4x4

1988 Toyota 4 Runner 4x4
When desert terrain demands the most from a 4x4, I choose my 1988 Toyota 4Runner. The Runner is powered by a 22-RE 4 cylinder engine and 5-speed transmission.

The Runner recently became more trail worthy with the addition of a Strait axle conversion. Long gone are the days of little wheel travel with the stock independent front suspension. The Runner now runs a 85 Toyota front axle with 4:56 gears and a Detroit tru-trac limited slip differential. The front springs are 4 inch lift long travel springs along with all the conversion parts, total lift is close to seven inches. It easily clears the 33 inch BFG's. The steering is a hy-steer cross-over set-up that keeps the tie-rods away from the rocks. All suspension parts are from Marlin Crawler.

The rear end got a set of massive 56 inch long leaf spring packs that are capable of nearly 21 inches of wheel travel. The rear diff is stuffed with a Detroit locker. All four corners received Bilstein 5125 Shock Absorbers.

A soft top from Specialty Top Company keeps the rain off the kids and we can ride safari style by simply rolling up the sides and back window.

The rest of the Runner is pretty much stock. It does have a new CD/Radio, a Midland CB and XM satellite radio.

2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser

Whoever said that a extreme trail can't be run in comfort never drove a cruiser. It might not have the ground clearance (yet) to run Surprise Canyon, but it makes easy work of most of the trails Death Valley has to offer.

My Cruiser is Voodoo blue and sports a 4 liter V6 and 5-speed automatic transmission. The drive train includes Toyota's active-trac four wheel drive system and rear locking differential. The transfer-case is a two-speed part-time model. Upgrade packages 1&2

This "box stock" 4x4 is very capable in its stock form, but a few upgrades are in the planning phase in order to make it more of an expedition rig.

1997 Thor Pinicle Motor Home
Well, It's not a Toyota, or a 4x4, but since I'm showing off my rigs, I might as well show of my camp-site on wheels/Tow rig. aka "The Panamint Canonball"

Sure, I still find myself sleeping in remote cabins or the occasional abandoned mine tunnel but whenever possible, I like to camp in comfort. This is also my way of getting my wife to come out on my trips more often.

The Cannonball is our 1997 30ft Class A Thor Pinnacle Motor home. Built on a Ford chassis with a 460cid V8 4sp auto with overdrive. Power everything. It sounds like a mean beast with the custom four inch dual exhaust and headers. It has a Dana 80 rear-end and the GVRW comes in at 25,000 pounds.

The coach has a bedroom with walk-around queen bed. Full bath plus separate shower. Four person dinette and a full size couch. There's also a swivel chair and the driver and passenger chairs will swivel around.

It has seat belts for eight. The couch and din-net fold down to sleep two each for a total of six peaceful sleepers.

Comforts include console air plus twin roof air conditioners for those hot DV nights, 35,000btu furnace, six gallon fast recovery water heater, three burner stove with oven, microwave, and a tri power fridge with freezer. The front mounted 20 inch TV has a DVD/VCR combo unit for the kid's movies. The rear bedroom has a DVD player with twin screens.

The front console houses all the bells and whistles needed to keep track of all functions while under-way. Besides the reguler gages, there is a weather station, altimeter, and brake controls for the trailer. CB radio and CD/Radio with XM satellite radio keep me informed of weather and road conditions.

All the lighting runs on 12 volt power from the deep cycle batteries. There is a small solar panel on the roof that recharges the batteries but I'm thinking of upgrading to a larger panel soon. There are inverters on board to keep the batteries charged when running shore power or the 5KW Onan generator will insure a constant supply of AC/DC power.

There is a 75 gallon fuel tank, 75 gallon fresh water tank and the Grey and black water tanks are 50 gallons each.

With a basement running the full length of the coach, I have ample storage for tools, gear, spare parts and firewood.

1998 Carson Car Hauler
For my trailering needs, I use a top quality Carson Car Hauler. It is a tandem axle model with a 14 foot deck and electric brakes. It also has a forword mounted storage box and LED brake/running lights.