April 2015 | Volume 8 | Issue 2

Olivia and her FJ Cruiser met in the summer of 2007 while she was attending Ohio State. The FJ served mainly as a means to get to and from class, and the ice rink where she played Division I. During the summer months, her hockey commitment was at a minimum and Olivia enjoyed trips camping and fishing near the Columbus area. After graduating, Olivia and her boyfriend, Ben, packed the FJ and headed west to Colorado, to satisfy their love for the Rocky Mountains and the FJ's true potential. So thoughtful!

It’s been a long road, to say the least…our journey from buying a silver FJ Cruiser in 2007 (used with about 10,000 miles) to signing the papers on a brand new 2015 Tundra Crew Max in gorgeous radiant red. This is our journey:

Auto part and giant retail stores offer tie-down ratchet straps at varying lengths and colors. While these certainly work, there are some constraints and issues. Try to shorten the strap by winding it too tight, and you’ll quickly discover the frustration of trying to unwind the jammed strap. The range in length is limited, so you need to own multiple sizes. The mechanism to loosen the ratchet feels like a guillotine against your fingers. 

I never wanted to put a snorkel on my 2013 4Runner, simply because I wasn’t planning to go anywhere requiring one. After a year of off-roading, I found myself searching for a snorkel compatible with the 5th gen 4Runner. I found the FTS product imported and sold by Pathfinder Outdoors. For installation guidance, I referenced two install discussions on T4R.org, plus I recruited an industrious 4Runner buddy to assist.