Crushed 4Runner

I’m a car guy. I love my vehicles. Drive the shit out of them. Name them. Get way too attached to them.

My daughter, Zoe is the same. When this happened to her little Otis, she was (still is) devastated.

It was crushed by a tree in the PNW. Her and her friends happened to be standing outside of it when a tree snapped, fell, scattered them, and pounded the top of the Runner. They are all okay. Zoe was the only one that got hit by the tree, but she walked away with just a slight headache.

We love this little truck. It’s rust free, (was) pretty straight, and very reliable. Now we hae to make the decision to restore it or total it. Right now we’re looking for a donor roof, then we’ll decide. The A-pillars, fiberglass top, and doors survived. The roof is toast though.

She has some decisions to make, and then some work to do…

 

Dagga Boys… and girl?

Dagga Boy! An old, grumpy, male Cape Buffalo… Ready to drop their head, give one last charge, and crush anything with their boss (that big bone shield on their head formed by their horns) .

These old bulls get the name dagga from black mud that they roll around in to protect their balding hides from sunburn. They move slowly in old age and form bachelor groups that are separate from the rest of the herd. You’ll often see them hanging out near water where the soft grass is easy for them to chew with their worn down teeth. Slow. Worn teeth. Balding. No wonder their grumpy.

On our sunset drive in the Kruger National Park, just outside the gate, we ran into a bunch of Dagga Boys. They were near the road and being one of the Big 5, our driver/guide, Chester, stopped.

This is why you go on one the Park’s game drives or bush walks: he immediately saw something out of place. His experience and knowledge told him that something wasn’t right. There was a female with the Dagga Boys. He pointed her out, but said that he wasn’t sure why she was with them.

She is in the foreground in this picture:

He was saying that maybe she was old too, but even then, he had never seen that. Then she turned and walked off with the bulls, slowly moving into the bush. She was limping. On her back right leg was a pretty good sized wound and the limp made her too slow to keep up with the herd, but kept her at the pace of the dagga boys.

If it would’ve been just us in our vehicle, we may have missed the cow with these daggas. The larger group of the herd was up a few meters and on the other side of the road. We would’ve stopped for pictures on both groups and assumed that it was just buffalo crossing the road and ticked one off of the Big 5 sightings…

Take a holiday in the Kruger National Park, and when you do, book some of the Park’s activities. Listen to the guides, ask them questions… We have learned about and seen natural things that we wouldn’t have otherwise…

Lions pooping, Jackal hunting, baby Hyena…

A lioness pooping!

Let me tell you, that is a horrible smell. Oof. She was one of a pride of nine females and cubs that were sleeping in the heat of the day. We were on one of the Kruger Park’s sunset drives. Our guide/driver stopped the big game viewing truck so that all the tourists could get their photos in. We’d been there for a bit when this lioness woke up, walked a couple of meters from the rest, and dropped a deuce.

Right as the guide was telling us how bad lion shit smells, the wind shifted and carried the odor to us. There is nothing that smells that bad.

(In case you’re wondering, no they don’t bury their poop like a house cat).

This was mine and my wife’s fourth trip together to the Kruger National Park. Each time there, we’ve seen the Big 5 (Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Leopard) and a couple of times we’ve been luckily enough to see African Wild Dog: 

Seeing the bigger and more common animals is always fun, but we’ve come love seeing smaller animals, birds, or behavior or interactions that you normally don’t see. Yes, like the lion taking a dump.

One morning we made it out of the gate at the Skukuza rest camp at about 5:00am and headed up a dirt road for our morning game drive. We were extraordinarily lucky that morning as we were the only vehicle on the road when we came across a Black Backed Jackal on a morning hunt.

You don’t see them too often. This guy was moving quickly looking for breakfast. They remind me of coyotes; they’re a bit smaller, but they look similar.

Our last morning in the park gave us our favorite sighting though…  We came up on a den that had two little hyenas, one teenager, and an adult that was baby sitting. The younger ones were roughhousing: wrestling and chasing each other around while the adult seemed pretty non-pulsed.

We turned off the truck we we could sit there for a bit and watch. The youngsters took an interest in the truck (it must have been the rhino and elephant poop and the mud on the tires and under the bumper). They all came sniffing around, looking up at us in the cab.

Seriously, is there anything cuter?

There was a point when I couldn’t see them because they were around the front and under the truck. I started the engine to see all of them scatter across the road and to the safety of the adult (who never lifted her head). When they  realized the truck wasn’t chasing after them, they all cautiously approached. I gunned the engine lightly, sending them all back to the den. They were brave as long as the engine was idling, and spike in RPMs, and they ran for it…

We watched for a long time. Then we drove to the next camp. By the time we came back through, they had moved on.

As usual, The Kruger delivered.

