The Fake Jeep Not a Real Cruiser Thread

[Bridger]

Incredible, incredible post!! Thanks for taking so much time to share this all with us. I had to laugh though, at your comment about a 'diaper change' in Telluride. Well, after looking at the pictures of the descent down Black Bear, I was thinking that I might need a change too.

I do have a fear of heights, and probably won't do Black Bear anytime soon. Certainly enjoyed the pictures though.

 

[upcruiser]

Incredible, incredible post!! Thanks for taking so much time to share this all with us. I had to laugh though, at your comment about a 'diaper change' in Telluride. Well, after looking at the pictures of the descent down Black Bear, I was thinking that I might need a change too.

I do have a fear of heights, and probably won't do Black Bear anytime soon. Certainly enjoyed the pictures though.

Ha ha, yeah, should have mentioned it was an adult diaper change. ;-) Funny the two times I have driven Black Bear Pass it was raining on the scary part. The first time in my 80's series, I had hurriedly installed the lift and never really dialed in the rear proportioning valve for the brakes. I was sliding the front tires down the steps, still have an o ring pucker mark in the front driver's seat. haha

Yeah, I decided to post all this stuff since it was stuff I was curious about before I bought the FJC and couldn't really find good opinions on. Hope it serves the purpose well.

 

[upcruiser]

Still wrapping up a busy winter of skiing but we have been sneaking down out of the snow to squeeze in some riding in Fruita. Mobile baby base camp :sombrero:




The reward...

I should be getting a nice package from Baja Rack any day now, will post up some pics of the roof rack upgrade soon.

 

[ripper1600]

Great thread I also read the blog the only thing I was wandering is when y'all are riding and skiing what do you do with the baby or is he backpacked?


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[voodoojk]

I think I passed you guys on 70 :wavey:

How are things with the kiddo? We have a 1yo and going to camp this year but.. I feel we are just paranoid and will take the house with us! Lol Do you take the pack n play and use that primarily?

 

[YotaPilot]

Your travels with an infant are an inspiration. Thanks for sharing. I am expecting my first child in July and hope to continue camping and traveling when he arrives.

Can you give some tips and techniques on traveling with such a young child? Any baby camping gear recommendations?

 

[Haggis]

Well Kristian, we just followed you down the rabbit hole. No, not with a new kid (I'm just trying to get my two out of the house) but with a newish FJC sitting in the garage. Its basically a twin of yours; same year, same color and options and though it wasn't exactly what we wanted it fit the bill the best out of all the options we had. Your thread here has been very helpful and I look forward to watching it progress along. Hope you and the family have some great times and memories driving that brick around.

 

[STREGA]

Still wrapping up a busy winter of skiing but we have been sneaking down out of the snow to squeeze in some riding in Fruita. Mobile baby base camp :sombrero:




The reward...

I should be getting a nice package from Baja Rack any day now, will post up some pics of the roof rack upgrade soon.

Nice pic of Steve's Loop (AKA hand cuffs), Fruita was my home for about 20 years and I spent many hours riding and building/maintaining the trails in the grand valley. Looking forward to reading more on your FJC build and adventures.

 

[upcruiser]

Great thread I also read the blog the only thing I was wandering is when y'all are riding and skiing what do you do with the baby or is he backpacked?


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Depends on what we are doing. If x Country skiing or relatively flat touring we use the Chariot with the ski attachments. For road biking I put the wheels on it and hook it up behind my bike, actually tows pretty well. Vail resorts doesn't allow infants on the hill for skiing so I can't take him out locally at the resorts to ski. For backcountry skiing I have him in the baby backpack ( a Kelty Base Camp). When we have the kiddo with us we stay in pretty safe slopes and well out of any area with any sort of avi risk. Mountain biking the two outings we have done this spring, we take turns with the kiddo while the other rides. Fruita works well for that, 18 Road you can lap from the camp ground as the trails all branch out from there. At Loma exit trails you can drive into the middle like in the picture of above and lap pretty easily on the trails. Outside of not getting to ride together it works pretty well. We use Pack and Play to set up an impromptu napping place. He is really content playing in the grass and lounging around outside of the play pen otherwise.


Skiing up in Mayflower Gulch

 

[upcruiser]

I think I passed you guys on 70 :wavey:

How are things with the kiddo? We have a 1yo and going to camp this year but.. I feel we are just paranoid and will take the house with us! Lol Do you take the pack n play and use that primarily?

Nice! Kruz is doing great. He's really developing a personality, he's now 8 months old. All of the camping trips we have done with Kruz so far were late last summer and fall. He was 2 weeks old on the first trip. We didn't bring a pack and play since he was so little. We are just plotting out a spring trip coming up and will be bringing the pack and play for sure. We haven't decided quite yet what all we need to bring for him. Probably one duffel of toys and books to read him, the pack and play and his clothes/supplies. Should be interesting. We were originally planning an overland trip in Escalante/Canyonlands this spring but now its likely going to be a mountain biking trip. Planning on Fruita, Moab, Sedona, St George, north rim of the Grand Canyon with some remote camping in areas along the way including Esclante on the way back.

 

[upcruiser]

Your travels with an infant are an inspiration. Thanks for sharing. I am expecting my first child in July and hope to continue camping and traveling when he arrives.

Can you give some tips and techniques on traveling with such a young child? Any baby camping gear recommendations?

Everyone told us our traveling and adventures would end with a baby but if anything we actually did more with the time we had available. When they are a few months old they are pretty easy. Ours slept almost constantly when he was in his car seat. It was really pretty easy. Now that he is more interactive and has more needs, like structured naps it will be more interesting. I will try to document it in out travels in my next blog. We are by no means experts, yet. Will probably have some good insights after this next outing. The Pack and play is nice to have as is the little baby pack i carry him in. We won't/can't bring the Chariot with us but with a supply of toys and things for him I think it can work well. It helps having a RTT with a lower room since it gives us pretty easy shelter options and ways to have some luxuries of home.

 

[upcruiser]

Well Kristian, we just followed you down the rabbit hole. No, not with a new kid (I'm just trying to get my two out of the house) but with a newish FJC sitting in the garage. Its basically a twin of yours; same year, same color and options and though it wasn't exactly what we wanted it fit the bill the best out of all the options we had. Your thread here has been very helpful and I look forward to watching it progress along. Hope you and the family have some great times and memories driving that brick around.

Ah, too funny. Do you still have the Tundra? Yeah, it wasn't our first option at first either. With the baby arriving the next day and a move to Colorado from Jackson 3 days after that I needed a solution pretty quickly. This was in the right place at the right time. We ended up really liking it which was a plus but if I had had some time I think we probably would have gotten a 100 series. I think when this little dude gets old enough to enjoy seeing scenery we will probably get another Cruiser or if my long term plans for my 80 come to fruition, that will become the family travel vehicle. What are your plans for your FJC?

 

[upcruiser]

Nice pic of Steve's Loop (AKA hand cuffs), Fruita was my home for about 20 years and I spent many hours riding and building/maintaining the trails in the grand valley. Looking forward to reading more on your FJC build and adventures.

Yep, exactly. We figured it would be a bit more of an enjoyable environment for hanging out with the baby out near the intersection of the Lion's Loop versus at one of the trailhead parking lots. Thats really cool that you were around for the founding of the trails in Fruita. It really is a gem. It has amazed me just how popular its gotten in the past 10 years. No longer a secret. Its a plus that it can be a day trip for us from Minturn. Makes me occasional one day a week off enjoyable. haha

 

[Haggis]

Ah, too funny. Do you still have the Tundra?

Hells yeah...what kind of knucklehead gets rid of a perfectly good 1st gen Tundra? Fafhrd is going strong as ever and will be in the family for a long time.

Yeah, it wasn't our first option at first either.

Well we found ourselves in a situation we weren't expecting and the FJC was the best solution. It's a long story and I don't want to clutter your thread with it.

...but if I had had some time I think we probably would have gotten a 100 series.

We tried to find a 2007 to 2009 V8 4Runner to replace my wife's '04 that we gave to my daughter. But as you know, here in the snowbelt these are hard to find as folks hold on to them forever.

What are your plans for your FJC?

We selected the FJC in part because it is so well equipped in stock form there isn't any real need to modify it for what we do. So "Stock as Possible" will be our mantra. I'll throw some good tires on it, but a bumper on it to protect it from the local mujihadeer, and swap out the "rock rails" that are on it for something with a step for the wife. Also as we might want to put our Maggiolina Extreme on it instead of the Tundra I want to ditch the behemoth stock rack for a flat rack to get the mounting height down for the Maggie. Than its just putting gas in it, loading it up and going someplace.

 

[upcruiser]

Ok, glad you still have it. We are thinking of picking up a 1st gen double cab for Julie in the next few years... that or waiting to see how the new diesel Colorado turns out. Once this thing is dialed our next project is going to be a pickup with a FWC or a Flippac for long trips. We were looking to do a Sprinter for big trips with lots of mileage, even found a good candidate but we are thinking now just to get a good pickup and have some options with living arrangements when we need it.

As stock as possible is our mantra too with this. My biggest gripe with the overall performance of the FJC is the spring rates. I think that will likely be the most involved upgrade we do. We are trying avoid adding too much crap on the rig, try to keep us well within the GVWR so it still is enjoyable to drive and creates less wear and tear on the vehicle.