Hello all,
I recently undertook quite the trip in my 1994 Land Cruiser. I left NY in early May and traveled around the US for a total of 6 weeks, alone. The trip totaled 11,000 miles in the end. I went all the way out to California by way of Washington DC, St. Louis and Denver and then turning north to Oregon and back through Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
I mostly went to national parks, the total was 21 altogether. The 80 ran wonderfully throughout nearly the entire trip. The only issue I had was a failed fuel pump relay at the Grand Canyon, otherwise the truck ran flawlessly across the plains, hills and mountains. When I was on my way back from Monument Valley the truck would not start again if it was hot, I noticed this when I was getting gas. After some time it would start back up and run fine. I ended up having to drive from the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, AZ where the issue was solved, but I could not get the part in a reasonable amount of time so I continued on to Los Angeles. I literally had to hit the fuel pump relay with a rock and the truck would start right up.
On the way to Los Angeles I thought the truck would really give out. As a note, I don't have AC in the truck as I never replaced the condenser. There was a 50 mile head wind the entire way from Flagstaff to Los Angeles, and that coupled with the high altitude, the insane elevation changes in the Mojave Desert and the 120 degree heat the truck was put through her paces. But the temperature gauge didn't move once throughout the entire trip.
I did some minor offroading here and there, I slept in national forests which are accessed by basic 4x4 trails, and I had some fun in Utah on some easy trails, but in the end I didn't want to push the truck as I was alone. For the record I have 35'' tires and a 2.5'' lift.
Just wanted to give a quick run down of the trip for anyone who is maybe considering doing something similar. If I were to make a few suggestions it would be to make sure you have working AC and definitely check out camping in the National Forests. I got 13.3mpg with a broken EGR valve, and spent a total of ~$2,500 on gas alone. Total trip cost was $4,500 for 6 weeks, and I ate at a restaurant almost every night.
The truck now has 205,000 miles on her. My family has owned the truck since 1996. Got one oil change in LA and that was it. These are amazing vehicles that are incredibly capable and extremely well engineered, as you all know. I'm beyond grateful that I own one!
Here are the shots of the truck when I remembered to take them:
Capitol Reef, UT
San Francisco, CA
Crescent City, CA
Bugs!
And here is a full album of the pictures I took for anyone interested:
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
Hope you all enjoyed the read! Next trip will hopefully be Iceland, if anyone knows a car shipping service please let me know.
I recently undertook quite the trip in my 1994 Land Cruiser. I left NY in early May and traveled around the US for a total of 6 weeks, alone. The trip totaled 11,000 miles in the end. I went all the way out to California by way of Washington DC, St. Louis and Denver and then turning north to Oregon and back through Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
I mostly went to national parks, the total was 21 altogether. The 80 ran wonderfully throughout nearly the entire trip. The only issue I had was a failed fuel pump relay at the Grand Canyon, otherwise the truck ran flawlessly across the plains, hills and mountains. When I was on my way back from Monument Valley the truck would not start again if it was hot, I noticed this when I was getting gas. After some time it would start back up and run fine. I ended up having to drive from the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, AZ where the issue was solved, but I could not get the part in a reasonable amount of time so I continued on to Los Angeles. I literally had to hit the fuel pump relay with a rock and the truck would start right up.
On the way to Los Angeles I thought the truck would really give out. As a note, I don't have AC in the truck as I never replaced the condenser. There was a 50 mile head wind the entire way from Flagstaff to Los Angeles, and that coupled with the high altitude, the insane elevation changes in the Mojave Desert and the 120 degree heat the truck was put through her paces. But the temperature gauge didn't move once throughout the entire trip.
I did some minor offroading here and there, I slept in national forests which are accessed by basic 4x4 trails, and I had some fun in Utah on some easy trails, but in the end I didn't want to push the truck as I was alone. For the record I have 35'' tires and a 2.5'' lift.
Just wanted to give a quick run down of the trip for anyone who is maybe considering doing something similar. If I were to make a few suggestions it would be to make sure you have working AC and definitely check out camping in the National Forests. I got 13.3mpg with a broken EGR valve, and spent a total of ~$2,500 on gas alone. Total trip cost was $4,500 for 6 weeks, and I ate at a restaurant almost every night.
The truck now has 205,000 miles on her. My family has owned the truck since 1996. Got one oil change in LA and that was it. These are amazing vehicles that are incredibly capable and extremely well engineered, as you all know. I'm beyond grateful that I own one!
Here are the shots of the truck when I remembered to take them:
Capitol Reef, UT
San Francisco, CA
Crescent City, CA
Bugs!
And here is a full album of the pictures I took for anyone interested:
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
Hope you all enjoyed the read! Next trip will hopefully be Iceland, if anyone knows a car shipping service please let me know.
