October 2011

Sedonafest 2011 has come and gone!  The fifth annual event was the largest yet with 70 trucks and over 150 people in attendance.  Many thanks to our generous sponsors for backing another year of our famous raffle.  Over $2,000 was raised for the Every Kid Counts charity and the Arizona Off Highway Vehicle Coalition.

It’s easy to spend thousands of dollars and pack your rig with recovery gear, yet when the time comes to use that gear it just doesn’t meet your needs. When we came across the LiftTrax we were very intrigued by the possibilities. LiftTrax use pneumatic power of trapped air to support your truck in recovery situations. According to their website, they can be used to avoid high centering, to cross ditches, climb shelves, or as traditional sand ladders.

When most of us get excited about the FJ Summit, we imagine the Wednesday dinner, trail runs Thursday through Saturday, and the group photo on Sunday morning. We are all always very grateful for the work the volunteers and directors put into the event, but don’t give much thought beyond a thank you, hand shake, and the occasional adult beverage.

This year I was lucky enough to be able to help organize the event in a minor capacity. In addition to the event guide FJC Magazine does every year, I had the opportunity to act as a vendor liaison for the FJ Summit. This meant that I got involved in the planning process fairly early and got to witness much more behind the scenes action that most Summiteers never get a glimpse of.

How about a green FJ? No, not THAT green – a real ‘off road worthy’ green. I’m talking about a matt green 2010 FJ Cruiser, completely customized to support the XPLORE program and your national parks. This is the XPLORE Special Edition FJ Cruiser, and you can get one now at many Toyota dealers.

During the FJ Summit in Ouray, CO (See page 6), we had an opportunity to spend a little time with the XPLORE FJ and chat with Ron Flint from the XPLORE program. The first thing you notice about this FJ is that it’s clearly built for exploration. Part Overland truck, part weekend warrior, XPLORE set this FJ up for one purpose: Family fun!