[uphill]

FROM THE DEALER
2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser Model 4704C
Titanium
Upgrade Package 1 <ATRAC/Rear Locker>
CQ and C7 Convenience Packages
Curtain Shield Airbags
Roof Rack

Build Date: November 2006

Engine bay bulges/rips: First noticed 1/21/08 - bulged on both fenders @22K miles

Significant Mechanical Problems: None so far

• 
  ARMOR
• ARB Bull Bar - Front Bumper
• Fab Fours Rear Bumper
• Bud Built Front Skidplate
• Bud Built Middle Skidplate
• Bud Built Transmission & Transfer Case Skidplate
• Bud Built Rear Crossmember
• Bud Built Fuel Tank (Beefy) Skidplate
• Bud Built ARB Spacer Armor Plate
• Inchworm E-Locker Motor Skid
• Rear Lower Shock Skid
• Rear Trailing Link Skid
• Rear Differential Plate (welded)
• ARB Sliders (trail damaged but intact - considering the new Budbuilt Sliders as a replacement)
• ARB Slider Skidplates
• RealWheels Tail Light Guards (destroyed/trail damage - looking for a replacement)
  
  SUSPENSION AND TIRES
• Walker Evans Beadlock Rims
• Nitto Terra Grapplers - 305/70R17
• Demello Frame Chop
• Donahoe Racing Shocks and Front Coil-Overs
• Old Man Emu Heavy Duty Rear Coil-Overs (OME-896)
• Donahoe Racing Upper Control Arms
• Light Racing Jounce Shocks (Chubbies) replacing bump-stops
• After-Market Lower Control Arms with custom Currie Johnny Joints
• OEM Sway Bar Links re-installed - replacing All Pro - Ultimate Sway Bar Links
• Gorilla Lugs
  
  EQUIPMENT ADDITIONS
• Lowrance Baja 540C GPS & Freedom Maps Chip F103EX-S and F104EX-W & Shadow GPS R/V Mirror Adaptor Mount
• Man-A-Fre Auxillery (19 gal.) fuel tank <ordered>
  --Providing a total capacity of 38 gallons/143.8 liters of gasoline (Expedition load with 31.2 liters rooftop=175 liters) and off-road/expedition range of about 650 kilometers/400 miles running in 4H and a highway range exceeding 1050 kilometers/650 miles.
• Wet Okole Seat Covers
• Scanguage 2
• K & N Air Filter
• Aux. Optima Yellow-Top Battery
• Circuit Boss 7 Circuit Fuse Block
• 6 x REL40 40 Amp custom amber switches
• Stebel Nautilus Compact Air Horn
• Passenger-side arm rest
• Fuel Can Options: 2 x Wedco Jerry Cans (gas/water) (or) 3 X 2.5 Gallon plastic fuel tanks (or) 3 X 5 Gallon plastic fuel tanks
• Relocated Rear Differential & E-Locker Breather - Scuba Driver Mod.
• Fire Extinguisher
• ARB Safari Snorkel
• I-Pod
• Death-Stalker Scorpion transfer case shift knob
  
  COMMUNICATIONS
• Midland 75-822 Handheld CB Radio with Vehicle Adapter
• Antenna – 3’ Firestick/CB
• Bandi Mount
• Yaesu FT-1802 M/E 2 meter transceiver (65 watts output)/HAM
• Comet 3D5M mobile mounting hardware
• Antenna - Diamond NR-770HA 2M/70CM 3/5.5dB Mobile Antenna/HAM
  
  LIGHTING
• Airflow Headlight Covers
• Hella Black Magic 6” Driving Lights (mounted to ARB Bumper)
• N-Fab Front Light Bar/Bracket w/3 x Acro X1870M Driving Lights & 2 x 40 B/U PIAA Flood Lights
• N-Fab Rear Light Bar/Bracket w/2 x 40 B/U PIAA Flood Lights & 1 x LEDQUAD LED Strobe Light Bar
• 2 x Oznium Flexible Super Thin (red) LED Dome Lights
• 2 x Puck (white) LED Dome Lights
  
  TOOLS & TRAIL EQPT.
  [*]Fiskars Axe
  [*]Short Handle Shovel
  [*]Gerber NATO Folding Shovel (on Springtail rack - rear door)
  [*]Crowbar/Pry Bar
  [*]Eagle Talon (RJM Forge)
  [*]Husqvarna 350 18" Chain Saw
  [*]Jumper Cables
  [*]Tool Kit
  [*]JB Weld
  [*]Spool (1000 ft) OD Green Parachute (550) Cord
  [*]Roll(s) of 100 MPH Tape (milspec rigger's tape)
  [*]FJC Spare Parts Kit (on extended load-out): including 2xCV Boots, 2xCV Sway Bar Links, Serpentine Belt, rear lower control arm, front axel, spare fuses, tire valves, etc.
  
  GEAR STORAGE
  [*]Tuffy Roof Rack Lock Box
  [*]Pelican Cases - Allow modular load out depending on the nature of the trip.
  [*]All Phase Off Road Axe/Shovel Mount
  [*]Fourtreks HiLift Jack Mount
  [*]Fourtreks Dual Mount
  [*]Fourtreks Modular Roll Bar Handle
  [*]Springtail M-PAC rack and MOLLE gear
  [*]2 x Expeditionware Jerry Can Holders
  [*]Power Tank Roof Rack Mount - (Custom Fab using Four Treks parts)
  
  
  PNEUMATICS
  [*]20 lbs. CO2 Auxillery Tank (Internal Mount)
  [*]10 lbs. CO2 Power Tank (External Mount)
  [*]Ingersol Rand #2135 Ti (composite titanium) pneumatic impact gun
  [*]Power Tank Super Coupler
  [*]Power Tank HD Tire Inflator Handle
  [*]Oasis Trailhead Deflator
  [*]ARB Tire Repair Kit
  [*]Spare valves and valve cores
  
  
  RECOVERY
  [*]Warn XD9000 Winch
  [*]Viking Kevlar Winch Line (100')
  [*]Winch Safety Thimble
  [*]Viking Delrin Fairlead Rollers
  [*]Warn Hitch Shackle
  [*]30’ Rescue Strap
  [*]100’ of braided steel cable
  [*]ARB Snatchblock
  [*]Pull Pal
  [*]4 x 3/4 ton D-Rings
  [*]ARB Bushranger X-Jack
  [*]Hi-Lift Jack
  [*]WabFab Slider Attachment
  [*]Hi-Lift Jack Base
  [*]Hi-Lift Jack handle keeper
  
  
  EMERGENCY EQPT.
  [*]Basic Survival Kit (on standard load-out)
  [*]Large First Responder First-Aid Kit including an adult bag/valve mask
  [*]Smoke Grenades (pyro- red and green)
  [*]Chemlights (red and green)
  [*]Polish Model 78 Flare Gun (26.5 MM) with star flares
  [*]Lensatic Compass
  [*]Knive(s)
  
  

 

[MudLovingFJ]

I love the Scorpion. She is a true inspiration to all of us

 

[DominicG]

i still remember when it was... stockish, lol

 

[mattmainster]

The Scorpion is the ultimate FJ.

 

[oscarr]

uphill ur rig is truly amazing.Whats next???

 

[volhoo]

Your rig is awesome Larry...

;D

 

[wrigman]

Don't know how that THING even stay's together!

Alway's good to see the Scorpion!

 

[mir]

Nice blizzard photo - what run was that from?

 

[uphill]

The blizzard was from a run I took last week up near Payson, AZ into the Hell's Gate wilderness area. It's a very remote place, I was by myself and just about didn't make it out. In the process of getting out, I bent my Inchworm E-Locker Motor Skid and the hit was hard enough to damage the seal to the e-locker motor itself. There was a river, the water was up and I had to re-cross it a number of times. There was enough snow on the ground that I couldn't see where the road was - and wasn't in a number of places. The snow also concealed rocks and there was no way to judge "the line". On one of those crossings the bank dropped out from under me and I was slammed down onto a rock I hadn't seen. No time to cry - I had to punch it or I would have bogged down in the river and that would have been VERY BAD.

It all goes to throwing armor on the bottom if you plan to go where people don't usually go. I take heat because my FJ is heavy due to the armor plate, etc. In situations like that one where I would have had to walk twenty miles through a blizzard to the nearest habitation if the FJ broke down, it was nice to have the metal under me. I had the survival gear to make it out on foot -- but who wants to try?

I would have loved to have shot photos, but I had my hands full at the time. The photos I took (pictured) were after the fact once I got onto a County graded dirt road.

 

[mir]

For the kind of stuff we like to do, I really don't think there's much alternative to going heavy. And once you go heavy, you're right, it's very important to get armoured absolutely everywhere you can. And then go doubly or more redundant on recovery gear. And hike-out and survival gear.

 

[uphill]

Aftermath Carnage - Hell's Gate Run (AZ)

(1) R/F Unibearing failed after I got home, attributed to the run.

(2) Inchworm E-Locker Motor Skidplate took a hard hit - The skid was bent and needs to be "reformed" a bit and the e-locker motor gasket failed and needed to be replaced. I'm going to take it over to Jason DeMello and have him plasma-cut off part of the bent section and then heat and pound the other part back into shape then rattle can it.

 

[FJVP]

Larry,

I always enjoy reading these things from a man with the knoweldge and wisdom to learn from.

Thanks,

 

[Guest]

uphill ur rig is truly amazing.Whats next???

Can there truly be anything left to do to that beautiful rig? Well, other than fix the trail carnage....

LOVE you rig, and your wisdom, Larry!

 

[uphill]

Can there truly be anything left to do?

Oh, absolutely!

Air Search/Ground Search Radar​

I'm in the process of acquiring a Lowrance radar (rotating antenna under a shroud) to go where the Tuffy Box is now. Before you scoff -- withhold judgment until after you've been in a run in the desert with summer dust. It's horrible. The Lowrance 540c GPS allows for both air search (and weather) radar and configurations for closer range problems such as terrain avoidance (the FJ in front of me). You can scale the search for as short a range as about 25 feet, and out from there. It will also help in heavy snow situations such as those I encountered that led to trail carnage (earlier post) when I'm effectively in white-out mode and trying to navigate out by a combination of GPS and hopefully, radar. There are two antenna's I'm looking at. One gives me an air search range of 18 miles and the other one over 25 miles. No more worries about the CHP airplane sneaking up on me as I cross from CA to NV. ;D

I've spoken to Cruiser Larry about helping me set this antenna up and it's well beyond the planning stage. Now I have to scam the antenna. Yes, I could buy one but the cost ($1.2K) is such that it would be more fun to scam. Will I be successful? Ultimately I will be but these things take time to finesse.

 

[Fjamming]

Sounds awsome. I can't wait to see it.

 

[Guest]

I am truly in awe of the Scorpion.

 

[DominicG]

Wow.. when i thought you had the coolest FJ around, you find another toy!


All you'll need now is towable SAM launcher.

 

[Fjamming]

Larry, congrats on being green!

 

[Guest]

I thought there were no green FJ's? Unless he has bought a lot of "carbon credits"

Congrats on your Mod-ship! Please don't ban me.....

 

[FJ-Piper]

I can't wait to check out the radar one day. Nice looking Rig