My Expedition Vehicle: La Mula

The summer and fall of 2006 were very, tough times for me in many ways. I was diagnosed with a serious health issue, that I will talk about in other posts, and my current vehicle which I was driving at the time, a 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee had just suffered its 2nd major engine failure within a matter of months, and I was determined to get something more reliable but still look for a 4 wheel drive SUV.

I am a fan of suvs and trucks because they have been very useful for me in the past. I've been taking my suvs off pavement primarily for surf trips down to baja. I've had other 4 wheel drive suvs, including an early 90s pathfinder, and a mid 90s s10 blazer. in the early 90s, my buddy Marc and I drove 2 wheel drive Nissan truck thru Baja and then over to Mainland Mexico in a 5-6 week surf trip. The truck was loaded to the gills with camping equipment, and 6 boards secured on man made surf racks that my buddy made from 2x4 pieces of wood. That trip was a blast.

I figured that while I battled my health issues, I was going to distract myself in healthy ways, and some of that required trips to the outdoors, where I could be close to nature and do the things that I enjoyed doing: camping, going on hikes, take trips to the beach, surfing, etc. etc.

I looked closely into a Land Rover Discovery but after doing some research I concluded that as much as the Discovery II is a sexy, sophisticated SUV, it would likely come at an additional expense, as they have a reputation for not being the most reliable vehicles.

At the same time, I have always admired the tough, and rugged looks of the Toyota Land Cruisers. More research on the internet also indicated to me, that the Land Cruiser drivers are very loyal owners and tend to love the brand's reputation for go anywhere, tough as nails reliability. I also learned that out of the box, the Toyota Land Cruiser is one of the most capable off road vehicles available, and can take you to most places that one is willing to go. And with very little additional modifications, one can turn a stock land cruiser into a vehicle that is prepared to tackle the most rugged terrain anywhere in the world. For these reasons, the Land Cruiser vehicles have legendary status in countries and continents with some of the most inhospitable terrain: Africa, South America, Middle East, and Asia.

Now the only thing I needed to do was start the search, and sell the Jeep. After having taking a look at a few 80 series Toyota Land Cruisers, and having little luck in selling the Jeep to a private buyer, my best solution was to negotiate a trade in, with a dealership in the San Fernando Valley, who focuses on selling late model German, and Japanese vehicles.

The dealer had 2 clean, stock 80 series Land Cruisers on the car lot, and after careful consideration between the both, I decided on "La Mula," for being in slightly better shape cosmetically, and having a clean leather interior, as well as having lower mileage.

I had an independent mechanic do an inspection, where compression was checked, and passed with flying colors. The Carfax report told a story that the vehicle had belonged to 2 previous owners, and had no previous accidents to speak off. We were good.

Like a student of a certain trade, I poured time in the most resourceful internet forum for Toyota Land Cruisers, where members provide advice, and share free information on everything land cruiser. I found out that the inline 6 motor is surprisingly easy to work on, as well as the Land Cruiser platform overall, and there were plenty of do it yourself (DYI) threads on how to go about doing the preventive maintenance, and modifications for every type of terrain that one would like to tackle: from easy dirt trails, to Rubicon style, extreme terrain.

This was also positive news, as I made a commitment that I will try to do most of the preventive maintenance myself, or with the help of friends, and only take my car to a mechanic when it is most necessary. Besides saving oneself hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs by doing the work yourself, the other key benefit is that you become closely familiar with the mechanics and nuisances of your truck, something that can prove really valuable in case you need to do some emergency repairs during a back country adventure run, where you could be miles away from the nearest vehicle, let alone a mechanic.