Main Line Overland 08 FJ Cruiser

[Main Line Overland]

Bald Eagle State Forest

My brother Matt and his wife Kristen and their black lab Gunner, made a quick run up to Bald Eagle State Forest yesterday afternoon as a fun side trip on their way to our family farm (aka the MLO Proving Grounds) outside of State College, PA. Matt, who normally drives our Jeep JKU Rubicon enjoyed driving the FJC mainly because Kristen could drive the FJC (which is automatic) offroad without a problem.

Matt has been to Bald Eagle State Forest before, but he went to a fun looking trail that he had seen a more recent write-up on the portal about, the Kammerdiner Trail. They found the trail not far off of I-80. They took the Kammerdiner Trail to Reservoir Road, and then back out to main roads. Overall he said the trail was a blast, and they really enjoyed it. They said it was as if they we no longer in PA. They took some shots, and even mounted up the Go-Pro, which I will post when I get the video from him. Here are a few pics until I get the rest posted.

Head of the trail

Some fun, but minor, water crossings

MLO Proving Grounds Shots

The view says it all

 

[Main Line Overland]

We did a little 4th of July product demo at our shop today for an Expo member looking to purchase an Eezi-Awn RTT. We setup both our Series 3 1400 on my FJC and the 1600 on our JK. The tents were a big hit and we encourage customers to come see them in person before pulling the trigger on such a big purchase. We are the only dealer locally that offers customers this hands on opportunity to experience the Eezi-Awn products.

Customers can also check out our sweet National Luna 50L Weekender Fridge/Freezer in person. Cold beers anyone? This will come in handy on our trip to Moab in August.

 

[Main Line Overland]

We just got a National Luna Dual Battery kit in our shop for install in the FJC. This will allow us to power the National Luna 50L Weekender Fridge/Freezer and other accessories without worries of killing the main battery and leaving us stranded on a trail out in the Utah backcountry come August.

 

[Main Line Overland]

We recently installed a Dual Battery set up in the FJC, we utilized a National Luna Split Charger kit to isolate and monitor the charge levels. The install was pretty straight forward, the most time consuming part was fabbing up a battery box that could handle the heavy weight of the group 34 Diehard PM2 we chose for the aux battery. While we were at it we changed out the stock battery for a massive Group 31 Diehard PM1. We cleaned up the accessory wiring and ran it over to the other side of the engine bay. In order to mount the National Luna Intelligent Solenoid we had to relocate a few relays and create a custom mount to utilize pre-existing holes in the fender well.

Now to find somewhere under the hood to mount the ARB compressor.... :yikes:

 

[Main Line Overland]

Fridge Platform/Storage Area

We have been working on a storage platform for our National Luna 50L Weekender fridge/freezer and Tembo Tusk slide to mount to. We went with a standard side slide because it was the only way we could orient the fridge that would allow us to both shut the door and keep all of the rear seats up. The platform is constructed from 3/4in Plywood, the base mounts to the four standard cargo anchor points and the top plate is larger than the base to follow wheel well.

We cut the side supports shorter and longer around the stock inverter and jack compartment where we still wanted access. While we do like the look of some of the nicer wood finish cargo setups we have seen we thought that black carpeting would best match the plastic and overall interior of the FJC. For a finishing touch we capped the ends off with 1in Aluminum angle and “C”-channel as well as stainless recessed screws.

Drawers would be nice down the line, but for now we are happy with the finished product as it seems that some duffel bags & back packs amongst other gear can be stowed down there for our upcoming trip and it provides a more than secure location to mount the Tembo Slide. We will be wiring up the fridge and bolting down the slide this afternoon.

A shot of the NL 50L, ARB 50QT (going in the JK) and Tembo Slide.

 

[gs300tt]

What is on the JK behind the tire is that for gas?

 

[Main Line Overland]

What is on the JK behind the tire is that for gas?

http://mainlineoverland.com/?shopp_product=aev-fuel-caddy

It is for gas, its made by American Expedition Vehicles(A.E.V.) and called the Fuel Caddy. It holds 10.2 gallons and comes with a shaker siphon for easy fuel retrieval.

Welcome to the Portal!

 

[Prjktjho]

I Love the FJ! And also love seeing a cool shop semi local! I saw where you had visited the New River Gorge.. Where about did you stay? I live about 15-20 min south of Fayetteville and the NRG bridge. Would the AEV fuel carrier fit any spare tire mount or is it JK specific? I will be getting back into an FJ or possibly trying a JKURin the next few months and that seems a lot better than rotopax In terms of storage. Cheers!

