Category Archives: 4×4 Tech

How to fix, maintain or modify your off road adventure truck is here. We also discuss gear and how it holds up out on an adventure.

go farther explore the road less traveled

Fame And Glory (aka Getting Lost With Purpose)

Livingston I presume…

We have been exploring our world ever since the day we first climbed down from the trees.  Some expeditions have been more successful than others.   Hilleray climbed high, Cousteau went deep and it cost Scott his life.  Explores of the past followed the road less traveled to satisfy their curiosity of the unknown.  Modern explores continue the tradition and although there is less unknown, the opportunity to go further has never been greater.

Just like the art of war, a successful off-road adventures succeeds before it ever leaves the garage.  Planning, team selection, fund raising, did I mention planning, all go into making an off road adventure a success rather than a catastrophe. Even in this high-tech world, initially you only need a piece of paper, a pencil and a quiet corner where no one will disturb you as you start to plan your off road adventure.

As before, modern day off-road adventure leaders face an overwhelming responsibility when planning, undertaking and even returning from an expedition.  The Royal Geographical Society (RGS), a learned society and professional body for geography (you’ve got to love the pomp of the Brits) has been collecting information since 1830.  Thankfully the RGS has compiled nearly two hundred years of exploring into the RSG Expedition Handbook to assist today’s explorers.  This is no wimpy pamphlet.  The handbook is 482 pages of valuable information.  Everything you’ll need from project management, leadership, nutrition and field medicine to fund raising, film-making and post expedition lectures.  This truly is a complete handbook which every explorer should study.

Whether your off-road adventure goal is to satisfy personal curiosity, pursue scientific investigation or simply attain fame and glory, a well planned off-road adventure increases the chances that you will reach your goal and return safely.

toyo open country MT tire in sand

Long-term Tire Report – Toyo Open Country M/T

cactus embeded toyo open country mud tire30,000 miles later we can now give our long-term report on the rubber that took us on our off-road adventure to the Arctic Ocean, Telluride, Inuvik and around town.  Toyo’s Open Country M/T® are an aggressive mud traction radial.  Running 295x70x17 tires on our rig provides sure footed traction and an additional inch of lift over the stock 265s.  These tires fill the wheel well with massively lugged rubber just weeping testosterone.

But the Open Country M/T® does more than just butch up your rig.  According to Toyo “the Open Country M/T® is a mud and snow rated mud terrain radial tire that features hook-shaped tread blocks, scalloped shoulder blocks and a high performance cap of ply construction for excellent off road traction.”  With 3-ply polyester casting, two spiral wound nylon cap plies and two steel belts, this tire is designed for long life and more protection than a three pack of Trojans stuffed into the wallet of a sixteen year boy.

We found our Open County M/T®  tires to be very protective as we bombed down roads where the occasional granite dagger reached out for our sidewalls.  With their hook-shaped blocks they performed well on slippery hills, and gripped the rocks they were asked to climb.  Feed back from others who have used the Open Country M/T® confirms, their compounds grip the obstacles, feeling “stickier” than other tires.  Even with 30k miles on them, after the occasional rotation, our set still have most of their tread life left.toyo open country mud tire cross sections

And while mud tires are known to be noisy on the road we found Toyo’s claim of being the “quietest mud terrain tires on the market” to be true.  No they are not silent, but even with the windows down they don’t have that typical whirl as you drive down the tarmac.

All that rubber, polyester and steel adds weight…  serious weight.  Each one of our tires tips the scale at just under 75 lbs.  Add a rear spare and second on the roof and you can use an egg timer to measure the time between fuel stops.

In addition to the weight the sheer size of the 295 tire has caused some rubbing on the upper arm controller.  Without wheel offsets or after market UCAs, a 285 is probably the way to go.  You can find all the sizes available in the Toyo Open Country mud tire spec sheet.

fj cruiser toyo open country mtOverall the  Open Country M/T® has  been a good choice for our style of wheeling, overland adventures and daily driving. And although they are heavy and priced higher than most (about $300 each MSP), we would do it again. But than again we are kind of nuts about having a tire we can count on when we are hundreds of miles from no where.

Update: We’ve had two sets of these Toyo Open Country M/T tires.  They are indestructible and we relied on them for our Baja off-road adventure.  Our one complaint is their weight.  Based on simple around town and highway testing, these heavy M/T’s cost about a mile or two per gallon of fuel when compared to all terrains such as the Falken Rocky Mountain ATS.

air down fj cruiser baja mexico

What Goes Up Must Air Down

airing down 4x4 tires fj cruiserIf your off-road adventures include sand, mud or 4×4 trails you realize the advantages of letting a little air out at the start.  Lowering your tire’s air pressure, known as “airing down” has a number of benefits including:

  • In sand lower tire pressure increases the tire surface that comes in contact with the ground allowing your rig to float on top of the soft surface rather than sinking into it
  • On rocks airing down allows your tires to contour to and bite the obstacle keeping more tire surface in contact with the rock or tree root to maintain forward momentum
  • On mild trails you will find a lower tire pressure provides a softer ride over bumps and ruts.

In order to lower the air pressure on the trail you can take the minimalist approach and hold down the valve stem with a pen or twig until you get to the pressure you want.  Or you can purchase one of several tools on the market designed to air down tires.  Some of your choices include: Tire Buddy II, Sun Performance Quick Air Deflator, Oasis Trailhead Deflator, ARB E-Z Tire Deflator and many others.

staun tire deflatorFor our wheeling needs, we use Staun Tyre Deflator.  They are adjustable, simple to use and can quickly bring a tire to a preset tire pressure.  Staun Tyre Deflators come is a set of four so you can air down all your tires at once without having to run back and forth.  Simply set your deflators to the desired air down pressure ahead of time, then at the trail head screw them onto the valve stem and watch while they do their job.  They will automatically stop at the pressure you set them to, ensuring all four tires are at the same PSI (pounds per square inch).

Setting the Staun Tyre Deflator to the desired presure is a matter of following these five steps:

  1. Air down one of your tires (the spare is handy for this) to the desired PSI.  I like to keep my Staun Tyre Deflator set a little high, say 24 PSI.  This gets me to a known preset on all tires and than I can make any final adjustments down (16, 18 ,22) depending on trail conditions.
  2. Wind  the lock ring and adjusting cap all the way down (clockwise).  Screw the Staun Tyre Deflator onto the valve stem of the tire you deflated in step 1.  Be sure the value stem threads are clean and in good condition.
  3. Loosen the adjusting cap (counter clockwise) until the deflator opens and you hear air escaping, Immediately tighten the adjusting cap (clockwise) until air flow stops.
  4. Turn the locking ring up to the adjusting cap and tighten.
  5. Remove the Staun Tyre Deflator. Air up your tire, adding 5 to 10 lbs of pressure. Screw on the defaltor and wait until it stops.  Remove the deflator and check the tire’s PSI to ensure it is where you expected it to be. Make any slight adjustments and repeat if necessary.  When making adjustments to Staun Tyre Deflators,  each 1/2 turn of the adjusting cap is equivalent to 3 PSI.

Your deflator is now set.  Repeat this process for each  of the four deflators in a set.  When the tire pressure and the Staun Tyre Deflator setting is less than 8 PSI apart, you may need to lift the center pin to start the deflator.

Trail Tip: It is a good idea to print-off up these five steps, cut them out, laminate it and keep the laminated card with your Staun Tyre Deflators in case you need to readjust your deflators on the trail.

Having an adjusted set of Staun Tyre Deflators will allow you to go from street pressure to trail pressure in minutes and ensure that all four tires are aired down to the same PSI. Be sure to remove the deflators, check the pressure and screw on the valve cover caps prior to starting down the trail.

Don’t forget to air up when you’re done wheeling before heading back onto the tarmac.

