January 2012

If you’ve met Digger Digg from Outrider Off Road, you already know what I’m about to impart. He’s a salt of the earth, no nonsense fabricator with a great head for engineering and a huge heart. While in the Dallas area for training I was lucky enough to catch up with Digger for a few minutes late one evening to check out his fabrication and product development operation, in an aircraft hangar.

Digger loves off road and creating super tough works of art for our FJs, and he also loves flying. As a partner in Flying Cowboys, he has secured a nice little piece of an aircraft hangar at Hicks Airfield, just northwest of Ft. Worth, Texas. Nestled among piston airplane engines, various bits of welding sidework, and of course a gutted Huey (UH-1) helicopter, I found an efficient operation that centers around Diggers newest toy: the plasma cutter.

Rear Lower Control Arms (LCAs) are one of the most vulnerable parts of the FJ Cruiser suspension. The OEM parts are made of thin metal that’s fine for road driving, but not suited to take the abuses of rocks, shelves, and other off road obstacles. While our previous aftermarket LCAs have worked fine, the Kevlar lined heim joints had a tendency to squeak and clunk when off road. When General Armor asked us to take a look at their new product, we were excited for the opportunity.

The first thing you notice about a General Armor LCA is that it’s constructed of square tube vs. round. This provides a smoother surface to slide on should you need it, but it also spreads the load over a wider area and more steel (1.5” X 1/4" wall), which results in less stress on your LCA and the FJ. The bushing casings are attached to the links via a proprietary TIG weld, which is where the additional strength comes from. You can really see the difference in the cross section photo.

A gorgeous Saturday morning greeted our fairly large group of FJ Cruisers in Bailey, Colorado. The goal for the day: the top of Geneva Creek. While this particular trail wouldn’t challenge a stock FJ Cruiser under normal circumstances, the end of October means cold temperatures and the chance of significant snow drifts in the Colorado high country.

The beginning of Geneva Creek trail is about 18 miles from our meeting point in Bailey, so we were on the road before 9:30. Heading down 285 toward Fairplay, we turned right at Grant onto County Road 62, the turnoff for Guanella Pass (which leads to Georgetown, CO). There we picked up another FJ as we zoomed past him at the turn. Mikes ’07 Black Diamond FJC was the eighth in the group, and since more FJs are always better, we knew we’d have a great day.

Of course you’ve heard of Thrill On The Hill (TOTH), the annual off road rally held in Cloudcroft New Mexico over the Labor Day weekend. It’s a family oriented event offering four wheeling opportunities for people of all skill levels, and you can’t forget great evenings full of Barbeque, a live band, and the occasional adult beverage.

As new comers to the FJ Cruiser community we were full of excitement, anticipation, uncertainty, and even a little hesitation to be heading to our first FJ Cruiser off road Rally. Luckily the anticipation of four wheeling and exploring one of New Mexico’s pioneer town’s soon pushed aside any concerns. We are so new to the FJ world we didn’t even know about the event until just five days before it started. Thankfully Brandon Burling and Rachael Lucero were great at getting us registered and were be able to get us in contact with Camp of the Tall Pines for lodging. So the rush of just a few days planning with their help worked out flawless, and just as efficiently as a well thought out trip.