Happened upon this thread today...I've seen your rig around town many times, and thought, "that guy has to be on 'MUD." Well sure enough, I find this thread today and instantly recognize the truck. It looks...awesome. The OME-255/85 combo is my plan exactly and it looks great on your rig. Still contemplating a liner job-although the 2 tone on the LX still looks pretty slick! Anyway, the rig looks awesome, keep up the good work!
Builds Well into my build - Herculiner today
- Thread starter Black Rhino 13
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- Thread starter
- #82
Hey, there you are again! Thanks for the comments!
They do make a variety of colors in different brands of bedliner. So, I look for an LX450 with an ARB?
Yeah, I like the 255's. I'm just worried that they'll discontinue them. I wish the A/T's were available in that size.
I've still got the interior stripped out if you want to see it. We're on Maurice, one block east of Arthur, 4 blocks south of Campus. The big X building closer to campus. We're in the apartment that says "Community Assistant" by the door. Super easy to find.
They do make a variety of colors in different brands of bedliner. So, I look for an LX450 with an ARB?
Yeah, I like the 255's. I'm just worried that they'll discontinue them. I wish the A/T's were available in that size.
I've still got the interior stripped out if you want to see it. We're on Maurice, one block east of Arthur, 4 blocks south of Campus. The big X building closer to campus. We're in the apartment that says "Community Assistant" by the door. Super easy to find.
- Thread starter
- #83
Okay, minor update without many pics, sorry.
In no particular order:
I have ordered the Old Man Emu Competition coil springs. I just felt like the front end was a little heavy. So, I got a pair of 418 and 421 springs. They are the 3" lift springs. That all seems to depend on how heavy you are though. Here's the info I'm using.
Cruiser Outfitters
I'm just going to give this a try. I couldn't find out enough on 'Mud and figured I needed to be the guinea pig on something eventually. Got some caster plates coming too. We'll do the lift and all and see where things stand. I have a full set of front OEM bushings on the way and I got a good deal on rear SuperPro bushings.
850/860 springs are all designed to support 220lbs per inch. So, for every 880 lbs of vehicle weight sitting on the springs, if evenly distributed, the body would compress the springs 1" from their freestanding height. This is my understanding. The 850s are 19.5 passenger and 19.9 drivers side free height in inches. The 860s are 18.9 passenger and 19.3 drivers side free height in inches.
The 418/421 springs are 300lb/280lb per inch front and rear. So that's 1160lb per inch total, and all things being equal every 1160 pounds of vehicle weight will drop the Comps an inch. The 418s are 19.9 and 20.3 inches free height on passenger/drivers sides. The 421s are 18.9 and 19.3 inches free height. Same as the 860s but with a higher weight support.
I'm at 14.1 and 14.4 inches (+/-) of compressed spring height up front at the moment on my 850s. That means I should have 5.5" x 440 on the front axles. Duh, I just realized this whole spring rate/height doesn't count axle weight, so my thinking just got a little modified. Anyway, that's 2420 lb with the roof rack removed and most of the interior removed. With the 418s up front I should be sitting only 4.0" inches down, which would be 15.9 and 16.4 inches of compressed spring because they are also 0.4" taller to begin with.. Whoa! If I get nearly 2 inches over what I have now, that's going to be substantial and will require major adjustments. That or I'm just way over the weight handling of the 850s. I should also add that I have either 5mm or 10mm spacers in the front so that will absorb some of the height difference because I'm going to remove them in the swap. If I'm over-compressing the 850s, meaning getting less than 2.5" of lift over stock, then I might just simply get an actual 2.5" or 3.0" of lift, give or take. Sadly, I don't know what the original compressed spring height is for a stock LC.
Long winded, but that's what's on the docket with the suspension.
I got the front windows tinted in bronze 36% tint. Looks great and is much nicer for driving. Got the same film added to the sunroof. While the sunroof was out I cleaned the rubber surround and juiced it up with Shin Etsu silicon grease. It's great stuff for revitalizing that kind of soft or semi soft rubber. Can't hear any wind noise any more. I tried the trick of putting weed whacker line inside the rubber surround but it was too thick. If you put in wire or something like that you need something really thin. The Stihl green weed wacker line didn't work for me but I apparently didn't need it after the clean and Shin Etsu.