Moving to South Africa: Part I (The Land Cruiser is for Sale)

Yes, it’s time. It’s time for my wife to go home. And, we both really want to explore Africa. I will put more thoughts down about this move in a post later this week. But for now, I want to be able to put out the information that our lovely Land Cruiser is for sale.

The Craigslist had is here: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/2000-uzj100-land-cruiser/6583745849.html

It’s a painful, but necessary, thing to do. I get too attached to my rigs, especially ones that have taken me on lots of adventures. Of all my Toyotas, this one is the king of that. It’s been with me and Natasha for out entire relationship; it moved me from Alamosa, CO to Seattle, WA to be with her. We’ve taken it on countless road trips all over the PNW. We’ve driven it from Seattle to Chicago, to the upper peninsula of Michigan, up to Winnipeg, and across Canada back to Seattle. Last year we camped and wheeled in eastern Washington state, bounced up to Calgary, and drove home through Glacier National Park.

But, we can’t take it with us. Left hand drive cars are no longer legal to import into South Africa. And, it’ll be fun to get another adventure mobile. Maybe a HiLux? 80 or 105-series Land Cruiser? Isuzu KB? Who knows, but it’ll be another one to get too attached to.

Kruger!

If you’re traveling all the way to South Africa, go see the Kruger National Park. Rent a vehicle, car or even a truck, stay in the rondovels or camp. Just go.

Every time my wife has taken me back to South Africa, we’ve visited the Kruger. Each trip we’ve seen the Big 5 (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, rhino), birds and more birds, and tons of zebras, wildebeest, kudu, impala, hyena, etc.

Our trip last August was no different… here are some shots from our last trip:

Elephants:

 

My wife’s favorite, the Kudu:

Lions:

Southern Ground Hornbill

Baboon:

Hyena:

Lilac Breasted Roller:

A spooky Sable in the woods:

Giraffe:

Rent a HiLux! Go camping!

In August of 2016, Natasha and I headed to South Africa as we try to do every couple of years or so to see family and explore. Of course, we always carve out time to visit the Kruger National Park.

The last couple of times we’ve just used whatever rental car we had (nothing like cruising up next to a hippo in a Kia Picanto) and stayed at the chalets. On this trip, we rented an outfitted Toyota HiLux from Kea Travel; we camped instead.

We got lucky and ended up with a 2016 HiLux with 76km on the clock. Brand new! The truck was a bare bones basic single cab 4×4 with the 2.5L diesel, manual transmission, steel wheels, air conditioning. The modifications are basic too: full aluminum canopy, 60L auxiliary fuel tank, 40L water tank, drawer system, 50L Engel fridge, Howling Moon roof top tent,  brush guard, and a Hi-Lift jack. Really, not much more is needed.

 

Camping equipment was included too, gas bottle, pots, pans, etc. They also provide sleeping bags and pillows. The gear was easily enough for us, but less than we usually carry.  Kea’s website doesn’t show the equipment list, but Britz 4×4 does (they were located in the same building and had basically the same trucks); I downloaded it here: Toyota Specs.

The only thing we had to add was a way to carry our food, matches, cooking coals, and the like. We ended up grabbing some banana boxes at a Food Lovers while we getting our groceries and using them. Yes, we’ve used banana boxes before: they work and they’re free.

So, if you’re thinking about doing something similar and want to rent a truck, you can go through Britz 4×4 or Kea Travels. I ended up using a broker called Southern Off Road. They were very easy to work with, allowed me to request a HiLux (I didn’t want a Nissan), communicated quickly, and worked with me and our itinerary. I think that them might even have a way to get you from and back to the airport in Johannesburg.

Was it reasonable? Absolutely. For five days we paid R7320 (the Rand to Dollar fluctuates, so check it when you’re ready to book…). Because we stayed in the campgrounds of the Kruger National Park, we paid less for our overnights then renting lodging. It was a brilliant trip.

And some inspiration for renting a 4×4 and doing trips in South Africa: check out Drive South Africa’s You Tube channel here.

Get out there!

A little FJ40 love

My first Land Cruiser was a 1972 FJ40: F engine, 3-speed transmission, and very few mods. 40s and other more agricultural type 4x4s are my favorites. The rough ride, the smells, rattles, the feeling of driving something robust.

Every time I see a 40, I have to stop  and look, especially if it’s stock or lightly modified. This summer my wife and I took a trip through the north eastern part of Washington on our way to Calgary. This FJ40 was peeking out from a garage in Metaline Falls, WA…

I hope it hits the trail again someday….

How can you safari…

…in a rental Kia Picanto? Or VW Golf?

The key word is “rental”.

Seriously, Natasha and I first went to the Kruger National Park in South Africa on our honeymoon. We took the Kia Picanto that we’d rented for the Joburg portion of our trip to South Africa. It as a small car. Really small. And, it was quite scary to stop anywhere near hippos, rhinos, etc. in.

