Hollister Hills (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jun 2, 2012
Threads
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251
Location
93908
Finally had a day free of kids sports, 4-H, work, ect... My 2 boys and I loaded up and went to Hollister Hills. The line getting in was pretty long, (3 day weekend) but only took 10min to pay and get the gate combo.

Once in the park, we headed up to
Hector Heights Overlook. On the way up to the overlook we came across a section that looked like an old quarry. There were some short, steep, rocky climbs that twisted up the suspension and made the ATRAC work a bit. While at that spot, we dropped the tire pressure down to 25psi, engaged the center diff lock and hit the same sections again. Much better! Hardly any tire slip and ATRAC didn't kick in.

From there we headed up West Trail. It' a blue square trail. The map shows the trail difficulty by color/ shape:

Green circle= easiest
Blue square= more difficult
Black diamond= most difficult

West Trail was pretty easy. There was a couple rock sections, but had 0 problems driving through them. I ended up behind a newer lifted 4 Runner that to make several attempts to clear some sections. He eventually let me pass and we moved on up the trail.

We came to an intersection where I could continue up by taking Mc Cray trail (blue), or Fremontia Rd. (Black diamond). We took Fremontia Rd. It was definitely more challenging. Some steep rutted sections, rocks, roots, ect. Came up to one spot with a really deep rut on the left side of the trail. I dropped in and the trail met the frame. I couldn't go forward, but was able to back out. I looked down the trail and there was no way I was going to back down and go the easier way. I chose a line closer to the left side of the trail and eventually made it through. The rear suspension had to of been maxed, or even extra high mode because the rear driver side wheel had serious gap between the fender. There were a couple more sections that were tough, but the LX kept moving along.

We made it up to the overlook and enjoyed the view for a bit. From there we headed back down the trail and ended up at
Truck Hill. It's STEEP! No way i was going to even try it. We watched couple RZR's climb up. Pretty cool to watch. We headed over to the obstacle course. We messed around there for a bit, and watched the younger crowd beat the hell out of their trucks. Always entertaining.

We finally left and aired up at the Ranger Station. It was a really good day wheeling. Didn't break anything and most importantly, my boys had an absolute blast!

Any local guys out there? I live outside Salinas towards monterey. It'd be good times to get a few more guys out there.

Pics!
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Last edited by a moderator:
That's awesome. Do you have a build thread with a list of mods?
 
Awesome! Looking good.

I live in Santa Cruz. Hollister is our testing ground. I watched a friend snap a CV in the exact spot your 3rd pic was taken. Was pretty interesting trying to get him outa there. For the record, he was NOT in a Land Cruiser. lol Anyway, it's a great place to learn the capabilities of your 100. I've gained a lot of trust in the Cruiser after living through stuff in Hollister. My kids love it out there too.

Next time go for Truck Hill!! Of course it changes with conditions, but I've done it a few times and always made it fine. 4 low, 1st gear and ATRAC working overtime.

Cheers,
JJ
 
Nice looking rig..HH is a blast when condiontions are right. It's always cool when you meet up with other members especially if there is a variety of different rigs..You can compare the rigs strengths and weaknesses on each obstacle. Next time before heading out you should post in the traiils/events/expeditions forum.. You can set up a trail/park run with other forum members.
 
Negative on the build thread. I'l have to work on putting one together.

04 LX, 1" AHC sensor lift, 30mm spring spacers, Japan 4x4 AHC spacers, Fuel Anza
wheels, BFG 275/70/18, and i fabricated front/ rear bumpers, roof rack, and sliders in my garage.
 
Awesome! Looking good.

I live in Santa Cruz. Hollister is our testing ground. I watched a friend snap a CV in the exact spot your 3rd pic was taken. Was pretty interesting trying to get him outa there. For the record, he was NOT in a Land Cruiser. lol Anyway, it's a great place to learn the capabilities of your 100. I've gained a lot of trust in the Cruiser after living through stuff in Hollister. My kids love it out there too.

Next time go for Truck Hill!! Of course it changes with conditions, but I've done it a few times and always made it fine. 4 low, 1st gear and ATRAC working overtime.

Cheers,
JJ

Thanks!

