There are trade offs for sure. My Red Wagon I think could be built as a better wheeler for much less money but for big road trips it's a bit cramped.

Maybe I just need both?


EDIT///


Perhaps I'd be best off to wait until I move back to Australia. I'm so torn on this idea.


Thanks for the kind words Chef. Meeting up and doing some wheeling was a highlight. You guys where fun to hang out with. Next time will be more epic.

 

WTF is wrong with me thinking of selling.......

Let's rationalise.

Australia has a much better selection of every single variety of Landcruiser ever made. I could get the elusive 70 series!!

They also have frustratingly tight restrictions on modified 4x4's ruining the fun of building stuff yourself or just having a rediculous rig with massive tires.

You have to get big tires and lifts engineered and highway tested. The cost of a diesel 80 series is still up to and above $20,000 AUD. Taking a stock one and throwing on big tires is a big expense that you have to pay someone to do. No backyard hack job allowed on the road in OZ. I will get a Landcruiser, it's a guarantee but why settle for the ˟˟˟˟tier North American versions?


Right now in my storage unit I have a pair of FJ62 axles. I can use the front easily and due to many common parts with the mini truck there is a vast variety of aftermarket support.

The rear would need to be custom but I have a perfectly good 9.5" third to use.

Sure, no high pinion but so far I've not been smashing driveshafts over rocks yet and with careful driving I can mostly keep it that way.


Why sell when I can go nuts with what I have knowing I could never get away with a hacked up 4Runner on 37" tires and crazy tube bumpers and armour.


My other option is to sell my FJ62 axles and get a Dana 60 or something?

 

Nooo don't sell the Red Wagon!!! Lol
Dude so many darn restricions out there what the heck man??? Takes kost of the fun out of owning a 4x4 come on.... you should jist move to Los Angeles with us lol

 

No way too hot.

 

Lol isn't Australia hotter then out here?

 

I agree, the FZJ80 is awesome, but there is no reason to sell the Red Wagon. Besides you know you really want a tight, light, wheeler. The FZ isn't going to be that.

 

No an 80 isn't going to be light and tight. It will be great for Australia though. While there are tight wooded trails over there you find far more open space in many areas. It's a big place too of course but so far I've not seen super dense massive woodlands and they certainly don't have any real high peak mountain ranges.

Maybe it's time to look more closely at the axles I have just sitting there. That extra weight down low will be nice for stability too I bet.

I've been reading that you can make the FJ62 a little wider if you use IFS hubs. I happen to have a set of those too.


I can't wait to start breaking those down and cleaning them up when I get settled.

 

I just picked up a fj front axle for kelvinb. The guy said it was super strong.It has high pinion too.

 

fj80 AXLE?

 

More of Oregon Coast just before Browns Camp OHV playground.

 

I had an absolute riot here.

Met some rad people and one dude who set up his trailer with an amp to wail on is guitar. Pretty fun party there as well as great wheeling.

We had a laugh with some American things. Everythings just a bit bigger, louder and better in America. No whimpy campfire acoustic guitars in Browns Camp.

Too much fun.


I'll post up Day 1 now and the rest tomorrow. We arrived and messed around right away. I was wheeling fully loaded and the suspension performed well.

Not broken yet.





















































































First night camping. Shortly after dinner as we just cleaned two random middle aged dudes came walking over. They go there all the time and where there for some dirt bike annual thing. They invited us around for a drink and some tunes. Really nice people and no one complained. We where loud.

 

awesome pics. looks like a neat place!

 

Bought a truck today.

Got a 2004 ext cab F-150. I'm going to need a pickup for starting my business up. I also need it as the Red Wagon is beat half to death. No one can give me a good alignment with that Blazeland kit. My last guy gave me the best so far but one trip into the bush and it's all off again. I rotated my tires and it tore them up in a couple of weeks.

I now need 4 new tires. They have less tread than a road tire. Red has been relegated to trail truck and driving to the trail head.

For now.


Now that I have another vehicle when I get the funds I will tear her down to get ready for an SAS and general repair and refreshing.

I'm sad to not daily drive it anymore but I will again after some serious work. Air lockers for sure as well. I'm tired of the Spartan tearing up tires and the quirks it causes in handling and driving style.

I can say this with some confidence about IFS long travel and tire size. No matter which kit you pick don't go above 33" tires. The extra weight is too much. Even Total Chaos recommends 33's.

