5th-Gen 4Runner Overland Build: Live Tracker and Shopping List

These are the real tracker and shopping list I use to run the SableRunner build, not cleaned-up versions for the blog. Each one is a snapshot, dated underneath, so you’re seeing what the plan looked like that day. When things change, I post a new snapshot and add a line to the changelog at the bottom.

How to read it

• The phase rail runs across the top, P0 through P6: Mechanical Ready, Tire Ready, Trail Ready, Armor Ready, Camp Ready, Power Ready, Solo Ready. Each phase is marked Done, In progress, or Not started. The order is on purpose. Protection, recovery basics, camp, and power all come before suspension.
• Phase 2 isn’t in the progress bar. Trail Ready is mostly buying things (recovery gear, tools, spares, safety, comms), so it has its own checklist below. If I counted it twice, the bar would be wrong.
• The parking lot holds things I want but have deliberately left out of the order: a KDSS-aware lift, a mounted GMRS radio, a matching spare tire. They’re parked there so I don’t lose track of why I’m waiting on them.
• Open decisions only get marked resolved once I’ve actually decided. Talking about it doesn’t count.

Where things stand

• Phase 0, Mechanical Ready: all 18 items done. My original plan forgot to mention brakes, which is a strange thing to forget on a truck headed for Colorado descents. It didn’t matter. The pads are brand new and the inspection found nothing. Total cost: $0.
• Phase 1, Tire Ready: done. The spare doesn’t match the other four, which matters with a rear locker. The tires on the truck have about 18 months left, so the fix is to buy five next time instead of four. The spare is in the parking lot until then.
• Phase 2, Trail Ready: 14 of 52 items done, with $1,767.73 to go. So far that’s some of the tools, not all of them. It’s going slowly.
• Decisions: four resolved. The class doesn’t need a radio, so naturally I already bought one. After the class, the plan is day trips near Denver. The sleep setup is drawers and a platform in the back, with no tent at all. And the tire check closed with Phase 1. Still open: DIY vs. paid install (it depends on the job) and whether daily-driver comfort is a hard limit (yes and no).
• Done: the 5280 Offroad orientation, aka two software guys discussing dirt. That’s also where I learned the 101 trail needs rock sliders.
• Next up: finishing the Phase 2 tools. Then rock sliders, because the 101 trail requires them.

Trail Ready checklist

This is Phase 2 item by item. It’s split into tiers, starting with what the 5280 class actually required and working out to what extended trips need. It’s also a shopping list that knows which store has the best price, which makes it the most organized thing I own. The presets do the filtering for you: Harbor Freight run sorts by aisle, Amazon order groups by category, and Purchased shows what’s already done, at the price I actually paid.

If you’re planning your own build

Most of this carries over to any 5th-gen (2010–2024):

• Phase 0 works as-is. Check the KDSS accumulator for leaks. On 2010–2014 trucks, listen for the ABS pump whining constantly.
• Phase 1’s tire minimums are 4/32” tread, a DOT date under six years, and a spare that matches the other four if you have a rear locker.
• If you have KDSS, you need KDSS-specific correction hardware for any lift over about 2”. A generic kit won’t just bolt on.
• The sequencing probably applies to you too. Pick your roof rack and ditch light brackets before you permanently mount a GMRS antenna, because they all compete for the same space.

What won’t carry over is my garage. More on that soon.

Changelog

• 2026-10-10: First snapshot.