[crushers]

since i am the trail boss for the local River Shiver event i thought i best be getting out there to see how bad the trails have gotten (now ain'
t that great english?)
any who, the river was a bit deeper than it was before, still passable in most spots but some of the spots were just too washed out to get up and over the bank.
i was going to take a HDJ81 out for it's initial run but i had a customer that is interested in a LJ78 so i felt this would make a great test run for her to see the little truck in action.
after we arrived at the South Ghost i put her behind the wheel and coached her through the finesse of light duty off roading. picking a trail, tire placement, water crossings and of course driving RHD. in a nut shell, she caught on fast and took a real liking to the world of off-roading. she is a avid mountian biker, long distance runner and hiker so this unit fit her needs much better than the little Z24 she is presently driving.
the truck did excellent, once again no hick-ups or problems other than a flat tire cut by a sharp rock (when i was driving). the elec hubs worked flawless even after 5 hours of river crossings in -5C weather. the push button 4WD and the rear elec locker turned on and off as required with no problems.
once again i flound that high range 4WD was more comfortable to drive in than the 4L. the throttle on these rigs are sensitive even with the automatic. it had great torque for the few hills we did climb and never felt like i wished for more power.
these are a few pics:

[crushers]

same crossing

[crushers]

the cutline is now a portion of the creek

[crushers]

even with minimal tire spin the gravel just gave way. once you are in loose gravel to the running boards it is time for a tug.
after this we did some hills and had a bite to eat around a ice warm fire. then it was time to head back home.

cheers and thanks for following along

[Ocelot]

Very nice!

When is the river shiver run? Non-LC vehicles allowed to attend (still a 'yota though)?

[SurfPonto]

Great pics Wayne,

Bob

1977 FJ40"MuMu"
1992 FJ80 "Tubbs"
1982 FJ60 "Clifford" FS

[lumpy70]

February 17-20, 2006;
http://www.rmlca.ab.ca/rivershiver/index.html

Some pictures of last year;
http://www.rmlca.ab.ca/runs/rs2005/index.html

Yes non-LC's are allowed to come. In fact, the truck that spanked most of the other trucks and trails was a Toyota p/u running chains.

Early bird price is $225 Cdn which gets you 9 meals, 3 nights accomodation, and 2 days of winter wheeling.

The only TLCA sanctioned event North of the border!

Craig

[wesintl]

Looks pretty decent for a stocker.

[crushers]

i can safely say there will be more pics since some real trail maitainence is required to open some of the harder trails...
i was impressed with both the trucks abilities and the newbie driver. she did real good...
thanks for the compliments, winter shots are some of my favorites... i just wish i had taken more pics to post...
cheers

[89s rule]

wow, looks like fun! Cool little vehicle. I wish I could make the trip! Maybe one year if gas ever drops again. But it will be several years b/f I can afford that. Hope to make it to GSMTR soon.. if not this year the next.

[Greg_B]

Nice to see a Light Duty Cruiser put through the paces...

Isn't it great how a club sponsored run gets you out!

Maybe River Shiver this year. We will see...

gb

[harveya]

Just goes to show that the Light Duty is not really light duty, just light duty compared to the heavy duty ones. An LC of any type is still built like a tank compared to most 4x4s and will go places that others fear to tread.

[crushers]

for a truck fresh off the train and into the bush with street tires i thought it did pretty good, some day i would like to try a set of decent tires on one and see what would happen...
cheers and thanks guys

[crushers]

tray back Bryan sent me some of his shots

[crushers]

last ones

[Jan-78FJ40]

Very cool, I miss snow!
Jan

[Tapage]

Wouu .. awesome pics Wayne I thought the snow ( never wheel on it ) are very dangerous .. as mud ... maybe more, you didn't know what do you found down the first layer of snow ..

[crushers]

snow is easy to wheel on, you can read for dangers by learnign to read the snow...

[Greg_B]

Originally Posted by harveya

Just goes to show that the Light Duty is not really light duty, just light duty compared to the heavy duty ones. An LC of any type is still built like a tank compared to most 4x4s and will go places that others fear to tread.

Yes. It could be argued the front birfs are stronger on the LD LJ78, as they are between the 1980's 40/60/70 size and the 1990's 80 series size. With coils at all four corners, and more features inside they are a move up in comfort from the HD series. HJZ73 has some more of the creature comforts inside, but maintains the leaf springs and 1HZ/H55F that leave it in the HD category.

Light Duty Vs Heavy duty in the LC line is probably much the same as was mentioned in the other thread in reference to the Dyna/Elf chassis: The vehicles were built for different "duty" levels (engine/tranny)...

The Light Duty Hilux could kick the Heavy Duty LandCruisers ass in certain situations...There are advantages and disadvantages to both...as in all things.

gb

[crushers]

if i can keep this one long enough i plan on putting it through the paces.
one thing is for sure, it will never pull the same weight as the HD cruisers...