A D V E N T U R E. I N S P I R A T I O N. E X P L O R A T I O N.

LAKE TITICACAThe beautiful fresh-water lake
surrounded by white-topped mountains.
SPRING 2020 | VOLUME 13 | ISSUE 2

TRD TACOMA BUILD

Check out all the goodies on the2019 Voodoo Blue TRD Tacoma.

ALCAN 5000

The ComeUp Winch teams competes
in the bitter cold with their FJ Cruiser.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VOLUME 13 | ISSUE 2 | SPRING 2020

12820325650FEATURES12TRD PRO TACOMA BUILD4444

EXPLORING A LITTLE-KNOWNCORNER OF LAKE TITICACA (PERU)

After 12 years of with a 4Runner, our Senior
Editor unveils his ready-for-anything 2019
Voodoo Blue Tacoma.

Travels through Peru to Lake Titicaca, the“birthplace of the sun”.

32

56

Our Creative Director shares her personalaccount of competing in the 2019 Rebelle Rally.

A dream trip to Bhutan and the realization ofthe same love of Toyota vehicles as the locals.

MY JOURNEY TO REBELLE

2 Spring 2020

LAND OF THUNDER

ON THE COVER
2019 Voodoo Blue TRD
Toyota Tacoma build,ready for adventure.
Page 12PHOTO BY Phillip Jonestctmagazine.net

EDITORIAL STAFF
DEPARTMENTS
2 | Publisher’s Letter
4 | New & Noteworthy
Gear
8 | Tu y Secure Console Safe Insert

Step-by-step install of the Tu y Secure Console
Safe in a Tacoma.

SHANE WILLIAMS | Publisher
2018 Tundra
Monument, CO

PHILLIP JONES | Senior Editor
2019 Tacoma TRD Pro
Frisco, TX

BOB HOLLIDAY | Senior Editor
2006 Tacoma TRD | 2007 FJ Cruiser TRD SE
Denver, COHEATHER SWEARINGEN | Digital Editor
Too many Land Cruisers
Toquerville, UTDANIEL MARKOFSKY | Senior Editor
1993 80 Series Land Cruiser
Denver, CODENNIS LLOYD | Senior Editor
2010 FJ Cruiser
Eagle, IDReviews
20 | Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT

After many adventures and nearly 12,000 miles, areview of the Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT.

62 | Dometic PLB40 Battery System

Is the Dometic PLB40 battery system a goodalternative to a dual-battery setup?

64| Roofnest Falcon Roof Top Tent
A quick closing hard-shell roof top tent that’s
cozy, comfortable, and functional.

Events50 | An Extreme Winter Challenge: 2020

Alcan 5000 Rally
The ComeUp Winch team challenges their FJ
Cruiser in the Arctic at the Alcan 5000 Rally.

The Last Word
68 | Our outdoor enthusiast world during thetime of COVID-19
A personal perspective on the e ects ofCOVID-19 in the outdoor community.

Your Rigs
Back Cover| Reader rigs

FRAMED

Amazing photos ofoff road adventuresfrom our readers

24 | Black Hills/Photo by David Davis
26 | Goosenecks at night/Photo by Phillip Jones
28 | Bonneville Salt Flats/Photo by Kathy Locke
30 | Colorado River/Photo by Shane Williams
tctmagazine.net

KATHY LOCKE | Creative Director
2008 FJ Cruiser
Aurora, COToyota Cruisers & Trucks 1EVENTS Story by Mercedes Lilienthal, photos by Mercedes Lilienthal and Ben Huang

An Extreme Winter Challenge:

Photo by Ben Huang

2020 Alcan 5000 RallyM

an and machine versus Arctic temps. Snow andice-covered roads, along with blizzard conditions—the 2020 Alcan 5000 Rally was that plus much, muchmore. The 10-day 5,120 mile-long winter rally posed
grueling challenges even the most seasoned competitors
had to work through carefully. Ben Huang (Presidentof ComeUp North America and Managing Director
COMEUP Industrial Inc. based in Taiwan) and friend
buddy Ben Liao teamed up to rally together for thisevent. They decided to commandeer one of ComeUp’s
company vehicles: a fully customized 2012 Trail Teams
Edition FJ Cruiser. They prepared, they rallied, and they
completed. Not an easy feat for any adventurer.

50 Spring 2020

WHAT IS THE ALCAN 5000 RALLY?
The Alcan 5000 Rally (started in 1984 as a summer
event but in 1988 as a winter challenge) is an extreme
TSD (time-speed-distance) rally. Teams of two (or three)tackle tons of things together: like very long hours behind
the wheel and navigating, severe terrain, and the harsh
Arctic elements. In addition, each team must follow adetailed route book and complete all the mini-TSD rallies
within the overall rally. There’s a lot to keep track of, lots
to concentrate on.
This year’s rally started in Kirkland, Washington andtook competitors through remote residences, heading
due north through all of Canada (British Columbia,
tctmagazine.net

Yukon Territory, and the Northwest Territories).
Teams braved temps at cold as -40 degrees
and unexpectedly closed fuel stations in themiddle of nowhere to reach cities like Quesnel,Whitehorse, Dawson City (where the rally’s iceraces were held). Finally, they reached Inuvik, asmall city not far from the Arctic Ocean. Thosebrave enough to conquer nature’s harshest
elements pushed their way up to Tuktoyaktuk, atiny town built on stilts, nestled on the beachesof the frozen Arctic Ocean.
Teams then made their way back down toWhitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory,
and then switched gears to head west toFairbanks, Alaska. After a few more days ofTSD rallies and optional extreme controls,competitors ﬁnished in Anchorage—the day
before the ceremonial start of the 48th annual
Iditarod dog sled races.

