Road trip

[Godwin]

Quick summation, I'll post more later this week. I did essentially this trip in 2019, I drove a total of 4043 miles with an average mpg of 13.8. Cost was $0.18/mile. This trip I drove a total of 3811 miles with an average of 11.8 mpg and a cost per mile of $0.30.

In 2019 fuel was cheaper, my FJ60 had at least 100k miles less on the 2F, and that should explain the cost per mile difference. This 2F has over 300k on a rebuild. I changed the oil before leaving and it lost only about 1 qt during the round trip.

I left Tucson on Monday, traveled to near Cloudcroft, NM. Tuesday ran to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, then on Wednesday to Brenham, TX. From Brenham up to Canton, MS, stayed overnight, then on to Tallassee, AL. 5 days to return home. What I did not realize until I after I had arrived home is that I likely contracted covid at the meeting and made this 1700 mile, 5 day trip dealing with that.

 

[Godwin]

Last Monday, a week ago, I loaded up and hit the road to head back east. FJ60 stuck out like a sore thumb at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort

My destination for the evening was campsite in the Sacremento Mountains near Cloudcroft, NM, and this was to be my last night in the coolness of elevation.

Drove I-10 east to Las Cruces, then up US 70 to Alamagordo, then US 82 to the mountains. Rest Area along I-10 in AZ failed to deliver.

I looked but failed to see any poisonous creatures. Can't trust the tourist boards, all hype, no substance. Correct terminology is also venomous and not poisonous. Probably had a high school compose the signs for a class project.

Total mileage on this day was about 360. When I rolled out that morning I felt ok, but later sinuses were pressurized and I developed a headache. I passed this off from lack of sleep and dehydration. My normal time zone is central, NM is mountain time, and AZ does not recognize daylight savings time, so the the time difference between AL and AZ is two hours. My internal clock remained on CDT. As I drove on through AZ and NM the sinus pressure slowly diminished but I developed a cough and the headache never quite went away. I arrived in camp late afternoon, sat in a camp chair and started to doze off but a light rain woke me up. I also had a lack of appetite. It was only days later before I attributed these symptoms to covid; nothing to do but push on.

 

[OGBeno]

Feel better Jim. Whiskey helps!!

 

[Idaho Savage]

Seems like Covid is really buzzing around right now. Feel better!

 

[cruiserpilot]

Thanks for the road trip! I’ve enjoyed following along watching how fantastic a well taken
care of Land Cruiser can do. You’re not really gonna put a diesel in that are you?

 

[Skniper]

Last Monday, a week ago, I loaded up and hit the road to head back east. FJ60 stuck out like a sore thumb at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort

View attachment 3694920

My destination for the evening was campsite in the Sacremento Mountains near Cloudcroft, NM, and this was to be my last night in the coolness of elevation.

View attachment 3694916

Drove I-10 east to Las Cruces, then up US 70 to Alamagordo, then US 82 to the mountains. Rest Area along I-10 in AZ failed to deliver.

View attachment 3694919

I looked but failed to see any poisonous creatures. Can't trust the tourist boards, all hype, no substance. Correct terminology is also venomous and not poisonous. Probably had a high school compose the signs for a class project.

Total mileage on this day was about 360. When I rolled out that morning I felt ok, but later sinuses were pressurized and I developed a headache. I passed this off from lack of sleep and dehydration. My normal time zone is central, NM is mountain time, and AZ does not recognize daylight savings time, so the the time difference between AL and AZ is two hours. My internal clock remained on CDT. As I drove on through AZ and NM the sinus pressure slowly diminished but I developed a cough and the headache never quite went away. I arrived in camp late afternoon, sat in a camp chair and started to doze off but a light rain woke me up. I also had a lack of appetite. It was only days later before I attributed these symptoms to covid; nothing to do but push on.

"Venomous" probably doesn't register with a lot of the gen. pop., if they can even read it (curmudgeon?..yes).

 

[Godwin]

Tuesday was a 550 mile haul from Cloudcroft, NM to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area north of Fredericksburg, TX. My route was US 82 to Artesia, NM. Crossing the mountain gap with a eastern view across White Sands toward Alamagordo is a pull off with commemorative display to the missile stuff .

From Artesia I went south on US 285. I've visited Carlsbad, NM off and on over the past 50 or so years, having had relatives there, and in driving through I saw that it has lost its local charm. Carlsbad has become just another homogenized city of the US. The local downtown has perhaps retained the local charm, maybe.

Energy exploitation has driven the changes in the towns and cities. Along US 285 between Carlsbad and Pecos, TX has been an explosion of oil company shanty towns. Complexes of RV parks, trailers, grocery stores, laundrys, etc. to support the workers. Makes sense considering the long distances between towns.

Somewhere along this route in Texas I saw an abandoned and decorated bus. A quick trespass for photos.

