BretEdge
Adventurer
I'm a professional landscape and adventure photographer in Moab, Utah. I'm also the proud owner of a 2007 FJ Cruiser. Living where I do and doing what I do, it goes without saying that I spend a fair amount of time exploring well away from paved roads. I'm not one to drive a trail just for the sake of driving a trail, though. When I go out I'm on the hunt, looking for landscapes that inspire me to dig out my camera and tripod.
I placed the order for my FJC in January, 2007 and took delivery of a shiny silver FJC with every option other than a subwoofer and side airbags in March, 2007. I'm incapable of letting any vehicle I own remain in stock form for longer than a few weeks. In April, 2007 I installed an Old Man Emu lift and 285/70/17 Good Year Wrangler MT/R's that have since been replaced with BFG KM2's. In 2011 we bought a Maggiolina roof top tent for a trip along the Oregon Coast in my wife's 4Runner. As soon as we got home we swapped the tent over to my FJC for another trip into Colorado's San Juan Mountains. Until recently, these had been the only modifications to the FJ.
And then, a few months ago, I concocted a plan to build my FJC into the Ultimate Off-Road Vehicle for Outdoor Photographers. My lovely wife was thrilled. Just thrilled. Luckily, we cut a deal. I could mod out the FJ but every time I added something new, she got to spend some quality time shopping on the internet. I may not be a smart man but after thinking long and hard (about .5 seconds) we shook hands and the deal was sealed. Actually I don't think we shook hands for I was too caught up in the moment, squealing like a little girl who just won a beauty pageant.
At any rate, I sat down and came up with some criteria for the build. I knew my goal was to build the FJ into a capable overlanding rig with a focus on the specific needs of an outdoor photographer in mind.
- The first and main priority is to build a capable, RELIABLE, off-road vehicle. I'm not building a gnarly rock crawler. I need a vehicle that is comfortable on-road as it is my daily driver but it also needs to be able to negotiate trails like Lockhart Basin, all the stuff in the San Juans, etc.
- Photographers tend to carry around a lot of expensive, power hungry equipment. It's a good idea to have a safe, secure environment in which to store it and the ability to easily recharge batteries in the middle of the middle of nowhere.
- We often travel to and from the locations we photograph in the darkness of pre-sunrise and post-sunset hours so we need enough auxiliary light to pummel the trail into submission.
- The last thing we want to do at the beginning or end of a long day is set up or put away a tent, inflate or deflate sleeping pads and pack away sleeping bags. And, it isn't uncommon to be in the field, away from civilization, for days on end with no way to replenish ice, water and food. My build needs to provide for a way to set up and tear down camp quickly, keep food refrigerated without ice and carry enough water and grub for several day's sustenance.
- Finally, despite all the advice to the contrary, we often head out into the wilderness alone. There are few people with the patience to put up with a dedicated nature photographer who might sit in one location for hours waiting for precisely the right moment to release the shutter. When we're out there alone we'd better damn well be able to self-rescue out of most situations.
- As a bonus, if I can use the rig to advertise my business, that wouldn't suck. Obviously, built up rigs attract attention so I might as well utilize that to my benefit, right?
With this criteria in mind I started planning out the build. First up - a partial wrap to advertise my business. Yeah, I know, it's not exactly a critical element of the build but I theorized that by starting with the wrap I might generate some extra business that would help offset the cost of the build. Sounds logical, right? And you know what? It's working. I had a friend with a sign business do the wrap for me and it turned out quite nice. Not long after the wrap was installed I realized that the stock silver rims needed to go. A quick trip to Chip's Grand Tire in Moab and I had a set of flat black Ultra Wheels "Bolt" wheels on order. Soon thereafter boxes started arriving addressed to my wife from places like Amazon.com, Title Nine and Banana Republic.
The only photos I've got on hand at the moment are a couple iPhone pics. I promise to post better photos as the build progresses.
Here's the pre-build FJ en route to Imogene Pass a couple years ago. I'd just finished leading a fall photo workshop in the San Juans and decided to drive over Imogene Pass on the way home. I didn't make it. Less than a 1/2 mile from the top I had to turn around in a whiteout as the road got too slick.
