FJ Cruisers of Northern California
Newbie from the East Bay! Helllo!
Hello Everyone! Just joined today! I bought my 2013 6MT FJ Cruiser used just near the end of last year. Since then it's become more of a garage queen due to not having the time to drive it around, or just having nowhere to drive to.
Hoping that joining this forum will allow me to participate on some of the group meets/drives. I'm a beginner offroader with zero experience whatsoever, so I am looking forward to joining some day trips to get my experience up there.
I self-taught how to drive MT in 2011 driving off the dealership lot myself in a 2011 VW GTI, but I have very little experience with it still (total mileage with two cars: 15k miles) and I'm hoping that I can learn some tricks of the trade when using a MT off-road. I traded the 2011 VW GTI for various reasons, but generally I was not enjoying the car. I'm hoping the slow pace will get me more used to the clutch as I seem to ride the clutch a little bit too much due to my fear of stalling out. Day to day driving isn't too bad though, and since I learned in San Francisco, hills do not scare me!
So far the only mods that I've done is swap interior and some exterior bulbs with LED counterparts. Soon, I would love to dabble on the electronics side of things, such as wiring the map light to the dome light. I have a dashcam on the way and it will be my first time getting into the pillars and headliner for any car to complete a hardwire install. I also have a TRD Quick Shifter on the way as well, and it will be my first foray into doing anything mechanical to a car (have not even tried to change the oil on the FJ yet).
Looking forward to the possible adventures in the future, and I hope that I can get in on a Hollister run soon. I intend to take the Safety Clinic from Espirit de Four once slots are open again, since it seems like a great environment/class to learn the basics.
Views: 258
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by RJAMSOIL on
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Out of Castro Valley? That's where I currently live! I drive the tundra around more now but you may have seen my fj here and there super beat up silver one with tons of stickers and a light bar..
Welcome to the forum any questions and we are here to help!
When it comes down to removing the headliner and pillars etc to run wires or anything feel free to hit me up since I am in the same area as you. Would gladly help you out.
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Permalink Reply by Meloncoly on
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Yep. I live in the downtown area. I don't think I've seen yours but there's another black FJ that's 2 blocks from where I live. I've lived in SF my whole life so I'm a recent CV transplant.. Thanks for the offer for assistance! From what I've read it's not too bad to do it, but I'm sure I'll need to pick your brain at some point. I'm semi-confident but there's only so much I can do myself without a lot of experience. I bought a camera through a group buy website and the supplier is having shipping delays so it won't get here anytime soon 3: I'll definitely reach out if I get stuck somewhere...
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Permalink Reply by MLM_FJ08 on
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Welcome from the Far North! This is great group to learn from. A few of them taught me everything I know, and are still teaching me things even after a few years of going out with them. If you can, you should try to make it to the Fireworks from Above run in July that RJAMSOIL has up in events. Its a great place to learn and has a lot of variation in difficulty so you can test yourself and your truck!
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Thanks for the warm welcome! I can actually make that event, but I'm not sure if my vehicle is capable enough for all the planned events? I don't have any lift kits/suspension upgrades at all so I'm still running stock shocks/springs. The only thing I've changed is my tire to Nitto Terra Grappler G2 at 285/70. I'd love to join if there are some easier paths to take that don't require any lift, but I don't want to go and force other folks to have to downgrade the trail difficulty just cause I'm there.
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Not at all! My truck is completely stock and I can make it through most stuff no problem. Going to Bald there are bypasses for harder stuff, so you'll be perfectly capable of getting up there. The trails that RJ talks about, Red Lake and Strawberry, are harder, but I've made it down Strawberry before with bald tires (although I wouldn't recommend that, especially without rock sliders), but I've never done Red Lake. Red Lake is a much harder trail, clearance wise. I usually lead a run to Courtwright Lake, which is nearby and has some fun little things, fishing. and cool views. If I can get down, it'll probably be to the same area, or some other stock accessible trail :) Don't worry at all though, you won't be the only stock truck there and the guys take care of their own.
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Thanks for the confidence boost! I will probably attend since it sounds a whole lot more exciting than just sitting at home, which is usually what I do that weekend. I have some more questions about the event but I'll take it to the event page instead.
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Permalink Reply by FJ4 Tahoe on
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Nice intro, welcome to the group. I plan on setting up a few Meet n Greets and trail runs in the near future...hope to see you there. John
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Thanks for the welcome. I would love to attend some meet and greets. That's one of the things that I miss with other cars/manufacturers. They seemingly have more meet and greets or car meets compared to the FJ scene. I love the FJ more as a car, but I'm quite envious of the huge Jeep community.
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Permalink Reply by Yose FJ (David) on
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Howdy! If you find yourself headed toward Yosemite, let me know.
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Yosemite and the 5 Utah parks are kinda like my end goal. I would love to go if I can get time off work and get some more experience off-roading. Maybe with a rig that's a bit better. I have mixed priorities with spending and at some point I think I'm going to dabble in getting a Miata, so money will be split making one or the other better...oh boy.
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