[TCH2FLY]

Hello everyone my name is Mike and I’m a cruiseraholic…..
I apologize for not having this up sooner, Labor day planning and execution kinda snuck up on me.

Quick intro before I get to my rig. My forum nick is TCH2FLY; yes I’m a flight instructor. When I was doing a lot of teaching I had that as my vanity plate and started using it in forums. I live in Denver and have been 4-wheeling different rigs for about 22 years. Prior to my midlife career change I was in the automotive industry and my last job was with Toyota. That is the reason I have a good understand of and tremendous faith in their vehicles. Of all the rigs I’ve owned my favorite was my 79 FJ-40 and when it was time to build a family size rig an 80 series was the natural choice. I knew that I wanted a white exterior and cloth seats. My experience told me I needed an FZJ for the additional power and 4whl disc brakes.

I planned on doing 3-4 day family camping trips and moderate to difficult trails but not much in the way of rock crawling (that changed this weekend ). I looked at several trucks and finally found a white 1994 with cloth. It had some ugly aftermarket wheels but the axles were dry and the brakes new. It was exactly what I wanted for much less than I planned to spend. So on to the specifics and mods.

Basic: 1994 FZJ-80 160k…no factory lockers.
Current list of mods (as of July 2010)
Front springs - OME 850-J and 1.5" steel spacers, Rear Ssprings- OME 864. OME "blue" caster bushings.
4.88 gears with ARB lockers, front and rear
315/75-16 Cooper STTs
ARB front bumper/Slee AC skid plate and a 12,000 LB Warn.
Slee sliders and rear bumper.
Safari Snorkle
OEM CDL switch and 7 pin mod.
OEM hand throttle.
Magnaflow muffler and 2 ½" Cat-back exhaust.
Dual batteries… simple isolator set-up.
Slee wiring harness for headlights and Hella 2000s
1200 watt power inverter
Alpine Stereo with Ipod mounted in console. Replaced Alpine HU with Pioneer 2-din DVD (see below)
8" subwoofer mounted in factory location (write-up). Upgraded to 2 -10" in rear storage (see below)
Rear dome lights mounted in speaker opening (write-up).
Rear work light
Rear Gas Can holder.
Snakster manifold cooker

Future mods:
4:88 gears - Done
Line-X the fender flares - Done
Finish my rear storage drawers…these got put aside when I finally made good on a promise to my wife to get a small pop-up trailer so she could cook out of the rain.
On to the pics….

My dual battery set-up. This has been covered a million times but my setup is very basic using only a 120 amp isolator...I used this set-up on every dual system I have run and never had trouble...


Ipod mounting bracket in center console...


Fresh from this weekend:
posing....







some action shots...



and my new toy to keep the happy...


QUESTIONS???COMMENTS??

Thanks for reading!

Updated 1-16-08

"Future mods" now complete (need more future mods )

Recent pics


Link to my rear storage/subwoofer unit with amp and inverter install..
http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-te...ubwoofers.html

With mods to mount Engel fridge and slider.


Power inverter and amp install



Updated 3-16-09

Replaced Alpine HU with Pioneer 2-din DVD with back-up camera and "belly cam"



Install thread Pioneer AVH-P4000 install

[Slomo]

Nice rig and nice write up! Those are nice looking wheels that I have never seen before. Are they aluminium and who makes them? I think a toy similar to yours will be on mine before too long to please the wife as well.

[TiredIronGRB]

Very nice, I really like the little camper.

[taccruiser97]

On the next to last picture where you are coming through the rocks, was that taken at French Creek? It looks like it but seems kind of dry compared to the last time I was up there.

[peepers]

very nice truck. very clean and you have stuck to your guns and goals in not going overboard and keeping it a family hauler.

[desertdude]

Damn nice ! - clean motor - I am envious of the White

[locrwln1]

Nice truck, I like the stance.

Jack

[TCH2FLY]

Originally Posted by Slomo

Those are nice looking wheels that I have never seen before. Are they aluminium and who makes them?

They are alloy but I have no idea who manufactured them. I looked them over very carefully trying to figure it out so I could get a matching spare. I finally got some stock alloys, so they could be for sale very soon... keep your eyes open

Originally Posted by TiredIronGRB

Very nice, I really like the little camper.

Thx I'm really please with it. Sleeps 6, has a stove, a sink and a furnace (got cold enough this weekend for a hard frost..we were toasty warm) It only weighs about 1300LBs and tows up the passes at 50-55. As soon as it starts snowing I'll be doing a small lift and tire/wheel upgrade so I can get it just a bit farther back into the forest.

