Toyota OEM cabin filters (and knockoffs) cost between $15 and $20 on the Internet depending on the brand, shipping and who you purchase from. You can make your own for as low as $2.00? It’s crazy but true, you can make your own cabin air filter in minutes with easily available materials.
Stop by the pet store and pick up aquarium filter material, the polyester cut to fit stuff that runs around $6.00 a sheet. You will get a couple of filters from a single package of aquarium filter material. We like using a furnace filter called “Web Absorber”. This statically charged material includes a layer of carbon covered fiber that absorbs odors. While the Absorber will cost between $10 and $20, you will get four of five cabin air filters from one 20″x25″ furnace filter.
Lay out the material on a flat surface you can cut on. Using your old OEM cabin filter as a template, trace it out with a Sharpy onto your filter material and then cut out along your traced lines.
To assemble it, I like to start by laying a dryer sheet into the cabin filter holder. This will add a fresh scent to the air. On top of the dryer sheet lay in the filter material you cut out. If you sized your material right it will fit snugly into filter holder on all sides. Be sure to tuck the filter material under the top tabs of the filter holder.
That is all there is too it. Slide your cabin filter holder back into place and you’re done. You should have plenty of material left over for the next time you need to replace you cabin air filter.
Every try to read a map at night by your dome light? How about trying to find something in your console at night? The Toyota FJ Cruiser OEM dome light may give you a warm glow, but bright light you can read by is not its strength.
One of the easiest FJ Cruiser modifications you can perform that pays big dividends is to replace the interior dome lights with new bright white LED chip-sets.
We picked up a Putco LED Lighting “980018 premium interior dome light kit”. The kit included a pair (one for the front and one for the rear) of LED white light chip-sets. The chip-set fits the original dome light fixture and is designed as a direct bulb replacement. With three LEDs on the chip-set, it puts out approximately 18 times more light than the original bulb, an increase that you can definitely notice.
Start by removing the cover. Using a screwdriver with its tip wrapped in tape, disengage the 4 claws and remove the light’s lens cover.
Remove the old bulb from the socket.
Press the LED chip-set into the bulb socket
Replace the cover.
It really is that easy. Your new dome light(s) will be significantly brighter, use less energy and provide a whiter light.
No this mod wont help you climb over rocks or pull you through gumbo thick mud but it will help you find that last handful of nuts you dropped on the floor of the cab before the three second rule kicks in.
Everyone we know loves cooking out on the trail when camping on an off-road adventure. And as you know the stove you have on hand will have a big influence on what you cook and how it turns out.
We love cooking over an open fire. Grilled burgers, chicken, fish, boiling water for coffee you can do it all. But you have to get the fire down to a good pile of hot coals, avoid hot spots and constantly regulate the fire. It can be tricky. For us everything tastes better cooked over a fire, even a simple quesadilla.
The down side is that many times you will find a fire ban or heavy rains have dampened your chance of cooking over open fire. In that case you need to turn your attention to a stove.
Backpacking stoves are compact, light weight and put out a lot of BTUs for their size. They are extremely efficient at bringing liquids to a boil and making one pot meals (boil in bag) for one or two people. They are not so good at simmering or cooking on anything but full blast. Charred eggs, scorched sauces and pieces of bacon that are both burnt and under cooked at the same time are the norm if you’re not extremely careful.
Moving up to camp kitchen stoves allows you to rock your inner Wolfgang Puck. Typically, these are propane based with multiple burners. Camp kitchen stoves provide enough surface area and heat to throw down a griddle to easily fry up bacon and eggs while allowing you to dial back the heat to gently simmer the most delicate sauces. If you can cook it at home on your stove top, you can cook it on one of these camp kitchen stoves.
Camp kitchens do get bulky and depending on your choice may take up a significant amount of room when you add in all the pots, pans and fuel canisters you’ll need to create your gourmet meal.
Fuel is another choice to consider. Propane is the driving force behind most camp kitchens and many backpacking stoves. Propane is versatile, readily available (in the USA) and clean burning but you can’t reuse the small bottles and extreme cold temperatures can cause problems. However for most situations propane is a good choice.
Liquid fuel such as white gas provides a lot of BTUs, performs well in all weather and is readily available (in the USA). Care needs to be taken not to spill the fuel during stove setup and tear down. Many stoves that run on liquid fuel are capable of running on more than one type of fuel including kerosene or unleaded gas (available worldwide) making the stove an extremely good choice for global travelers.
