I am overdue on posting this since I actually got home a couple of weeks ago, so just going to get on with it and do a shorter version….
I bought a 1994 from a forum member here (Trapper50cal), and some of you may already be familiar with the truck. I had a 1992, and was getting ready to start pouring money into it (wheels, tires, suspension, bumpers, etc.) and was looking around at the classifieds, and I was drawn back to the ad several times. It was white, it had the superior FZJ motor (yes, I am a convert now), and had 90% of the mods I would have selected myself, so thought – hey, maybe this is a better path….
So we started talking and reached an agreement pretty quickly. What a stand-up guy, one of the best car purchases I have ever been through – he even had an oil change and full mechanical check-up done on his dime before I flew into town and picked us (myself and girlfriend) up at the airport. We arrived in Durango and actually were introduced to a few locals (Corbet – seriously nice looking cargo barriers!, and a couple others, apologies for not recalling who now, it was a whirlwind), while enjoying food and beer at Steamworks Brewing Company – great food and drink!
After lunch, our road trip began, back to Seattle, but we took the scenic route. Leaving Durango, we had to go to four corners – I mean come on, when else in life would I ever go there? So we did that, covered all four states, took the pictures, and moved on in life.
From there, we made it up to Moab, Utah that night. Stayed in town and spent all of the next day in Canyonlands, Dead Horse, and Arches. No trails, just sightseeing – wow what a gorgeous part of the country I had never been to before. We wore out the camera taking pictures and hiking around a bit. Corbet gave us the suggestion to head out of Arches on the back road – Salt Valley Road “it is a nice way out, but not very well marked” was the advice. Indeed, worked out well, but not marked at all at the very north end, luckily GPS kicked in, and we found the right connector to head out, and made it with no wrong turns, but had some adventures with the cows just ranging around and taking up the whole road. Good times.
From there, we hit the highway north towards Salt Lake City as the sun was setting. And then comes the only real negative of the trip….we are somewhere in the middle of nowhere, doing 65 mph, and see the deer crossing sign. And yep, here comes the deer story….and everything you hear is true about these stories: Deer came out of nowhere. Check. Deer stood in road staring at headlights. Check. Options evaluated real time leave only one option. Check. So we hit that deer dead on at maybe 50mph (guessing I got it slowed up just a bit as I squared up on him). Freaked the &*#$* me, and the girlfriend. Just so unexpected.
Of course my mechanical mind is immediately assessing damage to the truck – we hit him square on, and then went over him with both axles. So I am looking, listening, feeling for noises, anything. Everything seems ok, girlfriend ok, so we pull over now, maybe a few hundred yards up the road. I get out and go to investigate the front of the truck. And I am looking…and looking…and looking, and cannot find anything. ARB bumper is my new best friend. I seriously did not find a scratch on the truck, and only some tufts of fur and minimal blood that would need to be washed off, but no damage whatsoever. I cannot imagine ever owning a truck like this without the bumper for this experience alone. Stout set-up.
Now we are pulled over on the side of the highway with the hazards on, and me with a flashlight looking at the front of the truck, so just a couple minutes before another pick-up truck pulls over…and queue movie scene now. Guy gets out of his truck, cowboy boots, belt buckle, and 10 gallon hat. “Whooooooeeee, you dun hit that sucker real good! Bet that scared the **** out of you! Wooooeeeee!” He is dying laughing, and I was like, yeah, we sure did, never done that before, etc. He then saunters up and says, “Well, you best be going back and dragging him out of the road, so he don’t cause any more trouble. Course it’s up to you.” I’m thinking – that sucker is dead, what harm is he going to cause. Anyway, my new found friend understood I was not interested in dealing with the carcass, so he went back there, and for all I know, he loaded it up and got some great venison for the season. We took off, thankful that the truck was solid and ready for the rest of the trip.
Spent the night in SLC that night, and the next morning was having a chat with some lady over breakfast, and she was on a road trip to Alaska from North Carolina (don’t ask), but it did inspire me to look at the map again…so we took another scenic side trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Always wanted to at least see them (someday I will be back for Speed Week), so took that off the list and added Nevada to the total state count. Had to drive on the salt, and took a few pictures, amazing how big that place is.
From there we headed north to Boise to stay with some friends for the night, and then the next day headed home to Seattle. Amazing that in 4+ days of driving all over the place, we pretty much had sunshine and great weather everywhere, only to get stopped less than 75 miles from home when they closed Snoqualmie Pass due to a freak snow storm and accidents everywhere. So we holed up for 5 hours eating and napping waiting for the road to open again, the finally got home very late that night.
Love the new truck, not a single issue the whole trip, learned the true value of an ARB front bumper, enjoyed a great road trip with the girlfriend, and we saw some things that have always been on the list. Now to get the 1992 truck sold, and get some off-road miles in this Spring up here in the NW. Worked up a list of a few items I will be doing to have fun with it, but really just looking forward to having a quality truck in the driveway for my weekend activities.
Pictures up next...
I bought a 1994 from a forum member here (Trapper50cal), and some of you may already be familiar with the truck. I had a 1992, and was getting ready to start pouring money into it (wheels, tires, suspension, bumpers, etc.) and was looking around at the classifieds, and I was drawn back to the ad several times. It was white, it had the superior FZJ motor (yes, I am a convert now), and had 90% of the mods I would have selected myself, so thought – hey, maybe this is a better path….
So we started talking and reached an agreement pretty quickly. What a stand-up guy, one of the best car purchases I have ever been through – he even had an oil change and full mechanical check-up done on his dime before I flew into town and picked us (myself and girlfriend) up at the airport. We arrived in Durango and actually were introduced to a few locals (Corbet – seriously nice looking cargo barriers!, and a couple others, apologies for not recalling who now, it was a whirlwind), while enjoying food and beer at Steamworks Brewing Company – great food and drink!
After lunch, our road trip began, back to Seattle, but we took the scenic route. Leaving Durango, we had to go to four corners – I mean come on, when else in life would I ever go there? So we did that, covered all four states, took the pictures, and moved on in life.
From there, we made it up to Moab, Utah that night. Stayed in town and spent all of the next day in Canyonlands, Dead Horse, and Arches. No trails, just sightseeing – wow what a gorgeous part of the country I had never been to before. We wore out the camera taking pictures and hiking around a bit. Corbet gave us the suggestion to head out of Arches on the back road – Salt Valley Road “it is a nice way out, but not very well marked” was the advice. Indeed, worked out well, but not marked at all at the very north end, luckily GPS kicked in, and we found the right connector to head out, and made it with no wrong turns, but had some adventures with the cows just ranging around and taking up the whole road. Good times.
From there, we hit the highway north towards Salt Lake City as the sun was setting. And then comes the only real negative of the trip….we are somewhere in the middle of nowhere, doing 65 mph, and see the deer crossing sign. And yep, here comes the deer story….and everything you hear is true about these stories: Deer came out of nowhere. Check. Deer stood in road staring at headlights. Check. Options evaluated real time leave only one option. Check. So we hit that deer dead on at maybe 50mph (guessing I got it slowed up just a bit as I squared up on him). Freaked the &*#$* me, and the girlfriend. Just so unexpected.
Of course my mechanical mind is immediately assessing damage to the truck – we hit him square on, and then went over him with both axles. So I am looking, listening, feeling for noises, anything. Everything seems ok, girlfriend ok, so we pull over now, maybe a few hundred yards up the road. I get out and go to investigate the front of the truck. And I am looking…and looking…and looking, and cannot find anything. ARB bumper is my new best friend. I seriously did not find a scratch on the truck, and only some tufts of fur and minimal blood that would need to be washed off, but no damage whatsoever. I cannot imagine ever owning a truck like this without the bumper for this experience alone. Stout set-up.
Now we are pulled over on the side of the highway with the hazards on, and me with a flashlight looking at the front of the truck, so just a couple minutes before another pick-up truck pulls over…and queue movie scene now. Guy gets out of his truck, cowboy boots, belt buckle, and 10 gallon hat. “Whooooooeeee, you dun hit that sucker real good! Bet that scared the **** out of you! Wooooeeeee!” He is dying laughing, and I was like, yeah, we sure did, never done that before, etc. He then saunters up and says, “Well, you best be going back and dragging him out of the road, so he don’t cause any more trouble. Course it’s up to you.” I’m thinking – that sucker is dead, what harm is he going to cause. Anyway, my new found friend understood I was not interested in dealing with the carcass, so he went back there, and for all I know, he loaded it up and got some great venison for the season. We took off, thankful that the truck was solid and ready for the rest of the trip.
Spent the night in SLC that night, and the next morning was having a chat with some lady over breakfast, and she was on a road trip to Alaska from North Carolina (don’t ask), but it did inspire me to look at the map again…so we took another scenic side trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Always wanted to at least see them (someday I will be back for Speed Week), so took that off the list and added Nevada to the total state count. Had to drive on the salt, and took a few pictures, amazing how big that place is.
From there we headed north to Boise to stay with some friends for the night, and then the next day headed home to Seattle. Amazing that in 4+ days of driving all over the place, we pretty much had sunshine and great weather everywhere, only to get stopped less than 75 miles from home when they closed Snoqualmie Pass due to a freak snow storm and accidents everywhere. So we holed up for 5 hours eating and napping waiting for the road to open again, the finally got home very late that night.
Love the new truck, not a single issue the whole trip, learned the true value of an ARB front bumper, enjoyed a great road trip with the girlfriend, and we saw some things that have always been on the list. Now to get the 1992 truck sold, and get some off-road miles in this Spring up here in the NW. Worked up a list of a few items I will be doing to have fun with it, but really just looking forward to having a quality truck in the driveway for my weekend activities.
Pictures up next...
. I'm also glad that the rest of the trip was fun and uneventful with the truck. I knew he was in good shape but I hadn't gone 1400 miles in one shot so it's good to know that everything was as it should be...
