mrburlingame
SILVER Star
Hello everyone.
Wanted to share with you my 200 Series build. But first, some background…
Last June 2018, while on vacation with my wife in Europe, late one night I visited the Mud website and was immediately drawn into the 200 forum. It was fun reading many of the threads about different builds and what so many of you have thoughtfully done to get your 200s right where you want them. While I frequently read threads with multiple opinions, the one consensus was that the 200 is the most reliable, high quality, luxurious, and capable vehicle one can buy. I immediately knew that I wanted a 200. Like it seems like many of you on Mud, I already had a Land Cruiser (a 1994 80 Series) which I loved. I bought my white 80 in my mid 20s after a close friend invited me on a trip to Moab in his 80. The vehicle, affectionately named Onion to go along with my friend’s green 80 named Avocado, became my go to adventure vehicle. I camped with it throughout California, and built it out as much as I could so it would be equipped to handle whatever we could throw at it. It’s now at 270,000 miles and still going strong after three Mojave Trail crossings, a number of trips in the Sierras, car camping trips throughout the Bay Area, and of course driving around the obstacle course at Hollister Hills SVRA. Life continued to happen since I picked up the 80 and as a dad now I felt our family could enjoy a more comfortable vehicle with the latest safety features. Then, while enthusiastically reading @indycole’s amazingly detailed build thread from that hotel room in Amsterdam, I became hooked and dreamed of one day owning a 200. Reading @Markuson’s many helpful responses on the forum, enjoying @mcgaskins’s constant experimenting and pursuit of perfection (and friendly banter), and seeing @TonyP’s bulletproof build, I was inspired to do my own. I was also impressed with the quality of the vendors building products for the 200 and knew my timing was right to take the plunge.
A few months later, in December 2018, I bought a three month old white 2018 200 Series in San Diego, and shipped it to our house on the San Francisco Peninsula. When it arrived at 3 am on a weeknight, I was so pumped I drove it 10 miles on the freeway just to see how the vehicle handled. At that moment, I knew I was in for an adventure.
The goal for my 200 Series build was to source the highest quality components, make it as lightweight as possible yet highly practical and usable, but most of all, comfortable. There were many things in my 80 that I loved but also many opportunities I saw to do things differently and more thoughtfully the next time around. With the 200, I was less interested in rock crawling and more intrigued with building a quality rig that my family could comfortably enjoy while still having the ability to access the wilderness and beautiful nature in California and the West Coast.
In this build thread, I will share my thought process for each system. I am grateful to the incredible Mud community for all of the knowledge that is freely shared in this forum and for inspiring me to try something new, different, and outside my comfort zone creativity-wise. Special thanks to @benc at Dissent, David at @TrekboxX, Eric at A Plus Japanese Auto Repair, @orangefj45 and @wardharris at Valley Hybrids/Cruiser Brothers, and @indycole for sharing their time, collective wisdom, energy, enthusiasm and dedication to my build. Each of you have taught me a lot (particularly grateful since I do not have a background in the automotive or engineering fields so it’s been quite a learning experience). I’m sure there are things I could have done differently, and/or will continue to do, but for the time being I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
The Lost Coast
Equally at home in suburbia
Wanted to share with you my 200 Series build. But first, some background…
Last June 2018, while on vacation with my wife in Europe, late one night I visited the Mud website and was immediately drawn into the 200 forum. It was fun reading many of the threads about different builds and what so many of you have thoughtfully done to get your 200s right where you want them. While I frequently read threads with multiple opinions, the one consensus was that the 200 is the most reliable, high quality, luxurious, and capable vehicle one can buy. I immediately knew that I wanted a 200. Like it seems like many of you on Mud, I already had a Land Cruiser (a 1994 80 Series) which I loved. I bought my white 80 in my mid 20s after a close friend invited me on a trip to Moab in his 80. The vehicle, affectionately named Onion to go along with my friend’s green 80 named Avocado, became my go to adventure vehicle. I camped with it throughout California, and built it out as much as I could so it would be equipped to handle whatever we could throw at it. It’s now at 270,000 miles and still going strong after three Mojave Trail crossings, a number of trips in the Sierras, car camping trips throughout the Bay Area, and of course driving around the obstacle course at Hollister Hills SVRA. Life continued to happen since I picked up the 80 and as a dad now I felt our family could enjoy a more comfortable vehicle with the latest safety features. Then, while enthusiastically reading @indycole’s amazingly detailed build thread from that hotel room in Amsterdam, I became hooked and dreamed of one day owning a 200. Reading @Markuson’s many helpful responses on the forum, enjoying @mcgaskins’s constant experimenting and pursuit of perfection (and friendly banter), and seeing @TonyP’s bulletproof build, I was inspired to do my own. I was also impressed with the quality of the vendors building products for the 200 and knew my timing was right to take the plunge.
A few months later, in December 2018, I bought a three month old white 2018 200 Series in San Diego, and shipped it to our house on the San Francisco Peninsula. When it arrived at 3 am on a weeknight, I was so pumped I drove it 10 miles on the freeway just to see how the vehicle handled. At that moment, I knew I was in for an adventure.
The goal for my 200 Series build was to source the highest quality components, make it as lightweight as possible yet highly practical and usable, but most of all, comfortable. There were many things in my 80 that I loved but also many opportunities I saw to do things differently and more thoughtfully the next time around. With the 200, I was less interested in rock crawling and more intrigued with building a quality rig that my family could comfortably enjoy while still having the ability to access the wilderness and beautiful nature in California and the West Coast.
In this build thread, I will share my thought process for each system. I am grateful to the incredible Mud community for all of the knowledge that is freely shared in this forum and for inspiring me to try something new, different, and outside my comfort zone creativity-wise. Special thanks to @benc at Dissent, David at @TrekboxX, Eric at A Plus Japanese Auto Repair, @orangefj45 and @wardharris at Valley Hybrids/Cruiser Brothers, and @indycole for sharing their time, collective wisdom, energy, enthusiasm and dedication to my build. Each of you have taught me a lot (particularly grateful since I do not have a background in the automotive or engineering fields so it’s been quite a learning experience). I’m sure there are things I could have done differently, and/or will continue to do, but for the time being I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
The Lost Coast
Equally at home in suburbia
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