[Dick Mellon]

Did you put the Pizza Cutter 34's on before you modified the suspension?
I linked here from the "max tire size," in the newbie discussion.
After reading that "max tire size" thread, I'm still not clear on exactly what will fit with zero modifications to the clearance.

Here in the Philippines, I don't dare let a Filipino touch my suspension.

There were 38 FJs and almost 60 people

Toyota Philippines does not sell the FJ, so, there are only a handful in the whole country. No warranty and a three week wait for parts. That's the trade-off for having the only one in town.

If I need, "community," I come to this forum.

 

[Fjamming]

I added the LTBs after I had the 3" lift. There's no way they're going to fit properly without the lift. With forward caster, I did not have to chop the mounts though.

With the rarity in Philippines, you must feel like a celebrity at times . How expensive was it get it there?

 

[Fjamming]

Recently I've been working with Baja Rack to have a custom rack made. The rack is done, but the mounts still need some modification. During the course of the install, the rear passenger side's capture nut-sert fell through the headliner. This has already happened once a few years ago. It's a real pain. Last time around, Longo Toyota helped me out just because they were nice. I've had to do the work myself this time.

The headliner has to come off. DoWork's post was excellent (http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/interior-exterior-visual-tech/81973-how-headliner-removal-dynamat-install.html#post1331042) but I do have a few things to add. For the most part, the trouble spot is near the rear. The side and upper panels can be troublesome. Since the side panels clamps in the headliner, they need to up and away. To get them to separate from the body takes some effort. If you're standing at the door and facing the back, you would want to push the upper side panel backwards and away from the body. The insert pins will then pop out. It takes some effort. Once those are up and out (you don't have to remove them, just need room to work), move to the back and push the upper panel up and out. Use a screw driver or butter knife to help coax the panel out. Again, takes some effort. Once both are up and away, you can then encourage the headliner out. Start from the door and move backwards. Be careful not to bend it too much, it will crease. You'll be suprised how stiff this material is.

The troubled part.

Headliner down

Wires in the headliner.

What holds the roof rack bolt. Notice the silvery clip. If that clip falls, the black capture nut-sert will fall down.

Those falls out easily so I applied strong tape to the remaining ones just in case I need to mess with the rack again.

Misc. pics of what's up there. Notice the side airbags. The capture nut has been removed in this picture.

Rear passenger side area.

I did drop one of the panel pins down. They clip on the panel and do fall out easily. I wasn't in the mood to try and find out how to remove the side panel completely so I left it there . Seems to be ok.

Remember to use silicone to coat the bolts when you install the roof rack so it will stay waterproof.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[jeshua]

You forgot pictures of your rack!

 

[Fjamming]

You forgot pictures of your rack!

Considering it's work in progress, it's best to leave it be for now! :lol:

 

[bnomad73]

sorry to revive an old thread but...Where did you get the folding table for the rear door. What brand is it, did you have to do any mods to make it fit?

Thx

 

[Fjamming]

sorry to revive an old thread but...Where did you get the folding table for the rear door. What brand is it, did you have to do any mods to make it fit?

Thx

It's not a problem. The thread isn't old unless it goes unnoticed. I purchased the tray from Pitproducts.com but had to add brackets and bracing to the backside of the panel so it would support the weight.

Here's the write up on the tray: http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/member-build-ups/48064-fjammings-genie-4.html#post834844

 

[Fjamming]

Had an amazing Memorial Weekend. Spertierra had set up a great event at Alabama Hills (Lone Pine). It was a weekend of camping, off roading, exploring, and rock climbing. Found out what was wrong with the squeaking as well. Just before the trip, I found the shock shaft was dry as bone and a shot of silicon grease silenced the porpoise pod.