Depending on the location your traveling, size of your team and the meals you plan to prepare, the right cook stove option may be different for each trip. Knowing the pluses and minuses of each cooking option will help you make the right choice. Or you could just go out to eat.
Take an idea, flip it on it’s ear and tell a story. After all we have to do something with the hundreds of hours of off-road adventure video we have in vault.
For us telling a story with video is harder than it looks. We’ve had a You Tube and Vimeo LGRT channel for six plus years and put out 90 some videos. In our own opinion our off-road adventure videos seem to lack entertainment value. But there is hope.
“The Grocery Getty” was two years in the making. Watching tutorials, reading scripts, taking notes and considering how to apply their story telling lessons.
For a long time I thought a better camera, better technique or better software would help. Unfortunately no amount of “better” could make up for the lack of a story. And while The Grocery Getty is only 36 seconds (not including all the credits and disclaimers) it has a beginning, middle and end along with tension and a twist.
It’s not going to win any awards but it gives us hope that we can start to break the mold and tell better off-road adventure stories.
There is nothing wrong with proudly repping your favorite 4×4 truck or off-road adventure vehicle. It’s another thing to be hating on someone else’s. You’ve seen the stickers, a boy pissing on some other brand’s badge or other derogatory remarks on display. This says nothing positive about your rig. In fact what it says about you is not good.
Out on the trails we all count on each other if there is a breakdown or an emergency. If someone needs mechanical help or is stuck and needs recovery assistance the last thing they need is someone telling them how they should of bought a rig like theirs. They’re already having a bad day. You don’t hate on the brand of their rig, you don’t point out why they should have a rig like yours. You ask how you can help.
Because someday you will be the guy stuck or broken down on the trail and Karma is a bitch.
Central Oregon is a stark contrast to the wet, muddy, forested off-road areas of the western coastal side of the state. High plains, filled with sage, juniper and scattered Ponderosa pines growing in reddish brown pumas sand, from not so extinct volcanoes, fill the landscape. Cold in the winter, hot in the summer. Clear dry skies most of the year. Central Oregon is a great option for off-road adventures.
Searching for an alternative to Oregon’s Tillamook Forest off-road area, we set out to explore Cline Buttes’ new(ish) 4×4 trails. The 32,000 acre Cline Buttes recreational area has been established to serve all types of outdoor adventurers. Large chunks of land have been carved out for motorizes and non-motorized trail use as well as blocks for those who prefer to travel on two feet or even four hooves .
Five miles east of Sisters, nine miles north of Bend and a short drive west of Redmond Oregon, Cline Buttes is easily accessible from just about any direction (Cline Buttes recreation area). Its proximity to these iconic western towns allows those who’s idea of roughing it involves room service to find all levels of lodging and meal options. When it comes to sitting around a camp fire and looking up at the stars, Cline Buttes offers plenty of dispersed camping options. (The area does get dry so be sure to check the fire restrictions before you go).
A staging area in the north east corner provides plenty of parking and an outhouse. Everything else will need to be packed in, and packed back out. From here an easy 4×4 off-road trail takes you out into the heart of the off-road area connecting to several options.
The 4×4 off-road trails are categorized as easiest, more difficult and most difficult. Most stock, high clearance 4x4s are more than a match for the easiest and more difficult trails. Drivers would be well served to have a lift, taller tires and rock rails before traversing the most difficult trails. Additionally there is a “play area” where cross country travel is permitted.
We explored the Cline Buttes OHV area in late November following a week of warm torrential rains. What we found amazed us. The lava sand and rock trails were well drained with only a few scattered puddles on Barr Road. No mud or slippery rocks that can take the entertainment value out of navigating tail obstacles with open diffs.
The down side of wheeling under clear blue skies this time of year in central Oregon is that it gets cold, really cold. The mercury barely topped 24 degrees Fahrenheit at lunch time and dropped into the teens as we climbed into our sleeping bags. The upside of the cold weather… We never saw another truck on the 4×4 off-road trails and we covered a good chunk of most of them over two days.
Maybe it was the outstanding weather, maybe the great trail conditions or just that it had been awhile since we’d explored something new, but Cline Buttes has definitely moved into the top 10 list of great off-road adventure locations.
Automotive nirvana by day, debauchery and broken dreams by night. This is SEMA.
