Front End Upgrades for Your Toyota 4Runner

Giving a 4Runner Front End Options

Having the right gear on your rig when you take it off-road is important. Whether you are doing some hardcore rock crawling, playing in the mud, or just out for an overlanding camping trip, having the correct equipment can keep you out of trouble. One of the best and easiest things you can do to your rig is add a winch. This can not only pull you out of a sticky situation, but it can also assist those with you in need.

With all the parts set out, you can ensure you have everything you need before you tear into the install.

There are tons of options when it comes to winches and their accessories, as well as different mounting configurations. For this installation on a 2023 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro, we opted for a new front bumper center section that included a winch mount as well as a light bar mount and push bar. This particular vehicle has the adaptive cruise option, so we had to make sure to order the right bumper that wouldn’t interfere with that function with the front camera. While some people choose a full front bumper replacement with the way these new 4Runners are built, adding a new center section made better sense for our needs. Installing a bumper like this is a simple job if you are comfortable with basic hand tools, and it can be done in your garage or driveway without a lift. We happened to have access to a lift so we utilized it (mostly to make taking these photos easier), but also to get the vehicle eye level and keep us from crawling on the ground. The install only took a few hours so it won’t eat up too much of your time.

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The front of the 4Runner in stock form won’t be altered too much.

The bumper chosen was the Covert Baja front bumper from CBI Offroad Fab and comes with a $950 retail price. It comes already powdercoated, so it’s ready to install but does require you to cut the lower center section of your factory front bumper. It comes with a universal winch mount, and we chose the Warn VR EVO 10-S winch, which has a $865 retail price. This winch has a plug-in remote control and comes with a 90-ft 3/8-inch line. Since there was room for a 30-inch lightbar to be mounted behind the front bumper, we opted for a Baja Designs OnX6+ amber lightbar, with a $443 retail price. With the vehicle already having white forward-facing lighting, adding the amber light here will give more lighting options for various conditions.

Follow along with the process of installing these parts to see if it’s something you would feel comfortable doing yourself, or if you should trust it to the experts.