Taco2Cruiser
Crazy American Off Road
Well, I guess this will also be my introduction. So hi guys, I've always loved this forum, and always loved land cruisers. I grew up in shops, learned to build ground up custom cars and trucks from an early age and had a great time doing it. Built some amazing things, learned from some great men, and I try to keep learning. I'm a believer that anyone who thinks they know everything, knows not a damn thing at all.
That all said, I started in the hardcore rock crawling world.
And that was fun, I mean real fun. 38"-44" tires, propane injection, 3' of travel. But challenging means a lot to a lot of people. Somewhere along the way, I started to think about building a dual purpose truck. In my mind, building something that could do what i've been doing, but be designed in a way to also drive itself down the highway, was a far greater challenge.
So the '96 single cab Tacoma was born. Loved that truck, just could go anywhere. This is where I discovered that maybe my crawling skills, really helped me get a significantly smaller setup the same places I used to go. Granted, not the same line, but I started to more enjoy getting through the trail, not just up some 10' vertical wall. That said, lockers, a 140:1 low range, and 18" of travel never hurt either.
Now when you drive a truck daily, no truck is safe from bad drivers. Like ones that hit you head on at 90mph while you're going 45mph.
4.5 rolls, and 90 feet of sliding. I was fine, the other driver was not. That rear left super swamper went into her passenger compartment, and well light switch off. That swamper never popped, even though it ripped the CRVs engine and transaxle out. My rear axle shattered, rear driver leaf spring sheared, frame held, body held.
A sad day, I bought that truck before I joined the Army, and it never let me down. But out of the fire, the Tacoma was reenacted as a new FJ Cruiser, one of the first made, as I bought it in '06
8 years, 120,000 flawless miles, 5 deployments of cash. Rubicon, Moab, Tellico, Death Valley, and a ton of local wheeling from Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Colorado. It was even at my wedding.
That all said, I started in the hardcore rock crawling world.
And that was fun, I mean real fun. 38"-44" tires, propane injection, 3' of travel. But challenging means a lot to a lot of people. Somewhere along the way, I started to think about building a dual purpose truck. In my mind, building something that could do what i've been doing, but be designed in a way to also drive itself down the highway, was a far greater challenge.
So the '96 single cab Tacoma was born. Loved that truck, just could go anywhere. This is where I discovered that maybe my crawling skills, really helped me get a significantly smaller setup the same places I used to go. Granted, not the same line, but I started to more enjoy getting through the trail, not just up some 10' vertical wall. That said, lockers, a 140:1 low range, and 18" of travel never hurt either.
Now when you drive a truck daily, no truck is safe from bad drivers. Like ones that hit you head on at 90mph while you're going 45mph.
4.5 rolls, and 90 feet of sliding. I was fine, the other driver was not. That rear left super swamper went into her passenger compartment, and well light switch off. That swamper never popped, even though it ripped the CRVs engine and transaxle out. My rear axle shattered, rear driver leaf spring sheared, frame held, body held.
A sad day, I bought that truck before I joined the Army, and it never let me down. But out of the fire, the Tacoma was reenacted as a new FJ Cruiser, one of the first made, as I bought it in '06
8 years, 120,000 flawless miles, 5 deployments of cash. Rubicon, Moab, Tellico, Death Valley, and a ton of local wheeling from Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Colorado. It was even at my wedding.