I think to make a big tire work you need to beef up the steering so much that it will cost way more than a solid axle swap. Maybe if I didn't push it to it's breaking point all the time it would work better for me but I enjoy scaring myself a bit when wheeling.

 

I was not able to find specifics on your rim and tire set up. My guess is its 35x12.50R15 on 15x10 rim. Backspace is 3-1/2" give or take? Even Before LT the combination looked wide. With LT things really got interesting.

I run a 15x10 w/ 3.75 backspace and 33x12.50x15 on my 1985 and that set up is great. When I swap those wheels to one of my LT rigs the handling is horrible and alignment and steering is wacked.

I have found a 315/75/r16 M/T on 16x8 steelie w/ 4.25" backspace does wonders for the performance of IFS LT. I also found the same size set up but with A/T and a light weight aluminum wheel is even better.

Being as wide as you are has got to be brutal on components. I think the hard wheeling and high mileage from your long haul road trips is taking a toll. I do agree with you 35s is pushing size and weight for a small light duty rig. However it may not be as much of a SAS vs IFS condition but just a "big wheels on a little truck" sort of thing. And your wide track width compounds the issue. All your road trip touring and DD would be a lot more friendly with aluminum rims and A/T tires. Get a narrower rim and more backspace and you will notice a huge difference in driveability.

 

As promised here are some more photos.


I tagged along with some Jeep guys. They where really nice guys and even helped me remove my sway bar links.

I could not get the removable sway bar links out but wheeled anyway. The ball on the pin was seized locking them in. We had to undo the nuts and take it right out. I've been running with no sway bar ever since.

Due to having much more flex up front the rear got flexed more. The bracket attached to the frame crumpled kinking the sway bar link at a bad angle. I'll have to come up with something better.

Browns Camp is also the first time I came across Americans exercising their right to open carry. One of the guys had a pistol on his hip. Being Canadian and Australian we find it strange. Not strange bad but different and my missus finds it a bit uncomfortable. I understand the appeal and to be honest I would keep one more handy if I was allowed. My shotgun is handy in my house if I need it for home defence I'm just not really supposed to be driving around with it in the back seat.

I was really shocked to learn how ridiculously easy it is to purchase a firearm in the States. This I do think is bad. I had always assumed that Americans had to take a course and get a license just like we do in Canada. I have the right to obtain a firearm I was just supposed to take a safety course. I didn't take the course I just challenged the test. It was super easy but I had cadet and then army reserve training so figured I would be fine to challenge and I was right. Honestly it was so easy I don't think anyone who fails should be allowed a do over. You're too stupid to own one. All you had to do was not point one of the rifles at the instructor, unload it when you put it down and answer a short multiple choice test with super easy questions.

Anyway, I assumed you guys down South had to do the same. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask that someone take a basic safety course before they obtain a firearm. Owning a firearm is a responsibility. It can be a very lethal tool mishandled. No one is able to just jump in a car without some training and an idiot test.

We also submit to an R.C.M.P criminal record check to see that we are not a nut bag psycho. We also give a couple of references if they want to check up on you. I gave them my moms number and the missus.

We used to have a gun registry which I though was stupid. You already know we have a gun why do you need to spend money keeping track of how many?

Personally I love guns. So much fun to go target shooting. I hope to go hunting for the first time next fall. Venison is super tasty. Cuter the animal the better dinner is I've noticed.

I'm rambling, here's pics....





















































































The Jeep dog just before he pissed one the tires to the amusement of the Heep drivers.
















I didn't think I could make it up this one. I was right and neither could the Jeep dude. It was STEEP.




















We then got smashed and met cool people while the old dude wailed.






















That was Browns Camp. Great place.

Next Portland. I didn't take many photos there.














Next we head South. We went to Bend Oregon then off to Northern California and got a membership to the new 49ers. We got to do some gold panning without luck but it was a nice quiet camping spot. We where all alone and it was nice in the woods there.












The dude above ripped a jet down this canyon and under the bridges. Crazy good piloting.
















Some dickheads kept these as pets then tried to let them go. They where found starving and now live in a box.....



















Lot's of cool Lewis and Clark stuff to see. Many pioneer museums as well.

I started having steering issues quite soon after the LT kit and beating on it. First my steering column got a bit loose so I tightened everything on the side of the road.

Sarah made coffee and then we where good to go. No play in the wheel for awhile.











I also took my dash apart and tightened the nuts in the joints. I found one stripped very badly which I have since replaced so I don't have any play in the steering column anymore which is nice.


