Friday, December 31, 2010

Baja rig

Check out this cool Baja rig. Notice the paddles, there must be a stando paddler in there:


This thing's kind of rad: pop up camper to keep a low center of gravity, full size bed to maximize the interior size of the camper, four wheel drive and a back porch (the camper fits inside the bed so you can retain your tailgate- this does two things: gives you the important beer-drinking porch and provides you with an additional layer of security when you close and lock your tailgate).

I'm of the light and fast frame of mind for Baja travel. I prefer to be able to move quickly on the highway and I want to keep the whole thing light for better 4x4 performance on the sand. My previous truck was a full size (8' bed) diesel F250 with the crew cab back seat- that truck was heavy and powerful. It rambled down the highway excellently but it was too heavy for easily cruising on the sand beaches- even with the tires let way down it was always just barely able to churn along.


Now, I'm in a 1/2 ton Toyota Tundra 4x4. I still have the 8' bed but the truck is much lighter and capable off road. I did lose some low end torque but was surprised by the power the 5.8L engine was able to put to the ground. The truck easily pulled my 22' travel trailer down here from San Diego a couple of years ago. I'm happy with my Baja rig but there are always improvements and modifications that can be made. My friend, Deacon, who just picked up a 4x4 Tundra has rekindled my interest in Flip-pac shells. This stuff never ends- the ultimate Baja rig has yet to be created.

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