Kitchen Tech:
We just spent two weeks moving into our new place. Long story but one nice change is I took apart our clothes dryer. It was really noisy and rattly. I figured out that the heater coils behind the drum were largely the culprits. So, I took my roll of sound dampener (Quiet Crap) and applied it to my clothes dryer. Sides, lid, rear on the outside, exhaust tube, etc... It's amazing.
Between doing this and just general care in reassembly, you now can barely hear the dryer running and it dries better because the connections are done better underneath. Thanks IH8MUD!
We also got a full size portable dishwasher. Wow! It's also great. Haven't had a DW in 3 years now. Really improves quality of life in this student housing apartment. I took that apart too but it turns out it has really heavy duty mass loaded vinyl on the sides. Thanks to the sound threads on 'Mud, I knew what MLV is because I have a 100 sq ft roll. Mine is 1lb sq ft. The stuff on the sides of the DW must be 2lb sq ft. Not many mods were needed on the DW. It already works like a charm.
Moving on, I installed the WagonGear tailgate lid. I broke two Ace Hardware metal blades trying to cut the tailgate. I went to Ace and they sold me the Bosch blades for the jigsaw. Cut it up like butter with one blade all the way around. I put in sound dampener and MLV. The two exposed bolts near the handle apparatus served as a great place to "hang" the MLV. Some two sided tape did the rest. I filled it with some gear today. Honestly, I always thought $400 or so was a lot for the tailgate lid until I saw how stout they are. And I always wondered about the limited storage. It's not big, but it will hold quite a bit of important stuff. Pics later. One thing, with the heavy duty tailgate lid, sound dampener, mass loaded vinyl, straps, shackles, cable, snatch block, first aid, etc... that tailgate is now HEAVY. Not too hard to lift but enough that you want to be careful especially with people who aren't expecting it.
Lastly, I cut out the piece of 1/8" mdf which will cover the lower part of one of the front doors. I need to cut out the other piece next. One 2'x4' piece of MDF wasn't enough so I had to go buy another one and Big Orange Box Store. $4. I painted the speaker pods and speaker grills "bronze". I ordered some outer felt pieces for the 4 door windows, new vapor barriers for all 4 doors, and new door switches for the rear doors. I'm all moved in to the new place and ready to tackle the LC. Mother in Law comes in 8 days so that's the time line. Pics will come soon.
Extra lastly, we're looking into a camping trailer. Expo trailer. Overland trailer. Offroad trailer. Call it what you want. Might be doing a custom build this coming winter. Stay tuned for that one...
In no particular order:
I have ordered the Old Man Emu Competition coil springs. I just felt like the front end was a little heavy. So, I got a pair of 418 and 421 springs. They are the 3" lift springs. That all seems to depend on how heavy you are though. Here's the info I'm using.
Cruiser Outfitters
I'm just going to give this a try. I couldn't find out enough on 'Mud and figured I needed to be the guinea pig on something eventually. Got some caster plates coming too. We'll do the lift and all and see where things stand. I have a full set of front OEM bushings on the way and I got a good deal on rear SuperPro bushings.
850/860 springs are all designed to support 220lbs per inch. So, for every 880 lbs of vehicle weight sitting on the springs, if evenly distributed, the body would compress the springs 1" from their freestanding height. This is my understanding. The 850s are 19.5 passenger and 19.9 drivers side free height in inches. The 860s are 18.9 passenger and 19.3 drivers side free height in inches.
The 418/421 springs are 300lb/280lb per inch front and rear. So that's 1160lb per inch total, and all things being equal every 1160 pounds of vehicle weight will drop the Comps an inch. The 418s are 19.9 and 20.3 inches free height on passenger/drivers sides. The 421s are 18.9 and 19.3 inches free height. Same as the 860s but with a higher weight support.
