Building the Ultimate Mall Crawler and Adventures Rig

https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear spray.pdf

 

Bring some fishing gear too

 

Im game!!

 

Too much hassle. Agreed with the others that bear spray would be the better choice.

Just read that you can't dip your toes in the Arctic Ocean without booking a tour in Prudhoe cause it's private oil property. Might rethink this and go thru Dempster Highway to Inuvik and onwards to Tuktoyaktuk if the conditions are right.

Anybody done either Dalton or Dempster highway? Google tells me Dempster is more scenic and temperatures would be in the high 60s to low 70s in July vs 50s over in Prudhoe.

Thoughts about taking the ferry from Bellingham, WA to Skagway, AK? It's pricey for a couple of nights, but maybe it's worth it?

 

Mosquito spray, I'd recommend a plug kit and compressor if you're taking the haul roads. Also fuel and camping equipment.

 

I'm doing the same trip except Spring 2017. FYI: all Canada national parks are free admission that year as well.
There's a lot videos of this road trip on Youtube.

 

Good call on the mosquito spray.

Thanks. Gives me something to think about.

 

Check out http://www.xoverland.com/ they have pretty cool youtube channel that has a fair amount videos of their expeditions. They did one similar to what you are planning. Good luck, looks like great trip.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/arctic-travel-california-to-arctic-and-back-in-winter.405408/

Good reading material.

 

Rear Bumper Removal Guide

Tools:
-12mm socket
-Philip head screwdriver
-Flat head screwdriver

Time commitment: Between 15-25mins for removal and 10-20mins for install = 25-40mins total

Step 1: Remove license plate

Step 2: (2a) Depress the tabs for the trailer plug and license plate lights and pop them out of their sockets. (2b) Disconnect wiring harnesses for the trailer socket and license plate lights located behind the bumper. (2c) Remove the three push pins pushpins shown below


Step 3: Two snap clips are visibe and can be easily seen from beneath. Hint-it's located towards the end of the bumper. Pick a side and gently start prying the snap clips using a long flat head screwdriver (or other prying device) to free them from their sockets. Patience is key here. Start slow and take your time. You do not want to rush or apply too much pressure (just enough to free the snap clips). Too much pressure will break the snap clips

Step 4: Remove the six 12mm bolts shown below. Start with the upper bolts. Then remove the two bottom bolts


Step 5: If you do not have sonar sensors, the rear bumper end caps should now be free. If you have the senors, carefully remove them

Step 6: Remove the push pins and gator clamps shown below


Step 7: The outer end caps should now be removed easily

Reverse the steps above when reassembling. Remember to take your time. Do not rush doing this. Replacement endcaps are expensive. So take your time while doing this.

 

I wrapped my chrome end caps with Avery Supreme SW900 vinyl wrap. I went with Avery over 3M 1080 because this product is good for 10+ years when properly applied. The Gloss Silver Metallic I received from Avery is about a couple of shades lighter than the factory Silver Metallic Silver. This discrepancy is due to several factors, but let's just say the product I received was a different batch then the color seen on the sample color wheel. I'm not bothered by the paint not matching and being a couple of shades off...yet. When it does, I'll try the next shade darker from Avery. I went with wrapping instead of paint because it's reversible. Plus I'm terrible with the rattlecan.

Anyway, if you decide to wrap your endcaps instead of paint, I bought one 5ftx4ft sheet from Metro Restyling, $45 shipped. I ended up using 5ftx2ft worth of vinyl. YMMV because I have a bit of experience with vinyl. I plan on using the leftover vinyl to wrap the interior trim pieces. The wrap took me a little over an hour for both end caps. If you are doing this, take your time. Do not use a heat gun. Your girlfriend's hair dryer works best. The heat from a heat gun will melt the vinyl. Hair dryer provides just the right amount of heat.

 

I think you'd have more fun driving through BC. Very Scenic.

If you bring Bear Spray into Canada make sure it is labeled and designed for use as an animal repellant and not as pepper spray (for use against humans). While one could argue that they are essentially the same thing "Pepper Spray" is considered a prohibited weapon, "Bear Spray" is except from that rule.

 

Subd bumper removal #30

 

dipped my wheels, grille, and emblems this weekend. Six base coats + four clear coats. Front grille was extremely easy to remove. Two 10mm (or philip screws) and two pop clips. To remove the chrome trim piece, you'll have to remove a few screws and push the tabs out. Removing the grille was easier and took less time when compared to taping. I love how my grille and emblems came out. You could still see two tones on the wheels. It'll do for now. Overall, I'm pleased with the results.

Materials and PPE for this project:

• 2" painters tape
• Brown packaging paper (free from shipped items purchased online)
• Six cans of Plastidip base coat, Dark Grey (used all 6 cans)
• Four cans of Plastidip clear coat, Graphite Metalizer (1.5 cans leftover)
• 3M Respirator and Eye protection

 

Wheels look great, FtApache. I have this exact same one. Noob question; did you dip the wheels with tires on or removed the tires?

 

@sparkyv, thanks for the compliment. What you see below is how I did it. I taped the lugnuts, valve stem, and covered the brakes with plastic trash bag. If I was to do it again, I would either insert index cards around the wheel separating it from the tire or cover the tire with tape. You can see the paint on the tires in the pic above, but that plastidip stuff should come off relative easy at the next car wash with a brush or powerwasher.

 

Thanks for the tip FtApache. Looks easy enough. When I zoom in, I do see the overspray. This mod is now on my list!

 

Me too!

 

I was going to do the grill on my silver TRD in black (what was Toyota thinking with all that chrome??!!), but the dark gray looks really nice. If I only did my grill ... not wheels or badges ... do you think it would still look good, or would that stand out too much as the only gray trim, since I'd still have with the black front bumper cap, flares etc? Though I'm also thinking of pulling the black B pillar tape. I already removed the TRD stickers, a huge improvement in my eyes.

 

By the way, I went up to Inuvik by road, and took a tourist flight up to Tuktoyaktuk ... back in the late '80's before the haul road to Prudhoe Bay was open to the public. From photos and videos I've seen, the Dempster is arguably prettier, and Inuvik and even Tuk seem more like real towns, with things to see and friendly people to meet. Even by '80's standards, the flight toTuk and one or two hour to our, including dipping toes in the (very warm) Arctic Ocean, was very cheap. I'm think $60 CDN? Obviously more now, but I was on a real budget and it was worth it. I was on a motorcycle and camped pretty much the whole way from California and back. Saw lots of bears but had no problems. Mosquitos, now that's different.