By all accounts SEMA is the premier automotive specialty products trade event, period. It draws the industry’s brightest minds and hottest products to one place, the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The SEMA Show attracts more than 100,000 industry leaders from more than 100 countries covering the automotive, truck, SUV, powersports, and RV markets. Adding to its mystic, SEMA is not open to the public. Like a chichi Boho model gliding past the velvet rope of New York’s Up&Down club, at SEMA you have to be an insider to gain access.
The Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC, apparently everything is Vegas simply goes by its initials now) has some 3,000,000 square feet of exhibition space and SEMA seemed to fill it all. The show even managed to spill into most of the parking lots, muscle cars burning rubber around a makeshift track, Baja trophy trucks fresh from their Nevada desert runs are poised in the loft ready for the upcoming Baja 1000 and tons of exotic builds filling every open space on the asphalt.
While outside SEMA is smoking hot fun, inside is all business. Manufactures and distributors do whatever they can to attract dealers and buyers to their booth where they can show off new product lines, discuss their M.A.P. policies and tout seductive quantity discounts.
And in order to draw the tens of thousands of SEMA buyers into the booth:
chichi models strutting around in stripper heels
outrageously over-built and flamboyantly wrapped cars, trucks, 4x4s and SUVs
TV celebs, racers and motor sport legends signing posters
flashing lights, mega booths and lots of highly polished bling
tons of swag
and anything else that will entice a buyer to stop in their tracks
We spent four days wondering through SEMA and still didn’t manage to see everything. We didn’t have time for booths showing off their tire balancing lead weights and lug nut wrenches. Spent most of our 4 days checking out the off-road manufacturers hall.
Jeep is he market leader when it comes to shear numbers so manufactures heavily target the brand. With Toyota calling it quits on the FJ Cruiser and no real successor named yet, the 2014 SEMA show was dominated by Jeeps and full size pickups on display. There was the occasional Land Rover, 4Runner, Tacoma and one or two FJ Cruisers.
Redline Land Cruiser’s new FJ-UTE was the only completely new to the market 4×4 on display. Their production run will only be in the dozens or so each year and they have deposits covering builds for the next 18 months. Justin Robbins the designer and builder behind the FJ-UTE shared with us his favorite thing about their new truck. Turns out he geek-ed out when it came to the CAD created CNC replica nobs. No one had ever done it before and he knew it would be one of those things that no one notices but adds big to the overall FJ heritage experience.
Our big scores at SEMA this year… How about a chance to chat with Jessi Combs, the fastest woman on four wheels. We discussed how to encourage more young women to become involved in off-road and the business side of motor sports. Ben from COMEUP winch gave us a glimpse of their new Gen2 product line coming out soon. Over at BesTop we were impressed with their RoughRider spare tire organizer solution which is great for keeping recovery gear handy.
The truth about SEMA, or any other trade show, is that for everyone working the floor, covering the event or maintaining the facilities… it is a lot of hard work! By Friday even the chichi models were a little less bouncy and a lot less excited about those platform heels. I’ve worked all side of these types of events. I love them and I always end up working my ass off. I’m not complaining. It’s SEMA. It’s Vegas. It’s automotive nirvana and I’ve already booked my ticket for SEMA2015!
It started out as oil appearing on the inside of rear wheel. Hum, that can’t be good. Ok, a blown oil seal, that is easy enough and just a couple of bucks for a new seal. After changing the seal out it was much better, but not perfect and in a few days it was clear something wasn’t exactly right. Did I screw up the seal when I put it in? Is the breather clogged and building up pressure that blows the seal? God I hope it’s not the bearing.
After checking the breather to ensure good air flow and changing the seal one more time for good measure, it was clear we’d need a little professional help and turned to our friends at Auburn Car Repair & Offroad to replace the wheel bearing.
In order to change the rear wheel bearing, you need to pull the axle, apply 20+ tons of pressure to separate the bearing from the axle and than push the new bearing on. But aside from machinist magic of replacing the bearing, most folks can perform a majority of the work involved.
After getting the axle in the air and removing the wheel, start by unplugging the the ABS sensor wire. Remove the bolts that hold the disk brakes housing and carefully set it aside. Tip: if you cut the top of the clip holding the brake hose in place you can slide the hose out without disconnecting it from the hardline and avoid having to bleed the brakes later.
Pulling the brake disk (rotor) may take a few soft raps with a plastic mallet to loosen rust’s grip in order to slide if off. With the disk removed the parking brake is exposed. There are springs top and bottom that hold everything together. The top springs are under a good deal to tension and will require work to lift them off of the stud. Once the springs are released, the shoe hold down springs can be removed along with the brake shoes and other parts. The best advice here, slow down, take your time and ensure you keep track of all the parts.
The parking brake cable needs to be removed before the #1 shoe can be completely removed.
Remove are four nuts holding the axle (the wheel bearing housing actually) to the axle housing. Grab a shop rag and slide the axle straight out from the housing.
Remove the axle seal and drape a shop towel over the opening to keep the dust out. If you’re simply replacing a blown seal, you can jump to the re-install.
The ABS sensor is attached to the wheel bearing housing. A small bolt holds it in place and needs to be removed before you proceed.
This is where the magic happens. If you don’t have a 40 ton hydraulic press in your garage you’re going to need to head down to a machine shop / auto shop for a little love. The machinist will remove the retaining clip, set up the axle in their hydraulic press, and pull the wheel bearing housing off of the axle. She will then set up the new wheel bearing housing so it can be pushed into place on the axle and replace the retaining clip. Done.
When you get the axle back, be sure to reinstall your ABS senor. Add a little grease to the outside of your new axle seal and tap it into place. This is also the time to replace the O-ring.
Carefully slide the axle into the housing. Avoid banging against the seal. You may need to turn the axle a little in order for the splines to line up and fully slide into the housing. Tighten up the nuts that hold the axle to the housing.
The tricky part for me was reassembling the parking brakes. Although the guys at Auburn Care Repair & Offroad completed it in a few minutes, it took me about 30 minutes to get the parking brake shoes back in place when I replaced the seal the first and second time. Install the #1 shoe first, reattach the parking brake cable, then install the #2 shoe. It is not all that complicated but there is limited room to work the parts into place and the springs take a little muscle so take your time and use the diagrams here to help.
After the parking brake shoes and brake cable are complete it is time to adjust the shoes so they will hold tight when the parking brake is engaged. Make small adjustments, put the brake disk in place and feel the rotation against the shoes. Once you feel the shoe begin to rub, back it off a bit so the disk rotates freely but quickly grabs the drum when the parking brake is engaged.
Put your disk brake housing back on (if you disconnected the break hardline you’ll need to bleed the brakes). Connect the ABS cable to the ABS sensor. Mount your wheel and your set.
No so hard right. If you want to do this work yourself you’ll need a few parts:
Rear Axle Hub and Bearing Assembly
Rear Axle Bearing Inner Retainer
Rear Axle Shaft Snap Ring
Rear Axle Shaft Oil Seal
O-Ring
Although you may not be able to perform all the work, you can certainly perform a good portion of the work and let a machine shop do the heavy lifting on your rear wheel bearing replacement.
Bonus: Here are the instructions Toyota has for removing and installing a rear axle on a Toyota FJ Cruiser:
Seattle, Quincy, Portland, Eugene and back. 892 mile loop. This has been my routine for several weeks in a row . 133 gallons of gas, over 50 of hours behind the wheel, countless suicidal bugs washed off the windshield and an oil change.
Monday finds me leaving Seattle’s busy metropolis along and racing to work in a little patch of farm land in eastern Washington known as Quincy. Posted 70 MPH, I90 is one of those interstates where you can set the cruise control somewhere above the speed limit and go. I pass through dense Ceders and Douglas Fur climbing up to the Snoqualmie Pass that divides the state into east and west. Descending from the 3,022 feet crack in the Cascade mountains, the thick rain forest gives way to stately Ponderosa Pines, eventually thinning out into groves of windmills towering a hundred feet over the scrub and sage brush. Olfactory senses that once enjoyed a hint of cool pine are now accosted by hot dusty dung. The smell of money to ranch owners everywhere in eastern Washington. The land becomes flatter and flatter until you can see for miles in any directions.
Temperatures race to the high 90s quickly with the summer sun filling a cloudless blue sky. The warm air lingers as the sun leaves and a lavender moon dominates the dark night. The little town of Quincy shuts down by 10:00pm with only one yellow blinking traffic light to remind you, you’re still in town.
By Friday the week’s work is done and it’s time to aim the car south for Portland (that’s Oregon, not Maine). The old state highway cuts through Washington’s cattle country, orchards and endless fruit stands. This is a much more relaxed journey. Seldom used gravel roads shoot off the highway every mile or two leading into the country side. The hills offer endless opportunities to explore if you choose to take any of the gravel spurs. The highway twists, turns and climbs the Cascades but the parade of RVs and trailers in front is going to keep it under 50 mph. There is little reason to rush.