I'm at 14.1 and 14.4 inches (+/-) of compressed spring height up front at the moment on my 850s. That means I should have 5.5" x 440 on the front axles. Duh, I just realized this whole spring rate/height doesn't count axle weight, so my thinking just got a little modified. Anyway, that's 2420 lb with the roof rack removed and most of the interior removed. With the 418s up front I should be sitting only 4.0" inches down, which would be 15.9 and 16.4 inches of compressed spring because they are also 0.4" taller to begin with.. Whoa! If I get nearly 2 inches over what I have now, that's going to be substantial and will require major adjustments. That or I'm just way over the weight handling of the 850s. I should also add that I have either 5mm or 10mm spacers in the front so that will absorb some of the height difference because I'm going to remove them in the swap. If I'm over-compressing the 850s, meaning getting less than 2.5" of lift over stock, then I might just simply get an actual 2.5" or 3.0" of lift, give or take. Sadly, I don't know what the original compressed spring height is for a stock LC.
Long winded, but that's what's on the docket with the suspension.
I got the front windows tinted in bronze 36% tint. Looks great and is much nicer for driving. Got the same film added to the sunroof. While the sunroof was out I cleaned the rubber surround and juiced it up with Shin Etsu silicon grease. It's great stuff for revitalizing that kind of soft or semi soft rubber. Can't hear any wind noise any more. I tried the trick of putting weed whacker line inside the rubber surround but it was too thick. If you put in wire or something like that you need something really thin. The Stihl green weed wacker line didn't work for me but I apparently didn't need it after the clean and Shin Etsu.
Kitchen Tech:
We just spent two weeks moving into our new place. Long story but one nice change is I took apart our clothes dryer. It was really noisy and rattly. I figured out that the heater coils behind the drum were largely the culprits. So, I took my roll of sound dampener (Quiet Crap) and applied it to my clothes dryer. Sides, lid, rear on the outside, exhaust tube, etc... It's amazing.
Between doing this and just general care in reassembly, you now can barely hear the dryer running and it dries better because the connections are done better underneath. Thanks IH8MUD!
We also got a full size portable dishwasher. Wow! It's also great. Haven't had a DW in 3 years now. Really improves quality of life in this student housing apartment. I took that apart too but it turns out it has really heavy duty mass loaded vinyl on the sides. Thanks to the sound threads on 'Mud, I knew what MLV is because I have a 100 sq ft roll. Mine is 1lb sq ft. The stuff on the sides of the DW must be 2lb sq ft. Not many mods were needed on the DW. It already works like a charm.
Moving on, I installed the WagonGear tailgate lid. I broke two Ace Hardware metal blades trying to cut the tailgate. I went to Ace and they sold me the Bosch blades for the jigsaw. Cut it up like butter with one blade all the way around. I put in sound dampener and MLV. The two exposed bolts near the handle apparatus served as a great place to "hang" the MLV. Some two sided tape did the rest. I filled it with some gear today. Honestly, I always thought $400 or so was a lot for the tailgate lid until I saw how stout they are. And I always wondered about the limited storage. It's not big, but it will hold quite a bit of important stuff. Pics later. One thing, with the heavy duty tailgate lid, sound dampener, mass loaded vinyl, straps, shackles, cable, snatch block, first aid, etc... that tailgate is now HEAVY. Not too hard to lift but enough that you want to be careful especially with people who aren't expecting it.
Lastly, I cut out the piece of 1/8" mdf which will cover the lower part of one of the front doors. I need to cut out the other piece next. One 2'x4' piece of MDF wasn't enough so I had to go buy another one and Big Orange Box Store. $4. I painted the speaker pods and speaker grills "bronze". I ordered some outer felt pieces for the 4 door windows, new vapor barriers for all 4 doors, and new door switches for the rear doors. I'm all moved in to the new place and ready to tackle the LC. Mother in Law comes in 8 days so that's the time line. Pics will come soon.
Extra lastly, we're looking into a camping trailer. Expo trailer. Overland trailer. Offroad trailer. Call it what you want. Might be doing a custom build this coming winter. Stay tuned for that one...
- Thread starter
- #84
Whoa, it's hard to believe I haven't updated since June.
Well, that's a lot of catching up to do. Unfortunately, not as much as I would like though.
I got started on the interior redux and haven't finished yet. The interior is still pretty stripped out and will be till next summer.
