I Got a New Horse

ckcarr

ckcarr

Founding Member
^^ Sounds like you made a terrible mistake!!

Ha-ha!! Just kidding!

I bought a new Jeep back in January. Well, not new a 2005 that is as new. Only had 20,000 miles on it and was stored forever in a persons garage. It was an exact copy of the first Jeep I had here (except I traded that in with 265,000 miles on it). Now I have a project re-creating what I once had... Still have my main Jeep though. So I have two red Jeeps.
 
AlanLichty

AlanLichty

Moderator
Roof Rack? I see a lot of 4-Runners with racks on top for more gear. Your descriptions of the inside storage seem to point out why.....
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
AlanLichty said:
Roof Rack? I see a lot of 4-Runners with racks on top for more gear. Your descriptions of the inside storage seem to point out why.....
Click to expand...
I never needed a roof rack before. ;)

I was just sharing it's a bit shocking as I had thought I would have extra room inside the 4Runner because it is bigger inside. So it's a little disappointing that it's not.

I could have bought a Jeep Rubicon had I know that something that seemed so big was actually smaller, and I would have to resort to a roof rack. :(

A roof rack is a non starter for me. Others can have them, but for a multitude of reasons I don't like them. I want all oh my gear to be inside my vehicle.

I will just have to get creative. What I thought was a slam dunk, is now turning into a bit of a puzzle.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
ckcarr said:
^^ Sounds like you made a terrible mistake!!

Ha-ha!! Just kidding!

I bought a new Jeep back in January. Well, not new a 2005 that is as new. Only had 20,000 miles on it and was stored forever in a persons garage. It was an exact copy of the first Jeep I had here (except I traded that in with 265,000 miles on it). Now I have a project re-creating what I once had... Still have my main Jeep though. So I have two red Jeeps.
Click to expand...
Ha ha... thanks Craig!

Yeah, I am jealous of that other Jeep you got. That's super cool.
 
Jameel Hyder

Jameel Hyder

Moderator
Staff member
You need something like THIS. It should solve both your sleeping comfortably and storing stuff needs.

The current 4Runner is pretty dated in its design (likely a decade or so). There are expectations that Toyota will do a redesign sometime next year.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Jameel Hyder said:
You need something like THIS. It should solve both your sleeping comfortably and storing stuff needs.

The current 4Runner is pretty dated in its design (likely a decade or so). There are expectations that Toyota will do a redesign sometime next year.
Click to expand...
Thanks Jameel. But that is an even harder no then the roof rack idea.

I like to be sleeping incognito.. most places I am at, you are only allowed to camp in a campground. So for me, when I am stopped at a turnout all night long because I am photographing all night, I can't pop a tent open. The Rangers will be all over me. And then during the day, when I am trying to take a nap for a few hours, it's the same thing, Rangers will be coming up to me and wake me up to tell me I can't camp in a parking lot or pullout.

So tents won't work for how I photograph, and due to my personal preference roof racks to store gear won't work. I just don't trust my fellow human being enough these days to store valuable gear up on the roof in something made of plastic.

But thanks for the suggestion. For a non night time photographer, someone who reserved campsites, that's a great way for them to go. But not me.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
The problem it has dawned on me, is the back seats. They are thicker then the ones in my Grand Cherokee, and there is a lot more leg space built in, so the back seat sits further back in the vehicle.

And also the wheel Wells... they are decidedly bigger then in my Jeep.
 
AlanLichty

AlanLichty

Moderator
JimFox said:
The problem it has dawned on me, is the back seats. They are thicker then the ones in my Grand Cherokee, and there is a lot more leg space built in, so the back seat sits further back in the vehicle.

And also the wheel Wells... they are decidedly bigger then in my Jeep.
Click to expand...
How often do you carry passengers in the back seats? As I started looking over my Tacoma after selling my RV the back seats were the first thing to get yanked out. Lots more space that way. I am not trying to sleep in my Tacoma and I don't have kids/grandkids so YMMV compared to my situation.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
AlanLichty said:
How often do you carry passengers in the back seats? As I started looking over my Tacoma after selling my RV the back seats were the first thing to get yanked out. Lots more space that way. I am not trying to sleep in my Tacoma and I don't have kids/grandkids so YMMV compared to my situation.
Click to expand...
I carry grandkids constantly in the rear. I am the Ace taxi driver. Babysitting any taxi driver are my main roles in life now.

What I am trying to figure out is a way to make the transition between on the toad travel and grandkid duty as seamless as possible. Having to tear apart the 4Runner every time I get to my daughters gets old fast. I used to keep all of the seats down in my Jeep. But it got to be so much of a pain with my grandkids, I switched to only keeping the single seat down in the rear, and the large 60% split with the 2 seats left up for the kids to sit in was permanent.
 
AlanLichty

AlanLichty

Moderator
Life with the 4Runner is going to require some adaptations for sure with those requirements. Not a world I am familiar with at all.

I think Monika has something like the drawer system you show in her FJ. Quite functional for her but even having a single passenger hitch a ride in her FJ requires some redistribution efforts.
 
Ben Egbert

Ben Egbert

Forum Helper
Staff member
When I travel ther is not even roomin the front passenger seat and my camper area is probably larger than your 4Runner interior. But I have a refrigerator in my back seat. This truck carried grandkids from Pocatello Idaho to Spokane when they were small but now they are all adults. So I know both worlds. I get around the wheel well issue by building my bed above it and using the area under the bed for storage
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
AlanLichty said:
Life with the 4Runner is going to require some adaptations for sure with those requirements. Not a world I am familiar with at all.

I think Monika has something like the drawer system you show in her FJ. Quite functional for her but even having a single passenger hitch a ride in her FJ requires some redistribution efforts.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have seen Monika's FJ in person even. ;)

What I am looking at, only goes in the cargo area. It doesn't affect the 2nd row seats. So I can keep that in there 100% of the time and still take 4 passengers with me no problem.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Jeffrey said:
Face it Jim, what you need is one of these. I'm sure you can get back all you paid for the Toyota.

View attachment 51126

View attachment 51127
Click to expand...
Oh man.... Now I am jealous!!!!

A van is what I have wanted for a couple of years now.... I van is what I wanted to get... I didn't want the Sprinter though, I wanted a new Transit, but they are almost impossible to come by right now. I am poor, so I can't afford to have one built out like that, I was going to get an empty cargo van and build it out with the help of my son.

My idea upon buying the 4Runner was that maybe I would keep it only a year or two, at which time hopefully the supply of Transit vans has increased and at that point I would trade the 4 Runner in.

The last 2 days as I have driven around, every time I saw another Transit van, I silently shed a little tear.... 😭
 
ckcarr

ckcarr

Founding Member
"The last 2 days as I have driven around, every time I saw another Transit van, I silently shed a little tear.... 😭"

That's not a good sign.

I like the color of the Toyota, but if you don't love your new vehicle every time you see it, then maybe continue looking for your van and strike while used prices are up. Don't set a timeline. If it happens tomorrow, then do it.

I bought a new Jeep Rubicon once, and immediately hated the color. Every time I looked at it I was mad at myself. I ended up taking my loss and traded it in within six months on the right color that I special ordered.

Here's my newer acquisition. It had been stored since 2007 and only 20,000 miles.
The sticker in the window says it will be due for an oil change in July... 2008.
_DSC0024110-X2.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom