Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

With the price of gasoline approaching $4.00 per gallon, more and more people are trading in their “gas guzzling” SUV or truck for a more fuel efficient vehicle. Most people simply think about much it costs to fill up their tank without considering the actual costs.

The way I figure it, I own my Land Cruiser free and clear. If I was to go out and finance a new vehicle, the payments alone would probably exceed $500 (and probably be much more). That’s a lot of gas I could buy each month.

I found a post on pricewheels.com that lays out the true costs of replacing your old vehicle. You can read it at Dumping Gas Guzzler For Fuel Sipper May Cost More Than You Think

Originally we had planned to meet in Montesano, Washington on Friday morning, however, because of a paving project on the Wynoochee Road from Montesano to Wynoochee Lake, the location of the meet up was changed to the Taylor Towne restaurant just South of Shelton.

Attending was Ray from Edgewood (driving his Toyota 4Runner), Kevin (riding with Ray), John in his Jeep YJ Wrangler, Dick (riding with John) and Randy from Shelton (riding with me in my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser).

Our goals for the this rainy spring day were to:

• Locate the train wreckage from the 1961 film titled “Ring of Fire”. During the filming of the movie they set an old railroad trestle and some passenger rail cars on fire and dropped them into the canyon. (See Brians site at Georgia-Pacific No. 9 and Ring of Fire Wreck Site for a great write up of the details of the movie and the wreckage site.)
• Visit the Wynoochee Dam and Lake.
• Visit the High Steel Bridge over the Skokomish River.

(more…)

Here are some photos from a run to the Capital State Forest near Olympia, Washington on Tuesday, February 26, 2008. You can view the photos at Capital Forest Run Photos

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your Land Cruiser if a large land animal attacked your vehicle? I’ve never gave it much thought. The odds are pretty slim that I’ll be charged by a bison (the heaviest land animal in North America). It’s much more likely that’ll I hit a deer in a frontal impact (that’s one reason why I installed a ARB Bull Bar).

Anyway, I came across this story and pictures that shows thew results of a Land Cruiser being attacked by a Rhinoceros. It actually held up quite well. You just had to duck when the horn came through the window.

You can see the original story at Rhino Collides with Landcruiser. Now I wonder what a elephant could do.

Since I’ve had my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser, I’ve only had to deal with a few electrical issues, the Center Diff Lock, the Window Actuator Motor and the Fusible Links from the battery. The first prevented the transfer case to lock up in four wheel drive, the second prevented the window from rolling up, and the third prevented the engine from starting.

Now that I’m a year into the ownership of the Land Cruiser, I’m onto my fourth wiring issue. The engine will simply not start. It started last Thursday when I made a run over to the Cle Elum River near Salmon la Sac. I had one episode where it would not start for about two or three minutes and then it started up fine for the the rest of the trip. On Saturday, it happened again, this time in the grocery store parking lot. This time it would not start until after about ten minutes of trying. Finally, this morning (Monday) when getting ready to leave from work, the little tractor motor would only spin and would not fire up. Of course, this was accompanied by record rainfall in Western Washington. Perfect timing.
(more…)

Having one successful storage box build behind me for my old Jeep YJ Wrangler, it was time to build a storage box for my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser. The storage box I built for my Wrangler was very simple. It was basically a box with one very large divided drawer that was bolted into the cargo area in place of the rear seat. In the storage box, I was able to store and provide easy access to all my tools, spare parts, recovery gear and spare fluids. Having all the above gear stored in a storage box allowed me to carry additional stuff (tent, sleeping bag, food, cooler, clothing, etc) on top of the storage box, basically doubling the cargo space. Gone were the days of having everything piled on top of other stuff. With the storage box, with a little creative packing, I even had room for my dog to ride in the back.

I purchased my 80-series Land Cruiser to be able to carry my family, my dog, and my adventure gear. The only way that this was practically going to happen was by building a storage box for the back of the Land Cruiser. In addition to the extra storage capacity, my needs list included an interior sleeping platform for my solo camping trips as well as having a place to install an auxiliary battery for my FJ80. Unlike the newer models (1993-97) of the 80-series Land Cruiser, there is no easy way to install the second battery on a 3FE powered (1991-92) FJ80 without heavily modifying the engine compartment components.
(more…)

When I purchased my 1992 Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser, the previous owner informed me that the four wheel drive system did not work. I knew the transfer case was a rebuilt unit so I figured it would be something simple such as a switch or a relay. Little did I know that I would spend hours trying to troubleshoot the problem. Hopefully this article will walk you through all the diagnostics needed to check the complete center diff lock (CDL) electrical system so you can figure out the problem much faster than I did.

You might ask, why did you spend hours diagnosing the problem? My answer is, I don’t like to spend money replacing parts when the part being replaced was not the problem. I’ve been a victim of paying people to do just that. Never again.

As in all repairs on the Land Cruiser, you should purchase the factory Toyota Repair Manual and the Toyota Electrical Wiring Diagram for your specific year of vehicle (order the factory manuals at techinfo.toyota.com). A Chilton’s or similar service manual won’t cut it when you are diagnosing specific issues. Invest the money in the factory manuals. It’s worth it if you (or your mechanic) does any diagnostics or repairs on your Land Cruiser. Purchasing the correct manual will pay off only after a few repairs because you will be diagnosing problems and not throwing parts at the problem until it is fixed. The reference for this article was the USA version for 1992 model year Toyota Land Cruiser. Even though there are similarities between all 80-series, there are differences between the various years of Land Cruisers and world markets so be aware of this when making repairs to your Land Cruiser.
(more…)

Toyota FJ Cruiser Wheels on my FJ80 Land Cruiser

Ever since I purchased my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser, I knew I wanted to replace the factory Toyota 15 inch alloy wheels and 31/10.50 BFG AT tires with larger tires and wheels. The primary reasons for wanting to complete this upgrade included:

• The “C” load rating of the 15 inch tires were being pushed to their limits with the weight of a fully loaded and accessorized 80-series Land Cruiser. I didn’t want to trust them very much longer on a 6000 pound vehicle.
• There are very limited tire sizes that will fit a 15×7 wheel. I wanted to run narrow 33 inch tall tires.
• I wanted to increase the ground clearance by a inch or more. Every inch in the vertical direction helps with a 112 inch wheelbase.
• The 31/10.50 tires looked very small in the abnormally large wheel wells of a 80-series Land Cruiser running the medium weight Old Man Emu (OME) suspension. Even my wife thought the tires looked small.
• In the future, I want to install a full float rear axle from a later 80-series Land Cruiser which requires a minimum of 16 inch wheels to clear the disk brake rotors and calipers.

With that in mind, I was planning on eventually acquiring an inexpensive set 16×8 black steel wheels and purchasing some narrow 33 inch all terrain tires to fit. My plan was to hold off on the tire and wheel purchase until I had the opportunity to regear my axles from a 4.11 to a 4.88 or lower ratio.
(more…)

A couple of my coworkers (Adam and James) had been planing a trail run to Evans Creek ORV for a little over week. My wife had plans to volunteer that day so I kept saying no. Finally, Thursday came and Adam needed to use my jigsaw to do a little wheel well trimming on his Jeep. Well my wife’s plans for the day changed and she said to go. Sweet.

Knowing very well that the trail system at the Evans Creek ORV area was not designed to larger vehicles like my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser, my intent was that we would stick to the easier trails and/or forest roads. So off we went for the day’s adventure.

Once we pulled into the parking lot of the Evans Creek, we were met by a group of three other Jeeps. We decided to tag along. The emotional fun of wheeling overcame my common sense that my Land Cruiser may not fit on the trails. Luckily there there was minimal recent rain.

I’m not sure what trail we started on because there was no sign (unless I missed it). I know it was just west of the day use parking area. We started off climbing from the road shortly an obstacle that gave a couple of the Jeeps a challenge. Basically the key was to keep to the left of a few rocks in the trail (easier said then done). The long wheelbase of my Land Cruiser definitely helped in this section. Because the trail was relatively dry, it was a pretty easy time in my FJ80 and the trail provided plenty of width to navigate my 112 inch wheelbase through the obstacles (if you’re not familiar with my Land Cruiser, I’m only running an 2.5 OME lift, 31 inch BFG AT tires and unlocked diffs).

We eventually came to trail 198 (which was marked “most difficult”). I was having fun and the trail wasn’t bad so far, so I decided to continue with the group. Well this section of trail ended up being very tight for my 80-series pig. There was quite a few close calls where the off camber sections would push me very close obstacles along side of the trail. I made several attempts to get around certain root but in the end, my flare hit it and I heard a cracking sound. I thought the flair was toast. Somehow, I managed to get by with only deep scrapes in my left rear fender flair.

A little further down the trail, there was a turn that I didn’t think I could make so I tried a alternate route. The path would initially lead me between two trees (with minimal clearance on each side). I should have gotten out and sized up the obstacle first, but I didn’t. I drove up over the roots of the tree and then got high centered on my side steps when my front tires dropped into the hole on the other side. Had I built up a ramp with readily available materials (logs and rocks) I probably would have negotiated the obstacle. To continue, I had to get winched off (the only time all day). After that, the trail was still tight but I was able pass the remaining tight sections with out problem (just throw in a few multi-point turns and some spotting).

After we reached the gravel forest road, we headed up Forest Road 7930 until we reached the ridge. Normally you have a great view of Mt. Rainier from this location but today, you could only see the lower part of the glaciers. In the opposite direction, there are views of the Puget Sound lowlands, however those views were limited by the cloud cover.

By this time, one of the Jeeps in the group headed out, so we took a little time to fire a few rounds through our guns. It had been a while since I shot my 9mm Ruger, but I was actually able to hit a fairly decent grouping at 20 yards. Adam had his .44 Smith cannon and shot a few rounds also.

After making some noise, we headed down to the main road in, stopping to play and take some photos along the way.

We were able to air up at Chuck’s Service & Gas in Wilkeson. We real appreciated the hospitality because air is not a normally provided service. At one time it was, but a few people ruined for everybody.

It was a fun day. If the weather was clear, I could have had some great pictures of Mt. Rainier. I got lucky that the conditions were mostly dry (except for a few puddles). If it had been wetter conditions, my BFG ATs would not have had any traction and I would have probably ended up sliding into something and denting a quarter panel (like James in his Cherokee). The only damage I suffered was some deep scrapes in the left rear fender flare and a little tweaking of my side steps. Would I take my Land Cruiser on those trails again? On the forest roads, not a problem. On the 4WD trails. Nope. The FJ80 is just too much body and wheelbase.

You can view all of the photos from this trail run at Evans Creek Trail Run Photos.

Initially, the family was only going to make a day trip to Oak harbor, Washington to visit friends for the day. However, since the forecast was for nice weather over the weekend, I suggested that we stay over night in a hotel and take the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula the next the morning and do some sight seeing. I suggested Cape Flattery as one possible destination.

Saturday morning, we made it out the door and headed North on I-5. The closer we got to Seattle, you could easily tell that there was a University of Washington Huskies football game in town by the school colors that were on nearly 1 out of 5 vehicles on the freeway.

Once we reached Burlington, Washington, we headed west on Highway 20. Along the way, there are views of Padilla Bay and Fidalgo Bay visible from the highway. It was low tide when we passed, so the mud flats were visible.

Our first stop along the way was at the Deception Pass bridge. After a few pictures and a quick peak to the water below, my wife elected to stay with the Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser while my daughter and myself ventured out across the bridge for better photo opportunities.

In addition to the normal traffic over the bridge, there was an organized bike tour on Whidbey Island, which meant much more congestion over the bridge.

To experience the views from the Deception Pass bridge, one must stop and get out of the car and walk. You miss so much by simply driving across. The views are fantastic. We were even able to spot a seal in the water below.

Once back to the car, we headed into Oak Harbor for lunch and then to our friends house just outside of town. After a short visit, we headed to the North Beach at Deception Pass State Park.

After some photos of the kids playing on the beach, I headed out with the camera and tripod for some additional photos of the shoreline. I ended up walking the shoreline from the beach, around the point to the beach just below the Deception Pass Bridge. Great photo opportunities all around. I could have easily spent hours taking photos of the diverse shoreline.

After spending a few hours at the park, it was time for dinner and the back to the motel so the kids could swim in the pool.

The next morning, we headed out to catch the 8:45 Keystone - Port Townsend ferry. I had forgot to set the alarm, so we had to rush a little. Luckily we made it with about ten minutes to spare and the ferry wasn’t full.

We were fortunate that the weather was sunny and the water was relatively calm, though cool. This ferry ride was the first for my wife and daughter. After about a 30 minute ferry ride, we arrived in Port Townsend, Washington.

Once in Port Townsend, we parked the Land Cruiser and searched for a coffee shop in the downtown area. After a coffee and a quick bite to eat, we strolled through the downtown area before heading out. Because of the time of day on a Sunday, most of the downtown businesses were closed.

From Port Townsend, we headed south on Highway 20 to US 101. Along the way, we had great views of Discovery Bay. Once we were on US 101, we headed west through Sequim and Port Angeles. We stopped in Port Angeles for fuel and lunch.

After lunch, we continued west on US 101 until we reached Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Park. US 101 follows the south shore of Lake Crescent and offers great views of the lake. Of course, we stopped along the way to take photos.

From Lake Crescent, we continued on US 101 through the Sol Duc River Valley. I pointed out the Kloshe Nanitch Lookout high above the valley floor.

When we reached Highway 113, we headed north towards the Straight of Juan de Fuca where the road intersects SR 112 where we headed west. From this junction, SR 112 also leads east to just outside of Port Angeles. Once we reached Clallam Bay and Sekiu, SR 112 follows the shoreline of the Straight of Juan de Fuca. This stretch of highway is another must do scenic drive.

At the entrance of the Makah Indian Reservation, there was a tribal police checkpoint that was inquiring about our destination. Later we found out that some members of the Makah nation illegally killed a whale the day before (that explains the TV news vans we saw later in the day). We made our way through Neah Bay, Washington and followed the sign to Cape Flattery.

The road to Cape Flattery was in the process of getting paved. All except the last three miles was fresh pavement. The gravel sections were in excellent condition and looks as though it will soon receive asphalt as well.

From the trailhead parking area, it’s about a 3/4 mile hike down to Cape Flattery. The trail is an easy hike through the forest, with many sections on wooden boardwalks over the more damp areas.

Once you reach Cape Flattery, there are great views of the Pacific Ocean, the Straight of Juan de Fuca, Vancouver Island, and the Cape Flattery Lighthouse on Tatoosh Island. Again, we had great weather.

By the time we completed the hike down to Cape Flattery, it was already mid-afternoon, which didn’t leave much time to do more sightseeing, so we had to start heading home.

The Olympic Peninsula has such a diverse ecosystem, including ocean shore lines, river valleys, lakes, rain forests to the alpine areas of the Olympic Mountains. There is so much to see on the Olympic Peninsula that it would probably take good week to visit all the places you can visit by car. I guess another trip will have to be planned to do some more explorations.

You can view all of photos of this trip at Deception Pass to Cape Flattery Photos.