HongerVenture's FJ Cruiser

[HongerVenture]

I've been on again/off again with the forum over the last year or so... and lots has changed. The T100 is safely stowed in my dad's "underground giant humidor vault" awaiting my return to the United States. My wife and I moved to the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi to be specific) in December 2008. After several months of renting a car and some scouting around, we purchased a 2008 Voodoo Blue FJ Cruiser. It is used and had 25000 km on the odometer when we picked it up... that's 15534 miles for us Americans. 4x4 with A-TRAC and Rear Diff-Lock.

Here it is... bone stock with barely any miles on it...

I toyed with a LR Defender 90, but the dealer was giving me grief and trying to play "exploit the westerner" a bit. I tried again, but to no avail. Amy and I talked a great deal about what to purchase. We wanted to play in the dunes, but most importantly we wanted to explore the more remote reaches of the seven emirates. We wanted reliability and capability out of the gate. In talking with a Belgian co-worker here who is a huge Land Rover nut, he told me avoid LR (due to expensive parts and maintenance hassles), go FJ Cruiser, and start off-roading the next day. This appealed to me a great deal... I've wanted a Voodoo Blue FJ since the day they were released. We found this used one with all the features I wanted (except the roof rack) and I looked at Amy and she said "yes." :wings:

I haggled the price down a few thousand AED, enjoyed some tea with the salesmen, and signed the dotted line.

 

[HongerVenture]

Exploring the dunes...

Well, it wasn't long before I took the FJ Cruiser out for some fun in the dunes. Our first major trip was a trek down to Liwa, an oasis city on the edge of the Empty Quarter. The Empty Quarter is a vast field of dunes reaching 330 meters in height. The dunes were huge and stretched as far as the eye could see.

My second trip was to Camel Rock and Fossil Rock. We didn't make it to Fossil Rock before dark, but we did make it to Camel Rock. This was with some friends that were visiting us. The sand was an amazing red color and scenery was breathtaking.

This is just to give you a taste of what we've been up to and to show it hasn't sat in the driveway for several months. More detailed reports and pictures are forthcoming.

 

[Corey]

Nice rig Joel.
Just passed three years in July with mine, not one complaint.
Excellent expedition platform.

 

[HongerVenture]

Thanks for the compliments Corey! It means a lot coming from you. I really like the way you've built your rig and have reaped the fruit of you starting Yotatech. Not to mention it is you who got me hooked on Griots car care products.

 

[HongerVenture]

Rear storage...

First thing I wanted to do with the FJ was install our Engel 45. Believe it or not, I allocated space in our shipment from the US to the UAE for the fridge/freeze. I knew I wanted to camp and explore here and wasn't sure what the availability would be here.

It turns out that you can get the new ARB fridge/freezes as well as all manner of Waeco fridge/freezes and other items. I've yet to see an Engel or the older ARB that was similar to the Engel.

I took some measurements of the back and drew up some plans. One of the contractors on our project at work offered to have his carpenter do the work for me so I gave him the drawings and in 2 weeks I had the unit delivered to me at work. It was supposed to be black but I'm not complaining since he wouldn't accept payment for it.

Here's the first step, fitting the bare unit in the back...

I made the top of the drawer area flush with the driver's side wheel-well enclosure. The lower side on the passenger side is for the fridge/freeze.

Here's some of the details...

I secured the deck with bolts that run into the mounts for the factory tie downs. Works perfectly! As you can see my first measurement was off, hence the open hole. The white discs are small bumpers that fit inside the feet of my fridge/freeze and eliminate slip/slide of the unit. The grooves are from a failed method of securing the fridge. Finally, I had to carve a little chamfer on the corner of the deck to keep it from resting on the plastic molding.

Here's the almost-finished product...

I say almost-finished because I intend to secure the fridge with turnbuckles rather than the current bungie. Finding hardware is a little more of a chore around here than the US. =)

 

[Youngunner]

Can I ask what your job is over there? Beautiful dunes, the one's here aren't as stunning!

 

[HongerVenture]

I'm a civil engineer with most of my experience dealing with airports. I'm resident engineer for a project to convert an old military base to a civil aviation airport.

The beauty and vastness of the Empty Quarter have to be seen to be believed. It's almost like you are on Mars.

 

[Lichen]

Like me, I see that you got the "off-road" package. I still don't understand why an off-road package wouldn't include sliders and a roof rack. Love the drawer system.

 

[Overland Hadley]

That looks like fun driving!

 

[jim65wagon]

Nice choice, Joel! Should provide you with a lot of good travel memories. The pics are cool! I'm waiting for more....:victory:

 

[Lichen]

I hope that you don't mind, but I'm going to copy your drawer system. The only change is that I'll put the fridge on the left so I can extend the right side into a sleeping platform.

 

[HongerVenture]

That looks like fun driving!

Quite fun! A little daunting at first, but very fun! The little dip off to the right of that photo is actually a huge bowl/valley in the dune. You go into one of these things in a full size rig and you'll be a long time getting out.

 

[HongerVenture]

I hope that you don't mind, but I'm going to copy your drawer system. The only change is that I'll put the fridge on the left so I can extend the right side into a sleeping platform.

Copy away! If you shoot me a PM with your e-mail address I'll e-mail you a pdf of all my measurements and dimensions.

 

[jdlcruiser]

jack hatch?

I am building a box now and toyed with no access to the jack compartment. How do you access that compartment? Just wondering if there is some sort of trap door or can you lift it enough to gain access?

Love the pics.
Been looking for a way to get over there myself.
Love their use of residential concrete.

Thank you,
Be well

JLa

 

[Lichen]

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