Builds Family Adventure 200

[Crush 4]

Confirming the matching spare wheel & tire fits underneath.

What brand of seat covers are those?

 

[psnyman]

Those are the Escape Gear seat covers, I got the Polycotton tough canvas and find it a bit too tough and wonder if the 100% cotton would be softer - they’ll last for sure.

https://escapegear.com/product/toyota-land-cruiser-200-seat-covers/

 

[psnyman]

Death Valley 4x4 boys trip

Organized a boys long weekend away to tour Death Valley south to north before it got too hot. Was a great trip to stress test the vehicle and driver with the latest additions. We started off as 3 vehicles but 1 broke it's air suspension on the first trail and had to abandon! So it was my LC200 and a buddy in his new Ford Transit Quadratec conversion (think Ford Transit meets F150). He had the shorter version with the 130 wheel base and some switchbacks on Lippencott were tight but his extra 4" width made it very tight getting through Dedeckera canyon with mm to spare on either side with careful spotting. I ended up using my Kaymar swingout to carry extra fuel for him while he carried my extra water which worked well.

Route (Gaia GPS track)

• Trona Pinnacles (camp)
• Panamint Springs
• Darwin Springs
• Talc City Hills / Santa Rosa Flats
• Hunter Mountain
• Ubehebe Talc Mine (camp)
• Tea Kettle Junction
• Race Track
• Lippincott Mine Road (down)
• Saline Valley Springs (camp)
• Steele Pass (south to north)
• Dedeckera Canyon
• Eureka Dunes
• Alabama Hills (camp)

What worked

• New FCP suspension was incredible with the heavier load and rough roads
• New Toyo AT3 were just as good, was nervous about infamous Steele Pass and Saline Valley road but no punctures
• LRA extra gas worked great, no issues with huge variations in altitude or filling up
• Slee sliders and Kaymar rear bar got their first "kisses" with no issues

What didn't work

• Steel jerry cans in my Kaymar were not a tight fit in the carrier and they rattled and wore away the PC on the badly rutted roads
• Using iPhone for GAIA - need a bigger screen with a mount
• Trying to send messages with the InReach mini - seemed to struggle to find enough satellites sometimes
• Realized I had forgotten to finish tightening the winch control box to the bumper and it almost rattled off on the corrugations, nothing duct tape couldn't fix
• The fuel gauge LEDs on my LRA up front seemed to give up the ghost so I couldn't tell how full/empty the spare was - decanting with pump still worked

 

[TLC2013]

Looks like an awesome trip. Thanks for sharing. Your cruiser looks great! Looking forward to wheeling again with you, thinking another Hollister trip in June/ July.

 

[psnyman]

Some more Death Valley scenes, the scale is difficult to grasp and capture

 

[psnyman]

Dune driving at Oceano SVRA south of Pismo, CA. Kids enjoyed it but dad was stressed negotiating the changing terrain and dodging the ATVs. Even got stuck going up a dune and self rescued by reversing back carefully

 

[1world1love]

Some more Death Valley scenes, the scale is difficult to grasp and capture

Great pics and your truck looks like a natural feature out there. The Transit not so much although I know that they are pretty capable, especially if they have the beefed up suspension and 4wd.

I wonder if for the jerry can mount, you could just run some 3M foam tape around the top and then add a piece of foam on the bottom. Maybe something like a rectangle cutoff from a yoga mat.

 

[1world1love]

And definitely agree with Nick, we should plan to wheel again soon.

 

[psnyman]

I wonder if for the jerry can mount, you could just run some 3M foam tape around the top and then add a piece of foam on the bottom. Maybe something like a rectangle cutoff from a yoga mat.

Good suggestions thanks, will give that a go for the next time for sure - some photos showing the wear and tear

 

[1world1love]

And I should also add that I have two can carrier that mounts on my RR and I never use it specifically because the rattling drives me insane. The washboards in DVNP are brutal too.

 

[psnyman]

Fluffy co-pilot

Our 4 year old Berner loves the cruiser the most, whenever she gets the chance she climbs into an open door and makes herself at home

 

[psnyman]

Spent a weekend camping with a whole family of Land Cruisers while visiting South Africa

 

[TLC2013]

How cool! Looks like an aweosme time and adventure. Did you get to spend any time behind the wheel of those cruisers ?

 

[1world1love]

Spent a weekend camping with a whole family of Land Cruisers while visiting South Africa

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Hell yeah man. Thats great. That trailer setup looks pretty sweet too.