In the aftermath of my Rausch Creek experience, I've been collecting info from the many lessons learned during the run, in order to improve the overall experience for future runs. Many of the items I mention below are convenience items, not necessities, I'll admit. We had plenty of stock FJ Cruisers along with us during the run and not a single one of them ended up stuck or required retrieval. Most of the things I talk about below are simply designed to enhance the FJ's capabilities off-road, giving it the ability to go even more places without fear of excessive damage or getting stuck.
One of the most notable and rewarding lessons was that having a lift makes a world of difference. While trailing behind a number of stock vehicles, it became painfully obvious that the additional 3" of clearance, although not a huge amount of lift, was enough to avoid most, if not all, of the obstacles we encountered. The vehicles riding at stock height would often make contact with the larger rocks or stumps which can obviously result in unwanted breakages.
Under-belly protection served me very well during the adventure. I've been running BudBuilt's skid plates from front to rear for awhile now but this is the first time I've had an opportunity to test them out. Granted, I didn't make much contact due to the lift, but the peace of mind from knowing I was protected during the times that I did hit or straddle something, is well worth the investment. The skids currently cover the motor, transmission, transfer case and gas tank with 3/16" steel plating.
Rock rails or sliders are a key component if you plan to off-road anywhere near stumps or large rocks. Your rocker panels will thank you later for the added protection. I ran Rausch with the OEM rails but have since replaced them with a custom set from BudBuilt. Although the Toytoa rails are beefy enough, the new sliders offer a lot more protection because they stick out much further and are designed with a kick-out in the rear to help save the rear quarter panels from trees and jutting rocks. They are also constructed of much thicker tubing than the OEM sliders.
In a phrase... Liquid CO2 tanks rock! I did a lot of research into the merits of on-board compressors vs CO2 tanks and in the end, for my needs, the CO2 seemed like a much better alternative. But I'm sure others will disagree. The downside to a CO2 tank is that it's limited in its capacity whereas a compressor will continue to generate air as long as there's power. But the speed with which a CO2 tank system can refill tires is amazing. You can also use air tools with a CO2 tank although you need a pressure-adjustable tank. Cost to refill is around $12 for a 10 pound tank so it's relatively cheap. The tanks mount just about anywhere in your vehicle and are portable so you can use it virtually anywhere.
Prior to this run, I was informed that a single 10 pound tank could fill roughly 80 tires (or one vehicle 20 times) before running out of CO2. The main lesson I learned on this trip is that those numbers were highly inflated (no pun intended). When I spoke directly with the manufacturer, in my case I went with a Powertank setup, I was told that the total refills was highly dependent on the size of the tires and how much pressure was expected. I actually ran out of CO2 just as we were filling the last tires on the second day. I had done some preliminary testing with a set of new Trailhead deflators prior to the run so I had refilled my own tires multiple times along with several other vehicles during the run. In total I probably got about half of the original quote, around 40 refills. I have now added a small 12v compressor to my on-board items just in case I run out while in the field at some point in the future.
I mentioned the Trailhead tire deflators above. In general, increasing the size of your footprint (literally not environmentally) will offer better traction on most terrain. As a rule, many of the folks that hit these trails will air down their tires to around 10psi. Some go lower, some higher. The problem is that with the stock valves, airing down a 35" tire to 5-10psi can take awhile. Multiply that times 4 tires and you end up with a whole line of off-roaders waiting while their tires deflate. That's where the Trailhead deflators work their miracle (of sorts). These deflators are designed with an adjustable pressure setting so you once you get them set to the proper pressure you just screw them onto your valve and they do the rest. They can even be left on your stems while you drive (although I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing this). I aired down from 35 to 15 psi, all four tires, in less than five minutes. The only difficulty I had with these is in the adjusting and testing. The adjustment is done using an allen-head bolt that sits inside the deflators. They estimate about 1.5psi per turn of the bolt, offering pressures from 5-20 psi as an option. Once I get the setting correct though they work like a charm.
Mud hole + Mechanical Fan = Adobe Engine. In many ways, an electric fan would be nice. I'll grant you, the mechanical fans push a lot more air, but hitting mud holes, even at slow speeds, results in an entire engine comparment coated in mud. It's like throwing pudding at a giant cuisinart. Somebody's walkin' away covered in chocolate. A switchable electric fan would give you the option of turning it off temporarily while you traverse the holes. Mind you, I have no objection with mud in my engine compartment from a cosmetic perspective. It's not a show vehicle after all. But there have been reported incidents of mud causing damage to pulleys, belts, starters, etc. It stands to reason that throwing a bunch of grit and grime into mechanical works will most likely cause some issues. Mud has potential for getting baked and caked into the radiator fins and causing overheating issues as well. I guess this is just one of those things that you learn to deal with when off-roading. I just wish there was an easier way to clean things up afterwards to avoid doing more long-term damage. Anyone have any recommendations for cleaning your engine compartment of mud and debris without damaging engine components?
For the time being, I have no plans to get a winch. Most of the trails we were hitting were nowhere near to the level where you'd need much more than a kinetic strap to pull someone free. Plus, I still have yet to find a decent front bumper alternative so this upgrade will most likely be waiting awhile longer. I do have a rear bumper picked out but unfortunately the vendor is still in the process of finalizing the design on the swing-out portion (holds the spare tire and fuel cans) so I'm on hold until they finish testing. With the addition of the two equipment racks (plus the equipment) on the rear door, I could really use a solution to get the spare tire off the door. The excessive weight is causing the door to start sagging (not good). So I'm hopeful this bumper, or an equivalent, will be released soon.
Roof racks... I have to say that I love my Gobi Stealth. It did a marvelous job of holding the hi-lift jack, shovel and axe, keeping them out of the way but still easily accessible. With the ability to hold up to 300 lbs of gear, the only drawback that I've found so far with the rack is that I don't use it enough. Most people, including me, try to avoid placing a bunch of heavy objects on their racks because it's unwieldy and tends to raise the vehicle's center of gravity. So it comes down to lighter-weight items. When we are traveling, this means things like suitcases but then weather-proofing and potential thievery become issues. I think the compromise will come in the form of a weather-proof bag or bin that is lockable and sits on top of the rack. So far, we haven't had to haul so much gear that it didn't all fit inside. But I suspect that day will come sooner than later as we get out for more expeditions. In addition to cargo storage, I also need to find a way to secure the hi-lift so that it doesn't drive us nuts with the constant rattling. I already removed the base plate but the main collar piece is still loose enough that every bounce causes it to bang against the shaft. Perhaps Mike has a good solution for this?
Twelve-volt accesories are a near must for anyone traveling these days. The main difficulty we ran into was that due to the sheer number of 12v items in the car, it becomes a literal rat's nest of wires and components. To compound this problem, the FJ comes with one, repeat ONE, 12v outlet in the center console. I'll admit, I'm not sure what Toyota was thinking on this one. So I'm on a quest to install more 12v outlets for future runs. My biggest problem is that I want to do it in such a way as to avoid all the wires running everywhere. Anyway have any good ideas for adding a lot of 12v accessories without having wires running every which way? I'm not looking to hard-wire things, since many of these items are portable for a reason. But I would like to come up with a solution that allows everything to be plugged in without the wire nest hassle. Still working on a good solution for this problem. In the same line of thinking, I plan to add a separate 60a fuse block that's tied directly to the auxilliary battery. My current plan is to have half of it keyed and the rest constant hot.
GPS... GPS... GPS... I have been on the lookout for a GPS solution for over three years now. Heatherdawn has had one in the last two cars she owned but I have yet to plunk down any change for a unit simply because I'm... well... extremely picky. While I'm aware that most of our driving is done back and forth to work (areas with which I'm familiar), there are many more places that deserve exploration, areas that could be much more easily traversed with the use of a good GPS (READ: We got lost multiple times on the way to Rausch Creek). In addition, I am now looking for a unit that provides detailed topographical and trail information. So I just made my search even more difficult. My most recent research suggests that for the money, I'm better off purchasing two separate units, one that is dedicated to road maps and the other that specializes in off-road topo mapping. Even then, it is extremely difficult to narrow down a selection from all the choices available. Still looking on this one.
Breather tubes... While I did extend the breather tubes for the rear differential and e-locker befoe this last run, I didn't get around to extending the transmission and transfer case breathers. I don't think I'll have any problems from this last run, but we did hit some pretty high-water levels so for sanity's sake, I plan to finish this mod before any future runs. Due to a short suspense I was also limited to using plastic fittings for the rear. Now that I have more time, I plan to replace these with brass fittings.
Transition to synthetic... I'm right under 38K for mileage. I believe the engine has had more than enough time to break itself in at this point. So as of this next go-around, my plan is to replace engine, front and rear diff and transfer case with synthetic fluid. Anyone have recommendations for brands? This will be the first vehicle I've used synthetic in so I'm looking for opinions here. The one name that I recall from the forums is Royal Purple. Don't know much about it though. Once I find a good brand, I hope to get this done within the next few weeks.
Rear lower links... in the case of the FJ, the stock links are prone to bending if they land directly on an unyielding obstacle. The lift also affects the stock upper control arms in the front. For these reasons, I have ordered a set of replacement UCAs from Man-A-Fre (should be here next week) as well as replacements for the upper/lower links in the rear. I hope to install these next weekend. The new equipment is much beefier and should allow for much greater articulation than the stock pieces. Anyone know where I can pick up a pickle fork or a ball-joint separation tool? Not that I've ever used one... I'm still learning about this stuff. But I know I'll need one or the other to separate the UCAs from the spindle.
Front coilovers... I actually had the stock coilovers replaced over two years ago, shortly after I purchased the FJ, to improve the overall ride quality. Coincidentally, I say coincidentally because I don't think it has anything to do with the last run to Rausch, the front coilovers are now showing signs of needing a rebuild. When I contacted Icon Vehicle Dynamics (the manufacturer) about getting this done, I was told that they could also adjust them to give them an additional inch of travel as well as a few other minor tweaks to improve their performance. Excellent news! I spent a few hours yesterday getting them removed and will be shipping them back early next week for a rebuild. I don't know that I'd want to be a mechanic for a living, but the more I dive into this stuff, the more fun I'm having. Just for fun, I've included a link to some photos that I took after I dismantled the front end yesterday. Mud, mud and more mud!!
Icon Coilovers Removed
Oh, one last lesson learned... it's a quick one. When on the trail, it's best to not open ones sunroof after it's been raining for hours, even if it does appear to be clearing up and getting sunny. Apparently... this will result in a lap and console full of rain water the first time you hit an incline. Now who could have predicted that? 