2007 baja 1000 trail

The Greatest Race On Earth…

baja mexico dirt road cactusIf you’re into desert racing, and who isn’t, you feel me when I start going off on this tangent.  You know what I mean… I start waxing about $250,000 trophy trucks flying through the sand and rocks at break neck speeds, where just finishing is as much an accomplishment as winning, where good times are measured by the amount of dirt removed from body cavities not intended to hold dirt and the number of night terrors you experience while driving the course.

Yes I’m talking about the desert race to end all desert races, the SCORE BAJA 1000.  Depending on how you define started, the race can be traced back to just after midnight on March 22, 1962.  Legend has it Jack McCormack and Walt Fulton of American Honda decided to hold a long distance run to prove the reliability of Honda’s new CL72 Scrambler. They approached well known off-road dirt biker and local Honda dealer Bud Ekins for suggestions. Bud suggested the Tijuana to La Paz route (Mexican Highway 1) which was 950 miles (1,530 km) of rocks, sand washes, dry lake beds, cattle crossing, mountain passes, and paved road.  It was this very story that spurred us onto our Baja off road adventure.

During that first run, Dave Ekins recorded the first official timed run in 39 hours 56 minutes covering a distance of 952.7 miles (1,533.2 km for the rest of the world). The event found its way into the Globe, Argosy, and Cycle World magazines, earning awe and respect for Honda and the Baja run.  Rumors of near death encounters and dangers of epic proportions over the years have elevated the race to legionary status in the eyes of racers and fans alike.

The BAJA 1000 race unites drivers from around the world and across multiple platforms.  Although the heavily sponsored trophy trucks grab the spot light, you will find just about everything on two and four wheels has a class to race in.  Many of the teams and crews are not much more than friends who got together and worked through the nights the week before to assemble (or strip down) a little Volkswagen buggy.  This remains a wide open race with classes for professionals and their crews as well as amateur drivers and backyard mechanics who just as often beat more serious racers through the shear luck of simply crossing the finish line or at least breaking down further into the course.

The course changes each year and this years BAJA 1000 promises more of the same great racing.  Starting on November 20, 2008 and finishing November 23, the course will begin and end at the convention center in Ensenada, Baja California Mexico.  With a time limit of 31 hours to cover approximately 631.35 miles racers will drive continuously, stopping only for fuel, flats, and to roll their rigs back onto the wheels.  Remember this is the BAJA 1000 you don’t stop for bio-breaks, deal with it!

While the lucky fans will be camped out along the course to encourage their favorite drivers, the rest of us can still experience the race.  BF Goodrich Tires and Volkswagen of America announced the launch of a new online experience designed around bringing the captivating sights, sounds and real-time information of the 41st annual SCORE Baja 1000 to everyone.

defender 90 rear bumper

You Get Way More Than You Pay For

One of the best known names in the outback, ARB, makes cool stuff such as air lockers, expedition fridges, recovery equipment and all sorts of 4×4 goodies.  Their new on-line magazine also has good information on driving, vehicle prep, recovery techniques, off-road adventures… The new ARB magazine 4x4action, I write of is not the bland, sales oriented, mainstream USA version.  The good stuff is located on the Aussie site.  While you’re there sign up for their email news letter.  Every quarter you will receive an update on their products along with some great articles on global overland exploration.  Their spring news letter covered the Outback Challenge Morocco, Aussies In Africa – Part 3 and wet our apatite for the Rainforest Challenge 2008.  They also have contest stuff for the little drivers as well as the big ones.  Not bad for free.

fj cruiser rear bumper cover top bolts removal

Eyes In The Back Of Your Rig

fj cruiser backup sensorEveryone who owns and FJ Cruiser knows how difficult it can be to judge distance when backing up.  Little cars that sit below your line of site which are impossible to see and make parallel parking hell.  Luckily Toyota added a Toyota parking assist system to tell you when you’re getting close.

Awhile back we ran into a little trouble with our sensor… so to speak… And as a result, needed to replace the back up sensor on the passenger side. After a quick trip to our local Toyota dealer for the part it was time to play back yard mechanic.

