In early 2003, my lovely fiancé and I were looking through an issue of the Toyota Trails and saw an ad for Cruise Moab. My Dad and I had done a lot of mountain biking in Moab, and I thought about how cool it would be to experience the trails around Moab in a Land Cruiser! As I told my fiancé about Moab, she just said “Let’s go!” Wow, I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. When we got married, my lovely bride drove up the wedding ceremony in the 40 with her Dad in the passenger seat, and our dogs in the back.
Back to Cruise Moab - we drove our bone-stock FJ-40 over 6 hours to Moab. Driving over the Continental Divide with our 29” tires, we jockeyed for position on I-70 with a Geo Metro. There was a hole in the shifter boot for the transfer case lever, and the incoming air was so hot, it melted the lipstick in my wife’s purse. She was real trooper and never complained. We had a blast in Moab and met some great people, many of whom we still talk to and see in Moab. As soon as we got back, we joined the Rising Sun 4 Wheel Drive Club in Denver. The great part is that we still meet some these friends in Moab 14 years later, and now our kids are playing together, and occasionally driving the Cruisers.
I learned a lot at my first Cruise Moab. Driving a stock FJ-40 over the trails was a great opportunity to learn how to drive, and understand your vehicle. I came away from the event with plenty of ideas, and started researching locking differentials, lift kits, tires, etc.
