2007 LC “VX” (3 Viewers)

[suprarx7nut]

The following day I began to head east. I took highway 36, which makes its way through Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park. It was a jaw droppingly scenic drive (for a tree perv) and totally unexpected. I eventually camped somewhere on forest land a few miles off the highway in an area that had been burned a few years earlier.
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It took me a couple days but on Halloween I made it to Lake Tahoe, first time there for me. My impressions? Nice, but judging by the prices, not nearly as incredible as the locals think it is. So I left and got drunk at a bar in Gardenerville, Nevada watching the World Series and slept out in the back parking lot that night. Ain't too proud.
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The next morning I hooked up with the 395 and made my way south.
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I previously knew nothing about the ghost town of Bodie but managed to find myself there. Freakin' cool place, one of my favourite stops on the journey. The chilly air and dark skies enhanced the ghostly feel of the place even more. Will definitely return next time I'm in the area.
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That ghost town is crazy! Never seen one that intact. The Colorado ones I've seen are all so dilapidated or just a single building frame or two it's hard to imagine it being a town. That one is super cool.

Back down the mountain the next morning.
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I stopped in Lone Pine for brekky then went back up north a few miles to the Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp. An educated citizen knows their complete history, the good and the bad.
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Checked out the Alabama Hills briefly, reminded me of Granite Dells in Prescott, AZ where I grew up so I wasn't terribly impressed, lol.
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I'd been wanting to go back to Death Valley ever since I drove through there in my old Tundra back in 2016. But I didn't have the time to explore and my Tundra and I wasn't equipped to do so. I felt pretty good about it this time so I stocked up on food and water, filled the tank and made my way... apprehensively. I don't really like Death Valley to be honest, I feel like it's a place where people shouldn't be. God forbid something happens out there, you better plan to be prepared or lucky if someone finds you. But there's some things there that I just had to experience. So just inside the west entrance I took the Saline Valley alternate road to the interior of the park. I get about 10 miles in, the first sign of life I see is this.
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Hmmm. Obviously these are idiots in vehicles that have no business being out here but it gives me pause for concern if nothing else. I decide to camp out right there overlooking the Panamint Valley and sleep on it.
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Those Hidden Valley warning pictures are like a traction board advertisement!

 

[MycoManiac]

How did you li

Back down the mountain the next morning.
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I stopped in Lone Pine for brekky then went back up north a few miles to the Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp. An educated citizen knows their complete history, the good and the bad.
View attachment 2912186
Checked out the Alabama Hills briefly, reminded me of Granite Dells in Prescott, AZ where I grew up so I wasn't terribly impressed, lol.
View attachment 2912190
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I'd been wanting to go back to Death Valley ever since I drove through there in my old Tundra back in 2016. But I didn't have the time to explore and my Tundra and I wasn't equipped to do so. I felt pretty good about it this time so I stocked up on food and water, filled the tank and made my way... apprehensively. I don't really like Death Valley to be honest, I feel like it's a place where people shouldn't be. God forbid something happens out there, you better plan to be prepared or lucky if someone finds you. But there's some things there that I just had to experience. So just inside the west entrance I took the Saline Valley alternate road to the interior of the park. I get about 10 miles in, the first sign of life I see is this.
View attachment 2912192
Hmmm. Obviously these are idiots in vehicles that have no business being out here but it gives me pause for concern if nothing else. I decide to camp out right there overlooking the Panamint Valley and sleep on it.
View attachment 2912193

How did you like hwy 36? The first time I took it, I was coming east from 5 to 101. Hit 50mph winds, rain, and snow in a 3 hour period. Butt clenching road IMO. Super beautiful, but don’t slip up and go off the non existent shoulder. 299 is a good one too, but a little less dangerous.

Man I miss that area. Best 3 years of my life.

 

[hoser]

That ghost town is crazy! Never seen one that intact. The Colorado ones I've seen are all so dilapidated or just a single building frame or two it's hard to imagine it being a town. That one is super cool.

Bodie is a CA State Historical Park and thus maintained well. Columbia State Historical Park is another good one that has a working hotels, saloons, restaurants and shops.

 

[GTV]

How did you li


How did you like hwy 36? The first time I took it, I was coming east from 5 to 101. Hit 50mph winds, rain, and snow in a 3 hour period. Butt clenching road IMO. Super beautiful, but don’t slip up and go off the non existent shoulder. 299 is a good one too, but a little less dangerous.

Man I miss that area. Best 3 years of my life.

36 was gorgeous. Speed limit was 50mph which honestly felt a little insane given how narrow the road was and how close the Redwoods are to it. I went about 30, let everyone by and enjoyed the view.

That ghost town is crazy! Never seen one that intact. The Colorado ones I've seen are all so dilapidated or just a single building frame or two it's hard to imagine it being a town. That one is super cool.

Those Hidden Valley warning pictures are like a traction board advertisement!

It's really good, great history behind it as well. Some of the buildings are kept in good enough condition to be lived in by personnel.

