This thread is to share the adventures of my 2015 4Runner Trail Premium named Jane. Jane came into our lives two years ago when my then GF decided that she wanted an SUV. I had recently sold my 2000 LX470 and she didn’t feel her TL was up to dog duty any longer! I have owned a plethora of Toyota 4x4s in various degrees of modified, so I was naturally pushing her towards a GX or a 4Runner. She ended up finding a great deal on Jane, so that was that. To be honest, it was just a fluke that we ended up with a Trail. This vehicle was supposed to be doomed to grocery getter status as I had a built 4Runner already. After owning Jane for about a year, my now wife and I had a long discussion about our hobbies and goals. We decided that adventuring was a priority and Jane was ready for the challenge!
The first modification we did was a LabRak roof rack and a Freespirit Recreation Medium RTT. We decided on LabRak for the build quality and the lack of noise. I swear that this rack is quieter than the stock roof rack! LabRak gets a lot of bad publicity due to the cost, but I honestly believe it is worth every cent.
As for the tent, we decided on FSR for a couple reasons. First, they are located in Bend, Oregon, which is only a few hours from our home. Secondly, we liked the tent better than CVT. It is true that all the tents are made by the same manufacture, but FSR is just a better value than CVT. I have owned three CVT’s in the past and I would just rather give my money to someone else. FSR has bent over backwards for me and I would really urge people to consider them before CVT.
The next order of business was to get some constant power to the cargo area. Jane has the built-in inverter, but you need to have the engine running for it (or any power ports) to work. That wasn’t going to cut it with our fridge! I ended up removing the factory tool kit and installing an auxiliary fuse block. Then I installed a power port for the fridge, two USB ports, and a switched digital volt meter so I could check the voltage at the block.
The first modification we did was a LabRak roof rack and a Freespirit Recreation Medium RTT. We decided on LabRak for the build quality and the lack of noise. I swear that this rack is quieter than the stock roof rack! LabRak gets a lot of bad publicity due to the cost, but I honestly believe it is worth every cent.
As for the tent, we decided on FSR for a couple reasons. First, they are located in Bend, Oregon, which is only a few hours from our home. Secondly, we liked the tent better than CVT. It is true that all the tents are made by the same manufacture, but FSR is just a better value than CVT. I have owned three CVT’s in the past and I would just rather give my money to someone else. FSR has bent over backwards for me and I would really urge people to consider them before CVT.
The next order of business was to get some constant power to the cargo area. Jane has the built-in inverter, but you need to have the engine running for it (or any power ports) to work. That wasn’t going to cut it with our fridge! I ended up removing the factory tool kit and installing an auxiliary fuse block. Then I installed a power port for the fridge, two USB ports, and a switched digital volt meter so I could check the voltage at the block.