With the advent of snap together components, replacing sensors is usually an easy operation.  And this was no different.  In fact we spent most of our time fj cruiser rear bumper cover button snap locationunbolting the plastic bumper cover to get to the sensor location.  All of the bolts can be removed with an 11 mm socket.  A flat head screw driver is helpful for unplugging the sensor coupling as well as the plastic pop snap on located inside the back door edge on the side of the bumper cover.

We started at the bottom and worked our way up.  Note: We removed the metallic bumper cover so we could pull out the black cover further for pictures. You should be able to leave it in place and simply remove to screws holding the back bumper cover on the bottom side. There are a total of six bolts holding the bumper cover to the underside of the bumper.  Four along the base of the bumper and one on each back corner.  These last two are set into little plastic clips and keep the bumper corner covers in place.fj cruiser rear bumper bottom bolt removal

You will have to open the back door to access the four bolts on the top of the bumper cover.  You will also find a sneaky little button fastener where the bumper cover wraps into the back door.  A flat head screw driver will lift it out easily.

The old cruisers had panels welded and riveted in place.  Enter the era of ABS plastics.  To remove the bumper cover after you’ve unbolted everything and pulled the little button snap; follow the cover around the corner where it meet up this the fender and give it a strong, even pull away from the truck.  It is held in place with ABS plastic snaps that will release their grip with a little force.  Since we were only replacing one of the sensors we only removed the passenger’s side.fj cruiser rear bumper side cover removal

Now it was simply a matter of pulling the cover away from the bumper enough to unplug the old sensor, slide in the new one and connect it to the two wire plug.  It really is that easy.

After hooking up the sensor and before bolting it all up, we tested the sensors to ensure everything was connected correctly.  Even though we only replace one sensor, we check both to make sure we had not pulled any wires loose in the process.

fj cruiser backup sensor wire connectorOnce we were sure every thing worked, it was simply a matter of buttoning it all up with the bolts we had removed four on top, six underneath and that one little button snap.

The backup sensors help you gauge distance but will never substitute for using your mirrors and knowing what is behind you before you put it into reverse.

sway-a-way racerunner shocks and coilovers

Long-term Mod Report Sway-A-Way Suspension

Every one loves their mod the first week. The real test is how you feel after a year or more. Would you do it differently, would you spend the money, is it a still worth it? Does it improve your off-road adventure?

Jumping into the way-back-machine, it was in 2007 that we asked Metal Tech to add a Sway-A-Way (SAW) suspension lift giving us a three inch lift. Our setup is mild as far as racing suspension go, 2.5″ diameter coil-overs up front and 2″ shocks and springs in the rear.  No auxiliary oil reserves or exotic bypasses just a straight coil-over. Built by hand and tuned for the FJ Cruiser at the factory this is a great all-around setup.

After a number of off-road adventures with thousands of miles of bombing down washboard riddled dirt roads, local 4×4 trails and more than a year of daily driving, the Sway-A-Way suspension continues to prove its worth. Born from a tradition of desert racing, the setup excels at smoothing out the bumps.  The ability to smooth out the terrain is clear when cruising on the dirt/gravel roads as well as torn-up city streets.

Although Sway-A-Way says the factory sway bar fits without modification, we had a significant amount of rubbing and squeaking as we sped down Alaska’s Haul Road.  When I say squeaking, think putting a loudspeaker next to the black board and Sister Mary Knuckle Buster drags her fingernails down its length. Not a pretty sound.

Although annoying there are two simple fixes for this problem. First you can take a grinder to the factory sway bar until there is a 1/4″ or so of clearance. This will allow your front springs and factory sway bar to pass each other unmolested.

The second option is to remove the factory sway bar altogether.  Desert racers are build to go fast over bumps with suspensions designed to keep the wheels on the ground through the ruts and turns.  As a result, Sway-A-Ways can manage the FJ Cruiser’s sway and roll on their own without a factory sway bar.  In addition, removing the factory sway bar gives you more flex when slowly picking your way through 4×4 trails.

