Cross country in the Cruiser and then some (1 Viewer)

[breathed]

My wife and I have an opportunity to take a few months off and are traveling across the United States from CT to CA. We are traveling and sleeping in a 1997 Land Cruiser. We've driven almost 2000 miles over 12 days and it's worked out really well. The other day we stopped in Lithonia, GA and met a man many of us know, Beno!

Travel specific mods include a sleeping platform (approx. 44" wide, 64" long, 12" tall with a 12" hinged extension on the front) with storage underneath (two 40" long drawers in the back plus two 22"x24" storage boxes up front), a 4" thick foam mattress, two waterproof roof storage bags from www.roofbag.com and a 30 mm spacer on the rear coils of the OME stock height lift to keep the cruiser level with all the extra weight. I also added a single cup holder from Brad Hicks. It's great that you can fit all different sizes of cups and bottle and the built in pen holder is a great feature. I really like this cup holder and can wholeheartedly recommend it. I didn't make any electrical upgrades and now wish I had a second 12v outlet and dedicated USB outlets, but we're making do. At some point I'll make a more detailed tech specs post on the blog.

We update the blog now and again depending on the quality of our internet access and mood that day and will only be checking this forum sporadically.
http://www.twolandcruisers.blogspot.com/

 

[landcrusher909]

Fantastic we Love Road trip stories. Keep us posted and your welcome to spend time here when you get to So Calif. local wheeling and alot of Great Cruiser heads

 

[breathed]

I'm in NOLA now for Halloween and won't be in SoCal for about 3 weeks. Then we're leaving for 2 months overseas (that's the 'and then some' part) after Thanksgiving so maybe we can meet up in late Jan 2015 if not this year. Hopefully I'll be posting a pic of myself and cruiserdan in a week.

 

[OGBeno]

Great to meet you and your wife Dorian.

Safe travels!!

 

[cruiserdan]

They rolled in this afternoon and are probably setting up camp about right now.

 

[breathed]

Here's a pic of yours truly and the man everyone on Mud knows, cruiserdan

After a too short visit with Dan, my wife and I picked out a tent site at Turquoise Trails campground and then headed back to the Nob Hill neighborhood in Albuquerque to get plowed at Tractor Brewing Co. Afterwards we had dinner at Zacatecas and retired to the cruiser.

On Friday we drove to the the peak of the Sandia Mountains. It was slow going to climb to 10,678 feet, but we made it. The descent was quite a bit easier.

 

[OGBeno]

Hey I know him!

Two very good choices. Did you sample some of the epic tequila selection at Zacatecas? Was it warm enough for them to have the patio open onto Central?

Safe travels!!

 

[landcrusher909]

Great pics keep them coming

 

[breathed]

Onur,

We only had a margarita each, no shots. The margaritas were awesome. I didn't notice any outdoor seating, I think it was just a little too cold.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Any trip updates?

 

[94SRUNNER]

Found the link.

What an awesome trip!

 

[OGBeno]

Seriously.... What Pete said.

What an epic trip. I hope you guys are having a great time.

 

[breathed]

I came across a sweet 30th anniversary 70 series in Osaka, Japan

and a 60th anniversary 200 series in Brisbane, Australia. It seems a little weird the 40th anniversary was 1997 and the 60th was 2011, but marketing people aren't known for their logic. http://www.toyota.com.au/news/new-model-marks-landcruiser-s-60th-birthday

 

[cruiserdan]

60th for the Land Cruiser name plate and 30th for the 7X Series variant.

 

[breathed]

I assumed the 40th in 1997 was for the name plate, but after a little searching it was for the 40th anniversary of the introduction of a 4 door station wagon.

 

[cruiserdan]

40th year of US import.

 

[Eric Hohlfelder]

Sounds like your having a great trip. Glad to see someone else from CT cruising the country. Do you have a return route planned?

 

[94SRUNNER]

Great pics!

What's next?

 

[breathed]

I've been back stateside for a few days and am heading north tomorrow. Jet lag really knocked me for a loop, or maybe I'm just not tough enough for international travel. Next stop Big Sur!

 

[Eric Hohlfelder]

Hope your travels across the U.S. are warmer than New England! It has been cold (highs of mid 20's) for the last month here in CT and lots of snow?