Next is Northern California but I need to upload them. I'll get on that soon. Thanks for looking in and having a read fellas.

 

I just want to highlight this photo.

It's another example of my tires not facing the same direction like I've mentioned before and shown in video.






How do I stop this from happening? It does not seem to happen to solid axle steering from what I've seen. Does it happen with smaller tires or is something in my rig broken? It certainly kills my alignment destroying my tires on the pavement.

Sarah has watched it cause loss of control in difficult terrain while spotting me. We really saw it in Moab but this was the first sign.

I'd love to figure out a way of beefing that up if it's not going to cost a fortune. No idea where to start though. Something is bending I think.


There is no denying that the kit performs well off road. At this point these where the toughest trails I'd been on so far but the Blazeland kit helped it go easier than my starting trails from early on. Very stable with that wide stance and the flex kept me from feeling like I was going to flop on every off camber obstacle. Even with a roof top tent on!

 

Nice photos man! About the tires pointing different directions - it happens to my rig too (even on 33s and without the blazeland kit). What happens is the idler arm is worn out and either flexes or gives in some direction when there is pressure on the passenger tire. On mine I've been trying to find the cure and what I've found so far seems to echo what BlazeN8 is saying: the offset rims are just super hard on those steering components.

Before buying a brace from Nate, I actually broke two idler arms - sheared off right at the joint. With the brace that is now virtually impossible, however I still get issues with the tires toeing in as the idler arm bushings give and are quickly worn out. The folks at the alignment place are always saying that I must jump it all the time lol...

It was so bad a couple months ago that I couldn't drive in the snow - when I put it in 4 wheel drive the tires would toe in like crazy and steering became almost impossible! Since then I have replaced the idler arm and tie rod ends which has been a temporary fix.

Brass bushings would probably help, at least for awhile - have you tried those?

It seems like the real solution would be something like the total chaos idler arm, combined with some less offset rims.

 

Ah, it's good to see Brown's again! Fun stuff out there, huh? Also been a long time since I've been to the High Desert Museum, I'm kinda surprised the cats are still alive. It does suck what the jerks did to them, and that they have to live in a box now, but at least they're still alive.

Can't wait for more

 

My offset is actually stock. It's just that they are 10" wide that makes them look that way. I only have about an inch of clearance to my outer tie rod end. Even if I bought new rims to suck them in it could only be 1/2 to 3/4 an inch. 3/4 might be pushing it even.

My whole front end steering other than steering box and steering stabiliser is new. Brand new in fact in the video. It was all put in the day before.

Due to the steering issues I'm getting pretty convinced that for my style of driving and wheeling IFS is not for me. The alignment issues has toasted $1400 in rubber waaaaaaaay before it should have. That is not pocket change.

Thanks for chiming i with your infor 90. It's great to know it's not an issue I alone suffer. Anyone with our years IFS who really like to beat the piss out of their rig do. agree with you on the weight and tire size. This is also why I'm starting to really consider the FJ62 axle I have again. I think it will pair up well with 35's or even 37's.


I know Johnny I felt bad for those cats. Some people deserve a good kicking..... I thought the museum was pretty cool. Too bad I didn't seem to take any photos of Bend. I think we where suffering a little travel burn out.


Lever action rifles are cool. I'm allowed them in Australia as well so I think I'll be on the lookout for a nice one. Some legendary cowboy brand or army carbine would be so cool.

 

Pictured above is a factory rim that would be common on a 1986-95 4 Runner. It is a 15x7 and the backspace is 4-5/8" The tire is a BFG A/T size 35x12.50r15.

This size tire is not recommended on a 7" rim but I did find a shop to mounted it for clearance testing. I found the outer tie rod end did clear the tire, but with only with 1/8" to spare.

I found a rim that is similar to yours at 4WPH. Here is a link

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Wheels/Wh...ro+Comp+Wheels

The backspacing listed is 3.75" on two, there was one listed with 2.5" backspace but I highly doubt you have that. Your rim is going to stick out almost 4" further than the factory alloy.

Anyway, I don't want to hijack your thread with IFS technical. Its got such beautiful photos and narrative flow. However, I am taking note of your concerns regarding steering, alignment, and tire wear to heart. I do see the video and photo evidence of the quirks you are presenting and I appreciate it.

As far as finding solutions to keep up with your extreme wheeling goals I can understand your vision to go to the FJ62 live axle but you might want to go Dana 60 or 80 series Landcruiser. I don't see the title of your build thread as being accurate anymore. Its no longer a rookie restore!