wheeling out west, and I decided I wanted to return this year, but in a bigger vehicle. A 4 cyl automatic regular cab truck was not the most comfortable cross country road trip vehicle, and I set about looking for a vehicle which met the new criteria I had. It had to have more motor, a manual tranny, plenty of interior space, and be white or silver. After about 4 months of searching, looking at at least a dozen different 4Runners, I found the perfect one. I bought a completely stock 2000 Highlander package, with a 5VZ V6, 5 speed transmission, open rear differential, that was the right color. Its not so easy to find anything thats 16 years old and in decent shape out here in New England because in the winter they dump road salt by the ton.
After bringing the truck home, I found it had blown head gaskets which were leaking coolant into the valley of the block. This was the start of an 8 month build up with the goal of making it to CM in 2017. I rebuilt the top end of the motor, swapped the manual locking hubs from my Tacoma over to the 4R, installed some heavy 80 series springs in the back, dual cases with 4.70 gearing and triple sticks, 35" tires, full armor with flat belly skids all the way to the rear axle, and probably some other junk too. Every single wear item on the truck has been replaced with a brand new stock or heavier part. I built some beefy custom link bars for the rear suspension and a new crossmember for the dual cases, and modified most of the parts I did buy to make them work for me. I
I'm a heavy industrial mechanic and build 50 ton wood grinders, so I have access to a full fabrication shop with all the steel I could need. This build has been something of a second full time job for me over these last 8 months with countless hours in the garage, and I havent had much of a social life, but I did meet my goal! Its only been driving for about a week now, but I am working hard to finish the little details and iron out any kinks.
Once again Andrea and I will be making the trip out to Grand Junction, but this time we are allowing more time for a leasurely 2200 mile drive. We will be staying at a hotel there in town Monday night, and we would love to meet up with anyone else who is in the area.
I'll add some pictures to this in a few minutes
Also, I'm thinking about making some beef stew for the potluck, and Ill bring some good New Englad craft beers with me. Heady Topper anyone?
