The Scorpion

Re: Meet the Scorpion (Uphill's Build-Up)

Safari Snorkel: catching up with the rat pack

I ordered my snorkel when they first came out -- then the container was delayed from Australia -- then this and that came up and I ordered a snorkel from MAF to be picked up when the auxiliary fuel tanks were ready and they were delayed -- so I had the snorkel shipped out from MAF and it arrived yesterday.

The installation team arrived in a muddy FJ that might once have been sun fusion yellow and went to work immediately.


MUDLOVINGFJ ended up doing most of the work while MRSMUDLOVINGFJ cheered at the appropriate times.


I assisted MUDLOVINGFJ - with MATTMAINSTER'S hole saw.


Holes...lots of holes...big holes and little holes


And in the end, it looks great, works great and thank you MR & MRS MUDLOVINGFJ for coming over, providing great company, doing the bulk of the work & cheering with reckless abandon! And thanks to Matt for letting me use his hole saw because I'm too cheap to go out and buy my own.

Re: Meet the Scorpion (Uphill's Build-Up)


The Scorpion has evolved quite a bit in the past year and I'll be posting pictures next week of the most recent series of modifications.

I will be running one of the "heavier" FJ's on the road once I'm done with this latest series of modifications and It's not without some trepidation that I have bolted on armor plate. I have gone to OME Heavy Springs on the rear to compensate for more weight. I'm also trying to compensate with being smarter with the gear that I carry, having modularized everything so a load out consists of choices based on the particular run. I don't come loaded for bear whenever I go out.

For example: This Big Bear run started out as a mere "trip to Big Bear". I left the Hi-Lift at home (though I do have an X-Jack stored up top)



And a lot of the gear that I'd normally just have onboard wasn't there. I have two first-aid kits. One is stored in the largest orange EMT Pelican Case (a lot of stuff) and the other is in a red cross first responder bag (not as comprehensive). Sometimes the big orange case is loaded, but more often, it's not. This has to do with the trade-offs with "what do you have in the rig every day" and what do you have on trips/what do you take for the particular trip.

Unless it's an extremely unusual trip, the camp stove stays home these days as does a lot of extraneous gear like my chain saw unless I think it's going to be necessary. There isn't enough room in the FJ for everything so it's a matter of trade-offs and weight. Today I have an electric tea kettle that plugs into the back of the FJ and it's cup-o-noodles or freeze dried food if it's going to be a warm meal. I save weight and space. The weight trade-off going toward armor for the FJ - because coming home is more important than a deluxe trail meal. For those same reasons (space and weight) I haven't gone to an ARB refrigerator. I carry a small ice chest for drinks and the food is freeze dried.

This coming year, I'm contemplating a change in gear ratio but I'm not completely satisfied with the options out there so haven't taken the plunge.

Re: Meet the Scorpion (Uphill's Build-Up)

Shadow-Warrior said:

I know what you mean Larry, I found the biggest problem is what the best way to organize the vehicle for all the equipment needs to be carried. I'm now looking at Doc's M-PAC system for the rear door.

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I found the M-PAC system to be invaluable. Going back to a slick rear door without MOLLE pouches would shoot me into severe withdrawals. I have the axe up topside in the Tuffy box (note below).



I used to keep it on the rack but how often do you use an axe? Less frequently than a shovel. So the axe is packed. The shovel is valuable for trail building and so it's on the outside. I don't use the chainsaw in the desert, and desert driving is about 70% of my runs, so it stays home unless I'm headed for heavy timber. At least that's my thought process.


I can get into the MOLLE bags instead of into the Pelican cases for things I use most. It forces you to prioritize as you decide what needs to go where and I confess that I don't have it completely worked out. But I'm making progress. I have binoculars, basic tools, valve stems/cores, deflators, flashlight, lighters, basic first aid, etc. there in the pouches.

(note: The photo above shows the axe on the rack. It has since been moved into the storage box on the roof)

Re: Meet the Scorpion (Uphill's Build-Up)

Teotwaki said:

On easy trail runs you can travel alone and not bring too much gear. On hard trail runs it is best not to travel alone so no need for me to pack as if I was all alone.

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It depends on who I'm going with. In the example cited (load) I was going out for four nights with a group of guys I never met or ran with so I had to pack as if I was the only person on Earth. There is a lot of trust that has to be developed between me and people that I go with before I decide NOT to pack as if I'm the last surviving human. I have been let down many times in the past by the lack of preparation others have made.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere and the people I did things with understood as I did, that it's better to have and not need than the other way around. In the military, it was a team effort as well. Professionally I worked with teams of professionals. Going out on FJ adventures is another matter entirely and my personal obsession with not being left high and dry by others reflects in the way I built up the FJ.

Example: I was on a run with the FJC Trail Team and they didn't bring along enough fuel and ran out. I was pleased to give them some of mine. That doesn't bother me one bit. BUT my personal obsession is that I don't want to be the one who runs out due to planning. I feel the same way about firearms. I don't want to be standing somewhere with my yank in my hand because I wasn't prepared, didn't have the right tool or enough ammo.

The reason I use Pelicans is that I UNLOAD the rig at night in order to sleep in it. Heavy dew or rain means that the stuff inside nylon bags now stored outside the FJ will get wet. I've experimented with tarps, etc in the past but it's so much easier to sling Pelicans in and out that the stuff that will spend the night outside is in Pelicans. The stuff that will spend the night inside is in Parachute bags or in a rucksack.

I know that the Pelicans are heavy, but the gear stays dry and intact inside of them even if they have to spend the night in mud/snow/heat/elements. As with you, I pack the other gear in lighter bags.

One approach is to organize trail run particpants such that in a group of 5 vehicles there may be two Hi-lifts to be shared, one major medical kit, one prybar and so on. Enough to cover the needs of the team without needless duplication.

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PRECISELY. I'm working on a trip with Shadow-Warrior, Dragon, MIR207 and TCAO and we're approaching it that way. But most of the runs in SOCAL are done with whoever shows up. (back to the only man on earth scenario)

Re: Meet the Scorpion (Uphill's Build-Up)

Old School Bling -- added​

I admit, it's a vanity addition.imp: