April 2014 | Volume 7 | Issue 2

Bob's [FRAMED] for April 2014, a great first gen tackling French Creek on Holy Cross Trail, Colorado.

Did you know [FRAMED] shots look great in our iPad app? Get it now on the iTunes Store.

Aftermarket roof racks are a popular outfitting modification for 4Runner owners. One of the benefits is the ability to mount essential extraction tools to the rack for ease of access. Shopping for a shovel or axe mount system that fits the rack securely can be a bit daunting. There is a way to make a perfect fit, and to do it all for around $15.

Photographs by Stan Wright and Jonathan Harris

I never really considered myself to be an impulse decision maker. I’m as spontaneous as the next guy I suppose, but I’m also a responsible husband and father. Every decision I make affects my family. So when registration opened up for Cruise Moab 2013, I did what any responsible father and husband would do. I signed up without consulting my wife at all. Surely she would understand, right? In my responsible, think of others first mentality, I also signed on for the 3-Day Kokopelli Trail expedition prior to the start of Cruise Moab. Once I reached the “pay now” portion of registration, I paused.  I called my wife and explained how epic this trip was going to be. Would she mind staying home with the kids while I traveled the back country of Colorado and Utah?  “I’ll only be gone for 5 or 6 days” I said sheepishly. “What about us?”, she asked. I promised her that next year we’d do Moab as a family. Complete with comfortable accommodations, indoor plumbing and hot showers. This year however, I need to get away on my own. It's important for a man to venture out into the wild on occasion and  it’s refreshing to know such places still exist in this country. But was I prepared? Was my vehicle ready? This isn’t a trip to the store. It’s 150+ miles of backcountry expedition travel. It was time to take a hard look at what I needed.

In the world of aftermarket bumpers for Toyota Tacomas, the available options for consumers are expanding every year.  So when it came time to take my build to the next level with a high clearance bumper, built to suit my overlanding needs, I had a good selection to choose from.