The Great OOTdoors
I've been meaning to start a thread like this for quite awhile now, and I figure since I've been cooped up in the house all week, now is as good a time as ever.
If you don't feel like firing up your own dedicated thread, then this is the place to post about your outdoor adventures. Whether you've been hiking, fishing, camping, climbing, walking, or just enjoying nature in general, you can discuss it here and share some pictures if you are so inclined.
I'll start off with just a few local hikes from the past couple months. Living in a city of 200K+ in one of the larger metro areas in USA#1, I feel pretty lucky to be able to drive just 10 minutes to get away from all the noise and congestion to explore our natural environment.
These first few places may not quite be the wilderness, but I enjoy being outside nonetheless.
Out along SF Bay in Coyote Hills:
feels like you can walk out to the middle of the bay on this levee
*******
hiking up around Mission Peak, where urban sprawl meets mother nature:
the state flower
it blows my mind that this shell encrusted rock on the top of the hill was once at the bottom of an ocean.
long legs!
I think I've posted this one before, but who doesn't like a flock of big clumsy birds under a tree?
*******
while on a hike in the Hayward hills we found this guy:
apparently something recently had kingsnake on the menu, judging by that big bite taken out of his side
bye kingsnake!
Thank you for such a thorough post! I just installed some MOLLE panels in the rear of the Runner and mounted my first aid kit, tire repair kit, and fire extinguisher. I’m going to mount some of my other recovery tools soon.
I will eventually get a winch but want to get some rock sliders and a proper roof rack, first. In the meantime, I’ll probably just keep a come along in the rig and hope I never need to use it.
Have you ever heard of or use
I have molle panels along both sides in the back as well as on the rear door. I couldn't find what I wanted at a decent price for the sides that were made for the FJ so I bought ones made for the 4runner and cut and bent them to work.
Rock sliders are on my todo list. Place I want to order from takes 4-6 weeks so they probably wouldn't get here for this trip so I'm going to wait to do those later. I kept a come along in the truck before I had the winch. Thankfully never had to use it.
I've seen small bottles that do the same as the lifesaver but never a can that big. I've never considered getting one as the places I go tend not to have any water so there is no point. I have a 5 gallon water jug, use the melted ice for washing dishes and the dogs, and bring a bunch of bottled water, Gatorade and coke. Most trips I take are less than 2 days so taking enough water has never been an issue. If I lived somewhere that had streams/lakes and I was going to be out for a week I would defiantly look into that so I didn't have to carry so much water.
assuming you already have the vehicle but without any modifications, just a standard one off the lot - how big an investment are we talking to soop it all up, ie i watched that vid and I'm thinking the cost of a winch alone is probably several thousand dollars
I bought my FJ 2 years ago for $28k. Reason I picked this one over others is it already had most of what I wanted on it.
$1000 - winch
$1300 - front bumper to hold winch
$1300 - roof rack
$800 - rear bumper
$2000 - 6" lift kit
I then added:
$2000 - wheels (I took the wheels off my 4runner that I wrecked, so didn't really cost me anything, put the shitty wheels the FJ had on them on the 4runner which I sold for parts)
$2400 - tires
$200 - compressor
$100 - emergency battery Portable Jump Starter
$65 - fire extinguisher
$200 - tow ropes
$265 - deadman v2
$100 - big jack
$100 - traction boards
$200 - gas cans and mount
$150 - shovel, pick axe, axe
$300 - light bars
$300 - molle boards to mount stuff
$50 - wood to make bed
$50 - mattress for bed
$200 - tarp that mounts on back of truck for shade
$1000 - all the camping ****, coolers, water jug, stove, table, chars, tents, sleeping bags, cots,
You can easily spend $10k but if you're just doing dirt roads that aren't too hard with some small rocks you could get away with a stock 4runner, tundra, bronco, or a chevy/ford/dodge 4x4 pickup. Add a come along, some safety stuff listed above and some camping gear and you're good to go. You can order broncos with 35" tires which will get you to even more places. Before the FJ I had a pretty stock 1997 4runner that I took off roading. It couldn't do what the FJ can but I picked easier routes and avoided big rocks/drop offs/steps.
https://www.overlandtrailguides.com rates the trails and tells you what you need to get by. Most of the trails they rate are marked "stock 4x4 truck or suv"
thanks, really appreciate it, seems more affordable than i would have guessed
MUCH better... so comfortable and natural feeling.
I have molle panels along both sides in the back as well as on the rear door. I couldn't find what I wanted at a decent price for the sides that were made for the FJ so I bought ones made for the 4runner and cut and bent them to work.
Rock sliders are on my todo list. Place I want to order from takes 4-6 weeks so they probably wouldn't get here for this trip so I'm going to wait to do those later. I kept a come along in the truck before I
What place are you looking to get sliders from? RCI is on the top of my list, currently.
10.....or 30k
Rickroll, Can I give you my wife's phone number and tell her how affordable this is?
https://budbuilt.com/2007-2014-FJ-Cruise...
dammit. you made me look and it's down to 1-4 weeks. decisions decisionons
I really like the RCI stuff. I want the skid plates from there.
Man, you’re organized with your mods!
How do you like the roof top tent? I’m leaning toward either just a ground tent or possibly an SUV tent where I can open the rear hatch and connect the tent to it. Kids can sleep in the back of the Runner and wife and I in the tent but it all looks like one big tent.
well still an expensive hobby but not outlandish as i originally imagined, ie i know from the campervan world than a fully decked out camper van where professionals do the mods runs over 6 figures and since installing a winch requires a lot more engineering than a solar panel where a solar panel installed unproperly just means no microwave whereas winch installed incorrectly means no front of vehicle
ie i could do the camper van stuff myself, there's no way i could install a winch by myself
so i was looking and assuming you couldn't get into overlanding without six figures set aside, to find you can attain that for less which is dope
also really cool to learn that you can sort trails by stuff that off the lot 4x4s can handle
Man, you’re organized with your mods!
How do you like the roof top tent? I’m leaning toward either just a ground tent or possibly an SUV tent where I can open the rear hatch and connect the tent to it. Kids can sleep in the back of the Runner and wife and I in the tent but it all looks like one big tent.
love it. it's a king size bed up there so there's not much to dislike 😃 can store all my bedding up there as well.
not a big fan of the 160+ weight up there but I'm over built for the light off-roading I do.
frontrunner rack. bolts to the rollbar
Broken YouTube LinkSo, I hit a nice little summit today. Nothing spectacular as it is in the 90s now and that makes mountains tough. Lake Roosevelt off in the distance.
That’s not the fun part.
I hike back down to my truck and find a couple, in their 60s, I’m guessing, looking miserable. Clearly they are not used to the heat.
Long story short, their vehicle broke down and we are 20 miles from just getting cell service let alone finding someone that can help. No problem, I’ll get them to civilization.
They’re out wandering the American Southwest on a 6 month odyssey.
Here’s the thing, they are a French couple. The lady has a bit of English but the husband has none.
I’m almost pissing myself with excitement. 5 years of French I have under my belt. 3 in high school and 2 in college. This is my first chance after all these years to use my skills out in the wild.
I just start yapping and they light up.
Right up until they start replying. I’m catching about every 9th or 10th word. So sad. It’s too thick and I just can’t sort it out.
We had a good laugh when I told them they don’t sound anything like those tapes I had to listen to in school.
Currently in Dell City Texas about to head north into the boonies