 

[GTV]

I really only had one objective at DVNP and that was The Racetrack. So I figured I'd go as far as I felt comfortable, if things started getting wild or fuel was approaching 1/2 tank I'd tuck tail and turn back. So once again I fixed up my coffee and grits and made my way. Most of the trails are very rocky and slow going, I was a bit paranoid about my C load KO2's not holding up but they ended up doing just fine, albeit a little stiff since I was at 32psi (no onboard air, yet). I passed one other vehicle, a mildly modded 3rd gen Tacoma TRD O/R going the opposite direction who confirmed my route was correct and warned me about the huge silt bed at Hidden Valley. He took a quick look at my rig and tires and said I should have no problem getting through BUT there was a motorcycle abandoned in the right side rut. If I kept to the left I *should* be ok... If any of you have driven through this sh!t you know what it's like. You have to keep your momentum up, if you slow down too much you're bogged. Eventually I made it to the valley, I could see a black spec on the right side of the trail (the motorcycle) and made my approach, unfortunately too fast to have AHC in high (there's an advantage to having static suspension lift). The ruts were deep and I had to fight the wheel to stay left, as the bike got closer to my right fender my truck took a nosedive into the silt and pushed a blinding cloud over my windshield. Of course that's when the traction control started beeping and cutting power Luckily it didn't cut out for long and I had the momentum to make it out of there. Holy f***ing sh!t!!

Once on solid ground I hopped out, saw the bike still standing where it was and checked my fender for damage, not a scratch! Whew!! Heart was in my throat! (The bike is far back to the left of the pic.) I gathered my trembling self and motored on.

Made it to Teakettle Junction

And finally, The Racetrack, and what I drove all the way out here for. To see rocks not moving.

Finally after 70 miles of rocky, silty desert, sweet, sweet asphalt. Later on at the visitors center my dusty LC made quite the stir, I lost track of how many people asked to take a picture

Ubehebe Crater.

 

[GTV]

That evening I made camp near Pahrump. I tried to focus my eyes on this view as the rest of the area is pretty damn awful.

The following day after depositing a heap of Death Valley dirt in a carwash I putzed around and took some scenic drives through Red Rock Canyon outside of Vegas and highways 156-158. Camped right outside the entrance to Valley of Fire State Park in preparation for the next day. Valley of Fire is stunning. So much colour, so much texture. Has to be the prettiest desert landscape I've ever laid my eyes upon. Pictures do not do this place justice.

After VoF I drove through Lake Mead, down to the Hoover Damn and spent the night in a very, umm... cheap and rustic old touristy motel on Route 66 in Kingman. That evening I decided I was far too close to my destination for the time I had remaining and the weather in southern Utah looked really good for early November. So I turned back northwest towards Vegas and caught I-15 towards St George. I had avoided interstates entirely up until this point! Found camp in Rockville that night, once again feeling as if I stepped into a postcard.

 

[GTV]

I was greeted by a gorgeous sunrise the next morning.

I was keen on doing the Angel's Landing hike in Zion so I got going and set out on what I thought was an early start. It was a Monday, 8th November, early in the ayem, how crowded could it be? Answer: Very crowded. Zion is not the place it was last time I went in '14 but it's not going to get any less popular so let's go!
I parked in the (now massive) parking area and took the shuttle up to the trail head as cars aren't allowed on Zion Canyon Road 11 months out of the year. In hindsight I should have grabbed a parking spot on the main drag and just rode my bike to the trailhead but you live and learn.
For the uninitiated, Angel's Landing is a fairly radical hike, at least the last half mile or so. There are chains to help guide you up the backbone of the ridge. It was fun, mostly, if it wasn't for the throngs of people who I shared the trail with that morning. So many so that it was positively dangerous at times, clinging to the chain on the rocky narrow edge of a 1,500' vertical cliff while climbing around other people or having them climb around you. Social distancing wasn't a thing.

Thankfully I made it up without falling to my death and the view at the top was every bit as incredible as I hoped it would be, that is when I could get a clear view around the people.

I eventually made my way down, which was more treacherous this time due to even more people. As of 2022 the powers that be have made Angel's Landing only available on a permit basis, which is certainly sad but also a good thing. The NP's have definitely become a victim of their own success.
Further down, looking up at what I had just ascended.

I wandered around Zion a bit more until I had enough of the crowds, made my way easterly out of the park and found a nice quiet camp near Mt Carmel Junction.

 

[theferg]

I live local to St George area. Zion and Bryce and every national and state park within this area has been absolutely slaughtered starting after the first two weeks of lock-down way back in March 2020. They were getting busier over time, naturally, but SLAMMED starting mid-March 2020. I have stayed pretty far away from any of those places, though the state parks have died down a wee bit in the "winter" months. My father-in-law has supervised camp sites via a contract company that works with the forest service. He had worked that position for almost 10 years. He worked the 2020 season and said it was the roughest, busiest, ugliest, worst season he's ever dealt with. Constant bombardment of unruly, disrespectful people. Caused him to quit and find something else. Plenty of crazy stories and basically anything (within the realm of possibilities) that you can imagine as happening, happened. LOL

Also, on the Angel's Landing... I swear there was a fall reported at least once a month from mid 2020 to mid 2021. So sad. Heard from many folks that it was just too crowded. It is unfortunately probably for the best that they converted it to permit only.

