November 2017 Rig of the Month: Basil
We'd like to congratulate Basil for having the November 2017 Rig of the Month!
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Hayden: Tell us a bit about yourself (age, family, school/job, hobbies, where areyou from, how long you’ve lived where, etc.)[Really whatever you’d like to share, like what you would tell someone if you were meeting them for the first time]?
Basil: Well first off thanks for having my FJ featured as the rig of the month! I am a 22 year old photographer, based out of San Diego, CA. I mostly work in the off road automotive industry, working full time for a company called Mad Media and also doing freelance gigs. Other than being a photographer I am also big into surfing, hiking, and just enjoying the outdoors.
Hayden: What is the story of how you got your FJ Cruiser?
Basil: Well the story is pretty funny, I was looking for a car before I left for college in 2013, I had searched all around and found nothing I loved. My mom had also been looking and she found a silver FJ at a Honda dealership about an hour away from us, she called and said “I found this really cute car at the Honda dealership, you should go look at it.” Well I went and checked it out and fell in love with the FJ, I drove it off the lot that day with 66,000 miles on the odometer. I guess I ended up with a “cute” car and turned it into the huge 4x4 vehicle it is today.
Hayden: Is the FJ Cruiser your first off-road vehicle? If not what was the first vehicle you took wheeling?
Basil: My first vehicle was a 1969 International Scout 800a, I grew up on Eastern Long Island where we are allowed to drive on the beach. So I grew up driving trucks on the beach, but the Scout was my first 4x4 car I owned.
Mod List:
Wheels/Tires
- 315/75/16 Yokohama Geolander G003 MTs
- 17" VTX Wheels Rouge in grey
Suspension
- Fox 2.5” coilovers with reservoirs in the front
- Icon 2.5” piggyback shocks with Old Man Emu Heavy springs in the rear
- Total Chaos upper control arms
- Toytec HD lower rear control arms
- Metal Tech rear upper control arms
Armor
- Full Ricochet aluminum 1/4" skids
- Demello evil eye front bumper
- Expedition one rear bumper with swingout
- Trail Gear rock sliders
Overland Gear
- Snomaster expedition series 82D fridge/freezer
- 2 Goal Zero 100w solar panels, hood mounted and roof mounted
- Alu-Cab Expedition III tent
- Alu-Cab Shadow Awning
- 2 sets of Maxtrax recovery boards
- Partner Steel stove 22”
- Goal Zero Yeti Lithium 1400 solar generator
Electrical
- Pair of Baja Designs XL80s, combo beam, bumper mounted
- Single Baja Designs XL pro, spot beam, bumper mounted
- Pair of Baja Designs Squadron Pros, amber wide beam, low fog mounted
- TYT 9800 quad band ham radio
- Radio Shack CB radio
- Scangauge II
- Off Grid Engineering custom dual battery kit
- Dual Switch-Pros switch panels
Extras
- Line-x painted roof
- Snorkel
- Factor 55 prolink
- Hi-Lift
- Nitro 4.56 gears
Hayden: What modification has been your favorite or has been the most worth the money/time/effort that you’d recommend it to someone else?
Basil: My favorite modification so far has been my Alu-Cab Roof Top Tent and Shadow Awning. Being able to set up a tent and awning in under 60 seconds is pretty amazing, I never feel stressed out about setting up or breaking down camp, which is really important with how much I travel in the FJ. Second place has to be my Snomaster fridge, not having to deal with ice and soggy sandwiches is pretty awesome.
Hayden: What upgrade has been your least favorite, or what modification would you do differently if you had to do it over again?
Basil: One thing I wish I did was upgrade suspension properly first, I went the cheap route first and ended up switching it 2-3 times until I was somewhat happy with how it rode. I’m still not 100% happy with the ride, but it’s good enough for now.
Hayden: Where all have you been with your FJC? What trail/park/location is your favorite?
Basil: Hmmm that’s a hard question, I’ve driven to every state in my FJ. I bought it with 66,000 miles 4 years ago, it has just over 172,000 Miles now, so I travel a ton in it. One of my favorite places I’ve taken it was Alaska, the Dalton Highway up to Proudhoe Bay was one of the most amazing drives I’ve done, just shy of 1,000 miles of dirt roads located north of the arctic circle.
Hayden: With the recent announcement of your FJ going up for sale, what is your next step going to be? A new build possibly or are you saying goodbye to the off road/overlanding scene?
Basil: Well I was trying to keep it a bit of a secret, but I guess I’ll reveal it to my FJ family. I am going to be switching to a 2000 F250 with the 7.3l diesel, 4x4 and a custom composite camper on the back. My goal is to move into the truck full time in the next 6 months and start to travel and work more freelance jobs along the way. If anyone is interested in purchasing the FJ all of the details are here: http://bit.ly/FJSale
Hayden: Were there any trails/parks/locations that you weren’t able to take you FJ to that you really wanted to go to?
Basil: One place I wish I was able to explore more is the Northeast, I grew up in Southeastern, New York. But wasn’t really into camping and off roading while I lived there, I’ve always wanted to go back and explore more.
Hayden: Has anyone on the forum or FJ community inspired your build or been a go to resource for you?
Basil: I started building my FJ when I moved to Colorado for my first year of school, mainly to get further into the backcountry to shoot photos. The biggest help and inspiration to my build when I first was starting was the entire Colorado FJ Community, they coached me and helped me build my first true off road vehicle.
Hayden: What has been the most memorable/favorite experience with your FJ Cruiser?
Basil: Most memorable experience was probably driving it to Proudhoe Bay, AK the furthest point North in North America you can drive. Second has to be almost flipping it on the trail Hell's Revenge in Moab, Utah.
Hayden: What are you going to miss most about owning an FJ Cruiser?
Basil: I’m going to miss how unique the vehicle is, there’s not much else on the market that is like the FJ. I’ll also miss the community, being apart of such a tight knit group has been awesome.
Hayden: Someday down the line do you see yourself returning to the FJ Cruiser family or is selling the FJ closing the door for good?
Basil: Yes! I’d love to return. Maybe when I’m done living out of my truck I’ll sell that and return to a FJ. Hopefully they will have a new refreshed version by then!
Hayden: Any additional thoughts about your FJ or FJ Cruisers in general you’d like to share, or possibly advice to your fellow forum members, especially newer members?
Basil: One thing I’d like to say to the community is don’t be distracted by everyone else’s vehicles, build your FJ to work for you. Everyone’s FJ should be unique to what type of off roading they do, or what type of store they drive to at the mall, hah! Thanks again for having my FJ featured as the rig of the month and a huge thanks to the FJ community for being so awesome and pretty much helping start my photography career.
If anyone would like to keep following my adventures here are some links you might be interested in!
www.BasilLynch.com
www.Instagram.com/BasilLynch
www.Facebook.com/BasilLynchPhotography