COMEUP’S COMPETITION
Huang, who decided to participate as gift tohimself for his 50 birthday, originally planned
to drive a Mercedes G500 in the Alcan 5000

This page: Alcan 5000 traffic jam Dempster Highway; Canada’s
Arctic Circle Sign
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Toyota Cruisers & Trucks 51

Photo by Ben Huang

EVENTS

Rally. The week before rally, however, it had an electricalissue and couldn’t be started. After discovering it could
potentially take 2-3 weeks to ﬁx the issue, he abandoned
ship and decided to take FJ Cruiser.
However, Huang had never driven on ice roads nor
completed any TSD rallies before. He wasn’t sure what toexpect. But, he saw it as a once-in-a-life experience. “Asa Taiwanese, I probably don’t have many chances to do itagain,” Huang said.
To him, the biggest challenge was driving on ice andsnow-covered roads. As the primary driver, he had lean
to overcome the fear of vehicle drifting when driving on
ice roads—especially when it came to the TSDs.
Another challenge was driving in a snow storm. “In daytwo [during the evening] on the way to Fort Nelson, we
hit a heavy snow storm and couldn’t see anything. It justlike white wall in front of car. We got to drive it very slow
and make sure to keep the car inside the lane.”
Many competitors, including my husband, Andy andmyself as Team Crankshaft Culture, were also challenged
by severe weather during the Alcan 5000 Rally. Whiteouts, driving snow, drifts that could span several feet longby a few feet high, and slick surfaces made for already
52 Spring 2020

long days nearly unbearable. My team gauged from 13-16
hours of seat time every day—10 days straight. You werelucky to get a meal and a beer at the end of a day.
After a few decades that rally owner Jerry Hines has
been traveling the Alaska, Dempster, Dalton and otherhighways, he’s never seen conditions so bad. “The 2020
Alcan was our 25th Alcan 5000 since 1984, and the 11thAlcan 5000 Winter Rally,” he said. “Most events since1985 have included the Dempster Highway but 2020
was unique: It was our most di cult drive northbound in
35 years, but the best conditions & weather in memory
driving 500 miles south just two days later.”
A multitude of teams ended up in the ditch (4x4s,AWDs, and front-wheel-drives included), some teams
more than once. Crushed body panels, cracked
windshields, and missing fog lights, as well as a severe
oil leak and other casualties were reported. A variety ofcauses led to kissing ditches, but thankfully, no one washurt. Vehicles can be replaced but people cannot.
“On the way to Dawson city, we accidently caught an
ice patch and spun the truck to opposite roadside snowpile,” Huang exclaimed. “Luckily there were no othervehicles in both directions. In the end, the sweeps teamtctmagazine.net

Photo by Ben Huang
Photo by Ben Huang

pulled us out of snow pile.” The ATs on there now got them to the ﬁnish line safely but
he said next time he’d prefer rubber with studs.
Although there was a plethora of damage or issues with other rally rigs, Huang’s
trusty FJ only had a long crack in the windshield. It was quickly replaced once they
got back. “It is a very reliable truck and never gives me any trouble. Even in -30F
temperature conditions in Tuk, we still can ignite the truck without any problem,”
Huang said with a smile.
When asked if he’d rally the winter Alcan 5000 Rally again he said no, but he wants toexplore the Alcan 5000 Rally in the summer (he’d rally it with his wife and their SubaruOutback). The rallies are held like the Olympics, winter then two years for the summer
rally, then another two years for the winter one, etc.
tctmagazine.net

This page: An Arctic grater, a lifeline;
Old Yukon border sign

Toyota Cruisers & Trucks 53

EVENTS“I was planning a road trip from Vladivostok
to Moscow with my partner in Russia, but now
due to the virus outbreak I will postpone thisplan,” Huang said. As with all of us, the world
has changed and we can’t wait to get back outthere.

BUILD LIST:

Photo by Ben Huang

Front bumper: Expedition One
Rear bumper and tire carrier: Metal-Tech 4x4Winch: ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5rsi
Front suspension: Icon Vehicle Dynamic
Rear suspension: ARB OME
Tire: BF Goodrich AT KO2
Fog light: PIAAABOUT COMEUP:

ComeUp originally based and founded
in 1975 in Taipei, Taiwan under the name
Chuan Phang Ent. Co. specialized inproducing a wide range of industrial electricwinches. ComeUp showcases award
winning winch products.
In 2004, to enlarge worldwide productdistribution, the company changed its
name to COMEUP Industries Inc. andhas expanded products in the following
categories: Automotive, Powersports,Industrial, and AC Winch.
In 2012 COMEUP expanded to the UnitedStates and set up a branch o ce to develop
the American market. Their US headquarters
is located in Clackamas, Oregon.
Currently, COMEUP winches have been
distributed in more than 60 countries
on ﬁve continents. COMEUP o ers
consumers worldwide reliable, highperformance products, and is one of theworld’s most recognized names for the“ultimate winch solution”.
ComeUp is proud to o er a variety ofpremium winches for the o road market.
Whether you need a winch for weekendwarrior adventures or you’re facing extreme
conditions of the Artic or the anywhere
beyond, COMEUP winches will reliably get
you unstuck.
Stay tuned, two new ComeUp
competition winches will be on the market
soon: Blazer M2 & Blazer M3.

This page: Snow-encrusted Arctic trees; Wildlife was abundant
54 Spring 2020

tctmagazine.net