So I'm lucky enough to have been able to negotiate a four-month leave with my work for next summer and I'm planning on driving my 1991 pickup from Massachusetts to Anchorage, then back down to the continental US where I'll be bopping around the National Parks, etc. I don't have an exact route and am expecting I'll probably pick up different ideas once I'm actually on the road, but am planning for upwards of 15,000 miles for the trip. I've done something like this before a few years back, where me and my buddy rode our 1977 Suzuki's (GS550 and GS750) in a loop around the country in what ended up being a 10,000 mile trip. I'll be doing a fair amount of highway driving, especially for the first few days just to get out west, but then it will be kind of where the trip takes me. I figured that this might be the only chance I get to do something like this so have been saving/budgeting both for upgrades/maintenance to the truck as well as the trip itself, and am willing to spend a couple thousand bucks on upgrades. Reliability is obviously going to be the most important factor, then capability, then comfort.

I'm sure I'll have loads of questions about destinations, etc. but wanted to get other people's thoughts on what I can do to get the truck to get it prepared for both the mileage, expected maintenance, and conditions that I'm hoping to get into.

Reliability:

Here's the baseline of the truck with what I've done since I got it in 2019 @ 90k miles:

- 1991 Pickup, Standard Cab, 22RE, DLX, Regular Bed, 115k miles
- Spark plugs, transmission and diff oil changed when I got it.
- 4.10 gears with 31" BFG A/T
- Timing chain guides, etc., head gasket replaced this summer, valves lapped in, new valve seals.
- LCE "big brake" kit in the spring, new rear brakes, lines
- LCE header + proflow exhaust + cat
- Rear leafs from LCE + Bilsteins front and back in the past 2 years
- Front and rear wheel bearings this year
- Tie rods this year
- Rear driveshaft Ujoints + distributor cap this month

Capability:

I'm not a hardcore offroader, but have taken the truck out to some remote areas up in the North Maine woods and Michigan's upper peninsula and out on some trails. I expect to be off-pavement a fair amount, especially to get to good camp spots on the BLM land out west, and would also love to be able to explore a little more of the wilderness up in Alaska and British Columbia.

- Dual battery setup using something like this (easy and cheap so why not)
- Onboard air (probably the ARB CKMA12) for airing up/down and repairing flats.
- Front bumper and winch (a little pricey but since I'll mostly be alone, a winch is probably a good idea)
- 33 x 10.5 tires - I'm torn on this because it's an expensive upgrade with the tires, gearing and lift but also would potentially open up more trails and areas to go explore which could be really amazing. Other trade off is that when I drove 1,000 miles from MA to WI over the summer, I was getting 25mpg highway which is pretty amazing and would almost definitely drop with a larger tire set up and 4.88 and 4.56 gears. Not sure what to make of this so while it obviously is a sexy upgrade, has dropped quite a bit on my priority list.

What else would you recommend I replace before setting off? A couple things I've been thinking about were the CV axles (or at least carrying a spare with me), and the alternator. What spare parts would you want to have on hand? Any other tips for prep for long distance travel in a 30 year old Toyota?

Picture for good measure up in New Hampshire's White Mountains:

 

https://themilepost.com/ I was stationed there at Elmendorf AFB just outside Anchorage for five years in the late 70's. "The Milepost" book was the bible, and many people bought a new edition every year. I consider the 70's as "modern times" but back then much of it was still gravel road, and flying rocks, moose, caribou, mud, dust, flat tires, etc. (did I mention dust? were problematical. Many people preferred winter travel if you you had to drive the Alcan. I had half ownership of two old small airplanes, and I didn't get involved with any off-road, so my '65 El Camino with Positracion axle and 8.25x14 radial snow tires on back with studs, was adequate to get around most places. It's a great place and you'll have a great adventure. It is along distance drive. I ferried C-130 airplanes a couple of times to Texas or Arkansas, and we had to "max out" fuel load going down and plan a stop in Washington on the way up (prevailing winds at altitude) as I recall. Have a great trip!

