Battlecamper: Blood not Bought

[MMMFarms]

Figured id start posting this stuff here in the right place.... ill copy paste the pertinents.



1984 Toyota pickup
ATK Rebuilt 22R
New oem carb
New oem cam
Double chain timing
Gasket matched
shaped intake/ports/exhaust
2.25in OME HD suspension
4.10s open diffs(for now)
32in Falken Wildpeak at3
dual batteries/inverter/solar controller
Land cruiser interior panels
Electric windows


The camper is of an unkown builder. Looks like it's from a company but no badge on it anywhere.
My gf and I, and our 2 dogs will be leaving in a few days on a trip down the California coast, then east towards Flagstaff.
We've got no real timeline, a few vague sights to seek out, some friends along the way and memories to make.

Im 28 and leaving a life growing weed in Northern California, been in one place too long. Planning on seeing what this rig can do and live in (semi)comfort. More pics incoming soon!

Sorry for the briefness in this first log, was writing it for a different group.
day01 got out the house around noonish. first time doin 70 on a major highay in the bish. does great, altho im still getting used to it. night came quick and we decided to hunker down in the wal mart roseville pkng lot.

- day02 Head out Mid Morningish, decide we;re going to make it to big trees by the night, So its sac up the 4 to big trees. Well it seems i made the mistake of not overseeing the route planning and we go up the mtn past snowline, hit a couple thousand ft summit, road closed. we turn around and go back and as i get service i see that were on the hwy for the ridge south of where big treess and the 4 is at. NBD really we're down to camp anywhere but as far as that road every camp area and ohv is closed.

So we loop BACK to angels camp and head up the 4 as the day is closing. FastForward to us pulled over to the side, foggy, snowing dark af and my gf freakin out cause its dark and snowy and im not really tryin to park and camp in that kinda weather first real night out in the boonies.

we go down the road BACK to big trees state park, and post up triple parked by some closed bathrooms in the park. Didnt have change so i didnt pay the envelope machine. tarp up cause the in between is leakin a bit and had a cramped albeit warm sleep with both dogs in back with us and loaded up in the most inefficient way possible.


.

day03 woke up got loaded up in a hurry and took off. grabbed pix with a bigass tree and took off. couldnt find out way out the park so a nice ranger rounded us up, made us only pay 10bux and we split. back down the hill, thru angels camp, then stockton, thru san jose onto santa cruz. all highway and some i5, truck did great, minimally sketchy but i could fell something was up, checked and one of my rear spring u bolts had a loose nut and the others felt like they werent far behind. tightened them up and everything else was good.

Get into santa cruz, and start looking for a state park to camp at, began having a bit of an issue, because we didnt do reservations at any of the state parks and chick is wanting to take a shower. First couple beach area campsites wanted like 60 bux , boo. but we rolled up to sunset st beach and nabbed a camping spot real ez. dope spot but way too close to people, but regardless was only 35 (boo) but nice showers so whatever..

First impressions after 3 days.... I have to get more comfortable with sleeping in places I'm not technically aupposed to/we need to lighten our load quite a bit.

 

[MMMFarms]

 

[MMMFarms]

wow its been fun so far, thats for sure. Got behind on my logs, unfortunately. hopefully i can catch up! Lets see where i Left off, ah yes SC.

So after realizing that i need to find some natnl forests to start camping in, we head south towards big sur, and pick up a map of the area and USFS roads. Suprise suprise most of them are inaccessible due to locked gates at private properties. smh. such a frustrating thing. So eventually we find Naciamento-Ferguson and start heading up. Im loving the climb but my gf is not so down with the cliffs and dropoffs and heights. lol oof. we end up camping in a pretty half assed spot off the road. Some youths(sic) rolled past and must have noticed my gas can, dude says hes worried he isnt going to make it home, offered some of mine. He only took about a gal, gave me 10bucks wew! Being prepared pays off again.

after that first night off the road we do some map consulting, and find a route that takes us out south of gorda, and start down the road. Once again there was a closed road for a different route we wanted to take. We drive a couple hours, through forests and desert and it was a really pretty drive. Happened upon a vw cabrio pretty deep in there, all shot up and abandoned. Its a shame people have to ruin the nature like that. Find a decent campsite for the night and roll out camp. enjoyed a hammock and an ocean view. It was pretty awesome.

That night, we realize we overlooked some necessary supplies, smokes unfortunately. So instead of camping at the one spot 2 nights we just did one, and left towards gorda the next day. Jeez its already starting to blur together. Ill get in the spotlights from then til now so i can catch up and stay current.

Camped at a trailhead in the southernmost part of the los padres, salmon creek iirc. fire/rescue rolled into the lot not long after us and had to rescue some hikers, so we left then came back when they were done. we saw the elephant seals the next day, my gf got to poke around some tidepools, and we drove a good bit up and down the coast. Ended up driving that stretch of coast a few times, seeing various sights and trying to find cell service. We check out tv tower road outside of atascadero, once again, too steep for the gf. Then in a gas station i see a map for pismo, and i remembered going there as a kid. We hit pismo and things are good. Its a weekday and dead and the weather is nice. Camped 2 nights there.

Then get word i have to go back to sac for a job, unfortunately. We really didnt want to have to come back north. So i drive the 6hours or whatever it is and work that day and the next. On the way to sac there were some mechanical issues, i kind of sort of had the front driveshaft break loose getting on the hwy, XD, put it on the rear cargo rack and kept on truckin. Definitely need to get that fixed. Once work in sac was done we decided it was time for a motel 6 night, our first night outside the camper in ..... oh just over a week. Not a very large accomplishment but not terrible either i guess. And thats where i am now. Im going to try and keep a rolling checklist of things i need to do with the truck..

-Reattach front driveshaft
-main battery tray to fender seam needs welded
-2 NEW TIRES SOOOO EXPENSIVE YYY
-attach solar panel
-lose some equipment weight.


So we did the beach thing, we arent sure if we want to head to santa barbera area first to continue our coast trip or head straight to the desert.... Either way we're going towards johnson valley/big trees, I want to see havasu and im warming the gf up to the drive to moab. heh. uncertain on the place certain on the adventures!

 

[zelseman]

Love this rig! Any more photos of the camper or the inside ?

 

[AbleGuy]

It’s heartening to see another yet expo adventurer getting out on the road choosing just the simplicity of a compact rig like yours. Thx for posting your stories.

BTW, since you are headed to Moab, you might want to check out this Utah tourism travel advise link for exploring SE Utah:

Southern Dinos and Goblins

www.visitutah.com