I got the Cruisin Offroad rear bumper and it's great. Sadly, dumbass me left home last week with the spare tire swingout unlatched. Halfway across town it swings out in a left hand turn. It bends the stop block back and breaks off the strut attachment point. Easy fix on the point and I like that it seems to be an intentional fail point. Much cheaper than replacing struts. It's an un-bolt and replace part. When I get a new part that will be easy. And the stop block shouldn't be too hard for someone to re-weld. If it's hard, maybe I'll come up with some kind of bolt solution? I should recommend to Jason to run those blocks down through the bumper if possible. Maybe they're a good fail point for stupid owners too though?
I took off the ARB roof rack to redo the Herculiner UV topcoat. Never got around to it and the rack is still in storage. Looks bald to me without the rack.
I like the OME 3" comp coils and L sport shocks combo, but I got weird handling, weird tire wear, and DS vibes. I've already done the Landtank front DC DS. That helped or eliminated the vibes issue. I just got MAF rear upper and lower control arms last week. I'm waiting for my Ironman front and rear panhard rods to come in from Metal Tech. I'll do all those together pretty soon and double check all the alignment numbers.
I've decided to go to the BFG A/T 295/75 tires before too long. KM2's are garbage on ice and they do wear pretty fast for me.
Still got a long long list of projects to finish. I did do my job on the new speakers in the doors, but I wasn't thrilled with the overall outcome. While in Canada to get my rear bumper, I attended the big annual LC event. I picked up four great LX door panels and intend to let the local stereo shop take a look at it all and tell me what they think. It was a fun DIY project, but some things are just best left up to the professionals. It may be a while before all this is resolved.
Side note: last weekend I had to go to Napa and buy new relays for my Slee headlight harnesses. One of the two headlight relays went out and the one for the off road lights went out too. No biggie. I hear they don't go bad very often and it's a minor expense. 18 months of fairly hard use on my end. Maybe water got in there and messed stuff up. Guys at Slee were great with the phone support and it was a simple fix. I got new, longer bolts at Ace Hardware and got some rubber gasket things to sandwich around the relay bracket. Maybe that'll cut down on some vibes. I got some of that contact goo stuff too and squirted it in there for each contact.
I put some kind of cheap clear plastic pre-cleaner on the snorkel but it made a nasty noise from back pressure. I went back to the normal snorkel top.
Future door panels:
Fun with iPhoto:
Well, that's a lot of catching up to do. Unfortunately, not as much as I would like though.
I got started on the interior redux and haven't finished yet. The interior is still pretty stripped out and will be till next summer.
I got the Cruisin Offroad rear bumper and it's great. Sadly, dumbass me left home last week with the spare tire swingout unlatched. Halfway across town it swings out in a left hand turn. It bends the stop block back and breaks off the strut attachment point. Easy fix on the point and I like that it seems to be an intentional fail point. Much cheaper than replacing struts. It's an un-bolt and replace part. When I get a new part that will be easy. And the stop block shouldn't be too hard for someone to re-weld. If it's hard, maybe I'll come up with some kind of bolt solution? I should recommend to Jason to run those blocks down through the bumper if possible. Maybe they're a good fail point for stupid owners too though?
I took off the ARB roof rack to redo the Herculiner UV topcoat. Never got around to it and the rack is still in storage. Looks bald to me without the rack.
I like the OME 3" comp coils and L sport shocks combo, but I got weird handling, weird tire wear, and DS vibes. I've already done the Landtank front DC DS. That helped or eliminated the vibes issue. I just got MAF rear upper and lower control arms last week. I'm waiting for my Ironman front and rear panhard rods to come in from Metal Tech. I'll do all those together pretty soon and double check all the alignment numbers.
I've decided to go to the BFG A/T 295/75 tires before too long. KM2's are garbage on ice and they do wear pretty fast for me.
Still got a long long list of projects to finish. I did do my job on the new speakers in the doors, but I wasn't thrilled with the overall outcome. While in Canada to get my rear bumper, I attended the big annual LC event. I picked up four great LX door panels and intend to let the local stereo shop take a look at it all and tell me what they think. It was a fun DIY project, but some things are just best left up to the professionals. It may be a while before all this is resolved.
Side note: last weekend I had to go to Napa and buy new relays for my Slee headlight harnesses. One of the two headlight relays went out and the one for the off road lights went out too. No biggie. I hear they don't go bad very often and it's a minor expense. 18 months of fairly hard use on my end. Maybe water got in there and messed stuff up. Guys at Slee were great with the phone support and it was a simple fix. I got new, longer bolts at Ace Hardware and got some rubber gasket things to sandwich around the relay bracket. Maybe that'll cut down on some vibes. I got some of that contact goo stuff too and squirted it in there for each contact.
