Open-Top First Gen 4Runner?

[atxBurnerDude]

Hey folks,

I'm driving my 1987 4runner out to the playa this year. I'll be there 3 weeks pre-event for DPW (for a total of 4 weeks on the desert floor).

My generation of 4runner came with a removable camper top. With that removed, and without a divider between the cabin and the rear, the cabin would be pretty exposed to playa dust.



A dust-filled vehicle doesn't bother me in the least (it's an off-roading rig, anyways).

My question is if it would be a particularly bad idea to spend an extended amount of time with that camper top off?

My headunit electronics and speakers should be good - they're IP67-rated and sealed against dust ingress.

I'm mainly wondering if there's much of a chance dust could, e.g., get up inside the dash and break control electronics (e.g. blinkers, instrument cluster, etc) or something else of that sort.

My hope is to be able to roam around the playa, allowing people to jump in the back easily and/or blasting music as needed from speaker pods hanging from the roll bar.

Anyone with experience with this?

[The Rod]

Dust WILL get up in every where. Every crevice and crack and compartment. Will it destroy or ruin anything? In a rig that age? Probably not. I've taken several trucks to the playa several times and sometimes, even a year or two after a playa trip, when washing some playa dust still seeps out of door handles or from under some trim. Some people will tape over their AC vents if they have them in front of the windshield, I don't bother. New air filter before and after BM. Use a PAPER filer and not an oily one. Post BM: power wash any hard surfaces and add vinegar to your spray if you can.

Playa dust is corrosive and your running gear will surface rust, if not already, after your trip to the playa.

If you're fine with the playa leaving its permanent mark on your rig then I'd say you have a pretty good chance of accomplishing exactly what you're hoping to with it.

[ygmir]

what The Rod said^^
know, if something is not air tight, the dust will get in. Dry, it's not much of an issue, but once it gets wet, the corrosion starts. Even high humidity is enough to get things going. My biggest issue with my truck out there has been corroded electrical connections. But everything that can rust, does, and faster.
There are some marine grade sprays and products to protect electrical connections in a marine environment, that seem to work quite well, it might be worth applying them to critical connections and parts?

[atxBurnerDude]

Thanks for the helpful tips, yall!

> My biggest issue with my truck out there has been corroded electrical connections.

Can you tell me more about that? Are we talking big, easy-to-replace conductors in your engine bay? Or insidious little things like, say, your power window switches?

> marine grade sprays and products to protect electrical connections in a marine environment
I'll do some research but, if you have any recommendations there, curious to hear about that too!

[atxBurnerDude]

Damn. I just learned the 1st gen 4runner I have doesn't come with a cabin air filter.

Wonder if I'm asking for trouble running playa dust through my evaporator core... Dust + A/C moisture > rust > evaporator fins rusting out > all of my R134a leaking out of the system?

[ygmir]

large and small connectors. in fact, window switch, dome light switch, cruise control, one tail light, Other stuff I can't think of now, but all have had issues with corrosion since it went to the playa.
I don't have any specific recommendations on the marine grade protectant, and my research said most are good. Two types: a grease style, and a thinner liquid that will soak in.
I could see your issue with the ac condenser, but understand, even a cabin air filter won't stop all the dust. It's super fine like talcum powder, and some will still get by. One might just hope to be lucky, in that sense. But know, it'll work into everything. it's pretty amazing, really.

[The Rod]

Well, if you’re romping around with the top down do you really need a cabin air filter?

If it helps, all these challenges haven’t stopped thousands of burners (myself included) from bringing their badass rigs out to playa. What’s the fucking point of owning a badass rig if we can’t drive it to burning man?

Things are meant to be used. Sparkling garage queens are a waste of a good vehicle IMHO

[FlyingMonkey]

Hey folks,

I'm driving my 1987 4runner out to the playa this year. I'll be there 3 weeks pre-event for DPW (for a total of 4 weeks on the desert floor).

My generation of 4runner came with a removable camper top. With that removed, and without a divider between the cabin and the rear, the cabin would be pretty exposed to playa dust.



A dust-filled vehicle doesn't bother me in the least (it's an off-roading rig, anyways).

My question is if it would be a particularly bad idea to spend an extended amount of time with that camper top off?

My headunit electronics and speakers should be good - they're IP67-rated and sealed against dust ingress.

I'm mainly wondering if there's much of a chance dust could, e.g., get up inside the dash and break control electronics (e.g. blinkers, instrument cluster, etc) or something else of that sort.

My hope is to be able to roam around the playa, allowing people to jump in the back easily and/or blasting music as needed from speaker pods hanging from the roll bar.

Anyone with experience with this?