While a set of SAWs will empty your wallet more then some other options, their reliability, ride, travel and flawless performance have been well worth the extra cost for our style of off-road adventures.

bullet cam

Lights… Camera… Action! – The Director’s Cut

bullet cam battery and power chargerSearch You Tube or Vimeo for “FJ Cruiser” and you will find off-road adventure videos showing a rig crossing a river, crawl over a rock garden or wheeling up hills.  They are great fun to watch and equally addictive, as I usually find myself forced to step away from the computer at two in the morning.  But after watching hundreds of video and trying to create my own I find myself wanting.

Most armature videos on You Tube are from the prospective of a bystander, rather than putting you into the action.  When you find a video with shots mixed in from the drivers seat point of view, you feel like you are participating in the ride rather than just watching from the sidelines.  Getting those driver seat shots is not easy since wheeling while holding a camera would be bad form and asking your passenger to keep the video camera steady as the rig tosses about is just plain silly.  Enter the bullet cam.

A bullet cam, or helmet cam, is that little camera you see attached to adrenaline junkie’s as they exit a perfectly good airplane or go cartwheeling down the face of a glacier just barely attached to their snow board.  While high quality video cameras can be costly and fragile, bullet cams are small, water and dust proof, designed to take a beating and relatively low cost.  They are also available with high quality chip sets making them perfect for action based filming.

mini microphoneWith all this going for them, what are bullet cams missing?  How about a recording component. A really bullet proof cameras receive and converts light into images but requires a recording device to make it useful.  Fortunately there are a number of options.  On the high-end are digital video recorders (DVR) designed to accept video input from as many as four bullet cams at once.  These specialized DVRs are built to be mounted in places out of the way such as under the seat and setup to run on 12 volts with wireless remote control operation.  But if you don’t want to invest a thousand dollars or more in a DVR you have another option.

With a few off the shelf items and your current video camcorder you are in business.  Most video camcorders have a video input and will record audio and video from other input sources.  Besides acting as a recording device for your bullet cam, using a video camcorder allows you to quickly unplug the video input and use your camcorder directly to tape the rigs behind you as they go through the section you just captured from the bullet cam, giving you several different angles of the same trail when you go into editing.

For our set up we started with our existing  Canon XHA1 Hi-Def video camcorder which will act as a DVR and accept input from the bullet cam.  Unfortunately bullet cams are not yet Hi-Def so we will be mixing together non-HD & HD video in post production, but this will give us that action shot look we are after.bullet cam mount

For our bullet cam, we chose the Bullet DVR 550TVL Pro Series camera from OnBoard.tv.  This camera is protected against the elements, and internally treated with a silicone based compound, to keep dust and moisture out of the camera body, and also to protect the electronic internals against failures caused by vibrations. The addition of an o-ring seal with an external protective glass cover ensures a 100% protection against condensation. OnBoard.tv claims the 550TVL will never fog up, under any conditions.  Boasting the latest CCD imaging technology by Sony Corporation, this camera provides a clean and crisp 550 TV lines of resolution, in full color, and is suitable for use with very minimal lighting.  There are less expensive bullet cams on the market with lower resolution so do a little searching to find one that matches your needs.

Bullet cams require a 12 volt power source in order to power its chip.  You can use a rechargeable battery pack or tap into your rigs electrical.  We decided to utilize a cigarette litter plug-in as our power source.  This will allow us to quickly plug in our power supply and completely remove it when the day is done.  And no worries about recharges or extra batteries to lose on the trail.

video rca to mini cableOur bullet cam has an RCA video out jack.  Our Canon video camcorder takes an AV jack.  Digging around in our spare parts bin I found an RCA to AV conversion cable (note to wife; this is why I keep all this junk).   The conversion cable will accept the video from the bullet cam and sound from an external mic, combine it all together and plug into the Canon’s AV input.

