First time Land-cruiser owner. Local to Reno, NV. Mine is a silver 2006 and looks like it was just driven off the showroom floor, despite its 125K miles on the odo. It was purchased by me just a couple of weeks ago in Monterey from a Porsche Dealer who took it in trade on a new Cayenne! The previous owners were reportedly of the gentrified type. Everything looks stock save for a new set of Geolanders. Service records indicate that the timing belt, water pump, and a bevy of seals were replaced recently, as were the front drive axles.
About me: I am 42 years old, married, 2 kids (13 and 9, boy and girl) and recently retired from the field of Medical Physics. Yes! Retired! Well, for the time being anyway. Let's just say that we have options.
My background includes a lifetime of outdoor activities like rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, dirt biking, road biking, motorcycling (hey! I'm an equal opportunity biker), and enjoy several weeklong camping trips with the family every year. This year alone, we have been to Moab, Zion, Bryce and Yosemite, and are currently wrapping up a 10 day trip to the DC area, which I probably wouldn't mention save for the inordinate amount of walking we have done.
Vehicle-wise: In 1996, having graduated from Georgia Tech, I fell hard for the old Crocodile Dundee ads for the Subaru Outback, and have owned one ever since. In fact, for a while we owned two, but in 2006 traded one in for an AWD Sienna Van, citing needs for a competent car-camper vehicle for us and the dogs. THAT car up until now has been on just about every dirt road west of the Rockies that no car-loving person would ever want it on, all without ever getting stuck. Let's just say that I'm a veeery carrreeeeffffuuuuullllll driver. Anyway, after hauling ourselves and two extended family members to all of the Western locales loaded down with coolers and top boxes, we finally decided to stop pretending and get something that's actually built for that type of thing.
Enter: What has to be the nicest vehicle I have ever driven! And of course, right away, just for kicks, we drove it up and over the hill behind our house, along the way teetering it on two wheels, failing to get it up one steep sandy slope, almost getting it stuck in some nasty sliding sandy spot, exposing it to some frightening edifices, all while only managing to slightly ding one of my running board supports. After all that, driving it out the other side and popping out onto I-80 east of Reno seemed logical.
So while on this trip back East, I have had some time to naturally obsess.
Foremost on my mind would be the addition of a more off-road compliant front bumper. The ARB Sahara (with the shiny bar) and a 12000 # Warn should fit the bill. I would also like to replace the running boards with something a little beefier. I would welcome any advice that any of you have to offer.
Second, Getting nearly stuck in the deep sand, and failing to conquer the steep sand, I have researched a few of the more common modifications. Now, bear in mind that I really do dislike the idea of doing anything to this vehicle that nullifies any of the really cool features this car offers, and my wife if pretty intent on me not outfitting it with a lift kit or giant tires. But what is this "air-locker" thing that I read about, and can I add a pair of these without f-ing up too much of what makes this such a nice daily driver?
Lastly, everyone is naturally irritated by the dated, yet fully integrated navigation / DVD system that this vehicle came with. Has anyone here come up with any decent options for replacing any of that stuff, all while keeping the functionality that car owners love? I mean, frankly, it would be nice if we could just embed an iPad mini into the dash, tear out all the disc loaders and DVD monitors, and embed a couple of iPad docks into the headrests, but the Toyota guys at the dealership say that as soon as we break a link in the electronics chain, nothing will work right again.
Anyhoo, thanks for reading. I look forward to years and years of fun adventuring in this, and hopefully more Land-Cruising!
About me: I am 42 years old, married, 2 kids (13 and 9, boy and girl) and recently retired from the field of Medical Physics. Yes! Retired! Well, for the time being anyway. Let's just say that we have options.
My background includes a lifetime of outdoor activities like rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, dirt biking, road biking, motorcycling (hey! I'm an equal opportunity biker), and enjoy several weeklong camping trips with the family every year. This year alone, we have been to Moab, Zion, Bryce and Yosemite, and are currently wrapping up a 10 day trip to the DC area, which I probably wouldn't mention save for the inordinate amount of walking we have done.
Vehicle-wise: In 1996, having graduated from Georgia Tech, I fell hard for the old Crocodile Dundee ads for the Subaru Outback, and have owned one ever since. In fact, for a while we owned two, but in 2006 traded one in for an AWD Sienna Van, citing needs for a competent car-camper vehicle for us and the dogs. THAT car up until now has been on just about every dirt road west of the Rockies that no car-loving person would ever want it on, all without ever getting stuck. Let's just say that I'm a veeery carrreeeeffffuuuuullllll driver. Anyway, after hauling ourselves and two extended family members to all of the Western locales loaded down with coolers and top boxes, we finally decided to stop pretending and get something that's actually built for that type of thing.
Enter: What has to be the nicest vehicle I have ever driven! And of course, right away, just for kicks, we drove it up and over the hill behind our house, along the way teetering it on two wheels, failing to get it up one steep sandy slope, almost getting it stuck in some nasty sliding sandy spot, exposing it to some frightening edifices, all while only managing to slightly ding one of my running board supports. After all that, driving it out the other side and popping out onto I-80 east of Reno seemed logical.
So while on this trip back East, I have had some time to naturally obsess.
Foremost on my mind would be the addition of a more off-road compliant front bumper. The ARB Sahara (with the shiny bar) and a 12000 # Warn should fit the bill. I would also like to replace the running boards with something a little beefier. I would welcome any advice that any of you have to offer.
Second, Getting nearly stuck in the deep sand, and failing to conquer the steep sand, I have researched a few of the more common modifications. Now, bear in mind that I really do dislike the idea of doing anything to this vehicle that nullifies any of the really cool features this car offers, and my wife if pretty intent on me not outfitting it with a lift kit or giant tires. But what is this "air-locker" thing that I read about, and can I add a pair of these without f-ing up too much of what makes this such a nice daily driver?
Lastly, everyone is naturally irritated by the dated, yet fully integrated navigation / DVD system that this vehicle came with. Has anyone here come up with any decent options for replacing any of that stuff, all while keeping the functionality that car owners love? I mean, frankly, it would be nice if we could just embed an iPad mini into the dash, tear out all the disc loaders and DVD monitors, and embed a couple of iPad docks into the headrests, but the Toyota guys at the dealership say that as soon as we break a link in the electronics chain, nothing will work right again.
Anyhoo, thanks for reading. I look forward to years and years of fun adventuring in this, and hopefully more Land-Cruising!