I think you just jinxed everyone. Now the event will be plagued with dust storms followed by rain.

What's your contingency plan for an inch of mud inside your rig?

If it can happen it will.

I'd say fun, but ultimately a really bad idea.

I still have dust in my Suburban's AC system from 2015. I get to experience the Playa every hot day now. (not the worst thing)

[The Rod]

Now the event will be plagued with dust storms followed by rain.

yes please

[ygmir]

Now the event will be plagued with dust storms followed by rain.

yes please

again, The Rod, we agree...

[Token]

I did month long builds out there before with my full sized Chevy …

… my philosophy on vehicles - I buy them used so someone else paid the depreciation stupid tax and all the shiny stuff on the outside is a “remove with use” feature.

Yes, it was a month of windows down, 70mph to Trego, dust be damned.

The only items I can attribute to Playa dust failures - the rocker switches for the power windows failed and the wiper/washer cable GM routed under the windshield in a “wet” spot with an allegedly rubber sealed connector - yeah, that corroded.

~ $60 of parts and some elbow grease.

Now, you have a 30+ year old vehicle critically acclaimed to be “bulletproof” by most reputable 4x4 authorities.

Heck brother, most of the controls are still mechanical on that thing. Barely made the cut for fuel injection. It will be fine and dandy.

Besides, the alkaline nature of the Playa dust, with a pH of a bit more than soapy water, a lot of that storyline is aggrandizement to make it sound like things are dangerous and risky.

Yeah, it’s mildly corrosive. No more than the salt gets thrown on roads all over the country for de-icing.

After the event, blow the thing out with a good leaf blower, then wipe and wash what you want with a mild acidic solution. Citric acid is nice, vinegar if you don’t mind the stench. Heck, club soda would work too.

[Captain Goddammit]

Well I’ll just put it this way: I’d never buy a truck that had been used on the playa.

The issue with the dust is that it’s very corrosive.

[The Rod]

I like how this thread has clearly delineated the two types of burners.

“It might mildly fuck up your trucks window switches but probably not so let’s have some fun!”

“Be careful if you’re not looking the playa will completely dissolve your truck”

[Sham]

I took the fiberglass cover off the rooftop AC unit on my '05 Ford E-250 to blow out the dust. A lot came out and I thought I got most of it, then I power washed it and the playa mud was endless. It took maybe 10 minutes to get the water clear. That shit gets into everything.

[Captain Goddammit]

I like how this thread has clearly delineated the two types of burners.

“It might mildly fuck up your trucks window switches but probably not so let’s have some fun!”

“Be careful if you’re not looking the playa will completely dissolve your truck”

I rusted up two really nice trucks by taking them out there.
It’s really not good for them.
Now, when I go, I spend the next week spraying gallons of simple green on and under every bit of the truck and pressure washing until I can’t see straight.
That seems to work.
It’s probably worse for me because I live near Seattle, so I take it straight into a rainy wet environment covered in corrosive dust, kind of a perfect storm.
Maybe it’s not as bad if you live somewhere dryer.

[FlyingMonkey]

Now the event will be plagued with dust storms followed by rain.

yes please

again, The Rod, we agree...

Great minds.......

[atxBurnerDude]

Heck brother, most of the controls are still mechanical on that thing. Barely made the cut for fuel injection. It will be fine and dandy.

...and this is what I wanted to hear!! (And kind of what I was already thinking... pretty much *everything* is mechanical on this thing)

It has been a Texas car all it's life (so, no snow) but did have some abusive previous owners that left mud on it. So it DOES have some existing body rust (only full-on rust hole in the body is dime-sized) and a little bit of undercarriage rust. But... it's a 35 year old 4x4 rig and will always be a 4x4 rig.

I'm getting the feeling from this thread that I can pretty reliably mitigate most playa-induced rust with a day of power washing with citric acid (or similar). If that's the case, I think I'm happy here.

[ygmir]

Heck brother, most of the controls are still mechanical on that thing. Barely made the cut for fuel injection. It will be fine and dandy.

...and this is what I wanted to hear!! (And kind of what I was already thinking... pretty much *everything* is mechanical on this thing)

It has been a Texas car all it's life (so, no snow) but did have some abusive previous owners that left mud on it. So it DOES have some existing body rust (only full-on rust hole in the body is dime-sized) and a little bit of undercarriage rust. But... it's a 35 year old 4x4 rig and will always be a 4x4 rig.

I'm getting the feeling from this thread that I can pretty reliably mitigate most playa-induced rust with a day of power washing with citric acid (or similar). If that's the case, I think I'm happy here.

you will have your answer in about 2 years....