Originally Posted by taccruiser97

On the next to last picture where you are coming through the rocks, was that taken at French Creek? It looks like it but seems kind of dry compared to the last time I was up there.

Yes it is coming down at French Creek this weekend...tends to get low this time of the year.

[TCH2FLY]

Originally Posted by desertdude

Damn nice ! - clean motor - I am envious of the White

Nice of you to say, but frankly your rig is an EXTREMELY tough act to follow.

I am pretty stuck on white but without a doubt my second choice would be a 40th

[Tooth Fairy]

It was good to meet you up on Holy Cross and nice to see somebody else wheelin' their 80!

Nice rig Mike and I plan to copy your subwoofer modification.

Butch

[Sackman]

Are you running any spacers on the front or rear?
could you post pics of the cat-back exaust?
how much was the alpine head unit? ...im looking for a decent head unit with an ipod connection, and ports for additional amps (unlike scion HU)

[topend yobbo]

Thats a nice looking 80 you've got there.
Not to overboard, just right for touring the back blocks.
Thats some nice scenery in those pics.

[reffug]

Nice write up, nice rig.

As always thanks for contributing.

And yes DesertDude was a tough truck to have to follow.

[Dr Gonzo]

Nice rig, I like the dual battery set up. How does your rig ride with the J's up front when on the road and un-loaded?

[TCH2FLY]

Originally Posted by Sackman

Are you running any spacers on the front or rear?
could you post pics of the cat-back exaust?
how much was the alpine head unit? ...im looking for a decent head unit with an ipod connection, and ports for additional amps (unlike scion HU)

No spacers at all.
I will try to take some pics of the exhaust tonight (although it got a little beat up this weekend )
here you go...


It is an Alpine CDA-9857 they run anywhere from $250-350 depending where you look. They have less expensive units but this has the largest display with multiple lines of text. Plenty of amp output options.

Originally Posted by topend yobbo

Thats some nice scenery in those pics.

Yeah we have some great scenery around here. Check out my pic of my truck at a lake near the bottom of the page of this thread

Originally Posted by Dr Gonzo

Nice rig, I like the dual battery set up. How does your rig ride with the J's up front when on the road and un-loaded?

Thanks. I started with just 850's up front but it still sat nose low with the heavy winch and dual batts. I don't notice any difference in the ride now that I have the Js

[Texus]

Dude...i Just Got Off Holy Cross Yesterday..couldn;t Get Past French Creek...gettin' Dark & Was Havin Trouble On The Left Side... Kudos To You...i Got The Same Pics @ The Same Spots Pretty Much...excapt Not For The City Part...

[EricG]

Nice ... tell me more about that camper. How does it pull up over 70 at the tunnel?

[Sackman]

Ooooooooo... Gotta get me one of those!
Did the sound/performance change any?
prolly sounds a little beefier w/o the resonator...

[TCH2FLY]

Originally Posted by EricG

Nice ... tell me more about that camper. How does it pull up over 70 at the tunnel?

It is a Fleetwood Cobalt, perfect for my family of three.

I was very hesitant to get a trailer because of the issues getting up to Eisenhower but this little trailer is great. I was able to do 48-50 indicated mph (stock gears, no speedo correction for the 33s so 52-55 actual mph +-) in the steepest areas and 55-60 everywhere else. It only weighs around 1300lbs loaded, hardly even feel it back there. I would recommend it highly.

Originally Posted by Sackman

Ooooooooo... Gotta get me one of those!

Did the sound/performance change any?

prolly sounds a little beefier w/o the resonator...

Yeah it feels better going up the mountain passes and even better I no longer hear the whoosing whistle of the stock system under heavy loads .

This is a 24" magnaflow, and the sound levels are very tolerable, it has a deeper richer exhaust note without being loud. A smaller version would give better clearance but would be louder than what I wanted.

[EricG]

Originally Posted by TCH2FLY

It is a Fleetwood Cobalt, perfect for my family of three.

I was very hesitant to get a trailer because of the issues getting up to Eisenhower but this little trailer is great. I was able to do 48-50 indicated mph (stock gears, no speedo correction for the 33s so 52-55 actual mph +-) in the steepest areas and 55-60 everywhere else. It only weighs around 1300lbs loaded, hardly even feel it back there. I would recommend it highly.

Cool - I've been considering one also, but with the same concerns. 50 to 55 is about all I do up there anyway. Guess I'll start looking a little harder. Where'd you pick it up?