 

[OEMGUY0720]

I saw your post earlier this morning when we were about to leave for Toquerville Falls. We wanted to go to Zion but the kids had so much fun we spent the whole day there. I thought my initial comment post here went through but it didn’t -if you’re free we can go up in Toquerville and do the loop.

The part where I got a good amount of cussing from the wife. That same part that it is only the heavens that you could see as you are almost vertical. I call this 3rd to the last obstacle “the wall”.

Anyways, have fun up there in Zion. I’d go back there anytime in a heartbeat.

 

[GTV]

I saw your post earlier this morning when we were about to leave for Toquerville Falls. We wanted to go to Zion but the kids had so much fun we spent the whole day there. I thought my initial comment post here went through but it didn’t -if you’re free we can go up in Toquerville and do the loop. View attachment 2923087
The part where I got a good amount of cussing from the wife. That same part that it is only the heavens that you could see as you are almost vertical. I call this 3rd to the last obstacle “the wall”.

Anyways, have fun up there in Zion. I’d go back there anytime in a heartbeat.

I'd want a spotter for that! I sincerely appreciate the invite but I was in Zion 2 months ago, I'm just catching up now.

The view out my bedroom window the next morning.

From there I meandered south into Coral Pink Sand Dunes, unfortunately the clouds came in and muted the colours there. Couldn't really complain as the weather I'd had thus far (apart from the first few days) had been pretty much flawless. So I continued into the Arizona strip, stopped at Pipe Springs NM for a bit, and kept south until I found suitable camp right at the edge of the North Rim.

Breakfast with a view.

Being an Arizona boy I had been to the South Rim plenty of times but never the North. So I cruised down to the lodge and enjoyed the view with only a small handful of others, the season was over so everything was closed, totally fine by me. I'll definitely make my way back, the view may not be as grand as it is from the other side but it is much easier to enjoy.

 

[GTV]

I can’t keep this thread current! Long story short, I’m back in the PNW now. I’ve been collecting stickers for my rear window and camping a lot, all while stuff keeps finding it’s way on my new Gamiviti rack.

The truck has been doing great. I can tell the AHC definitely notices the 250ish pounds I’ve strapped on the roof but it’s still behaving well.

I’ve come to the point now where having on board compressed air would be a huge benefit. I really want to be able to air up quickly, supplement the AHC with airbags on the rear coils and have an air nozzle to blow dust off, etc. The more air the better as these 33’s will be upsized in the future.

I’ve got a lot to learn. The only things I think I have settled on is an AHC compatible mount from Owl Expedition, a dual ARB compressor (I guess they are pretty much the standard?), and an air line hidden behind the fuel flap. Can anyone point me in the direction to a guide for adding air to a 100 series?

 

[2001LC]

I can't point to a thread. But air bags, don't need much air volume. So one could use a transfer hose. My dad tough me how to make one. It's simply an air hose with air chucks on each end. Keep extra air in spacer tire and transfer some air when you'd like to air up. Gas cap area for air bag air valve, neat. But closer to spare, like below bumper, may be more practical.

 

[Greenbean]

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Can I ask what sleeping pad(s) those are? You happy with them?

 

[GTV]

Can I ask what sleeping pad(s) those are? You happy with them?

That's ExPed Mega Mat Duo. I love the pad but moving all of my stuff back and forth to make room for a full bed got old really fast. So I picked up the same mattress but in single form. Now when I sleep in the truck I'm on the left, everything else stays to the right rear. I like the pads so much that I chose my RTT because it fits the Duo up there, now I've got ExPed's downstairs and up. I sleep like the dead.

 

[jtb517]

Do you know how much dynamat you used for the cargo area and doors?

Finally getting around to dynamiting the rig before the drawers I have on order arrive. Just curious if I need to order more.

 

[GTV]

Do you know how much dynamat you used for the cargo area and doors?

Finally getting around to dynamiting the rig before the drawers I have on order arrive. Just curious if I need to order more.

Sorry, somehow I missed this.

I *think* I used the pack with 9 sheets of the 18"x32" but it's been a while.

 

[RNR365]

2003 Landcruiser Restored and Modified - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2003-landcruiser-restored-and-modified.1258688/ My build is there. About 1/2 way down first page... 3 - 36sqft packs of dynamat.

 

[GTV]

Big day today!

 

[GTV]

In preparation for some changes I'm after a 2003-2005 LX470 rear bumper cover. Please help me find one!

Wanted - 2003-2005 LX470 Rear Bumper Cover Northwest USA

As the title says, I'm after a 2003-2005 LX470 rear bumper cover in the northwest United States. Color doesn't matter. Must have the opening for the through bumper hitch as seen below.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[chamyota]

Bump. Just read this masterpiece of a build/journey of a man's struggle.