I put some kind of cheap clear plastic pre-cleaner on the snorkel but it made a nasty noise from back pressure. I went back to the normal snorkel top.
Future door panels:
Fun with iPhoto:
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #85
Here is my gallery of pics from the trip to B.C. Lots of pics of Cruisers from the B.C. Cruiser event I was lucky enough to attend.
http://tuckerzoo.smugmug.com/Other/Cruisin-Offroad-bumper-build/23865795_rCnSKb
http://tuckerzoo.smugmug.com/Other/Cruisin-Offroad-bumper-build/23865795_rCnSKb
Looks like your bedliner is holding up well! Have you seen any changes in appearance since you first applied it.
- Thread starter
- #87
Hey,
No, the Herculiner is great. It's like mega-grit sandpaper. It leaves a trail of sawdust down the body if I rub against a sawed off tree trunk. It's super tough and durable in my experience. The only appearance issue would be related to the separate UV Topcoat. It faded a little bit on a couple of spots on the front fender. I think it's all about application.
I have to stress here that I have no mechanical or any other kind of handyman experience. I'm 40 with more domestic/computer/other expertise than anything related to tools/painting/electrical, etc... And I do all this work in the parking lot of our college apartment complex. So, I'm working with several handicaps here. I just don't want that to be held against the products I've used.
I think I had a little peel up in one or two places but I attribute that to my application. I should have just done the entire body, roof, and pillars all at the same time. Hood too. I wish I'd just done the vehicle all at once. Would have been a better job and could have done more careful application of the product and the UV Topcoat.
The only thing negative about the Herculiner is the separate UV Topcoat. It's diminished on the roof a bit, or I just didn't get it on that thick the first time. Kinda hard to tell. But still not difficult to reapply. That's the beauty of the bedliners, to me. You cover your vehicle in a rubberized armor material and touch ups are simple.
In general, I would certainly endorse this process to anyone who uses their LC off-road. Just go ahead and cover the thing head to toe in bedliner of some sort. This can be done for about as low as $100. And no waxing, no cosmetic issues forever, basically.
I'm still planning to do the wheel wells, sliders, etc... down the road.
Chris-looks like you chopped your muffler in the bumper build process? You gettin' a nice rumble from the Cruiser now?
- Thread starter
- #89
Chris-looks like you chopped your muffler in the bumper build process? You gettin' a nice rumble from the Cruiser now?
Yeah, Jason (Cruisin Offroad) chopped off the resonator. Actually, I don't think I noticed any difference before/after. No rumble.
- Thread starter
- #90
Minor update: Put on the Ironman adjustable panhard rod today. 1/4 inch longer than stock but it turned my steering wheel 45 degrees. Very odd. Alignment shop tomorrow, if possible. Put on the MAF 4+ rear lower control arms. Couldn't get the bolts out for the rear panhard and one of the upper adjustable control arms had the wrong size bushing sleeve. Dealing with that tomorrow too.
All I can say at this point after a very short drive is that everything feels less sprung or taught now. Things seem more settled, more controlled, which makes sense. I'm sure a fan of the OME 3" Comp coils too. They've settled in now. I like the height and the spring rate a lot more than the 2.5" springs.
I'm planning to head to Just Differentials next week. I was going to do 4.88's but now I'm just leaning toward having a full axle overhaul/rebuild, and knuckle job. I have a weird caster situation on the right front wheel which suggests either the knuckle is messed up or I bent the axle. Hoping for knuckle, of course. But it'll be good to have the pro's check everything out, see the birf's, etc... Maybe I'll take the diff money and get those racing seats for the front? Finish my interior?
I'm planning to take my 5 yr old daughter on Amtrak from near Just Diff's to Seattle for a night. She'll like the Museum of Flight, Space Needle, etc...
Let you know how it all goes.
Oh, Dang am I impressed with the MAF rear control arms!!!! Those heim joints are just sweet as can be!
