FJ Build Blog

CrtrGrl and I have enjoyed tent camping and backpacking and we want to spend more time outdoors than we currently do. We want to make camping and exploration easier and more comfortable, by spending less time setting up camp and having more time for nature and photography. A base-camp, from which we can do day hikes or backpacking, would provide comfort and ease-of-use. It has to be something we can live in for weeks at a time and that supports our lifestyle.

While going through our options, CrtrGrl and I realized that we didn’t want to lose the off-road, all terrain benefits of our FJ Cruiser. We really enjoy camping in the wilderness, far away from other people and civilization. So that ruled out a motor-home and a normal travel trailer. An expedition trailer would fit our needs, but would make driving a bit more complex by adding a third axle. Parking, backing up, etc would be more difficult. We haven’t ruled that out for the future, but for now, we don’t want to tow anything. Then we found YouTube videos of folks that have built out their FJs or Jeeps to be overland vehicles. Bingo!

Throughout this series, I’m going to try to provide enough information for someone else who is looking to build something similar. We want you to take advantage of the homework we’ve done or learn from the mistakes we’ve made. At the same time, we don’t think you want to read a 50 page blog just on installing a roof rack. We’re more than happy to provide more information, so if there’s something you’re looking for, please leave a comment and we’ll provide the gory details!

We’re also doing a YouTube video series that complements these blogs.

In these blogs, we share our overlanding build-out of our FJ Cruiser.