The last major component of the FJ Cruiser fit out was installing a dual battery system. I have some electronics on board in order to help me navigate, research places to go, and stay connected, and all of these need to be recharged. I can charge them while I drive, of course, but if I decide to stop somewhere for several days, I don’t want to have to make a choice between losing charge on my gear or jeopardizing my starting battery….
At 3am I had an epiphany. Waking suddenly from a restless sleep I realized that the distortion of the drawer frame caused by the wheel wells was only near the bottom, but if I mount the drawer runners as close as possible to the top of the frame, then there’s likely to be enough room for them there. And there was plenty of room for the drawers themselves in the frame, but the front drawer panels were cut larger and the…
I was up early again on Sunday morning and back at Lowes for paint and some industrial carpet, after which I got straight to work. Sunday wasn’t the unmitigated success that Saturday was, although it started out well enough. I began by installing the hardware on the drawers, first the runners, and then the handles. This is the storage part of the assembly, all put together. The drawers slide in nicely. The next step was to try it in the…
Now that I have the FJ Cruiser, the next step is to fit it out for long distance travel. Because I’ll be carrying everything I need with me, and I intend to camp or sleep in the truck most nights, it has to be both comfortable and have adequate storage. The way I’ve decided to accomplish this is to build a raised platform in the back, with drawers for storage underneath. I’ll be able to sleep on top while still…
Ok, now it’s getting exciting! Today I picked up the vehicle that’s going to share this epic road trip with me. If you know me at all, you know that I did my homework on what vehicle would be best for this adventure. I considered Subaru, Jeep, Honda, and Toyota vehicles, among others. I looked at the specs for station wagons, SUVs, and cross-overs mainly, but was open to all possibilities. I had DATA! I had SPREADSHEETS! I test drove…