This is a photo on the Gemini Bridges road north of Moab. I'd just mountain biked the top section of Mag 7 and was on my way home. Obviously, this is after the wrap and wheels were installed with the RTT up top. In my next post I'll detail the first major mods (bumpers and a winch) and add some higher quality photos.
More to come in a few days...
I placed the order for my FJC in January, 2007 and took delivery of a shiny silver FJC with every option other than a subwoofer and side airbags in March, 2007. I'm incapable of letting any vehicle I own remain in stock form for longer than a few weeks. In April, 2007 I installed an Old Man Emu lift and 285/70/17 Good Year Wrangler MT/R's that have since been replaced with BFG KM2's. In 2011 we bought a Maggiolina roof top tent for a trip along the Oregon Coast in my wife's 4Runner. As soon as we got home we swapped the tent over to my FJC for another trip into Colorado's San Juan Mountains. Until recently, these had been the only modifications to the FJ.
And then, a few months ago, I concocted a plan to build my FJC into the Ultimate Off-Road Vehicle for Outdoor Photographers. My lovely wife was thrilled. Just thrilled. Luckily, we cut a deal. I could mod out the FJ but every time I added something new, she got to spend some quality time shopping on the internet. I may not be a smart man but after thinking long and hard (about .5 seconds) we shook hands and the deal was sealed. Actually I don't think we shook hands for I was too caught up in the moment, squealing like a little girl who just won a beauty pageant.
At any rate, I sat down and came up with some criteria for the build. I knew my goal was to build the FJ into a capable overlanding rig with a focus on the specific needs of an outdoor photographer in mind.
- The first and main priority is to build a capable, RELIABLE, off-road vehicle. I'm not building a gnarly rock crawler. I need a vehicle that is comfortable on-road as it is my daily driver but it also needs to be able to negotiate trails like Lockhart Basin, all the stuff in the San Juans, etc.
- Photographers tend to carry around a lot of expensive, power hungry equipment. It's a good idea to have a safe, secure environment in which to store it and the ability to easily recharge batteries in the middle of the middle of nowhere.
- We often travel to and from the locations we photograph in the darkness of pre-sunrise and post-sunset hours so we need enough auxiliary light to pummel the trail into submission.
- The last thing we want to do at the beginning or end of a long day is set up or put away a tent, inflate or deflate sleeping pads and pack away sleeping bags. And, it isn't uncommon to be in the field, away from civilization, for days on end with no way to replenish ice, water and food. My build needs to provide for a way to set up and tear down camp quickly, keep food refrigerated without ice and carry enough water and grub for several day's sustenance.
- Finally, despite all the advice to the contrary, we often head out into the wilderness alone. There are few people with the patience to put up with a dedicated nature photographer who might sit in one location for hours waiting for precisely the right moment to release the shutter. When we're out there alone we'd better damn well be able to self-rescue out of most situations.
- As a bonus, if I can use the rig to advertise my business, that wouldn't suck. Obviously, built up rigs attract attention so I might as well utilize that to my benefit, right?
With this criteria in mind I started planning out the build. First up - a partial wrap to advertise my business. Yeah, I know, it's not exactly a critical element of the build but I theorized that by starting with the wrap I might generate some extra business that would help offset the cost of the build. Sounds logical, right? And you know what? It's working. I had a friend with a sign business do the wrap for me and it turned out quite nice. Not long after the wrap was installed I realized that the stock silver rims needed to go. A quick trip to Chip's Grand Tire in Moab and I had a set of flat black Ultra Wheels "Bolt" wheels on order. Soon thereafter boxes started arriving addressed to my wife from places like Amazon.com, Title Nine and Banana Republic.
The only photos I've got on hand at the moment are a couple iPhone pics. I promise to post better photos as the build progresses.
Here's the pre-build FJ en route to Imogene Pass a couple years ago. I'd just finished leading a fall photo workshop in the San Juans and decided to drive over Imogene Pass on the way home. I didn't make it. Less than a 1/2 mile from the top I had to turn around in a whiteout as the road got too slick.
This is a photo on the Gemini Bridges road north of Moab. I'd just mountain biked the top section of Mag 7 and was on my way home. Obviously, this is after the wrap and wheels were installed with the RTT up top. In my next post I'll detail the first major mods (bumpers and a winch) and add some higher quality photos.
More to come in a few days...
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