CafeRoaster's '08 FJ Cruiser

[CafeRoaster]

Hey y'all. I'm excited to have joined the club a couple of weeks ago. Picked up this beautiful 2008 Platinum FJC with Auto, A-TRAC, Rear Lockers, and parking sensor. Just under 183,000 miles for $15,500 here in Seattle.

I'm moving up from a 2005 Honda Element AWD that I highly modified, but still found it lacking in areas that I need my rig to be strong in. I will definitely miss the cargo space in the Element, but ultimately, I've landed myself in my dream truck. I'll be selling the Element if anyone is interested. ;)





In Progress:

• Desert Armor UL RTT (sitting in garage right now)
• Sherpa Equipment Fuji roof rack (on the way)
• Decided on rock sliders - want ones with kickout that work well as a step for accessing roof.

 

[CafeRoaster]

Today, I installed my dash cam that I had in the Element. It's a lot less clean than it was in the Element, as there is far less room in the headliner. In the Element, I was able to tuck all of the extra cable up in the headliner. Not so with the FJ. So for now I've zip-tied them into bundles behind the mirror.





For the rear camera, I'd like to install some sort of "stay" that will ensure the cable doesn't get shut in the door. I don't know of anything like that though, so if y'all have ideas, let me know!



I took a look at the engine filter yesterday. Looks like I have the discontinued TRD intake with that silly conical filter in it. Because I can't find any conical air filters with a 5.5" flange inner diameter, I'll be removing the adapter inside the air box so that I instead just have a 4" flange inner diameter to work with.

To my eyes, this filter needs replaced. The crumpling pleats don't give me confidence.

 

[North American Sojourner]

Run the wire along the headliner and down the "A" pillar. Same on the rear. I'm sure there is a harness that goes from the door to the car body. (license plate light?)
I guess my biggest question is why all the cameras?
Zim

 

[CafeRoaster]

Today, I got the Sherpa Fuji rack and my Desert Armor UL RTT installed!

A buddy helped me out on the rainiest day of the season. It was not fun and my fingers are still numb, but I had a pint of Fort George Vortex IPA, which makes it okay. And we finished before noon.

 

[brewerrob]

Sweet rig! I second the recommendation of feeding the extra cable down an A pillar. That's pretty much what I did for my camera system on the Sequoia. As to the question about why the cameras, I got clipped by someone a couple years ago. Her insurer wouldn't cover the damage to my vehicle because she said she was trying to get out of someone else's way and hitting me was incidental to that. If I had video proof, my insurer would have been able to push the issue more perhaps. My system has a parking mode too so I feel slightly better when parking in more sketchy areas.

 

[CafeRoaster]

Sweet rig! I second the recommendation of feeding the extra cable down an A pillar. That's pretty much what I did for my camera system on the Sequoia. As to the question about why the cameras, I got clipped by someone a couple years ago. Her insurer wouldn't cover the damage to my vehicle because she said she was trying to get out of someone else's way and hitting me was incidental to that. If I had video proof, my insurer would have been able to push the issue more perhaps. My system has a parking mode too so I feel slightly better when parking in more sketchy areas.

I used to run the parking mode, but it only lasts for a little bit before the car battery gets too low. I set ours to 12.2v if I remember correctly. What's yours set at and what type of car battery?

I've thought about throwing my AGM in and allowing the parking mode to run on that, but I still don't want to wake up to a dead battery.

 

[brewerrob]

I used to run the parking mode, but it only lasts for a little bit before the car battery gets too low. I set ours to 12.2v if I remember correctly. What's yours set at and what type of car battery?

I've thought about throwing my AGM in and allowing the parking mode to run on that, but I still don't want to wake up to a dead battery.

I'd have to check, but I think I have mine set for about 12.2V as well. I only enable it occasionally. There have been at least a couple times when I probably should have turned it on, but didn't think to. Fortunately the rig was ok parked in those settings.

 

[CafeRoaster]

Due to life circumstances and trying to sell my Honda Element, I have yet to get into the wild with the FJ.

That said, I’ve got some goodies heading my way.
Expedition One was having a 25% off sale on their rock sliders, so I pulled the trigger, which lead to me having a bit leftover since I’d budgeted more than what they ended up being. In all, here’s what’s coming:

- Expedition One rock sliders
- Bison Gear spare tire mounts
- Bison Gear propane bottle holder for spare tire mount
- Bison Gear diff breather kit
- Bison Gear drop down tailgate table

 

[HaVeeBear]

Due to life circumstances and trying to sell my Honda Element, I have yet to get into the wild with the FJ.

That said, I’ve got some goodies heading my way.
Expedition One was having a 25% off sale on their rock sliders, so I pulled the trigger, which lead to me having a bit leftover since I’d budgeted more than what they ended up being. In all, here’s what’s coming:

- Expedition One rock sliders
- Bison Gear spare tire mounts
- Bison Gear propane bottle holder for spare tire mount
- Bison Gear diff breather kit
- Bison Gear drop down tailgate table

I'm curious to know how you like the Bison Gear....Once you get a chance to test it out....

Build is coming along nicely !

 

[CafeRoaster]

I'm curious to know how you like the Bison Gear....Once you get a chance to test it out....

Build is coming along nicely !

Thanks! I’ve heard good things about their stuff, and their support has been great. When I ordered the gas bottle holder, they reached out and asked if I was sure my propane container would fit because many American ones are larger.

I’m a little bummed that I didn’t snag their roof rack because it has an additional rear extension. That would have been awesome!

 

[AggieOE]

Nice upgrade! I love those Elements but the FJ almost comes across as its natural big brother, looks-wise.

 

[CafeRoaster]

Nice upgrade! I love those Elements but the FJ almost comes across as its natural big brother, looks-wise.

Totally! My kid even remarked about how I should have gotten a vehicle with 4 real doors. Haha. Passengers definitely prefer the Element, though. The FJ has so much less room. Haha

 

[CafeRoaster]

I've been working on quite a bit - so much so that I haven't had time to document it here.

I recently installed the JM-2 propane tank mount by Refined Cycles and the tailgate table by Bison Gear. Both are... Okay. The JM-2 isn't very easy to secure a propane tank to. I also have the Bison Gear propane tank mount for the spare tire, but it is too large in diameter for my tank. Plus, I already installed the JM-2 so I'm not sure if I'll use it at all. The tailgate table didn't come with instructions, and it didn't come with a stencil for drilling holes into your tailgate interior. I ended up installing it too low, so I'll be raising it up soon.

I have rock sliders coming from Expedition One. I think I may get some auxiliary lighting soon.

I also just posted about my first trip with Fuji. It was pretty great. Learned a lot. Here's the post. Here's a video: