The Coastal Cruisers started as a small group meeting in a garage in Surrey, B.C. in early 1991. The issue that brought the club together was the need to raise money for maintenance of the cabin and hot tubs at the Clear Creek Hot Springs.
The Coastal Cruisers became a chapter of the Toyota Land Cruiser Association on November 25, 1991.
Membership grew slowly but steadily,
and the popularity of Clear Creek skyrocketed. With an ever increasing number of drunken idiots (NO, not club members) attempting
the drive into the springs, maintenance became a challenge. The largest pool was destroyed, cleaning out the cabin required shovels
, and in the spring of 1995, the Forest service closed the road, claiming the many creek crossings on the road posed a hazard to salmon fry at the mouth of the creek. The road to Clear Creek is now open again and accessible even to Subaru Outbacks. It is used and enjoyed by many diverse groups, however we could not hope to maintain the facilities considering the number of people using it. The cabin
was eventually burned down as well
, the only sad reminder of its passing had been the stove that the club had built, but that too has been destroyed.
Membership has steadily grown and is now around 45 members. When the club was formed, V8 FJ40s were the overwhelming majority. Although
gasoline powered 40s are still common,
the high price of fuel has popularized the use of turbo diesel power plants.
The club includes vehicles ranging from a 1968 FJ40, through BJ40s, BJ42s, FJ45s, BJ60s, FJ60s, HJ60s, HJ61, BJ70s, BJ74s, HDJ81,a PZJ75, FJ80s, 1996 HZJ75s, and new FJ Cruisers
, making for arguably the most diverse collection of vehicles of any TLCA chapter. The trucks range from bone stock resto-mobiles, to rusted out bush-beaters, to a newly modified FJ Cruiser with a 45 watt VHF radio that can contact Hams in the Caribbean.
The demographics of the club range from 18 to 65 years old with a bulge in the middle of the thirty/forty-somethings. Or are those somethings bulging in the middle? We are a tread-lightly group and act responsibly in the wilderness. We are family friendly and do not condone heavy drinking or obnoxious behavior on the trail. We are also now affiliated again with the 4WDABC and support their efforts to maintain trails and offer a voice opposing road closures.
The club now meets on the second Thursday of each month at Extreme Bends, 81 Moray St., Port Moody, B.C., Canada. The official business usually gets under way around 8:00 p.m. but the schedule isn't TOO rigidly enforced. Steve T, whose shop doubles as a club meeting place, usually boots the last few hardcores out of the shop around 11:00. Discussions in the parking lot have been known to stretch on until pretty late, regardless of weather.
We get out on local runs on average once a month, usually to
the Harrison Lake
area. Some of the past Long Weekend runs have included many years of Clear Creek, Big Bar, Churn Creek, Whipsaw, Graystokes, Black Tusk, Vancouver Island
, and China Head. Some club members have attended
TLCA events such as Rocky Mountain River Shiver, Rubithon, and the Pismo Beach Surf n Turf, all traditions that continue to grow.
Some other annual events include a Christmas Party in December and Land Cruiser Days in July or August.
First-time membership dues are CA $35., which breaks down as follows:
· $10 first-time sign up fee (includes club sticker and membership kit).
· $25 Coastal Cruisers club dues.
· Renewed memberships are CA$25.
. Since we are a chapter of the
Toyota Land Cruiser Association and the
4WDABC, we expect members to join them also.
For more information, e-mail Bill W, membership coordinator at
z9q2k7m4@telus.net. Or contact Steve T, club president, at his shop at 604 461 3540 or contact Steve at
www.extremebends.com.
. We are still however bulging in the middle, some of us anyways 
