Help a Newbie Prioritize Expedition Build?

[DirtyLowBASE]

To Preface: I read as much as my little brain could handle through the forums before deciding to post, and I still am not sure where to start with my expedition project. I ask "you the people" first because many of you have travelled this road way before me and I respect the advice / opinions you have to offer. Thanks!

Heres What I have: 1988 FJ62 with 247,000 on a rebuild 3FE at around 200,000
-The interior was completely reupholstered by the previous owner.
-He also put a Viper alarm system in with keyless entry.
-There is virtually no frame rust and very little body rust.
-It has new a radiator, air box, all new hoses, relays, and some other odds + ends.

Heres What I need it for:
-I do a lot of BASE jumping, camping, climbing, and general mountaineering where I need a vehicle that can handle some decent 4wheeling short of serious crawling. MPG's are pretty important to me, as well as some cost efficiency. I don't really care about brand names, just quality and effectiveness.

What I would like to do:
-Exhaust upgrades
-Transfer Case rebuild
-4~inch old emu lift with 33 X 10.5s
-On Board Air
-Rear Lockers
-New front bumper w/winch
-New rear bumper with swing-outs
-Snorkel
-Roof Rack
-Storage compartments

Where you can help me: Are these in a logical order of what is necessary first, what am I missing, what is not really necessary, and am I on the right track?

 

[MANUCHAO]

If you say mpg are important to you, then you want to keep stock height, no rear bumper with swing outs and a low profile roof rack. Remember every ounce of weight you add-on will affect your MPG.

 

[DirtyLowBASE]

Makes sense...Do you feel that expedition vehicles are hindered by remaining stock height?

 

[MANUCHAO]

They may. It all depends on the location/terrain you are exploring and what are you willing to trade-off on.

 

[AdventureToolCompany]

It looks like you have a good idea of what you want/need to support your hobby. You may give some consideration to a long range fuel tank or carrying additional fuel cans, of course this will be based on your experience as you do more trips.

Good luck and get out and learn the capabilities of your truck!

Be safe.

 

[ozwallaby]

Any thought of going diesel... you WILL get improved fuel economy...

 

[Bama4door]

Any thought of going diesel... you WILL get improved fuel economy...

Yea he will, but he will never overcome the cost of the swap compared to saving the money of gas vs diesel down the road

 

[Hondu]

You should prioritize building a cargo/sleeping system in the back for stealth camping and gear storage. Best and most beneficial improvement I have made to my 60, especially for expo purposes. Also the most labor intensive but well worth it!

 

[SWCruiser]

Sounds like your more of a get out in the woods and hike kind of guy then I will wheel and view from my seat.. If your concerned about MPG forget about armor, rear bumper with swingout, roofrack etc. and a 4" lift. I agree with the above build a cargo deck which will allow you to sleep and put away all your gear. If your an active guy and in and out of the truck getting gear a swing out will be a PITA. I left my tire under all my cruisers and couldn't be happier. How often are you switching out your tires vs. moving the swingout so you can access your junk...
I would consider a fridge next one of the best mods for expeditioning along with extra fuel.

 

[MANUCHAO]

If you consider a diesel swap do not look at it as how much $$ you'll save on gas vs diesel.
Instead, look at how much more range (driving distance) you would gain from the swap + the cool factor.
There is one member here that get a range of 800+ miles with a LR tank and a diesel engine under the hood.
I agree with the last two post.. storage / sleeping system, LR tank and a fridge... would be a must for overlanding.
Not needed, but advised would be a second battery for that fridge...

 

[rideglobally]

for what it is worth; on our build my first priority was those items that made the vehicle reliable first, then the recovery equipments on the need basis, base upon what i think i will need for my next trip. the rest of my build was basically based upon my experience when we are out there, in other words functionality. almost every time we go out we add things that will make Nulla reliable/recovery and comfortable. we have learned to keep it simple and functional. also items that are easy to get i.e. stuff that you can get at a part store.

probably not specific enough but hope this is useful.

 

[peteinjp]

Exactly what Rideglobally said. #1 is reliability- just make sure that the vehicle is 100% and you have done 90% of what you need. #2 is having the tools you need to fix something if you do have a problem as well as the information you might need to fixit. 3- secure your stuff well. Carry a good first aid kit, good shovel and a stock jack and your good to get started.

But after that it all comes down to what you in particular will need for what you want to do. For example I see a lot of off camber stuff but rarely find I need more clearance than my 32" tires provide if I choose my line well. In my case a 4" lift would be a bad idea as it would raise the center of gravity. So basically I think take care of the above mentioned basics and the just get out in the truck and go. Make changes based upon your experience rather than making a (expensive) list of things you think you MIGHT need. Well before a snorkel you will need to extend all of the gear box breathers.

Building a truck , like anything else, can be fun. If that's what you want to do then just go for it. But if you are building it for a purpose then let the purpose define your build. From what I imagine the truck will be used for it sounds like a solid stock vehicle would probable do 95% or more of what you need.

Pete

 

[Tennessee Jed]

This is going to sound snarky, but it isn't meant to be. Stop and think what you actually need, for the places you'll actually go. Realize that your truck, in stock configuration, is tremendously capable.

What you need is to BASELINE your truck with a good Toyota mechanic, I recommend www.acctoyota.com they're relatively close to you and you can trust them 100%. Tell them what you want to do and they will make sure your truck is functional.