Two years later, we went again; this time we ended up with a VW Polo. Kind of a cool car: manual transmission, roll down windows, very basic. It wasn’t as small as the Kia, which was better, but you still are low to the ground in one. And I worried about the street tires on gravel and dirt roads (there aren’t difficult trails in the areas of the Kruger for self drive safaris). It was slow though. SLOW.

Funny how they’re similar colours…

We’re headed back to South Africa in a couple of weeks! But this time, we’re renting a Toyota HiLux! Yes, it’s diesel, has a roof top tent, camping supplies… safari ready. Now granted, we wont do any hardcore driving, it is the Kruger… But it’ll be nice to sit above the grass, and to be able to say in the campgrounds in a RTT…

Stay tuned for rental information and pics of the truck and, of course, South Africa in the near future!

Lenses for Otis!

This little 4Runner, Otis, came to our family in really  good shape… A little dirty, and needing paint, but straight and complete otherwise.

Then, Zoe came home one day with that look: tears welling up, sad face. She told me she had really hurt the truck. I thought: “Oh, no, she must have really messed up.”

No, not really. She just did one of those things that make you wonder about teenage brains. On her way to school, she regularly cut through an alley after stopping for snacks at a grocery store. On that day, she found her way blocked by an open door of a storage container; she slowly pushed it closed with her bumper… only to have her left park lamp busted out by a piece of metal.

Then, not too long after, she was parked in downtown Seattle and came back to the truck to find the left rear light broken out.

These are the kind of things you have to fix; if you don’t, the truck will look shabby and it seems other things will go wrong..

Zoe ordered replacements to match OEM. The rear taillamp lens is all one piece. And the front corner lamp is all one unit with a bulb included. The feel and look of these two lenses are good. It’s hard to tell if they’ll match OEM pieces though; that’ll take a lot of time and weather to know.

The rear lens fit absolutely fine. It was a straight bolt on.

The front one, however, wasn’t as easy. It did take some fiddling around, pushing, and pulling. We finally got the bottom screw in, and I pushed on it to line it up the other two holes and she ran the screws and got it all bolted up.

A little cosmetics goes a long way; now the truck is back to where we had it after a few improvements.

 

 

Now, on to the next things!

“The pedal suddenly goes to the floor.”

“And it’s really scary when stopped on a hill…” Zoe says while we’re watching TV.

Nice. And she was so calm about it.

The symptom made it really easy to diagnose, but we double checked anyway. It was simple: start the truck, put my foot on the brake, and wait… There would come a point where the pedal started dropping to the floor.

Master cylinder.

Zoe picked up a stock replacement from O’Reilly’s and we had her wrench another repair on her 1987 4Runner. Putting a new master cylinder on a simple vehicle like this little truck is the perfect project for a beginner:

First, unplug the lead coming out of the master cylinder cap and then disconnect the brake lines from the old master cylinder (we used a bottle under them to catch leaking brake fluid). Find something to cover or plug them so that no contaminants get in. Zoe used some plastic wrap.

After that, simply remove the four nuts holding the master cylinder to the brake booster, and remove.

Here is the cool part: the directions for the master cylinder give you the step by step procedure on how to bench bleed it. This involves placing the new master cylinder level in a vice or other clamp on a bench, filling it full of brake fluid,  and running tubes from the fitting for the brake lines back into the reservoir. You then use a dowel to push the cylinder in and pump the air out of master cylinder.

But, I don’t have a vise or other way to hold it.

We used the truck as our “bench” by bolting the new master cylinder on to the truck without attaching the brake lines. Then, we copied the bench bleeding procedure by filling the reservoir with fluid and let some drip out. Next, we fitted the green fittings they supplied, attached the plastic hoses, and ran them back into the reservoir:

Zoe pushed the brake pedal down slowly while I held the hoses in the fluid. I had her repeat the procedure until no air bubble were present (there were a few really big ones right away, but they disappeared quickly. We didn’t even try to get all the very tiny ones out). At this point, we quickly pulled the green fitting out, put the brake lines back on, topped off the fluid, capped the reservoir, and plugged it in. Done.

It was that simple. And by “bench bleeding” the master cylinder this way, we managed to get zero air in the lines. The brake pedal feel was firm right from the start, and braking performance greatly improved. We’ll still bleed the entire system just to make sure…

Easy project and Zoe saved quite a bit of money by doing it herself.

A couple of notes though:

Buy a set of flare nut wrenches that are appropriate for your vehicle. They’ll make working on fuel and brake lines so much easier.

And! Tie back your hair. I didn’t think about it while we were doing this, but when I looked at the pics I saw it: Zoe should’ve had her hair tied up and out of the way. If this would’ve been a project on a running vehicle… yikes.