Rest stops are the modern equivalent of desert watering holes. Scattered along a ribbon of pavement, rest stops offer views of geological wonders, picnic areas, a place to stretch your legs and the opportunity to relieve yourself of the 64oz gas station coffee concoction you grabbed an hour earlier.
While concrete and steel has replaced camels and sand, the modern day desert oasis remains a gathering place for travelers. Some folks are hurriedly driving from one place to the next. Others are slowly traveling across country taking in all the sights and sounds the country has to offer. And on any giving Saturday in fall you will find cars decked out in college colors and banners as travelers race to college campuses around the country to support their favorite NCAA gridiron team.
Dropping into Oregon I follow the Columbia River west down the gorge. The Dalles, Bonneville Locks, Multnomah Falls, Rooster Rock, the list of amazing sights goes on as the sun drops low on the horizon.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. 24×7, the Original Hotcake House serves some of the best breakfasts and burgers anywhere. My mom would have referred to this as a greasy spoon… I call it chicken-fried-sausage-gravy-chedder-hash-brown love. This will kill you; but what a way to go… The eggs are healthy, right??!!
Anyone who know me, knows Oregon Duck football is a big deal. This brings us to the Eugene portion of the loop. There is something special about being at a college football game. Tailgating, rowdy student sections, ESPN trucks sending live broadcasts into the heavens, general fan mayhem and a chance to reconnect with with friends every fall makes the stand still traffic on I5 bearable.
If the calendar says Sunday it must be laundry night. This is after heading back up the I5 corridor to Seattle. Tonight my head will rest for the first time in seven days on my own pillow with all the familiar sounds of home. Monday starts it all over.
For anyone who loves the open road, this is the golden triangle. Dense forests, mountain passes, high plains desert, wide open gorge, beautiful sunsets and college football. Every time there is something different with new people to meet on the road that is more traveled.
Say western Washington and most people think Seattle, Mt. Rainer and the Cascade Mountains. All worth exploring but if you want to find a little small town ruralness that offers more seclusion and unlimited exploring than keep heading west until you run into the Olympic National Forest. The forest buffers the Olympic National Park and remains vehicle friendly.
Over the years I’ve spent a little time exploring the Olympics on foot tackling trails, summitting a few peaks and glacading down Elenore. Now I can add driving the back roads to that list.
Improved campgrounds dot the hood canal and state forest, offering family camping right along the pavement. But venture down the numerous forest roads exploring the two-track spurs and you will find endless possibilities for primitive, dispersed camping. No outhouses or running water. This is camping in the dirt.
In the summer months you don’t need massive tires, lockers or 4WD to explore the back-roads. In fact you’re more likely to come across a Subaru forester or VW micro-bus than built up 4×4 as you pass the countless hiking trails drawing backpackers deep into the Olympic Forest from the north and east.
The hardest part of exploring the forest roads that encircle the Olympic National Park is consistently finding fuel. While the northern section brings you close to many larger communities, the little towns along the rest are just as likely as not to have “out of order” signs hanging from their pumps. Although fuel may be scarce, local color is everywhere. Stop at any of the little general stores and start up a conversation.
The eastern side is popular with the day hikers, backpackers and mountaineers. The west side offers an opportunity to explore rain forest, light houses, Indian culture or the sea caves of Cape Flattery, the most northwest point in the continental U.S.
Along the north the you find more choices to explore. A drive to Obstruction Peak is the one road that puts you into the heart of the Olympic National Park. The Dungeness Spit is a birders dream. Deer Park camp ground is perfect for those who hope to catch a glimpse of deer, bear or even cougar.
Cooking on trail, sleeping under the stars, exploring unlimited forest roads is hard to beat. It is also hard to beat ending an off-road adventure with a cold drink, good burger, fries and funky 50’s style. The Hiway101 Diner in Sequim, is our go to joint for milk shakes and great food anytime we’re close.
Need a day, a week or a month away and want to explore an area that few people know? Pack your bags, load your truck and head to the Olympic Peninsula. You wont be disappointed.
Travel & Adventure – an overlanding, off road, camping and road trip website dedicated to helping others explore the road less traveled.
We’ve shown you how to replace your Toyota FJ Cruiser’s engine and cabin air filter. Now we want to show you how to save money the next time you do.