I bet that was a brutal getting him out of there. The pics just don't show how gnarly that spot really is. I'll prob try truck hill in the future, without kids. These rigs do really good out there. I got a few surprised WTF looks going up some stuff. Good times!
 
Nice looking rig..HH is a blast when condiontions are right. It's always cool when you meet up with other members especially if there is a variety of different rigs..You can compare the rigs strengths and weaknesses on each obstacle. Next time before heading out you should post in the traiils/events/expeditions forum.. You can set up a trail/park run with other forum members.

Thanks! Good idea. I'l have to post up some dates and see if some can roll over there in a group.
 
i fabricated front/ rear bumpers, roof rack, and sliders in my garage.

Wow! That's awesome. They look fantastic in the pics. I've been messing around with metal fab enough to know that that took some real time and talent to build. You should start a build thread for sure!

I got a few surprised WTF looks going up some stuff. Good times!

Funny! I'll never forget the look on my buddies faces (Jeep guys) when I met them in San Juan Batista for the first time. They look so disappointed. They said, "Uh, we were planing to do some black diamond trails today. Why did you bring that grocery getter?" By the end of the day they were all searching Craig's list for their own 100.

Shoot me a PM next time you head out.

JJ
 
Wow! That's awesome. They look fantastic in the pics. I've been messing around with metal fab enough to know that that took some real time and talent to build. You should start a build thread for sure



Funny! I'll never forget the look on my buddies faces (Jeep guys) when I met them in San Juan Batista for the first time. They look so disappointed. They said, "Uh, we were planing to do some black diamond trails today. Why did you bring that grocery getter?" By the end of the day they were all searching Craig's list for their own 100.

Shoot me a PM next time you head out.

JJ

Haha! That's awesome!

The bumpers took a while. I had a shop bend up some steel plate, and i mitered and welded them up. I'm pretty happy with how they came out.

I'll hit you up next time I plan on going back.
 
Finally had a day free of kids sports, 4-H, work, ect... My 2 boys and I loaded up and went to Hollister Hills. The line getting in was pretty long, (3 day weekend) but only took 10min to pay and get the gate combo.

Once in the park, we headed up to
Hector Heights Overlook. On the way up to the overlook we came across a section that looked like an old quarry. There were some short, steep, rocky climbs that twisted up the suspension and made the ATRAC work a bit. While at that spot, we dropped the tire pressure down to 25psi, engaged the center diff lock and hit the same sections again. Much better! Hardly any tire slip and ATRAC didn't kick in.

From there we headed up West Trail. It' a blue square trail. The map shows the trail difficulty by color/ shape:

Green circle= easiest
Blue square= more difficult
Black diamond= most difficult

West Trail was pretty easy. There was a couple rock sections, but had 0 problems driving through them. I ended up behind a newer lifted 4 Runner that to make several attempts to clear some sections. He eventually let me pass and we moved on up the trail.

We came to an intersection where I could continue up by taking Mc Cray trail (blue), or Fremontia Rd. (Black diamond). We took Fremontia Rd. It was definitely more challenging. Some steep rutted sections, rocks, roots, ect. Came up to one spot with a really deep rut on the left side of the trail. I dropped in and the trail met the frame. I couldn't go forward, but was able to back out. I looked down the trail and there was no way I was going to back down and go the easier way. I chose a line closer to the left side of the trail and eventually made it through. The rear suspension had to of been maxed, or even extra high mode because the rear driver side wheel had serious gap between the fender. There were a couple more sections that were tough, but the LX kept moving along.

We made it up to the overlook and enjoyed the view for a bit. From there we headed back down the trail and ended up at
Truck Hill. It's STEEP! No way i was going to even try it. We watched couple RZR's climb up. Pretty cool to watch. We headed over to the obstacle course. We messed around there for a bit, and watched the younger crowd beat the hell out of their trucks. Always entertaining.

We finally left and aired up at the Ranger Station. It was a really good day wheeling. Didn't break anything and most importantly, my boys had an absolute blast!

Any local guys out there? I live outside Salinas towards monterey. It'd be good times to get a few more guys out there.