Part of any good video is audio so an external mic was also purchased from OnBoard.tv.  This mic is inexpensive and will pick up the road noise of the rig adding to the feeling of being in the driver’s seat.

Finally, for mounting the bullet cam, from OnBoard.tv an all-rubber mount with a Velcro base that allows the bullet camera to be mounted on any surface, including… yes even a helmet.  The bullet cam simply slides into the rubber mount and according to OnBoard.tv  “the camera rests on tiny dampers which act similar to a suspension system. This unique camera mounting solution offers good protection in the event of a crash, as well as the best anti-vibration features on the market.”

You can see in the diagram how all the wires go together.  This diagram shows a rechargeable battery pack, but as discussed above any 12 volt source will work.  The bullet cam and external mic are on separate leads but share the same power source.  This allows us to place the mic next to or away from the bullet cam depending on what we want to capture.

You can purchase this setup as a kit or buy the individual pieces alone.  The bullet cam, mic and all-rubber mount came to $323.90 plus taxes and shipping.  We already had the RCA to AV cable and cigarette litter power supply.  OnBoard.tv sells a complete kit for $349.00 which also includes a rechargeable battery pack, charger and hard-sided carrying case.  You may still require an RCA to AV cable depending on what you are using as your DVR.

bullet cam setup scmaticWhile the bullet cam may be mounted just about anywhere. We choose to initially attach the Velcro on top of the FJ Cruiser’s dash gauges and a second piece to a magnetic sheet. The dash mount will give a picture similar to that of the drivers without blocking the view.  The magnetic sheet, which we picked up for $2.99 at Office Max, will let us put the camera just about anywhere else on the rig including the outside of the door, roof, hood or bumper. Each location provides a different perspective and takes a little experimentation to find the locations that work best for you.

Using a little post production editing magic, we can now show viewers different angles of an off-road adventure.  Some shots with us driving and other shots of our friends.

…All right, Mr DeMille, I’m ready for my close up.

metal tech front tube bumper fj cruiser

Bumper Talk with Mark Hawley

2007 toyota fj cruiser field arb bumperThere are a number of aftermarket products for the FJ Cruiser and the list continues to grow everyday.  For us one of the first mods we completed was a bumper swap-out to add protection and support a winch mount.  Originally we chose a shell style bumper designed for off-road adventures that would allow us to nudge a musk oxen or buffalo gently if it came down to it.  Later we swapped out to a tube style for its light weight high strength ratio.

When we purchased our shell bumper, the choices were limited.  Today not so much.  In fact there are more bumper options than pimples on a fifteen year old boy the night of his first dance.

Recently we had the opportunity to talk with Mark Hawley of Metal Tech and ask him about some of the things to look for when selecting a bumper.

Mark explained that there are two basic styles of bumpers, the shell and tubular bumper.  Shell style bumpers are characterized as a box type bumper such as ARB’s Bull Bar or All-Pro Off Road’s FJ front bumper.  Although the shell style bumper can appear beefy and protective, not all are engineered to take a blow and deflect the obstacle away from the truck.  Look for reinforcement of the outside wing areas and thick steel to prevent twisting into the body in the case of a collision with a rock or tree.  The trade off for sturdy, undeniable protection is weight which can be significant in some cases.

Tube style bumpers are designed from tubular steel presenting a more open airy look to the front end.  While appearing to be less protective, well designed tubular bumpers are designed to deflect the force of an obstacle away from your rig.  Tubular bumpers are typically lighter and reduce the weight hanging off the front end lending themselves to racing and rock crawling competition rigs.

Ultimately the style choice is a personal taste and based on the type of off-road adventures the truck will be set up for.  Always research your choices and talk with knowledgeable shops to determine if the bumper is truly designed for the off-road adventures you plan to put it through.  Also be sure to ask about installation and lighting options that can add to the cost and installation whoas.

