Schattenjager's 1997 LX450

[Sempertoy]

Long time no post, what's been going on with the LX? Any cool adventures? Or are you just too busy running away from hoards of women since you snorkled your rig?

[Schattenjager]

Well, my love for the Cruiser just goes on and on. We recently made a fairly epic trip for winter - Alaska to Colorado. Temps varied from mild to -40 with colder temps providing better road conditions. When it 'warms' up to the high teens and 20's the roads become slick and dangerous. I pulled a double axle U-Haul loaded to the gills, averaged 6.7 MPG and made the trip in 6 days. Harsh weather made the trip last a couple days longer than I estimated, but hey, no biggie.

The Cruiser performed better than expected with no - that is to say ZERO - issues at all. I would have been fearful to make the trip in other rigs, but the reason the Cruisers hold their value so well is the same reason I had complete confidence in it making the long journey pulling a heavy load. The trailer suffered with two flats. Thankfully I live by the mantra 'Chance Favors the Prepared Mind' and had my ARB tire kit and air compressor at the ready. Other than hearing wolves less than 50 yards away while I affected the repair, all went smoothly.

Three mods that crossed my mind during the trip as being worth the money 10X over were the LandTank MAS mod which kept the power up - the AJIK PHH bypass kit which was great peace of mind - and the ScanGuage II which helped me keep an eye on things down to the decimal. The OME suspension worked very well too. I was able to keep 99% of the gear in the trailer, so Atlas, the uber GSD pup, and the cat Mariah had plenty of room to lounge. I used the pintle hook as recommended by MoGas and it proved to be perfect. No extra crap bolted to the truck, the rear cross member more than up to the task, and the hook / ball combo was very easy to work with.

Since we are a visual bunch - here are some iPhone quality pics to give you a little idea of the trip as related to the Cruiser:

Not sure why some pics are not showing up... You can click the link if you care to see them.
The Pintle Setup:
Attachment 88845
14507560.jpg

Night prior to Departure:
Attachment 88846

Atlas, a la Ginch who Stole Christmas!
Attachment 88847

Along the way:
6cde6353.jpg
32bb6d14.jpg
cf892383.jpg
bb5e730b.jpg
bbf067d1.jpg
c1b1b9d4.jpg
fe033f7c.jpg

[Mauka2Makai]

Alaska to Colorado in 6 days... Yeah that sounds like a pretty epic drive. Glad your back.

[Sempertoy]

Welcome back! It's been a while. I have news for you that I haven't posted on my build yet! I got my hands on some Fj cruiser steelies! Not 80 spec but Toyota OEM!

[bernardbarbour]

Sitting beside the Snow mobile at the gas pump! "Priceless" Thanks

[Schattenjager]

Here is a 'solid' argument for solid axle vs. IFS. I traveled this path more than a few times in my Tacoma ('05, OME etc. etc.) and it NEVER went smoothly. The same line with the cruiser is a non-event. Anyway - fun day at 11,897 feet altitude!

77acf09f.jpg j

[hakalugi]

Here is a 'solid' argument for solid axle vs. IFS. I traveled this path more than a few times in my Tacoma ('05, OME etc. etc.) and it NEVER went smoothly. The same line with the cruiser is a non-event. Anyway - fun day at 11,897 feet altitude!

nice, good to see your thread, and truck, still going strong.