Alabama Hills was a 3 hour drive from Pomona. Left on Friday afternoon right after we picked up the kids. This is the first time I got to use the Bajarack. Put a big Lund 15 cu.ft. bag on top ($15 from 4WPs after $25 coupon). The bag held up great as the stock straps was adequate in keeping them in place. Had 4 sleeping bags, 4 camping chairs, a 8 person tent, tripod, and couple of miscellaneous items up there and it still had some room to spare. I've had some issues with the Bajarack wind deflector. It was making noise when there's vibration or strong wind. Adding foam tape to critical areas helped in silencing the rattling, but did not eliminate it completely. I would say a 50% reduction with additional foam. I'll have to look more into this at some point. The rack was great otherwise. The All Pro swingout was very useful. Venting gas is easy and I've used it as a ladder to get up onto the rack .

We left the house around 3:30pm and leisurely made our way up to Lone Pine. We got there around 7:45pm. Found a nice spot next to Gary (Nevadesh) and Steve (Sanderhawk). Both were very helpful in assisting in setting out our Taj Mahal :lol:.

I liked the extra room in the tent. Could put all sorts of stuff in there and didn't have to make multiple trips out to the car for items.

With the tent all setup and a good meal consumed, we had a chance to head out and do some night exploration. Got too dark for photos.

 

[Fjamming]

The next day we decided to follow Nevadesh for a run to Darwin and Cerro Gordo. It's a easy ride that was very scenic.

Meeting up in the morning. Briefing by Spertierra

Misc photos of Darwin.

There were plenty of chances to take photos. Thank you Gary!

 

[Fjamming]

On the way to Cerro Gordo from Darwin, we found some mines, old water pumping stations, and an odd koi pond.

It looks like the pond may have an underground stream. It was a nice place for lunch. Weather was perfect. 65 deg, but felt like 75 under the sun.

 

[Fjamming]

 

[GTKrockeTT]

good stuff tony, wish i was there.

 

[Fjamming]

Heading into DV.

Arriving at Cerro Gordo! The locals weren't very friendly though. There was a lady who tried to shoo us away. She was on the phone and even from a distance, we can hear her shouting something about people on her property. We were on the road!

Interesting little place. Too bad she had such a bad attitude. Would've been fun to stick around and look a bit.

 

[Fjamming]

Cerro Gordo sit about 7200 feet elevation so the descent was rapid and breathtaking. With Mt. Whitney in the background, I had to stop frequently for pictures!

 

[Fjamming]

good stuff tony, wish i was there.

Thanks Doug. Wish you were too! It's been too long. I'll be at Sedonafest this weekend and I can't wait. Although I missed Cruise Moab this year, I still feel lucky to have gotten some wheeling in. It did seem that I'm transitioning to longer trips though. Or is that just an excuse to buy more expedition gears. :spineyes:

I want to visit that place up the coast that you've posted about sometime later this Summer.

 

[Fjamming]

Finished Cerro Gordo fairly early so there was plenty of time to poke around Lone Pine. Beautiful place.

Heading back into Alabama Hills, we found this beast...

Some pics near camp.

Kids had a chance to climb rocks while we prepared dinner.

Darth Vadar?

 

[Fjamming]

Look who showed up! Pokerdawg and Mrs. Pokerdawg.

Wife made some delicious beef noodle soup. It's 7pm but there still some sun so we headed back out toward the north side of Alabama Hills.

 

[Fjamming]

Sun is starting to set and it has added color to the desert.

Heading up Whitney Portal Road. We didn't go all the way, but will have to come back. Place looks really promising.

Got back after dark. What a wonderful full day. Eric and Gary started a fire and was having fun melting marshmallows.

Headed to bed around 10pm, but couldn't sleep so I went back out to take some night photos with the new camera that I have.

 

[uphill]

That looks like a great trip and that fun was had by all. Death Valley is hard to beat!

 

[Fjamming]

Sunday morning bright and early. As soon as the sun is up, I lost any lingering feelings for the sleeping bag. Grab some snack, the keys, and wandered out of the tent as the rest of the family is still deep in their dreams.

Drove around for an hour and found that the place is probably best explored on foot. The rocks take on different shapes from different angles. Sunday's run was "Spert's Big Eruption". Kokopeli lead the group and a fantastic journey it was! The first leg was up a steep climb to the base of a snow capped mountain.