 

Sounds like a great adventure.
I tend to think more along the practical side, it would be cheaper/faster/easier to fly to Alaska and rent a car and you would have all of the time you want to explore without the wear and tear on your vehicle.
But, then again, the journey is epic and there are some great things to see along the Alcan.
There is no crystal ball that will show you what you will need on an adventure, but if you bring a spare tire, jack, lug wrench, tow strap and spare fluids you will be better prepared than most.
If you go off roading in Alaska you should be forewarned, it is a big state. People get lost up here. Phones don't work when you leave civilization. Bring a GPS!!! Get information from locals about trails and conditions before you just pick a direction!
Tell someone where you are planning to go and when you will contact them again!!!
The ground is different every place you go, some places have bottomless mud/bog as far as they eye can see, other places are quite rocky or really steep, so there is no way to be prepared for everything.
Have a great trip, leave nothing but tracks (and plenty of your cash).

 

This sounds like a cool adventure. Would be nice if you could post updates/pics along your way.

In regard to you considering 33's to get you further down the trail, for your use, I think you might be better off going with a selectable rear locker. The rear locker will increase you offroad capability ALOT.

I've been daily driving an 84 22r 33's/4.88s for around 16 years. The two things I can think of that let me down where a blown headgasket and the pickup coil in the distributor failed. There has been lots of other maintenance but those are the only things I can think of that put the truck immediately out of commission.

On a trip like that I would try to think about what could leave you stranded. Belts, hoses, fluids, fuel pump/relay, good spare tire, tools to fix what's needed. A good gas can and a solid way to mount it. If you don't have one, maybe a good temp gauge. The stock gauge can let things get pretty hot before it lets you know. I run these in both my trucks https://www.summitracing.com/parts/atm-5832. Speaking of engine temps fan clutch and water pump are something to think about. Those are some ideas that come to mind. Good luck, sounds like a great time.

 

Thanks for the tips so far! I'll wait until the new year to order the 2023 version of the mile post but that looks like an awesome resource.

I've gone back and forth about flying - definitely would be cheaper/easier/less risky, but I'm committed to the long distance road trip. Plus I like being able to bring my own gear, vehicle, etc. and make it much more flexible. I do plan on spending a bunch of time in the PNW and western US too.

For GPS? What do people use? I was looking into this a few weeks ago but iPhone has a GPS build in that doesn't require the cell network, and I believe that you can download apps with additional map packages so you can load them even without service. Is there a reason to get a dedicated GPS?

I have thought about the locker but then figure if I'm going to open up the diff that I might as well do it once and get the gears, etc. I could always put 4.56 gears in which match the 31" tires better but would also work alright with 33"'s if I went that route later... tempting

Water pump was replaced with my timing cover when I did the guides, along with the oil pump. Hadn't thought about the fan clutch but this is exactly the info I'm looking for!

How about torsion bars? I often think about how it's amazing that the weight of the engine bay just rests on the springiness of two pieces of metal. How much of a concern is it that one might break snap on a trail, especially the original. Worth upgrading for piece of mind?

 

For some really cool driving routes you may look into the “Trans American Trail”, runs coast to coast, and the various “Backcountry Discovery Routes” which traverse various states. I’ve done lots of both and there was no shortage of breathtaking scenery and cool and interesting things to see.

 

nice pic from the kanc.

i wouldn't sweat the 33-inch tires. i did my own southwestern loop of national parks/forests/state parks in my 4runner back in 2016, and did some modest off-road as part of it. ran 31x10.5x15 tires and didn't mind that a bit. you'll be able to get to plenty of non-hardcore wheeling places with that size tires. i'd opt for the winch first since you'll be solo. my '87 ran flawlessly; i'd literally installed a new clutch a day before we left from new england and headed west. at the time, it had around 160K miles on it. in 31 days, i put over 8500 miles on it, running coast-to-coast-to-coast. i'd have put more on if i had longer than 31 days. we went from extremes of about 28* at lodgepole national forest campground outside vernal UT to 124* in furnace creek, Death Valley. we pretty regularly saw daytime highs of 95* to 105* for most of the trip.

the air compressor is a must-have. we aired-down anytime we were off pavement. it's solid insurance against getting a flat tire from sharp rocks. i'd recommend airing down anytime you are off-pavement.

toyotas are reliable, especially when properly maintained (and even when they aren't).









the last pic is at point sublime, grand canyon. one of my favorite locations from the entire trip.

 

as far as mpg, i'm not sure i'd worry about that, either. i believe i averaged around 18 mpg for the trip. my 2nd '87 4runner does better, and i've regularly pushed 24 mpg even with a good cargo load.

my '87 was 30 years old when we took our trip west (made october 1986). i still have the original torsion bars in it, and i still wheel it regularly (with 32x11.5x15 tires now).

 

Awesome, this is all information that I was hoping to get out of this thread so thanks again everyone. Wallytoo - awesome pictures thanks for sharing those. The winch and compressor are definitely on my "must have" list - just need to figure out a bumper/mount for the winch. I really trust the Toyota, but am also going to come as prepared as I can I learned so much about working on broken down motorcycles when I went around the country on two 45 year old bikes haha.

offroadnutz - I just went through your "Two weeks on the NMBDR and ERT" thread. Good stuff! I made a note of both of these on my google doc in case I end up in those areas!

 

my own "continuation" thread, in yotatech's build sub-forum, has a lot of pics of both of my '87 4runners wheeling in north central new england (and northern michigan). open diffs, original 4.10 gearing, 22re engines. the pics show the type of terrain that can be navigated with these toyotas without major mods. for reference, in the first half of the thread, the tires on my red '87 are 30x9.5x15, then the obviously larger more aggressive tires are 32x11.5x15. no lift in either 4runner, either. the white '87 is shod with stock 235/75s.

the compressor in the pictures is the compressor that i used on the western US trip in 2016.

 

If you are gonna do any real exploring on public lands I would recommend a navigation app like Gaia. With it you can download different types of maps and overlay them in layers to customize what you want. The maps I layered on mine are topographical, forest service roads, public/private land boundaries, MVUM roads, NeoTreck land use and a general map. I download the maps on my iPad and iPhone then pair the ipad or iPhone with a Garmin Glo GPS receiver.. In my personal experience the Apple gps is very unreliable and very inaccurate often times . I also keep a spot satellite messenger in case of trouble when outside of cell range.

Might also look into offroadportal.org

If you go the Gaia route I can share some really cool routes with you…

 

Checking in from 2/3 of the way through this trip. I'm currently in Fairbanks, AK and so far have driven 9,000 miles through Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington State, British Columbia and Yukon bringing me to where I am now. I've linked up with a coworker and her husband who are out here in a van they built out and the plan is to go up to Prudhoe Bay, via the Dalton Highway, and dip our feet on the Arctic Ocean.

The truck is running well. I installed 33x10.5 BFG's and re-geared to 4.88's with an ARB air locker in the rear which has been amazing. There are very few, if any, obstacles I've encountered that the truck hasn't been able to make it over/past, save some trails in Moab although that was more due to me not wanting to bang my truck up before having to drive it another 12,000 miles to get home. I've had to do a couple of fixes along the way (fan clutch, front main seal, little odds and ends) but luckily was nearby friends who had a driveway/street parking I could wrench in each time.

I have LOTS of 35mm film pictures that I'll develop and share once I'm back in Massachusetts but thought I'd share a few from the trip so far. Still have a few thousand miles to go...


Rocky Mountain Park - Lots of snow up on the scenic drive through the park



Engineers Pass on the Alpine Loop route in Colorado



Chicken Corners trail in Moab



Death Valley -110F, no AC, fan clutch failing (had to pull over getting out of the park to let it cool down)



Logging road camp spot in Oregon



Forest road in British Columbia




Gaia maps has been a game changer in terms of navigating forestry roads, especially seeing that I haven't had cell service for most of this trip so being able to download maps to my iPhone and then use the GPS rules. Well worth the $40 for the year subscription. Grateful for the knowledge on this forum which has helped me keep the truck on the road the past couple of months and prevented me from cutting the trip short.

 

Looks like quite an adventure. Hope you eventually share details of this trip.

 

Ahhhhhh, I wish I had time…….. maybe one day

 

[QUOTE=22RENE; the plan is to go up to Prudhoe Bay, via the Dalton Highway, and dip our feet on the Arctic Ocean.
.[/QUOTE]
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are security gates you would have to pass through to get to the Arctic Ocean. you could dip your toes in the lake by the Aurora Hotel, the picture would still look fairly authentic.
I don't know if there are still tours available these days to get access onto the oil lease.