Stock Land Cruiser Stories

[boisematt]

Hey LC People,

I love reading all the posts about what you're doing with your new J250s and I'm building a wish list that includes upgraded tires, rock sliders, skids plates, and some other items. I've got a 25 LC LC with 20" wheels and stock Geolander tires. We have a SPACE trailer (basically a small utility trailer, nothing too big or fancy) we'll be towing this summer on our car camping trips. Quite honestly, our car budget is blown for the year, so apart from some very small items (cargo area mat which was not standard from our dealer and the upgrade cargo area light), we're going to be using her as is this year. Come fall, we'll get some winter tires as we ski quite a lot and my hope is next spring we'll have the budget for some more aggressive AT tires. One of the main reasons we went with the LC was to be more adventurous, mainly on the extensive network of forest service and other backcountry roads here in the inland northwest.

So, I'd like to know what other owners of stock LCs are up to. Tell me stories of your adventures that you're undertaking without all the cool upgrades I wish I had the budget for!

 

[Nuke]

Hey, across the state! I am in your camp, no mods at this juncture. Have been off-roading my entire life, and up in my years now, never did any mods, short of extended range fuel, but concentrated on perfecting my driving skills.

 

[TrailWhale]

So far of all the Idaho adventures, the limiting factor has been my kids, not any mods. The gnarliest of forest roads I've gone down have only lasted as long as the kids were willing to bounce around while we drive at a pace similar to a leisurely hike. Which is to say, not very long!

I have AT tires and i installed the OEM skid plates, but neither of those have truly been necessary yet (albeit very nice to have for added confidence). Winter was perfectly fine with the AT tires, although most of my ~50 winter drives up to Bogus have been in our Rav4 with Blizzaks and the roof box. (If i didn't have the second AWD vehicle with winter tires, I'd definitely do a winter tire swap on the LC)

 

[Jack_]

So far of all the Idaho adventures, the limiting factor has been my kids, not any mods. The gnarliest of forest roads I've gone down have only lasted as long as the kids were willing to bounce around while we drive at a pace similar to a leisurely hike. Which is to say, not very long!

I have AT tires and i installed the OEM skid plates, but neither of those have truly been necessary yet (albeit very nice to have for added confidence). Winter was perfectly fine with the AT tires, although most of my ~50 winter drives up to Bogus have been in our Rav4 with Blizzaks and the roof box. (If i didn't have the second AWD vehicle with winter tires, I'd definitely do a winter tire swap on the LC)

"limiting factor has been my kids" It's not just YOUR kids so don't be too hard on 'em! Most littles are higher maintenance than
a hot girlfriend with a high mileage Land Rover.

 

[Mtn40]

The stock 250 can do a lot. All the youtube videos of testing the 250 come to mind, especially this one:

One nice thing about a stock truck is that it makes lesser-difficulty trails more interesting/fun.
It's also great to drive a truck stock for a while to learn its abilities (I'm struggling with this one) and then you appreciate the mods more and can tell what you've actually gained in capability.
I wish I had more travels to share. Buying my 250 in the winter has been kind of a bummer. I love winter, but this year I really can't wait for the snow to melt.

 

[ATbuckhunter]

Honestly I'll mostly be doing light off roading while grouse hunting here in the North East. Its not enough for me to put AT tires on and take a hit in the gas dept. Since I'll be on road 98% of the time, I'm fine with off roading with street tires. I'll replace them with street tires again when the time comes up.

 

[boisematt]

So far of all the Idaho adventures, the limiting factor has been my kids, not any mods. The gnarliest of forest roads I've gone down have only lasted as long as the kids were willing to bounce around while we drive at a pace similar to a leisurely hike. Which is to say, not very long!

I have AT tires and i installed the OEM skid plates, but neither of those have truly been necessary yet (albeit very nice to have for added confidence). Winter was perfectly fine with the AT tires, although most of my ~50 winter drives up to Bogus have been in our Rav4 with Blizzaks and the roof box. (If i didn't have the second AWD vehicle with winter tires, I'd definitely do a winter tire swap on the LC)

This is the boat I am in with kids, too! And on our Highlander late last fall we put Falken Willpeaks on in the hopes that they would allow us to forgo winter-only tires, but we didn't trust them on Bogus Basin road and quickly reverted to a new winter-specific tire. I wonder if the heavier LC would be better on that front, but don't think I could convince my wife to try it again given our experience. Anyway, thanks for your perspective!

The stock 250 can do a lot. All the youtube videos of testing the 250 come to mind, especially this one:

One nice thing about a stock truck is that it makes lesser-difficulty trails more interesting/fun.
It's also great to drive a truck stock for a while to learn its abilities (I'm struggling with this one) and then you appreciate the mods more and can tell what you've actually gained in capability.
I wish I had more travels to share. Buying my 250 in the winter has been kind of a bummer. I love winter, but this year I really can't wait for the snow to melt.

That's a great point, and I actually watched that video earlier this week and was impressed. I, too, love winter but have been anxious for the snow to melt to open up more roads. That being said, we're doing an excursion into the desert this weekend where snow won't be an issue and we can get a sense of some of the rig's capabilities, even if the roads will mostly just be gravel and dirt...

 

[TrailWhale]

This is the boat I am in with kids, too! And on our Highlander late last fall we put Falken Willpeaks on in the hopes that they would allow us to forgo winter-only tires, but we didn't trust them on Bogus Basin road and quickly reverted to a new winter-specific tire. I wonder if the heavier LC would be better on that front, but don't think I could convince my wife to try it again given our experience. Anyway, thanks for your perspective!

I intentionally took the cruiser up on a couple of the biggest storm days this winter, all the way up to pioneer lot. I am pretty confident in the cruiser on the wildpeaks (AT4W) to safely manage it. It was surefooted up the road, but it wasn't hard to get the rear end to slide a bit, especially on those corners coming up to pioneer from the lower lots.

My biggest concern is the once-or-twice per season ice on the road down, especially if you are night skiing. I did not get the chance to test it in those conditions and if there was a risk of that, i'd be taking the rav4 with blizzaks for sure.

At the end of the day, I'm a chronic over-thinker... look at the parking lots at bogus - even on the gnarliest days it is filled with giant RWD trucks on AT tires, camper vans, passenger cars on all-seasons, etc. None of them perished in a fiery death on the drive up or down, somehow, against all odds!

 

[boisematt]

At the end of the day, I'm a chronic over-thinker... look at the parking lots at bogus - even on the gnarliest days it is filled with giant RWD trucks on AT tires, camper vans, passenger cars on all-seasons, etc. None of them perished in a fiery death on the drive up or down, somehow, against all odds!

Ha, me too (overthinking, that is).

On the "none perished in a fiery crash," well, I've seen my fair share of gnarly wrecks on that road (including rollovers down into the ravines), and it's almost always passenger cars with all seasons. I'll admit we've gotten used to how well dedicated winter tires perform and that's the reason we abandoned the Wildpeaks for winter use. I thought they were fine on the way up but the descents and the corners could get a little dicey. Again, that's the highlander...

Anyway, thanks for this discussion! I'll keep an eye out for your rig - we've got the same color scheme which so far I've not seen in town...

 

[NoMe cruiser]

Most of the kid’s modding their vehicles with lifts and big aggressive tires are just going to ride the strip. I put 255/70/18 blizzaks for the winter and have been through some deep snow. I think the concept of off roading is greater than physically going off roading for many people purchasing lc, jeeps, broncos. When I get into town I see all kinds of modded 4wds, when I’m in the bush I don’t see any.

 

[ferrari1898]

Hey LC People,

I love reading all the posts about what you're doing with your new J250s and I'm building a wish list that includes upgraded tires, rock sliders, skids plates, and some other items. I've got a 25 LC LC with 20" wheels and stock Geolander tires. We have a SPACE trailer (basically a small utility trailer, nothing too big or fancy) we'll be towing this summer on our car camping trips. Quite honestly, our car budget is blown for the year, so apart from some very small items (cargo area mat which was not standard from our dealer and the upgrade cargo area light), we're going to be using her as is this year. Come fall, we'll get some winter tires as we ski quite a lot and my hope is next spring we'll have the budget for some more aggressive AT tires. One of the main reasons we went with the LC was to be more adventurous, mainly on the extensive network of forest service and other backcountry roads here in the inland northwest.

So, I'd like to know what other owners of stock LCs are up to. Tell me stories of your adventures that you're undertaking without all the cool upgrades I wish I had the budget for!

We have a stock 2024 Land Cruiser / Land Cruiser Trim w/ the Premium Package. It took some searching to find the Premium Package with the 18" A/S tires. Most are 20" and/or are "upgraded" to the A/T tires. We bought the Toyota purely for towing our 3500lb camper. We had a Honda RIdgeline "truck" and it handled the camper great, but the 3.5L V6 (like Toyota's and Nissan's) lacks torque unless you are turning 5k rpm. The Toyota really tows our camper well. The only modifications that I have done is remove the iforce max badge and tapped one of the rear USB ports to keep our jump box charged. I do have a retro Land Cruiser 4WD badge to replace the iforce max badge, but I have not gotten around to install it.

 

[Roonie]

I travel the backcountry roads through Idaho very frequently. I am constantly off road and have done mainly ADV motorcycle riding in the backcountry for days self supported since 2008 several times a year. I have taken the same routes with my 1988 FJ62 which is slightly modified (slight lift on it and 33" tires). The new landcruiser I just put AT tires on and new wheels which is all I am going to do with the FE. I am going to take the FE on all the backcountry routes I have done before exclusively. That means a lot of stream crossings and gnarly roads. I am not planning on lifting it or doing anything else to it at this time. It is perfectly capable in this form. I remember going to the overland expo in the early years 2009-2013 with my rig and there were maybe 20 people there. Now its a business and they sell the dream. You don't need the dream to go offroading. I have counted the nights I have slept outdoors in a tent on the ground now and it is almost 500 nights.

 

[APIOQM]

My 250 is bone stock, and 99% of the time it's on pavement, so I prefer to have highway tires. This winter it got Tundra steel rims wrapped in Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2s, it was a lot of fun being able to drive without worrying what the weather is going to do. I did go off-roading with it once, flexed it out and put the differential locks to use. When it's a little older my dream is to drive to Colorado with my family and take it on Imogene & Engineer Pass. By then it'll likely have some light AT tires and maybe the OEM skids, but I'm sure it would manage without them.

Not my photo: