Without a doubt, modifying any vehicle is expensive, especially when replacing large ticket items like bumpers. Before making this purchase, I researched several manufactures to insure I would be satisfied with my decision. After reading posts on forums and other social media sites and speaking with people running aftermarket bumpers from various manufacturers, I narrowed it down to one company. Metal Tech 4x4 was the victor! I was already familiar with their product reliability and durability since using their sliders on the FJ. I figured that same craftsmanship would transfer into their bumpers as well. I also liked the deign and look of their tube bumpers. Now lets review each product a little more in-depth. SlidersIn my opinion, these sliders are terrific. They bolt to the frame of the vehicle and the mounts are incredibly solid. The sliders themselves are very strong, look great, and do a fantastic job protecting the FJ. There were multiple times while wheeling I came down on the sliders incredibly hard. I also used them to get over obstacles and even used them to slide around large rocks, trees, and tree roots all without any damage to the FJ. They held up every time I needed them. Of course, blemishes would happen after heavy use, but cleaning up any "trail rash" was simple. Using sand paper and black spray paint gave them that new look again. Just like most sliders, you can lift the entire side of the vehicle up using a Hi-Lift jack. Something to consider before hand though: If you do this and you have the ability, I would suggest opening the door on the side you're lifting from. In the event the jack fails, it won't slam into the closed door and damage it. You'll notice in the pictures below, my door is closed. I was given that advice after the pictures were taken. Another thing I like about these sliders is the protection they offer in parking lots. The Metal Tech 4x4 slider with 2 stage rub rail has a "kick out" welded to them which causes them to stick out even further. I cannot tell you how many times I walked out to my FJ after eating, watching a movie or whatever else (NOT AT THE MALL) and seen a paint mark on the slider. I know that's from some jerk who threw his door open without a care in the world and nailed my sliders. No damage to the FJ, but I am sure that donkey had a nice ding in his door. Every time I saw this, it brought a smile to my face. Front BumperI used the front bumper with winch mount, along with the built-in recovery points to recover stuck vehicles, myself, and move downed trees on the trails without any failures. In my opinion it is one of the better looking tube bumpers on the market for the Toyota FJ Cruiser. Aside from looks, the bumper design is strong and well built, allowing for more confidence on and off road. It is a two piece design which makes installation and possible future maintenance easier, not to mention better strength. The winch mount/plate (referred to as "plate" from this point forward) and the bumper both mount independently to the frame of the FJ. Once the winch plate is bolted on and installed, then you can install the winch. From there, slide the front tube bump on, bolt it up and you are good to go! Installation is rather simple. Now getting back to the strength part. I like the fact that the winch plate bolts to the frame independently and not to the bumper itself. While winching, most of the torque is applied to the frame of the vehicle verses the bumper. In my opinion, some bumpers that have built in winch plates could possibly fail sooner than those where the winch plate mounts to the frame. Another thing I like about it mounting to the frame is it seems to put the winch lower on the vehicle. I feel this helps reduce the center of gravity slightly (winching at odd angles) and helps to reduce the amount of pressure on the front suspension, bumper, and other parts. It also puts most of the energy and torque low on the frame of the vehicle. Having said all that, I have not seen a failure in other bumpers or winch plates in person. The newer Metal Tech 4x4 front tube bumper with winch mount has two recovery points welded onto the winch plate. I like where they put the recovery points. They are lower on the on the vehicle and welded directly to the winch plate. My reasons for liking the location of the recovery points are the same as the winch plate. I have not seen a recovery point welded to a bumper fail in person, but I have heard and read about it several times. The Metal Tech 4x4 front tube bumper with winch mount has several light tab mounts welded on to it. It has a total of four light tabs (two on each side) mounted lower on the bumper and two light tab mounts on the top center of the bumper. For me, the most time-consuming part of installation was spent running wire and mounting all of my lights (I like lights). It has a good approach angle, easy to keep clean, light weight, looks great, and does a good job protecting the FJ. I have hit several trees (smaller trees) without damaging the bumper or FJ. On one of my wheeling trips, I made contact with a rocky, dirt wall and the bumper did it's job. It took the impact, protecting the front drivers side fender. It was a small hit, but a hit none the less. I am positive if I did not have the bumper, I would have broken the front turn signal housing and damaged the front drivers side fender.
Once I came off the trail and changed my pants, I inspected the rig. To my surprise, the front bumper was just fine. There were no visible signs of damage. Once again the bumper did its job and protected the FJ. Just like the sliders, I cleaned up any "trail rash" the same way using sand paper and black spray paint. *Note: If you do decide to go with a Metal Tech 4x4 or other bumper, be cautious how much He-Man strength you give on the front frame bolts. To no fault of Metal Tech 4x4 or Toyota, I over tightened the bolt and broke the frame stud off. Even though I did seven push ups that morning, it was not my muscles that broke it, it was the impact I was using. Lessons learned. Rear BumperJust like the rest of their products, this rear bumper is very well built. In my opinion, there are better looking options on the market for a Toyota FJ Cruiser, but those are typically "plate style" bumpers. In terms of tube bumpers, I believe Metal Tech 4x4 has the best looking one. I also believe theirs offers the most strength and protection, especial the side wings. This one piece bumper makes installation and possible maintenance in the future easier. It has a built in, low profile receiver for towing, which is nice. It allows for installation of the factory back up sensors on the rear cover plate. It also has two recovery points welded onto it. Installation was very simple and straight forward. The longest part of installation was removing the factory bumper. The Metal Tech 4x4 rear tube bumper is amazingly strong and can take a beating. I have come down extremely hard onto rocks while on trails and the bumper took the hits. It did not dent or bend the tubing at all. Although it is designed to flex, it does not flex into the body. Another thing I like about the rear bumper is the side protection it offers. I have damaged the "wings" on the side of the bumper by sliding into trees, rocks, and other obstacles. Again, the bumper took all of the force and held strong without flexing into the body. I can't tell you how many trees (smaller trees) I have backed into without damaging the bumper or FJ. The bumper does not have any light mounts, but I did add a pair of Rigid SR-M's by bolting them to the bumper and wiring them into the reverse lights. The lights are tucked up high enough that they are protected by the bumper, but still maintain a good angle for light output. There is no telling how many times it saved the FJ from damage. The only issue I had with the rear bumper is when I upgraded to a larger tire size (Nitto Trail Grappler 295/70/17). The spare tire would not fit on the back door mount because it made contact with the bumper. In order to mount the larger tire, I added a 2" wheel spacer on the mount itself. I then used washers on the two bottom bolts of the mount. I placed them between the mount and rear door to create a slight angle up. After doing this, the spare tire fit on the mount without contacting the bumper. Down side, it pushed the weight of the spare tire further out, but I never noticed damage to the door, hinges or mount. ConclusionOverall, I was more than happy with my Metal Tech 4x4 sliders and bumpers. They were functional pieces of equipment that offered great protection and looked good. I had no desire to change the sliders or the front bumper. I was contemplating upgrading the rear bumper though. If I had done that, I would have opted with the Metal Tech 4x4 Red Eye with swing out and optional fuel can rack. Before I could make the switch, we rolled the FJ Cruiser while on a road trip from Washington state to Colorado in January of 2017. The FJ was totaled following the accident, but the bumpers and sliders made it out undamaged. To read that article, please click here: Roll Over The front bumper and sliders were later removed and sold. Unfortunately, due to insurance reasons, the rear bumper stayed on the FJ. Plus side, the FJ was later purchased through an auction and shipped overseas where it was rebuilt and currently in use, with the Metal Tech 4x4 rear bumper still on! Worked out well for the new owner. To read that article, please click here: The FJ Lives! We now have a 2005 Lexus GX470 that we will build and turn into our next adventure vehicle. We plan on doing even larger trips in GX then we did in the FJ Cruiser. As such, we will be searching for the best equipment to outfit that rig. To read about our Lexus, please click here: Lexus GX470 Due to my personal experience with Metal Tech 4x4, I will trust their products to protect the GX just like I did with the FJ. To learn more about Metal Tech 4x4 or view their large selection of Toyota specific products, please visit their website by clicking here: Metal Tech 4x4 Thank you for reading this article. We hope you found it entertaining. If so, please share it with others and don't forget to leave a comment down below! The world is a large place, and life is short. Together, we can accomplish much more than we ever could alone. -Bourn Adventure Author: Baker
4 Comments
Let us talk for a second about tires. This can be a touchy subject for some. The discussion about which tire is best often leads to fist fights and head locks. I hope to avoid that in this article. This type of passion is understandable because tires are important; they get you where you need to go. Without them, driving would be a lot louder and commute times would be much worse unless you drive a Choo-choo train. Just like other articles I've written, this is my opinion of what I found worked well for me. I hope you find this information informative and helpful. There is no "perfect tire" that performs flawlessly in all occasions and conditions. Certainly, some tires do better than others across a wide range of environments, but there is not a perfect tire for everything. It all comes down to what you need them to do and where you are taking them. Finding the right tire for you and your adventure can be a daunting task and one that you figure out through trial and error unless you need a particular type of tire for a specific kind of environment (snow, mud, race, road, sand, etc). Specialty tires do one job well, but if you give them a different job, it can lead to failure and an expensive phone call to a tow truck. First, before choosing a tire, try to identify your adventure and some of the places it might take you. Next, try to find a tire that can accomplish multiple jobs while going from one environment to another. This is the method I used when selecting my first set of tires for the FJ, which were 285/70/17 Toyo Open Country A/T II, mounted on stock rims. At first, I was happy, but as I added miles on them, my opinion changed. They were good for road use but wore quicker than I was expecting. Off-road, they seemed to hurt more than they helped, especially in muddy terrain, which we have a lot of down south. On the positive side, they were quiet and did not affect my fuel economy much. I put around 23,000 miles on them before deciding to change. I'm not saying the Toyos were bad tires. Numerous people have told me that those same tires met or exceeded their expectations. I'm simply saying they weren't right for me at the time. I wanted a tire that was more aggressive but also had a decent life span. Now that I had a better idea of what I was looking for, I have revisited the above-mentioned process of selecting a tire that suited my needs. After doing some research, I became interested in the Nitto Trail Grappler. I decided to pull the trigger on five new 295/70/17 Nitto Trail Grapplers, which were mounted on stock rims. Right away, I noticed how heavy they were, which negatively affected my fuel mileage. Not a big deal driving around town, but the old pocketbook took a hit after taking long road trips (10,000+ miles). Where I would spend extra money on gas, I would later save on tire repairs or replacements. I remember running a trail in Texas where myself and two other rigs hit something protruding out of a small dirt wall. All of us hit our passenger side tires on this object. Once we reached the top of the hill, one rig had two flat passenger side tires, and the other had one. The sidewalls on all three tires were gashed open. I don't remember what tires they were running, but I know they weren't Nittos. I looked at mine and saw visible rub marks, but no penetration. Of course, there is a lot that needs to be taken into consideration to make it a fair comparison. Some things to consider would be the difference in speed, tire pressure, sidewall thickness, the way the object hit, etc. Nonetheless, I was still impressed with how well they took the hit and held air. When you go off road, it helps to air the tires down some. By doing this it allows for a larger "footprint," which helps the tire move around an object that could puncture it and allows for a more comfortable ride across rough terrain. I would occasionally air down more than I probably should, especially on stock rims. There were a few times I would drop down to 10-12 PSI (pounds per square inch). I would run them fairly hard at the lower PSI and put the tires in hard angles without popping a bead or causing other issues. In Texas, while at the 2016 Lone Star Toyota Jamboree, I got a little crazy on a trail (too much Mountain Dew) and almost put the FJ on her roof. When I came to a stop, the front end was down, and the rear end was getting Jordan hang time. The steering wheel pinned hard passenger and most of the weight of the FJ was on the front passenger tire. The incline angle caused water to leak out of my cooler, onto the passenger floorboards and pour out of the passenger door. People watching from the side didn't know if something had spilled or if I peed a little…they were correct with both assumptions! The only way out of this situation was forward. I could feel the tension in the steering wheel but did not know just how much of a bind the passenger wheel was in until looking at pictures later. To this day I am still amazed that I did not break anything or at a minimum, pull the tire off the rim. Needless to say, it was an exhilarating experience and one that I won't soon forget. In the top left picture, you can see the tire is folded up and touching the rim. In the top right picture, you can see the water pouring out from the door. There were other times I should have popped a bead but did not. I'm not sure how much of it was tire performance or luck. Either way, I am impressed at how well they held a bead at low to medium PSI, especially on stock rims. Some people could tell you; I was known for wheeling (off-road) in two-wheel drive when I probably should have been in four-wheel drive. I know that's not always the best for the transmission and other components, but I wanted to see how far she would go without help from the front tires. The FJ did well in wet, muddy or snowy terrain in two-wheel drive. There were several times I could feel the tires biting (getting traction) and pulling me through without hesitation. A few times, it seemed like the FJ was having fewer issues than others who were in four-wheel drive. Some of those same rigs were running different tires. I'm not saying my tires were directly responsible for the success, but in my opinion, they did play a large part. When I needed to put it in four-wheel drive in those same environments, I usually didn't have any problems. I wasn't that concerned about getting stuck because of a tire issue; I was more concerned about it being a driver issue. If I did get stuck or had a problem with an obstacle while wheeling, it was usually caused by me taking the wrong line, not enough momentum or getting hung up on said obstacle. To me, the tires did well everywhere I put them. I had them in rain, snow, mud, sand (hard and soft packed), gravel, loose dirt, and whatever else I drove through on my adventures. If there was a place I wanted to go, I went. I had all the faith in the world that my tires would get me there and back. My driving, now that's a different story. I also noticed they held together well. Rocky or other hard/sharp environments can cause a tire to lose pieces of its tread or lugs. Some know this as "chunking." Although I did see this happen with my tires, the "chunking" did not seem as horrific as with other tires. Again, not a fair comparison because I do not know all the conditions the other tires were in or tire compounds used. This opinion is just an observation I made while visually comparing tires. I attribute the success of the tires to how well they cleaned (able to get debris out of the tread), the meaty tread lugs, sidewall lugs, and tire size. Even though they cleaned well, there were times the tires would get "gummed" up with dirt/mud. When this would happen, I could still feel parts of the tires grabbing and pull the FJ through. There were very few times where I contribute the loss of momentum to the tires. More times than not, it was caused by suction, bottoming out, rear differential hitting, or other types of drag. The environments I noticed the most slippage or lack of traction in would be snow or ice. Depending on the depth of snow, I could feel the tires still getting traction. Ice, on the other hand, the tires would struggle. Having said that, they still did ok in snow and ice. Granted, I put the FJ belly up in those same conditions, but I do not blame my tires for that. It was more of driver error on my part. What impressed me the most was their life span. My set of tires saw pavement and dirt in all lower 48 states and parts of Canada. At the time of the rollover, I had about 60,000 miles on them. Most of those miles were highway, but they also saw heavy use off-road. Two of the tires had plugs in them; one of the plugs had probably 20,000 miles on it. I know, not the best idea running a plugged tire for that long, especially running two of them, but I wanted to see what these tires could handle. I wanted to push them until they failed. Not so I could bad-mouth them when they finally did fail, but so I could talk about how well they held up. The fact that a large, heavy off-road tire had fewer signs of wear on them than some all-terrain tires shocked me. Given the size and aggressiveness of the tires, they were relatively quiet at highway speeds. As the tires wore, they did get louder on the road, but not by much. I believe one of the leading factors into the longevity of the tires was that I rotated them every 3,500-5,000 miles. I have seen a few Nitto Trail Grapplers with fewer miles than mine that were in worse shape. When speaking with the owners/drivers of those tires, they admitted to not rotating their tires regularly. After the rollover, I gave the tires and rims to my neighbor. Now they will continue with their life on his FJ. I would estimate he should safely get another 10,000 miles out of them. If he rolls his FJ like I did mine, then those tires will last longer. Thank you for reading this article. We hope you found it entertaining. If so, please share it with others and don't forget to leave a comment down below! The world is a large place, and life is short. Together, we can accomplish much more than we ever could alone. -Bourn Adventure Author: Baker Let us talk for a second about aftermarket seats. For the sake of this article, I am speaking specifically about the driver seat. Even though the driver and passenger seats are usually identical, the occupant's perception of comfort can be drastically different between the two. If the vehicle passed inspection from the factory, the driver should have a steering wheel, steering column, and pedals on their side. These obstacles are necessary and can cause slight distortion in how that person sits or how they must sit to drive the vehicle safely. The passenger area is typically free of obstacles which allow for more freedom of movement, leading to a better quality ride. When most people car shop, the seats are not a deal breaker, and sometimes the comfort is overlooked. More times than not, people base their car buying decisions on looks, performance, capability, reliability, space for family, or other factors. Stock vehicle seats usually fall into two categories. Like or dislike. Sometimes this is not known until after owning the car for a while or spending a decent amount of time in the seats for long durations. If you are fortunate enough to have your seats fall into the "like" category, that is great, and I am truly happy for you. For others, though, they have a rough road ahead of them (some pun intended). By the time they realize their car seats cause them more discomfort than comfort, it is too late. They either have to sell their car (not a realistic option), add orthopedic seat covers, continually shift their bodies around or use other creative ways to alleviate some of the pain and make it through the drive. This scenario is unfortunate because you spend so much time in that seat. Discomfort can cause an enjoyable driving experience to become a miserable one. It can lead to faster fatigue or unfocused driving which can become a serious safety concern. To be fair, it is almost impossible for companies to make the perfect product that pleases everyone and this is especially true when talking about car seats. They may have spent lots of time and money engineering a seat that is well built and comfortable to most people but not to you or me. I felt this way about my Toyota FJ Cruiser. They were sturdy, stout seats that were low maintenance and easy to clean, but uncomfortable, particularly on long drives. The longer the drive, the more frequent stops became so I could get out and stretch. Like some of you, I learned to live with the pain and discomfort. I eventually accepted the fact that vehicle seats are just something that comes with a car and there was not much I could do about it...or was there? Enter the world of aftermarket seats. This has become a large industry that caters to various facets of the motoring community. Companies make everything from luxury seats to fixed position seats and everything in between. Depending on the brand, type, and construction, the quality and price can vary. Periodically I would jump on the internet and search for aftermarket seat options for the FJ. Several manufacturers offered great products, but at the end of the day, I decided it was not worth the money or time. That all changed when I was presented with an opportunity to pick up a set of Scheel-mann seats. They are a well known German company who has been manufacturing seats for many years. Their products have a great reputation and are in use all over the world. I was put into contact with Toby Pond who is not only a representative of the company but also overseas the U.S. market (Scheel-mann USA). He explained the different variants, sizes, and options available with the seats. He suggested I go with the Vario F model for both seats. For the driver seat, he recommended I go with the Vario F XXL. Since I am taller (6'4", 225 pounds) the larger seat would accommodate my body type better. The Passenger seat we decided on was the Vario F in their regular/standard size. The Vario comes with side bolsters, four-way adjustable lumbar support and a release located on the backrest to allow the seat to lean forward. I added arm rests to both seats, integrated heating on the passenger seat and an adjustable bottom pan on the driver's seat. These seats are just that. They did not come with mounting brackets. To make installation easier for me, Toby coordinated with Metal Tech 4x4 to make two sets of seat brackets that would still allow the use of the factory slide rail. To make all of this even more interesting, we were pushing to have the seats and seat brackets made, shipped and in my hands before I left for a long road trip. At that point, we had about two weeks time to make that happen. Might not seem like a difficult goal to accomplish, but the seats were manufactured in Germany, and the seat brackets were being made in Oregon. To complicate things a little more, this was the first time Metal Tech 4x4 had made seat brackets like this for those seats. It looked like we might miss the deadline to pull this off, but then everything came together at the last minute. By last minute, I mean the day before I left for an 8,500-mile road trip that would cover 15 states. This was not a simple, quick install. The stock seats needed to be removed, disassembled, reassembled on the new brackets, mounted to the seats and then installed in the FJ. The installation process was slightly hindered by my need to leave the following day along with still needing to pack the vehicle. Did I mention a huge thunderstorm rolled through the area as I was removing the stock seats? The icing on the cake came when I magically lost one of the star tool bits I was using to disassemble the stock seat brackets and slide rails. I somehow Houdini'ed that bit into nothingness. Since the seats were out and partially disassembled, I could not easily drive to the auto part store to buy a replacement. I was left with two options at that point. I could either loosely assemble the stock seats and brackets so that I could go buy a new bit and start all over or drill the remaining bolts out, never being able to use them again and possibly causing irreversible damage to the stock seat brackets. After careful consideration, a little math and a cold beer, I opted to grab a power tool and go with plan B. With only hours remaining before I needed to leave, plan B was a gamble. Drilling out the bolts meant there was no turning back, and the stock seats would be useless from this point forward. If I damaged the bracket while drilling out a bolt or was unsuccessful, the new seats could not be installed, making them useless. Meaning I would either have no front seats or would take a road trip sitting on buckets. Before I knew it, the seats were done and installed in the FJ! From start to finish, I would estimate it took about 10 hours to complete. Under normal circumstances, I am sure installation could have been finished sooner, and I have no doubt that some of the setbacks I faced were caused by me being rushed. Early the next morning I left southern Louisiana and drove straight through to Denver, CO. I was amazed at how much of an impact the new seats had on the driving experience. I felt more energetic and comfortable. I was not longing for stops to get out and stretch. I was enjoying the drive with little to no discomfort. The main reason I headed up to Colorado was to attend FJ Summit X in Ouray. While there, several hundred people saw, felt and sat in the new seats. Their response was very positive. Some people did not realize how uncomfortable their seats were until they were sitting in the Scheel-mann seats. Over the course of owning them, I was continually surprised how comfortable I was while driving. If my back began to hurt, I would make a few seat adjustments, and I was good to go. If I needed better support for my legs, I simply moved the bottom seat pan out some by turning the adjustment knob on the front. The only area I would say these seats lacked in comfort was while sleeping in them. I found it challenging to find a comfortable position due to the lumbar support. Having said that, they were designed to provide better performance and comfort while driving, not sleeping. I would estimate I logged about 25,000 miles in the Scheel-mann seats without any issues. I had them in the cold and snow of the north and the heat and humidity of the south without any noticeable discoloration or moisture damage to the fabric. I did not baby the seats by any means. They got dirty, wet, had food dropped on them, had greasy tools laid on them, hundreds of people sat in them, slept in them and our 110-pound dog occasionally would sit in them. After all that, I did not see any signs of wear and tear on the leather or fabric. The ultimate test for the seats and seat brackets came when I rolled the FJ on a snow covered highway in Ontario, OR. Even while we were hanging upside down, I was comfortable. Later Inspection of the seats and seat brackets showed they held in place without fail. I only observed one small tear in the leather side bolster of the passenger seat, which I believe was caused by broken glass from the windshield. Both of the seats, with the additional add-ons, along with the seat brackets cost about $3,500. This is a costly investment no doubt, but it may be the most used and functional modification one can do. In my opinion, these seats are a dramatic improvement over the stock seats and well worth the money. They are manufactured by a reputable company using quality materials. Keep in mind, since people's bodies, tolerances, aches, and pains are different, what works for me might not work for you. I have sat in other aftermarket seats that I did not find comfortable, but others did. It is all about finding what is right for you. To me, the Scheel-mann seats were what I was looking for. To learn more about Scheel-mann USA and their products, visit their website here: Scheel-mann USA To learn more about Metal Tech 4x4 and their products, visit their website here: Metal Tech 4x4 Article UpdateThese seats have found a new home and in the process, helped raise money for charity! In May of 2017, with the support of Scheel-mann USA, Metal Tech 4x4 and Chitown 4x4, these seats along with another product were on display and up for action at Lone Star Toyota Jamboree in Texas, which is an off road event. All proceeds from the auction went to charity. After these items sold, along with a contribution from Bourn Adventure, we were able to donate $1,500 to Team Overland, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans. To learn more about or donate to Team Overland, please click here: Team Overland A special thanks to everyone involved who made this possible. Thank you for reading this article. We hope you found it entertaining. If so, please share it with others and don't forget to leave a comment down below! The world is a large place, and life is short. Together, we can accomplish much more than we ever could alone. -Bourn Adventure Author: Baker Gallery |
AuthorsBaker and Ashlie are the owners of Bourn Adventure and together they author the majority of the articles and content found here. Guest AuthorsCheyenne Izaguirre Categories
All
Archives
January 2022
|