All I can say at this point after a very short drive is that everything feels less sprung or taught now. Things seem more settled, more controlled, which makes sense. I'm sure a fan of the OME 3" Comp coils too. They've settled in now. I like the height and the spring rate a lot more than the 2.5" springs.
I'm planning to head to Just Differentials next week. I was going to do 4.88's but now I'm just leaning toward having a full axle overhaul/rebuild, and knuckle job. I have a weird caster situation on the right front wheel which suggests either the knuckle is messed up or I bent the axle. Hoping for knuckle, of course. But it'll be good to have the pro's check everything out, see the birf's, etc... Maybe I'll take the diff money and get those racing seats for the front? Finish my interior?
I'm planning to take my 5 yr old daughter on Amtrak from near Just Diff's to Seattle for a night. She'll like the Museum of Flight, Space Needle, etc...
Let you know how it all goes.
Oh, Dang am I impressed with the MAF rear control arms!!!! Those heim joints are just sweet as can be!
- Thread starter
- #91
Alignment #'s pre and post panhard swaps:
Why would you say that's odd? Move the axle left or right has the same effect as making your tie rod longer or shorter. Whichever it is, they'll do the reverse when aligning it (shorten tie rod to accomodate new axle location).
- Thread starter
- #93
I was just surprised at *how much* it turned the wheel. That's all. The alignment guys straightened out the steering wheel exactly as you say, by adjusting the tie rod. No charge, which was nice.
- Thread starter
- #94
Okay, back from Cashmere, WA and JT's, or Just Differentials. Those guys are great. really neat experience. Amazing warehouse full of R&P gears. Carl is an 80 nut and amazing wealth of knowledge on the model and LC's in general. I'd totally encourage anyone to contact them with questions and to make it a roadtrip if possible to get axles done there.
I got my 4.88's installed right from the source and knuckles rebuilt. Feels like I'm on easy street now. Nothing to worry about, mechanically. Well, realistically, it's really nice how the Cruiser drives now. Speedo is 11.5% higher than actual speed though. I'm thinking of that Marks 4x4 speedo adapter box that Slee sells.
Monday I'll have pics of a new alignment readout. Had some front end issues after the knuckle rebuild. Expected.
My "to buy" list is getting pretty low. My "to do" list isn't getting shorter. And I have a lot of parts to sell soon. Front DS, rear control arms, various lights and parts.
I'm still considering cutting the upper bar off my ARB roof rack and setting it up for a roof top tent. I'm still seriously considering front seats like the PRP Daily Driver or Mastercraft Rubicon. They sure look the same. I wish there was more info on aftermarket seats on here. But beyond that, mostly I'm just looking forward to being "done" and taking care of mechanical issues when they surface. I do like being proactive about maintenance and fixing things asap.
I will do my new MAF rear upper control arms soon and get pics of the underneath. I think they look great. Someone on 'Mud had reliability issues with them and trashes them. We'll see. Those heim joints are super trick.
I got my 4.88's installed right from the source and knuckles rebuilt. Feels like I'm on easy street now. Nothing to worry about, mechanically. Well, realistically, it's really nice how the Cruiser drives now. Speedo is 11.5% higher than actual speed though. I'm thinking of that Marks 4x4 speedo adapter box that Slee sells.
Monday I'll have pics of a new alignment readout. Had some front end issues after the knuckle rebuild. Expected.
My "to buy" list is getting pretty low. My "to do" list isn't getting shorter. And I have a lot of parts to sell soon. Front DS, rear control arms, various lights and parts.
I'm still considering cutting the upper bar off my ARB roof rack and setting it up for a roof top tent. I'm still seriously considering front seats like the PRP Daily Driver or Mastercraft Rubicon. They sure look the same. I wish there was more info on aftermarket seats on here. But beyond that, mostly I'm just looking forward to being "done" and taking care of mechanical issues when they surface. I do like being proactive about maintenance and fixing things asap.
I will do my new MAF rear upper control arms soon and get pics of the underneath. I think they look great. Someone on 'Mud had reliability issues with them and trashes them. We'll see. Those heim joints are super trick.
I have the Marks 4WD Speedo Box on my Trooper and it has been great. I have changed tires several different times since having it and its nice to adjust it and go. On my Trooper that modifies the tranny shifting too.