After that, think long and hard before you bolt one. extra. thing. to your truck. The more stuff you have on the outside, the more that can be stolen. The more you carry, the lower your mileage and the slower you'll climb in the mountains. You're screwed on gas mileage - know that going in - and don't make it worse for yourself. Do you really need a snorkel for instance? Why do you need a 4" lift for ordinary off road driving, as you put it? Are regular tires not expensive enough? And what "exhaust upgrade" were you planning? Will this exhaust upgrade enable you to take trips that you couldn't before? What spending actually liberates you versus what spending drags you down and drains your resources, forcing you to work more and party less?

Don't mean to sound like a grump but I see people build fantasy vehicles to go places that they can't afford to go to because they had to have a $1000 fridge and $3000 worth of bumpers and so on and so on...saw a guy take out a home equity line of credit so he could start "overlanding". Now where's the sense in that?

 

[DirtyLowBASE]

You guys are Awesome!

I have been traveling for the past few days to get out to Moab and definitely did expect the awesome advice I just received!

AdventureToolCompany: Definitely agree with increasing my fuel load, I will start the research on here.

ozwallaby: The engine is in great shape, so I'm going to run it for as long as she will go and then look into that option!

shredlightly: do you have any pics of that cargo sleep system to give me an Idea; sounds awesome!

SWCruiser: I think you have me figured out, and from what you say, it sounds like I like the swing out in "concept" more that I will like it in practicality... Thanks!

Pete: You make a lot of sense, and it sounds like you get a lot of places without an unnecessarily "large" lift.

Mr Natural: Part of the reason I posted on here was so someone like yourself would respond. I truly appreciate your candidness and I think you are right in many ways. I'm gonna take a step back and do some more research, and try and figure out where I'm truly going to take the truck. Functionality is most important to me, and as you said, i'm starting to realize how "tremendously" capable the truck is stock. As for the exhaust upgrade, I read through some forums on here where people were saying a simple upgrade can improve quite a few things and it seemed to make sense.

I will definitely check out ACCToyota....Theres another place I found called UrbanLandCruisers in ATL, I have read through there website but don't know much else about them...Do you know them?

I have gotten some great ideas / advice from you guys and I really appreciate it. You probably just saved me a lot of money / heartache on what may have been some unnecessarily expensive purchases. I definitely have some more learning to do so I can get a full understanding of the simple things my truck needs instead of the bigger items that are possibly unnecessary.

If you have anything else send it my way and thanks again!

Andrew

 

[DirtyLowBASE]

MrNatural: Just saw your edit and laughed pretty hard. The other day I nudged the side of the tire just looking at something and it set the alarm off....Of course I was driving my 4runner so I didn't have the keys To add to that I feel like it puts a target on my truck with that stupid blue light in the windshield.

 

[Dazrin]

If your an active guy and in and out of the truck getting gear a swing out will be a PITA. I left my tire under all my cruisers and couldn't be happier. How often are you switching out your tires vs. moving the swingout so you can access your junk...

If you don't get a swing-out, definitely consider doing the spare tire lift mod, either build your own or purchase one to get some extra clearance at the rear. Low cost, next to nothing weight, adds 1-2 inches of rear clearance by tucking the spare up more. Really don't see a downside to it.

 

[DirtyLowBASE]

If you don't get a swing-out, definitely consider doing the spare tire lift mod, either build your own or purchase one to get some extra clearance at the rear. Low cost, next to nothing weight, adds 1-2 inches of rear clearance by tucking the spare up more. Really don't see a downside to it.

Sounds like a reasonable and functional alternative, I'll start looking on here because I'm sure plenty of people have already done it! Thanks!

 

[No. 3]

Get a reefer and a compressor. That'll make your life better eating and driving off road. Get a High Lift, nylon pull strap and a shovel too. The rest is best figured out as you go, as was previously said. But in a lot of years of driving in all sorts of places I've never been unable to get back home with these items available. I don't have a winch and would rather pack my own stuff to surf & fish rather than the weight of a winch. My truck came with a snorkel and mostly all it's good for is eliciting stupid questions by panhandlers at freeway off ramps....

These cars can go about anywhere just as they are, I drove my stock FJ60 as many out of the way places as my current HJ60 which the PO raised (not so well) and installed a snorkel on. Mostly I feel like it just makes me conspicuous. Easy, comfortable eating and sleeping make the most difference while traveling, I find. The less that is to be done after a long day on the road or after surfing all day the happier I am and my whole deal is set up based on that goal- eat fast and well & sleep easy.

If BASE jumping is what I think it is it sounds like you have plenty to worry about besides accessorizing your car! Best,
J

 

[Tennessee Jed]

Mostly I feel like it just makes me conspicuous. Easy, comfortable eating and sleeping make the most difference while traveling, I find. The less that is to be done after a long day on the road or after surfing all day the happier I am and my whole deal is set up based on that goal- eat fast and well & sleep easy.

If BASE jumping is what I think it is it sounds like you have plenty to worry about besides accessorizing your car! Best,
J

Yep, this. A lot of "Camel Trophy" type add ons make you more tempting to thieves, and decrease the resale value when it comes time to sell. A clean, cared for, stockish 60 will ALWAYS have value and be a quick sell if you need to get out of it. Mod it all to pieces and it looks like an abused truck, no matter how much it was loved.

End of sermon - don't mean to

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Transfer case rebuild, if needed, should be the first thing done. It's good news that your cooling system has been attended to. If your exhaust is in good shape, no need or advantage to ditch it. If for some reason it's in rusty condition, consider a stainless replacement system from EMS. I would also forget about the lift and snorkel, downsize the tires and get rid of those black wheels!