Thanks to the ‘blue room forum‘ you can find a number of bumpers compared side by side.  You will also find a number of opinions from owners of the different bumpers.  Remember it is your responsibility to make an informed choice so always consult with several knowledgeable sources before putting down your hard earned money on any aftermarket product.

fj cruiser metal tech slider rub rail

Always Carry Protection (Sliders)

original metal tech 4x4 shopI always enjoy any opportunity to meet up with Mark and LT from Metal Tech 4×4 and this project brought me to their shop in Newberg, OR. These guys are a couple of the most knowledgeable guys in all things Toyota 4×4 and wheeling. What makes these guys special is their willingness to spend time teaching others how to wheel trails, talk about the differences in various years of the 80 series or explain the performance difference between ICON, Sway-A-Way and Old Man Emu suspension components. Mark and LT go out of their way to make sure you understand what you’re doing and feel good about your choice rather than just selling you what they have on the shelf.fj cruiser last great road trip sticker

Off-road adventures involving difficult 4×4 trails takes a certain bit of acceptance that you will scratch, ding and possibly brake something. One way to minimize this possibility is to protect the most vulnerable points on your rig. On the FJ Cruiser, one of those vulnerabilities is the door sills which if set onto or slid across a bolder can result in an expensive repair. Protecting this area is achieved through the addition of “sliders”. Also known as “rock rails” or just “rails”, sliders bolt onto the frame of the FJ Cruiser and take the impact of a bolder, sliding across the rock rather than it bashing in the bottom of the door sill.

This means, now your sliders will take the brunt of the force and receive a significant impact. Not all sliders are created equally. In today’s market there are two groups of sliders. There is the group designed for show, which are made from thin walled steel or aluminum. While they can act as a step up, they will crumple under the weight when pressed between a bolder and the rig with both the slider and door sill being damaged. The other group is for serious wheeling, made of thicker high-grade steel, and reinforced at points that will be asked to take the brunt of the impact and support the weight of the rig.

fj cruiser frame mounting point for slidersMetal Tech sliders fall into the serious wheeling category and are among the strongest on the market. These sliders have a hard core off-road design imbedded in their DNA. The sliders are laser cut and bent to match the lines of the FJ Cruiser, proving protection their entire length. These sliders are a fully enclosed box style, allowing a full length step for quick access to the top of the FJ Cruiser. Metal Tech maintains a high quality standard on everything about these sliders from being the only ones on the market that are powder coated inside and out, to the U.S. made, high alloy grade 10.9 metric bolts used to attach them to the frame.

Thanks to Metal Tech’s on-site fabrication we had ours customized for our special needs. We asked the guys there to add a rub rail for additional protection and mount points that would allow us to clip in our team of sled dogs to the sliders when we come back from mushing snow covered mountain trails with our dogs. We also requested mount points for rock crawling lights that will illuminate the ground below for night time trail runs and making activities such as airing up or taking off snow chains a breeze in the dark.metal tech slider custom work

Installing sliders on the FJ Cruiser is one of the simpler mods any back yard mechanic can do. Toyota designed the box frame of the FJ Cruiser with eight mount points on each side, allowing sliders to bolt directly up. Installation is a matter of lifting the slider into place and hand tightening the bolts so you can ensure the slider is level and aligned. Once you have the slider where you want, torque down all eight bolts, rinse and repeat on the other side for a complete set of protection.

Although this is an easy mod, you will want a friend to help lift and hold the sliders in place while you hand tighten the bolts. They can also help gauge everything is aligned and level before you torque it down tight.fj cruiser frame mount nuts for sliders

One cautionary note: The nuts you are screwing the bolts into are tack welded to the inside of the enclosed frame. You don’t want to brake the tack weld by misalignment of the bolt and twisting hard only to have the nut free fall into the box frame. It is a good idea to clean out the gunk that may have built up in the threads and spray a little WD40 before you line up everything and ensure the bolts go in straight and smooth.

With everything bolted up we were good to go knowing the Metal Tech sliders will carry the weight of the rig over boulders and protect our door sills from things that go bump on the trail.