- Thread starter
- #96
Yeah, I just got the hole-saw for that job a few minutes ago at Ace. Hope to get that installed soon. Everything has taken me WAAAYYYY longer than I expected on this journey. Sounds like Marks makes a plug and play box for the Trooper also.
I had to use the standard unit with 4 wires. Easy to do. They just added plugs for the 80 series.
Guess we should finish this post with what was on Black-Rhino 13 profile page.
MISSOULA – Christopher Tucker, 41, of Missoula, passed away Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013, as a result of an accident on U.S. Highway 12 near Lolo Pass while pursuing one of his passions.
Chris was born Aug. 6, 1972, in Biloxi, Miss., to Jimmy and Oletta (Ray) Tucker. As a young boy, he lived with his parents in Georgia, Turkey, California and Greece. It was as a toddler in Turkey where he first showed his talent for foreign languages. He later became fluent in Spanish and Russian and was conversant in German.
He joined the U.S. Army in 1996, serving as a linguist in Germany. After discharge from the Army, Chris attended Montana State University, where he graduated with honors in 2004, receiving a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Force upon graduation and served as an intelligence officer with the Special Operations Command. During this time, he married Catherine Aikin, who was also in the Air Force, and they had two daughters, Felicity and Sophianna.
After they were both discharged from the Air Force, they moved to Missoula, where Chris was currently a third-year law student at the University of Montana Law School.
Chris was always interested in having unique experiences in life, learning about different cultures and knowing people with unusual backgrounds and discovering the best examples of things that interested him. He would pursue that discovery with passion, especially food, tea, wine, vehicles, music, books and outdoors equipment. He particularly enjoyed good food and drink, good music, being in the outdoors, especially in the mountains, and riding motorcycles.
People remember his even temper, his easygoing manner, his friendly support, his acceptance of everyone regardless of differences, his offbeat sense of humor and his pursuit of excellence in all the things he enjoyed.
He is survived and missed by his wife, Catherine; daughters, Felicity and Sophianna; mother, Oletta Ray; father, Jimmy; stepmom, Janet; and brother, Jeremy.
A memorial service will be held at noon Monday, Nov. 4, at the University of Montana Law School atrium. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either the Sierra Club or It Gets Better Project, sierraclub.org, itgetsbetter.org, (415) 977-5653
MISSOULA – Christopher Tucker, 41, of Missoula, passed away Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013, as a result of an accident on U.S. Highway 12 near Lolo Pass while pursuing one of his passions.
Chris was born Aug. 6, 1972, in Biloxi, Miss., to Jimmy and Oletta (Ray) Tucker. As a young boy, he lived with his parents in Georgia, Turkey, California and Greece. It was as a toddler in Turkey where he first showed his talent for foreign languages. He later became fluent in Spanish and Russian and was conversant in German.
He joined the U.S. Army in 1996, serving as a linguist in Germany. After discharge from the Army, Chris attended Montana State University, where he graduated with honors in 2004, receiving a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Force upon graduation and served as an intelligence officer with the Special Operations Command. During this time, he married Catherine Aikin, who was also in the Air Force, and they had two daughters, Felicity and Sophianna.
After they were both discharged from the Air Force, they moved to Missoula, where Chris was currently a third-year law student at the University of Montana Law School.
Chris was always interested in having unique experiences in life, learning about different cultures and knowing people with unusual backgrounds and discovering the best examples of things that interested him. He would pursue that discovery with passion, especially food, tea, wine, vehicles, music, books and outdoors equipment. He particularly enjoyed good food and drink, good music, being in the outdoors, especially in the mountains, and riding motorcycles.
People remember his even temper, his easygoing manner, his friendly support, his acceptance of everyone regardless of differences, his offbeat sense of humor and his pursuit of excellence in all the things he enjoyed.
He is survived and missed by his wife, Catherine; daughters, Felicity and Sophianna; mother, Oletta Ray; father, Jimmy; stepmom, Janet; and brother, Jeremy.
A memorial service will be held at noon Monday, Nov. 4, at the University of Montana Law School atrium. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either the Sierra Club or It Gets Better Project, sierraclub.org, itgetsbetter.org, (415) 977-5653
No way!!! I was talking to this guy last spring about buying his Sliders. Seemed like a stand up guy. Did he crash in his 80??
Motorcycle
