Building a “Home” in a 80-series Toyota Land Cruiser — The test
Our depature date was June 14. The destination Alaska. It was an 8000 miles round trip that would put the vehicle and all the systems to a test.
We planned the route so most roads would be traveled once starting and ending in Palo Alto, CA. Dashed lines are done in a ferry, green is the return route.
The build was finished 12 hours before the departure. The water system was leaking under pressure. It used mostly 3/8 pressure fittings and we ended up wraping the connection with teflon tape before puting the pressure fit nut. Also the pressure reducer helped. We fitted two alu-boxes on the roof and a solar panel that worked as a wind deflector. One box had dry goods, and the other every tool, part and screw that we thought could go wrong.
The first 300 miles went well. We made it to Mount Shasta.
We stopped at a friend’s home in Seattle and our first camp was in Blue Lake, BC. Setup worked amazing. We cooked dinner and went to bed. No shower that night.
The following night was Lake Inga in BC. The kitchen/water system supported 2 couples and worked well. We placed a bucket under the sink drain, so it will not create a puddle.
The process was, open the back, pull the stove on the tail gate and cook dinner. The Jerrycan in the back was handy to quick wash. We installed a faucet on the bottom of it, so it would be easy access. The kitchen was all set in the tail gate, except the pots under the sink.
The color we picked for the vehicle, seemed to blend nicely with the background.
After 3000 miles we made it to the Alaska border. The bag tied to the spare tire ‘Trasharoo’ had a portable BBQ and the trash collected during the day.
We got to Haines on a ferry from Skagway. We saw that there are different ways of traveling to Alaska…
Haines Junction was 3200 miles. Evrything was still working great. Hot water heated up in 20 min. 9 gallons to 150F.
Kluane Lake was our stop for the night. Had to take a couple of miles of a rough dirt road to get to the shore. We were alone for the night. No bear visits.
We took a dirt road to Wrangell-St. Elias glacier. We were told that it should take 3.5 hours. Took us 1h 20 min. We were flying!!!!
The next two days we traveled north and made it to the Denali Highway. We figured we will make kebabs for lunch with the Alaska Range on the background. We were almost 4000 miles of travel.
Ha, yes, and some of us decided to take a shower.
We then headed south through Talkeetna, Anchorage to Seward. We camped on the river bank with beautiful views. We logged 5000 miles. One oil change on the road.
The next day we camped on the beach of the Spit in Homer.
The setup seemed to be working great. We could get food ready in 20 minutes with the table set up and the awning open.
And… coffee in 6 minutes while some of us get to rest.
Not traveling with a big RV seemed to pay off. Easy and fast travel on dirt roads and fitting in small ferries.
Filling the internal tanks was also possible from the jerrycans. We carried a hose, so we could fill water anywhere.
Our last camp was in a state camp and the only one that needed a fee. Meziadin Junction.
We made it back to Mount Shasta after 7500 miles.
And made it home after almost 8000 miles and 25 days. Time to start planning the next trip. The vehicle was flawless. 2 screws came loose on the top of the A/C condenser. We had spares and installed them in a few minutes.
This wheel has done 5000000 revolutions.
Hope you enjoyed the blog. We enjoyed making it!
Some improvements after the trip. We have added a water treatment system in an aluminum case. The case still needs a cover, and will probably reside on the roof under the solar panel. It provides 1GPM of drinking water from any stream. 4 levels of filtering and a UV light to kill the bacteria.
Also added some storing bags. The material is from multi mesh tarp and with a regular sewing machine.