October 2009

When it comes to expedition style travel many of us have that classic image of the solo explorer traversing dissolute dunes or fighting through dense jungle. In reality, it is more likely to be that other classic scene with dad screaming "don't make me pull this truck over" while the wife sits with her arms crossed and the kids in the back pinch and punch each other. Well truth be told, with a little pre-planning, some habit changes and a bit of post trip debriefing your family will transform into a laughing, talking memory making machine.

We’ve been using our Kenwood DNX-7120 daily for over 9 months now, so we thought it was time for an update on our original January 2009 article.

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Although they’re new to FJ Cruisers, Ricochet Off Road Armor has been producing skid plates for dirt bikes & ATV’s for over 30 years. During the Toytec / FJC Magazine Fun Run in June, one FJ Cruiser managed to get a rock wedged in the open space in front of the front lower control arm (LCA) and had to be jacked & yanked off the obstacle. That’s when we first thought of adding a little protection to our LCA’s.

After reviewing all the top vendor websites, we found very few options for a front LCA skid that was lightweight and provided great protection. That’s where Ricochet comes in. Just a couple of months ago they released their front LCA aluminum guards. They’re very lightweight, super easy to install, and fit perfectly. At only $129, they’re a great way to protect one of the most vulnerable areas on your FJ. For all the install pics, click the Install tab above.

We’ll be testing them out in the coming months, so look for a long term review in 2010. For now, we’re happy to have this added protection.

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An LCA skid before installation

Insert the bolt & washers as shown

Insert the bolts & washers up through the factory holes in the control arm & slip the nut on.
Leave them loose until all bolts are in, then tighten.

Installed & ready to go!

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Which tire to choose?
With over 40,000 miles on our original BFG All Terrain tires, discussions of what our next tire should be have begun at FJC Magazine headquarters. A quick Google of ‘off road tires’ yields more than 300,000 results, so we won’t find any answers there. Heading to the wheels & tires section on FJCruiserForums.com shows a little more promise. There are dozens of discussions on virtually every option. Still, the tire you choose is (like many things in the FJ world) a little like religion. That’s true for us as well, our family has owned seven different 4x4 vehicles in the last 10 years, and we’ve run the BFG A/T tires on all of them.