 

[Main Line Overland]

I Love the FJ! And also love seeing a cool shop semi local! I saw where you had visited the New River Gorge.. Where about did you stay? I live about 15-20 min south of Fayetteville and the NRG bridge. Would the AEV fuel carrier fit any spare tire mount or is it JK specific? I will be getting back into an FJ or possibly trying a JKURin the next few months and that seems a lot better than rotopax In terms of storage. Cheers!

Thanks! We stayed at the River Expeditions campground...not much of an overland adventure and more of a camp party. We went down for an event called Waynestock where a large group of PA guys & gals head down for some good times in the woods and some great rafting. Unfortunately the AEV Fuel Caddy is JK specific as it mounts to their tire carrier. The back side of it is rather flat, so we are not sure how it would look on the curved area of the FJ. It would be interesting to test fit it, but it would probably work better on a tire swing out set up.

An FJ with the ELocker or a JKUR are both great options, keep us posted on what you end up with!:beer:

 

[Prjktjho]

Thanks! We stayed at the River Expeditions campground...not much of an overland adventure and more of a camp party. We went down for an event called Waynestock where a large group of PA guys & gals head down for some good times in the woods and some great rafting. Unfortunately the AEV Fuel Caddy is JK specific as it mounts to their tire carrier. The back side of it is rather flat, so we are not sure how it would look on the curved area of the FJ. It would be interesting to test fit it, but it would probably work better on a tire swing out set up.

An FJ with the ELocker or a JKUR are both great options, keep us posted on what you end up with!:beer:

Yeah there isn't many options when it comes to backcountry camping down here but at least we have the river! If y'all ever make it back down here give me a shout! That sucks about the fuel carrier, I guess if I end up with a JKU I'll have an awesome option! I had a 07 FJ. 3" toytec lift with 285 hankooks on oem steelies and absolutely loved it! Seeing your makes me miss it something fierce!

 

[Main Line Overland]

Yeah there isn't many options when it comes to backcountry camping down here but at least we have the river! If y'all ever make it back down here give me a shout! That sucks about the fuel carrier, I guess if I end up with a JKU I'll have an awesome option! I had a 07 FJ. 3" toytec lift with 285 hankooks on oem steelies and absolutely loved it! Seeing your makes me miss it something fierce!

The river is great, and we will definitely let you know next time we get down there. We would like to run the Gauley at some point this fall if we can fit it in. Sounds like you had a great FJ, love the look of oem steelies with an aggressive tire!

I though I would update the thread with some pics of the fridge and slide fully installed. Following the construction of the platform we mounted the Tembo Tusk Slide and wired in our National Luna Fridge. We decided to mount the outlet on the inverter outlet panel on the back right side of the cargo area. Eight gauge wire was used to ensure there was little power loss on the somewhat long run under the plastic interior trim to the auxiliary battery. We utilized the Tembo Tusk “Buffalo Straps” to secure the fridge to the slide and they do a great job keeping it locked down

The fridge and freezer were cold within minutes and allows monitoring of the charge level on both the fridge and dual battery monitor. All in all we are very happy with this set up, it performs as it should, allows us to pack more efficiently and rolls down the road without any shakes or rattles.

 

[Main Line Overland]

We recently installed a CMKA12 ARB Air Compressor in the FJ, right now it will be used to air up when coming off the trail. It will also be used to power the Air locker that we plan to install when we re-gear this fall.

We also installed two of the 4 gallon rotopax units on the roof rack with a locking mount. We wanted the reserve fuel for some of the longer trails we will be hitting out west.

Last but not least we finally got around to installing CB radios in both the JK and FJC. We went with the cobra 75wx st in both rigs and a 3 ft firestick & spring on the bandi mount.

 

[Main Line Overland]

We have set out on our adventure into the Utah backcountry. Here is the Expo trip log thread: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/82353-East-to-West-MLO-s-Utah-Adventure-2012 that we will be updating along with our facebook, twitter page and blog.

We hope you will follow along on our adventure!

 

[Main Line Overland]

Contemplating some new additions to our FJ, we have some interesting ideas to continue progress.

 

[Barrows]

So did the progress ever continue? Or have the additions been put on hold?