2009 Lone Star Toyota Jamboree

I was at the 2009 Lone Star Toyota Jamboree this last weekend. Just like last year, I got a lot of photos and had some good fun.


I was originally going to head out Thursday afternoon, but after spending too much time getting ready, and taking care of other things at home (not to mention it was going to be a cold night) I decided to sleep in my warm bed one more night and leave Friday morning. Well I was slow getting going Friday morning, but eventually got to Gilmer and then up Barnwell Mountain.


After getting registered, I when to the pavilion to find a beginners class in progress, so I listened in, and then volunteered to take up the rear in a caravan to tour the park. After I found the same camping spot I was in last year, unloaded the firewood I had brought with me, and made my bed in the back of my FJC, just as I have always done on overnight off-roading trips.


We had a "chilly dinner" / "meet-n-greet" that night, and the next morning was the drivers meeting but not before eating some donuts.


I didn't brave quite the same level of trails I did last year, and ended up feeling somewhat unchallenged, but I also didn't want to take as big of a risk as I felt I did last year.


I felt a little disappointed Saturday morning with the trails I had been on, but Saturday afternoon we took some that were a bit more challenging. Maybe next year, if I've been able to at least upgrade my tires by then (not likely as they seem to be wearing quite well), I'll feel more confident with some more challenging trails.


And of course there were those with the really built out trail vehicles that did some timed competitions:


Finally, Saturday night we had a BBQ dinner and a raffle. I didn't win anything this year, but one guy seemed to win about half of the items.


One more night of camping, and I was headed home.

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- Posted By Spaldam

MAF Skid Plates 4+Plus

I got some MAF Skids in February and decided to install them in March. Here's how I did it:

Here you see the tools I used.
Getting some anti-seize bolt lubricant is also a good idea.

First, remove the Stock Skids (just undue a few bolts and you're there).
Keep the stock bolts, you'll need to re-use them.

Start with the rear support beam.
You'll first have to remove a few things that are in the way (Don't worry we'll put them back latter).

Like the exhaust brace.

And the break-line mount.
You'll have to bend the lines a bit to get them into their new position.

Use the Floor Jack to put the Rear Support Beam into place
(it's too heavy to hold up by yourself while trying to put everything together).
Bolt it up, along with the things you unbolted, using the same bolt holes.
Put the Bolts in most of the way, but don't fully tighten them yet
(you'll need a little wiggle room).

For the next piece you'll need to remove the cross-frame supports.

The rear-most skid should now fit right into place.
The forward bolts are shared with the transmission skid, so don't bolt those up just yet.

With the rear-most skid secured (but not fully tightened).
Your can now put the transmission skid in place.
(If you haven't removed the stock skids yet, they will be in the way at this point).

Before putting the front skid in place,
you'll need to get the spacers ready.

Now you should be ready for the front skid plate (re-using some of the stock bolts).
Once bolted loosely in place, you can go back and tighten everything down.
Go over each bold a few times, making it a little tighter each time.
Also don't forget to put a little anti-seize grease on each bolt, so you don't have problems taking them off a few years down the road.

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- Posted by Spaldam

Clayton Lake, July 2007

In July 2007 I took a trip up to Oklahoma's Clayton Lake State Park for a day of off-roading with the Loan Star Land Cruisers. The trip took a few hours, and it was late at night, so I didn't get any pictures of the drive up. However, after staying the night, sleeping in the back of Negro, the beautiful scenery was all around me. We had breakfast, got organized and headed out on our trip.
The area we were haded to was known as the "Honobia Creek/3 Rivers" Wilderness Management Area (WMA) and a permit is required to use the area for any kind of recreation. I had purchased and printed mine on-line earlier that week, but some hadn't, and I needed some fuel anyway after the long trip, so we made a quick stop at the small town of Clayton, OK. Before long we where on the trails.
We spent most the day driving a long a trail that was a bit rougher, and over-grown then we had expected, but we were all able make it through fine for the most part. I did get stuck in one spot, but with the A-TRAC and rear Locker, I was able to work my way out. The All-Terrain tires had a little trouble getting a grip on the slippery bolder, especially since they had already collected a fair amount of mud. I'll have to get some over-sized mud-terrain tires when these ones finally ware out (that will be a while though, as BFG's tend to last a while).
By latter that afternoon, we where heading back to camp on paved roads, and after some dinner in town, I headed home. The other guys stayed behind, planning for another day of wheeling the next day, but being a good little Mormon boy, I had to get home in time to get some sleep before Church the next morning.

Back to Negro's Home Page

- Posted by Spaldam

Negro - '07 FJ Cruiser

Early Saturday morning my wife and I flew out to Albuquerque to pick up my new 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser [that I've since named Negro (Spanish for Black), because my wife likes to give our cars Spanish names]. Now that I was starting to feel settled down in Texas, in the Winter of 2007, I was missing my old '97 Tacoma. Thanks to my wife and her Uncle (who has some connections) I was able to get one of the last remaining of only 3200 that came with the TRD Special Addition package. I then sold my GTI shortly there after.

Adventures I've had with Negro:

Clayton Lake State Park, OK - July 2007
Lone Star Toyota Jamboree in Gilmer, TX - January 2008
BridgePort OHV Park, TX - April 2008
Lone Star Toyota Jamboree in Gilmer, TX - January 2009

Things I've added to Negro:

Parabolic side Mirrors
CB Radio - Cobra 75 WXST and Bandi Mount Install
HAM Radio
Factory Sub-Woofer
Factory Passenger Arm Rest
Rock/Undercarriage Lights w/ "factory" switch
Electrical wiring to power radios, extra outlets, GPS, etc.
MAF Skid Plates Install

And now it has been sold. It'll be missed...

- Posted By Spaldam