the blue truck: The Cruiser

By now my old Toyota has been a solid, trustful and dependable traveling companion. Since the start of my trip in the North-East of the USA it has driven me almost 70'000 kilometers to my current location at Cancun on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. Meaning it has accumulated a total of over 170'000 kilometers since it was born in Japan about 11 years ago. Except regular maintenance, such as engine oil and filter changes as well as Diesel-Filter replacements and a set of new brakeshoes in the front it has not demanded anything else than Diesel and a new set of shoes in Canada. A truely dependable low-tech car.

Surely true that the Japanese once were copy-cats like nuts. And no doubt, the original Land Cruiser was a product uf such work and detailed studies of what the US Americans brought to life with the original Jeep as well as what the British brought on the market with the famous ever lasting and so cool Land Rover, in it's latest version as Defender still being on the market after over 50 years! - The thing is, what the Japanese really mastered in is not just taking a copy but looking, looking very carefully and than improving what they saw to a level of quality refinement their "original" would not be able to meet. And yes, I must admit, my Toyota is still one that really was built in Japan, therefore it does not suffer the poor built quility that often comes with US built models, whether they come from famous German car makers or from Japanese car manufacturer that had to move plants to North America to fight import restrictions. - And the Land Cruiser is no where near perfection but it is a very dependable, solidly built long-lasting workhorse.

I would like to thank all of you for the many positive comments I got to the work I have put into the Toyota to transform it from a simple 10 seater troop carrier to the blue truck "go anywhere" travel vehicle. Based on popular demand I have now added hundereds of comments to the Cruiser Photo Gallery so that you can not just look but also read about what I have done, what is what and where it is in the truck where the picture was taken etc. Should you be in the process of building your own traveling vehicle, please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.

Just in case you wonder, my Toyota is a 2001 Toyota Land Cruiser 400D, HZJ 78 with a 4.2 liter Diesel engine, permanent rear wheel drive with selectable 4 wheel drive, full 100% lockable diff's front and rear.

And yes, I would not trade it for a brand new supercharged 130'000 Dollar Range Rover, neighter for the latest super fancy Lexus SUV ;-) - Not because I would think those were no good cars, simply because I prefer the old, simple technic with almost no electronics, its dependability and the knowledge that I might still drive it in 10 years from now.

Touch wood!

Following a series of pictures taken on my trip since October 2010. Would you like to visit the Gallery with the pictures of the "making of" click HERE.