Pics!View attachment 1636384 View attachment 1636389 View attachment 1636386 View attachment 1636393 View attachment 1636398


What front bumper do you have in your rig, looks good. Is this a stock AHC or lifted
 
I built/ fabricated the bumpers. I'm running a 1" AHC sensor lift, and Japan 4x4 AHC spacers.
Your bumper looks really good, top job on that. I really like the bevel between the top and the front and the clean catch of the wing tips to the wheel well line. Do you have any good shots of the rear bumper?

In those pictures, particularly the static pic #2, are you in AHC High? So a 1" AHC lift then N to H equals ~3" lift? That is exactly what I would like to do (and I have a set of the Japan 4x4 AHC spacers in a drawer) but I spend a lot of time in AHC High on the trail and I guess I'm nervous about the CV's.

Cheers,
rjones
 
Your bumper looks really good, top job on that. I really like the bevel between the top and the front and the clean catch of the wing tips to the wheel well line. Do you have any good shots of the rear bumper?

In those pictures, particularly the static pic #2, are you in AHC High? So a 1" AHC lift then N to H equals ~3" lift? That is exactly what I would like to do (and I have a set of the Japan 4x4 AHC spacers in a drawer) but I spend a lot of time in AHC High on the trail and I guess I'm nervous about the CV's.

Cheers,
rjones

Thanks!

AHC was in high in all the pics.

So, I just went outside and cycled my AHC on a flat surface and measured front fender to center of hub. In "N" it's 20 1/2".
In "H" It's 22 1/4". Looks like I'm getting
1 3/4" lift from N to H. I really like how I got my downtravel back while using H mode with the AHC spacers. No more maxing out suspension planks or bangs.

20180218_101938.jpg
 
@1sar39 .... excellent work on the bumpers. Very, very nice job on those. Super impressed. For the 4x4 spacers, where did you source those and how much were they?
 
Finally had a day free of kids sports, 4-H, work, ect... My 2 boys and I loaded up and went to Hollister Hills. The line getting in was pretty long, (3 day weekend) but only took 10min to pay and get the gate combo.

Once in the park, we headed up to
Hector Heights Overlook. On the way up to the overlook we came across a section that looked like an old quarry. There were some short, steep, rocky climbs that twisted up the suspension and made the ATRAC work a bit. While at that spot, we dropped the tire pressure down to 25psi, engaged the center diff lock and hit the same sections again. Much better! Hardly any tire slip and ATRAC didn't kick in.

From there we headed up West Trail. It' a blue square trail. The map shows the trail difficulty by color/ shape:

Green circle= easiest
Blue square= more difficult
Black diamond= most difficult

West Trail was pretty easy. There was a couple rock sections, but had 0 problems driving through them. I ended up behind a newer lifted 4 Runner that to make several attempts to clear some sections. He eventually let me pass and we moved on up the trail.

We came to an intersection where I could continue up by taking Mc Cray trail (blue), or Fremontia Rd. (Black diamond). We took Fremontia Rd. It was definitely more challenging. Some steep rutted sections, rocks, roots, ect. Came up to one spot with a really deep rut on the left side of the trail. I dropped in and the trail met the frame. I couldn't go forward, but was able to back out. I looked down the trail and there was no way I was going to back down and go the easier way. I chose a line closer to the left side of the trail and eventually made it through. The rear suspension had to of been maxed, or even extra high mode because the rear driver side wheel had serious gap between the fender. There were a couple more sections that were tough, but the LX kept moving along.

We made it up to the overlook and enjoyed the view for a bit. From there we headed back down the trail and ended up at
Truck Hill. It's STEEP! No way i was going to even try it. We watched couple RZR's climb up. Pretty cool to watch. We headed over to the obstacle course. We messed around there for a bit, and watched the younger crowd beat the hell out of their trucks. Always entertaining.

We finally left and aired up at the Ranger Station. It was a really good day wheeling. Didn't break anything and most importantly, my boys had an absolute blast!

Any local guys out there? I live outside Salinas towards monterey. It'd be good times to get a few more guys out there.

Pics!View attachment 1636384 View attachment 1636389 View attachment 1636386 View attachment 1636393 View attachment 1636398
Inspired! Headed to hollister soon with the 100.
 

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