3 Weeks, 9 States and a 45 year old FJ40/M416 Combo (1 Viewer)

[Rock40]

Hi, I'm starting this thread to document the upcoming trip that my wife and I will be leaving for the end of this month (August). We will be leaving from Washington State (we live in the Seattle area) and we will be driving through Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The goal is to see as many national parks/national forest areas as we can along the way and we will be camping the entire 3 weeks.

Yes, this frankly sounds boring and has probably been done many times before. Well, this road trip is probably more about the journey than the destination because my wife and I will be driving my heavily modified 69' FJ40 while pulling a similarly modified 69' M416 trailer. My FJ40 seems to have a knack for breaking down as it recently crapped out in the driveway (blown fuel pump seal) before a weekend camping trip and once left us stranded for 5 days in the northern Yukon. It's also slow, noisy and generally lacks the creature comforts we've all come to love and expect while travelling. Sure, we could drive my wife's Honda Civic but that car is lame, boring and probably wouldn't leave us stranded on the roadway shoulder. What's the fun in that?

69' FJ40 specs:
5.7 Vortec, SM420, Rockbox, Pro Rock 60 front w/3.7 gears/ARB, 93' FJ80 FF rear w/3.7 gears/ARB, 4 link rear w/Currie Rockjock 4" coils, 5 link front w/panhard, 14" Racerunner coilovers, 37" BFG's, etc

69' M416 specs:
15 gallon onboard water tank/pump, 360 degree LED lighting, 82 quart ARB fridge/freezer, CVT Roof Top Tent on telescoping rack w/gas struts, tailgate conversion, deep cycle Optima battery, etc

I'm currently scrambling to finish a long list of items for both the FJ40 and the M416 before we leave at the end of the month but I will try to keep up on this and I'll get some photos posted

I will also update as we finalize our route. If we're driving through your neighborhood we'd love to stop and swap some stories,

 

[batcon]

Post up some pics of the combo.

 

[stormscrambler]

sounds cool my buddy just drove to iowa and back, he took the senic route there and then made it back in two days

 

[Rock40]

 

[Rock40]

Sorry, I'm picture stupid

 

[Kofoed]

That is a danged ambitious trip

 

[Rock40]

Lol! Yeah The cab will be all closed up (it converts to a FJ45'ish cab) and I'll have full doors on it but the mileage/time alone is the big hurdle.

I just swapped to a Walbro high pressure pump to feed the 5.7 Vortec so hopefully my fuel delivery woes are over. I've been through 4 Mallory high pressure pumps (and they're WAY more expensive) then the Walbro in the last 10 years.

The original plan was driving a 96' FJ80 with a swapped 1HD-T but we (and a landcruiser fab shop) are having an extremely difficult time finding an engine. At this stage in the game, that option is out so it was either scrap the trip or come up with something else. I have a 84' mini truck which can tow the trailer but going up mountain passes in 2nd gear (25MPH @3000rmp) isn't much fun. Nor would I want to sit in it for that long. That leaves the FJ40 as my only other option at this point. If I'm lucky it will get 12-14mpg towing the fully loaded trailer; I guess it could be worse

 

[landcrusher909]

I will be folowing this. Love road Trip stories. If your anywhere near So Calif feel free to stop by

 

[Rock40]

Thanks Unfortunately we're just going to cross the very northern portion of California after we leave Crater Lake in Oregon or I'd take you up on your offer.

I should probably be a bit more helpful and I'll lay out the first part to the trip. We're taking HWY 2 east from the Snohomish/Monroe area in Washington. We'll then hop on HWY 97 which runs down the entire length of Oregon. Along the way, we'll be stopping in Bend and the Crater Lake area. When we arrive in Klamath Falls, OR, we're switching highways so we can access HWY 395 which winds it's way down to Reno, NV. From there, we're taking HWY 50 which runs east/west across Nevada and into Utah. There are several parks we'll be staying in along the way and we'll also be making an appearance in Moab (obviously required).

Past this point, we don't have the trip nailed down currently.

 

[batcon]

How well does the lifting system work for the rtt? how easy is it to retract? I'm planning on setting something similar up on a trailer i'm working on now.

 

[Kofoed]

Don't miss Lehman Caves and the camping (hot springs) along highway 50. Get your Highway 50 passport for a keepsake.

 

[Rock40]

The lifting system works VERY well but it took quite a bit of hit/miss engineering to get it there. The main supports are 3/16 wall DOM tube and they are bored slightly to fit a bushing. I used .120 wall 6061 tubing for the telescopic (sliding) legs and once raised, the rack/legs are secured with quick release pins. It comes up approximately 19" so that the bottom of the RTT sits at exactly 76", that way the annex room works appropriately.

All told, the rack/tent are HEAVY (approx. 210lbs) and the 4 lift struts equal 300lbs of lift. However, you can raise it yourself without even breaking a sweat. All it takes is one small push/lift to get it moving and it goes up on it's own. Lowering it can be done with one person but it's way easier with two. The rack/tent need to be pushed down some to compress the struts but overall it's very easy.

I did however, need to add large turnbuckles to help support the weight of the rack/RTT during transit. I didn't like the thought of things wiggling around and the main support legs are all tied together with 1" tubing.

If you've got any questions about your own rack projects or want some pictures or P/N's just ask

 

[Rock40]

Don't miss Lehman Caves and the camping (hot springs) along highway 50. Get your Highway 50 passport for a keepsake.

Thanks for this suggestion, will do

 

[batcon]

Will do, thanks.

 

[Rock40]

Just an update to this: We are leaving tomorrow morning after several frantic weeks of projects and packing. The tent rack was completely disassembled, primed painted and reassembled. I wired in a total of 9 LED lights: 4 under the trailer tub itself and 5 up on the rack. As usual, we filled the water tank 2 days ago only to discover that the 12v pump had failed. Turns out I had a party here and curious kid flipped the switch, ran the pump dry and burned it up. At least we discovered that before we got on the road

As we go along, I'll try to keep this updated with pics via my phone

 

[subzali]

After Moab, I would probably go to glenwood springs in Colorado then head up to Rocky Mountain national park area, then head north into Wyoming.

Unless you want to take a deeper dive and a larger swath through co to see 4 corners, Mesa verde, Sand dunes etc.

Good luck


...via IH8MUD app

 

[Rock40]

Thanks Right now the plan is Telluride, CO then up towards the north

 

[Rock40]

Here's a pic of the rear stab jacks I came up with also, the trailer with the tent raised moved around too much

These jacks can be adjusted up/down 7" and they are secured to the trailer with quick release pins when mounted.

 

[batcon]

Where did you find those jacks?

 

[Rock40]

On ebay for about $35 then I modified/extended them.