April 2015 | Volume 8 | Issue 2

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.

With warm weather just around the corner, it’s time to start planning summer road trips. And when it comes satisfying your thirst for adventure, national parks are among the best road trip destinations in North America. Getting to some of our nation’s best known parks is half the fun, and once you’re there, many offer plenty of road to travel and explore.