Hello, Mudders!
At the urging of several people who responded to an article I wrote recently on Gizmodo, I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm looking for a Land Cruiser.
The short version is this: My girlfriend and I want to hit the road early next summer and run the Pan-American Highway. Up to Alaska first to get a good shake out, then back down through summer and early fall in the States, then down into Mexico and beyond when the weather starts to turn.
I'm not much of a mechanic, although I've unsuccessfully rebuilt a carburetor. That counts for something, right? One of my goals over the next few months is to get my wrenching skills up to snuff. (I would have signed up for a local community college mechanics course but it starts when I go out of town for a couple of weeks to China.) That's part of the reason I'm selling my current car to get a LC soon.
I used to get three-wheelers and old trucks stuck in the mud during summers on the farm, but that's about the sum total of my off-road experience. Honestly, I'm not really planning on doing a ton of purposeful off-road travel so much as becoming comfortable getting myself out of unexpected situations.
Not entirely sure what I want to get. I bought a 2WD Sportsmobile last year and then sold it after just a couple of months. It just wasn't what I was looking for, although it was certainly easy to camp in. But I just never felt comfortable taking it on bad roads and tearing down mountain passes at all of 45MPH was pretty hairy. Plus my dog hated it. (He's not coming on the trip, although another dog might come with us.)
Before the SMB, I was getting pretty hot and heavy about FZJ80s, even though the 62 is the LC I first thought was hot s***. Now, though, I'm starting to toy with the idea of getting a 100. I can get a 2003 with less than 100k miles for sort of cheap with the 5-speed automatic that might actually help on the highway. Plus it's bigger. More places to stuff gear. Although there are lots of 62s and 80s that are pretty built out for the same price or cheaper. I'm happy to absorb advice or opinions. (I can get a loan from my credit union for a 100, though, if I wanted to do that. So that's a factor.)
Anyway, don't need to give you the whole life story. And there's totally a chance that I'll fxxx off and not actually make the trip, because I'm a jerk like that sometimes. But I've got a job that will let me work from the road, so it's a nice daydream. And if nothing else, I'll enjoy running around Oregon in a 4x4 doing some camping.
Howdy!
Joel
At the urging of several people who responded to an article I wrote recently on Gizmodo, I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm looking for a Land Cruiser.
The short version is this: My girlfriend and I want to hit the road early next summer and run the Pan-American Highway. Up to Alaska first to get a good shake out, then back down through summer and early fall in the States, then down into Mexico and beyond when the weather starts to turn.
I'm not much of a mechanic, although I've unsuccessfully rebuilt a carburetor. That counts for something, right? One of my goals over the next few months is to get my wrenching skills up to snuff. (I would have signed up for a local community college mechanics course but it starts when I go out of town for a couple of weeks to China.) That's part of the reason I'm selling my current car to get a LC soon.
I used to get three-wheelers and old trucks stuck in the mud during summers on the farm, but that's about the sum total of my off-road experience. Honestly, I'm not really planning on doing a ton of purposeful off-road travel so much as becoming comfortable getting myself out of unexpected situations.
Not entirely sure what I want to get. I bought a 2WD Sportsmobile last year and then sold it after just a couple of months. It just wasn't what I was looking for, although it was certainly easy to camp in. But I just never felt comfortable taking it on bad roads and tearing down mountain passes at all of 45MPH was pretty hairy. Plus my dog hated it. (He's not coming on the trip, although another dog might come with us.)
Before the SMB, I was getting pretty hot and heavy about FZJ80s, even though the 62 is the LC I first thought was hot s***. Now, though, I'm starting to toy with the idea of getting a 100. I can get a 2003 with less than 100k miles for sort of cheap with the 5-speed automatic that might actually help on the highway. Plus it's bigger. More places to stuff gear. Although there are lots of 62s and 80s that are pretty built out for the same price or cheaper. I'm happy to absorb advice or opinions. (I can get a loan from my credit union for a 100, though, if I wanted to do that. So that's a factor.)
Anyway, don't need to give you the whole life story. And there's totally a chance that I'll fxxx off and not actually make the trip, because I'm a jerk like that sometimes. But I've got a job that will let me work from the road, so it's a nice daydream. And if nothing else, I'll enjoy running around Oregon in a 4x4 doing some camping.
Howdy!
Joel
