Checking In - 2011 FJ Cruiser, TTSE 6M

[Bulkhead1138]

Hey All.

My name is Zac, and i live in Gonzales, Texas. I am a Navy vet and long time Cruiserhead. I used to wheel around in 1983 FJ60 Landcruiser that my dad bought brand new in late 1982, but hard times forced me to sell her in 2008 with 430K original miles on the ODO. in 2015 I stumbled on a sweet deal : a cherry 2011 FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition with a 6 speed Manual. I am told its one of less than 10 in the country, but i have yet to confirm that. When purchased she had less than 10K on the odo, and still had the factory film on the stereo. Never even had anyone in the back seat. I paid cash for the vehicle, thanks to a generous inheritance from my late, Nana who wanted me to have a new adventure vehicle (at the time i was still working as a Wildlife biologist specializing in crocodilians). I plan to keep things pretty stock until components start wearing out. I may bump myself up to some pizza cutters here soon, and theres definitely a new roof rack and hidden Winch mount in the works. Im going to be hand making a lot of custom components like MOLLE racks and such for myself. Some friends of mine and I are gearing up for a Big Bend excursion in January. Just ordered my Trasharoo, and a while ago i made some paracord grab handles for over the doors (kept banging my head on them)

Anyhow, just wanted to check in and say Hello and show off my Rig and Copilot, Caboose the Coydog.

 

[chunko]

That is probably the perfect vehicle for a man and his dog. Also, sweet Cap tat!

 

[Bulkhead1138]

Thanks Chunko. I suppose is should take the wife and (soon to be born) baby out more... but the dog is friendlier. haha

 

[chunko]

My girls (1 and 4) love wheeling. I took them to a short local trail today and they were giggles and smiles the whole time.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[SWITAWI]

Hey, Zac. Nice FJC!

Some friends and I just got back from PINS, but we've been discussing putting together a Big Bend trip someday as well - http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...4runner-tacoma-or-truck?p=2284726#post2284726

Toyota reportedly made ~2500 total of the 2011 Trail Teams FJ Cruisers, though a few incompletely-equipped trucks made it through the supply chain after the disruptions caused by the 2011 earthquake/tsunami in Japan. Those few are commonly known as the NSSE or 'Not So Special Edition'. You can read more about the FJ special editions here - http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...omplete-fj-cruiser-special-edition-guide.html

:beer:

 

[Bulkhead1138]

Thanks man. i know the history, (im a bit of a land cruiser history nerd, lol). did a lot of research before purchase. Mine was one of the few that made it through fully done WITH the manual tranny.

The wife and i just got back from PINS/mustang island yesterday. Had a blast out there. Next trip may be in the hill country. As for projects, im currently working on storage and space saving options. I finished up my poor mans MOLLE rack on thursday, and it worked well for our trip. Now comes the fun process of getting all the sand and salt off the rig.

 

[SWITAWI]

...Now comes the fun process of getting all the sand and salt off the rig.

Ugh, yeah. The big Weathertech or Husky 'floorliners' are worth their weight in gold after a trip to PINS. Being able to more easily dump most of what's in the footwells is the main reason I bought the Weathertechs.

And I always feel like I should put a couple sprinklers underneath the truck for a day or three, lol.

 

[Bulkhead1138]

Ugh, yeah. The big Weathertech or Husky 'floorliners' are worth their weight in gold after a trip to PINS. Being able to more easily dump most of what's in the footwells is the main reason I bought the Weathertechs.

I have the Trail Teams floor mats that do really well in their own right. But they dont stay in place worth a damned. Love the cargo area mat though.

Last couple days i have really been looking over the possibility of a Man-A-Fre aux fuel tank. Would really be a boon not to have to carry Jerry Cans when i do White Rock in '19. Not to mention i just hate stopping for gas in general.

To be honest, i wouldnt care if my truck was considered a sleeper. I have always been more about that "Go" than the "show". thats why i dont plan on adding steel bumpers and a whole lot of flashy light bars until i decide they are absolute necessities. Especially if she can keep up most of the other rigs that have all that stuff. I dont need all the flash. I would rather concentrate on the journey.

 

[SWITAWI]

I got the 'regular' optional rubber mats when I bought my truck used, right about the time they were all being pulled for the big recall. Apparently CarMax didn't get that memo and I kept them for sure because they were much better than the alternative. But when they wear out you'll find the wall-to-wall style really do stay in place better simply because they take up the entire footwell.

The 19gal fuel tank still bugs me. I would really like the Toyota engineering team to explain why the 4Runners and Tacomas could have 21-24gal capacities during the FJC's production, but the truck they marketed for 'adventure' was saddled with a sub-400mi highway range.

It took me 6.5yrs to upgrade the suspension from stock, so I'm down with the sleeper mentality. My truck took me all the way down PINS on the OEM tires once and South Texas obviously isn't known for offroad trails so there was no need for modifications that would just make it less daily-driver friendly. And it's my commuter truck so I'll probably never go bigger or much heavier on tires. Still running P265/70-17s and still getting 17-18mpg driving however I want which often includes 75-80mph on I-35 on the way home from work.

So yeah, nothing wrong with the stock FJC at all in my opinion as long as you don't have multiple kids and a dog, lol. It's the only vehicle I've driven 60mi down a deserted beach and convoyed down the interstate with a 911 Turbo at (insert illegal speeds here) on the same weekend. Kind of reminds me of my old GTI that I ran a Porsche Club event in Corpus Christi and then stuffed a 32in tube TV (this was in '97) in the back and hauled it to Austin to help a friend move.

 

[Bulkhead1138]

from my standpoint, i plan to upgrade the suspension, but for me its less about stuffing big meats under my truck, and more about keeping what tires i have on terra firma. Wheels up shots look cool as hell, but i always see it as one wheel not getting traction. ride hight to me isnt nearly as important as articulation, honestly. So id rather have a truck that can and does go everywhere, than one that "Looks" like it can go everywhere. So if it looks like a stock rig with a bunch of doo dads like awning and jerry cans, then so be it.