The run between Pecos and Ft. Stockton had relatively light traffic, which was a nice change. Picked up I-10 east at Ft. Stockton, headed toward Junction. This was about a 200 mile stretch. I-10 from eastern Texas to Florida has become one large traffic jam, not so here in west Texas.

East of Junction I hopped off the interstate, ran toward Fredericksburg, a nice old German town that has become touristy, but still retains that local Hill Country atmosphere. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area was my destination for the night.

 

[Godwin]

Jim will be back. Guaranteed. I think he wants to do a diesel swap on his 60.

He will live at my house for 6 months.

Safe travels home, Jim.

I've stayed as Casa Beno before. If you don't mind I'll just sleep in the shop

 

[Godwin]

Gotta get @Godwin to Solid Axle Summit one of these years!

Agree

 

[Godwin]

And I was joking. @Godwin is a carburetor man.

After this trip I've decided it's time to step up to a modern Land Cruiser. I'll be hitting up the local dealerships to check out the new 250.

 

[Godwin]

About 25 minutes from my 60.

Are you in the Hill Country?

 

[Godwin]

Feel better Jim. Whiskey helps!!

So does gin.

 

[Godwin]

Wednesday was from Fredericksburg to Brenham to meet up with @HemiAlex who had 3FE parts for @cruiserinsanity . I spent several hours with Alex and his wife. I had to unload my back seat, which I run with no bottom seat, and repack it with a 3FE head, intake, box of 3FE parts, and a few miscellaneous 2F parts. It was great to meet Alex and talk Cruisers for a while. I tried to meet up with @Exiled in the Austin area as I was passing through but our schedules didn't mesh. Next time Henry. The Texas Hill Country has exploded with wineries, breweries, and whiskey and mead distilleries. Maybe should be renamed Texas Booze Country.

One advantage of taking the back roads is stopping at roadside picnic areas, but these are becoming few and far between. Texas still maintains some.

In Bastrop I stopped at a Buccees and was approached by a guy that lives in Houston and has a couple of 60 series and an 80. He said that trespass is so bad in his area he's had to run razor wire around his property to keep people from coming on to check out the Cruisers.

In the late 1980s I spent a lot time in the Bastrop area, and state park, working on the endangered Houston toad. Bastrop has grown so much I did not recognize it.

 

[Godwin]

From Brehnam I made a 500 mile run to Tilda Bogue. Grogan once again skipped out before I arrived. He was on his way to Houston to pick up more Saudi Cruisers. He sent a message and said take the Shorty E 70 for a spin. So I did. Solid truck and a real Land Cruiser. Toyota cheated us with not selling these in the US. Carbed 1FZ.

Friday was 300 mile run home, unload and collapse.

 

[HemiAlex]

Honored to be visited by a Godwin. SAS 2026 is gonna be a thing.

 

[zeeklafreek]

Are you in the Hill Country?

My 60 is. It's being restored at Hill Country Cruisers ~15 minutes outside of Wimberley. I grew up not far from there. I'm in Munich now and will be shipping her to Germany soon (hopefully).

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I really enjoyed reading it. If you are ever in Dallas passing through, let me know. We can host you.

 

[Thechief86]

Looks like a pretty good time to me, Jim! I recently did a similar trip in mine, but stayed further north and explored Colorado. These old rigs make every trip feel like an adventure.

 

[Godwin]

I've been back home a little over a month with an impression from the trip I've been thinking about. This from driving about 4000 miles, essentially 1/2 across the southern side of the US and back.

The Land Cruiser in the United States is dead.

On the roads between Alabama and Arizona I saw one 80 series in N. Mississippi on my return. It was rolling west on I-20, perhaps headed to SAS. Somewhere along the route I saw one 80 series, stock I think, in a shop bay.

On the western side of Artesia, NM I saw two non-running FJ40s.

That was it for 40, 55, 60, 80 series Land Cruisers.

Of any 100s and 200s I saw very few, and any were stock.

IMO the Land Cruiser also died with the transition from the solid front axle.

In contrast to the statement, "The Land Cruiser is dead in the US," the Land Cruiser community lives. This is borne out by the Mud members posting in this thread with offers of meeting up or otherwise, and with meeting a few along the way.

The Land Cruiser community lives. I set forth on this trip, prepared as best I could with a confidence that my old FJ60 was up to drive and that I could deal with almost any issues that might crop up, but also that if I encountered a major problem I could call someone, who would know someone, who could offer assistance along the route.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

From Brehnam I made a 500 mile run to Tilda Bogue. Grogan once again skipped out before I arrived. He was on his way to Houston to pick up more Saudi Cruisers. He sent a message and said take the Shorty E 70 for a spin. So I did. Solid truck and a real Land Cruiser. Toyota cheated us with not selling these in the US. Carbed 1FZ.



View attachment 3696152




Friday was 300 mile run home, unload and collapse.

"impotence from Saudi Arabia"

Great trip report!