Off Road Adventures Magazine

We began our 1000-mile joy ride in the same location as the 1967 Mexican 1000 opening ceremonies; Tijuana's bull fighting arena. Known by locals as La Frontera, the land beyond Baja California's tourist zone is more than the desolate wasteland one might imagine from the window of a jumbo jet. It is a wild yet inviting place of remote pueblos, centuries old Jesuit missions, rustic cantinas and some of Mexico's most historic hotels...

One of our favorite rigs in the corral was the 100 Series Land Cruiser. Besides the plush interior and luxurious Simpson II rooftop tent, in the back was an ARB Fridge/Freezer for our cold stubbies, a Long Ranger 120ltr fuel/55ltr water combination tank, a sun awning and the normal array of ARB lockers, suspension, bull bars and rear bumper and Safari Snorkel to keep the engine happy. Golden rays of light skipped over the red sands of the Simpson Desert, dispersing long shadows in its wake, alerting us of a new dawn...

The truck always ran with this custom bungee cord hood-safety-system. No front bumper was utilized and only a tiny tube push bar protected things. Guess they didn't do much nudging in the early days...

Camoclad delivers the camouflage graphics printed on 4' Wx5'L vinyl sheets of 3M Controltac 160-C, a 4 mil-thick , premium vinyl film designed for dry application to vehicles. The back of the 3M graphic vinyl is covered with pressure-activated microscopic pockets of adhesive that allow the film to be repositioned during installation until pressure is applied to the film surface by hand or with a squeegee. The vinyl can be easily removed by simply peeling it away from the vehicle body...

The JK's suspension is the same in principle to the earlier TJs, but the parts are totally different. Compared to the TJ's, the JK's have wider wheel well openings. So less lift is needed to clear the same size tires...

Lubricants are key to the long life of your 4x4. They also have an influence on performance and economy, so you can get a double dose of good by upgrading. In Parts 1 and 2 we gave you the 101 course on lubricants...

  Garages seem to inspire inventiveness. They inspire the handiwork of off roaders to create  something better or stronger that will enhance their vehicle of choice. ...

The way things used to be, all we needed was to do one thing well. Now we're multi-taskers - juggling a bowling ball with a gas lamp and a chain saw, all while walking and chewing gum. The same is true of our off-road rigs...