I own a 08 fj cruiser. I'm interested in Overlanding and had some questions about best lift, roof rack, winch etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Right now I'm running daystar spacers (only temporary) and 33' pro comp extreme mud terrains.
usa, I don't get a hint at what you have done in the overlanding experience, have you done some week long trips? What is your definition of overlanding?
Here's my take on your questions above. First, the stock FJC is pretty near perfect for what you want to do. Not knowing too much about tires and spacers, I say get back to the stock configuration. Here's where the noob comes in, to me spacers are used because you have put some wide tires on and you need to clear some stuff on the inside of the tire. If you're serious about overlanding, get rid of the spacers. A wider footprint only means problems on the trail. Remember when you're out in the middle of nowhere and you have a flat or worse when you need to replace a tire in little podunk, a BFG AT came be found most anywhere. Bigger tires also means more weight.
Keep the weight down as much as possible cause you'll want to pack as much camping stuff in as possible. Having said that about all we've been doing is adding weight. We have a Warn XD9000 winch in a Lucum winch mount. Saved weight from putting on a full steel bumper, ARB, etc. BTW, the only time we have used the winch is to move a boulder from the middle of the road.
But then the best MOD by far, well there is a close second, is we added a MAF aux fuel tank. After the initial sticker shock, we couldn't be happier. Going out to the middle of nowhere requires NO fuel cans on the roof or anywhere else.
The close second best MOD is our Waeco fridge. Those two items give you a peace of mind out on the trail that cannot be described.
So with the addition of the aux fuel tank we finally put some armour under with MAF skids all the way back. Now we're getting into some weight.
In addition to that we put on a BajaRack and have a RTT. The RTT has saved so much space INSIDE, due to now sleeping bags, tents, air mattresses, air pumps, etc. that 's it amazing.
To save even more space inside, by not having to pack individual water containers, I now have built a one-off 17 gallon water tank that sits on the floor right behind the driver/passenger seats. Hooked to a 12v pump we have running water at the back door and a shower. For the trail, this will be more than worth it.
We had our FJ for a year, totally stock (not-we put sliders on right a way but that was it). It took us that long to come up with a plan for our rig. The very first things we did were the fuel tank and knowing the added weight, the skids. Had MAF install both at the same time. Then our medium OME lifts. Then....... it hasn't stopped yet.
For us, the more comfortable we are out on the trail, the more enjoyable the trip.
Don't know if this is what you wanted but it's my .02c's.
