Buying Our 1988 Land Cruiser Camper (mini tour, getting the keys, and learning to drive)
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- #overlanding #landcruiser #travel
Last week we let you in on our big secret: we bought a new truck camper! (FINALLY!!) This little truck has been a long time coming and finding what we were looking for was a very long process. After over year, we finally landed on this 1988 BJ75 Toyota Land Cruiser with a BiMobil Husky camper on the back. To say we already love it would be an understatement! Today's video is all about the learning process: driving, mechanics, and maintenance. When you're trusting a 35 year old truck to get you around the world, you need to know how to care for it. It's also a stick-shift so we continue learning to drive it through the backroads of Washington. We even let you in for a mini-tour of the camper towards the end of the video, so if you want to get a look inside, stay to the end for that. :)
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== A B O U T U S ==
Hey y'all! We're Chris + Sara (or as you know us, Let’s Be Us), a husband and wife digital nomad travel duo currently working and traveling full time with our pup, Kramer. We've always dreamed of traveling full time, and in May of 2018 we took the leap and made it happen! Today we're balancing work and fun everywhere between the Pacific and Atlantic. From hiking and cycling to tacos and coffee, we're trying to see and experience as much of this world as we can! While our home is currently on wheels in our DIY Sprinter van, our travels take us all around the world.
Be sure to hit subscribe here on UA-cam and follow along on Instagram for more daily fun! Oh, and be sure to say hi while you're here. :)
GenX checking in.. you guys rock for buying a stick shift vehicle and then just learning on the fly. Cheers to your new toy!!
😂 Thank you! We've since mastered driving stick and have absolutely loved having better control driving off road.
So excited for you guys! It's such an incredible Camper 🤗 Can't wait to see what's next!
Thanks, y'all!! I really hope we get to cross paths one day soon!!
We, too, are older than the rig - by just a year or two - it really is amazing!
A great name for the camper!😁
This is so exciting!
So so excited for you both and the adventures you’ll take in this!
Thanks y’all!!
Glad you guys pulled the trigger and got this. It’s just a matter of time to get the hang of stick. That is a really cool vehicle
Thank you! It was definitely worth the long shopping and waiting process. :)
What a deal!!! I can't wait to see it up close and personal. Love the old(er) Land Cruisers... my favorite after the Defender 110. Until next time... Travel safe (and have fun)..
Oh man, we love those Defenders, too! Although we're now Team Land Cruiser. 😉 Still contemplating going to OE Mountain West. Would be fun to show it to y'all in person if we make it there!
Such a neat little over landing rig 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks 👍
Sarah’s “no no no” about being the navigator was totally me 😂 I will reply with a similarly emphatic level when my husband puts me up to bat for any manner of navigation. As much as I dislike the “not my job” mentality. NOPE! Not my job 🤣
Haha! Thank you!
This is going to be an awesome new journey for you guys!
Also back packs on the bed is the best place IMO that's where me and my wife always put ours due to electronics and bouncy roads !! Keeps everything safe and in place :)
Thanks, Austin! You're right, the bed does seem to protect the electronics a bit better rather than them bouncing around in a cabinet going down dirt roads. 😅
So nice seeing you both today.. love your new rig
1 year later and it was so nice meeting you both. Hope y'all are doing well!!!
Oh my goodness we LOVE it!!! Everything always works out! Glad you guys found this gem! Great video looking forward to the adventures! ~Cara 😊
Thank you Cara!
That rigid badass 👍
Love it!! It just fits you guys! ❤
Thank you!! It's as quirky as we are, isn't it? 😂
Congratulations on your new camper! Looking forward to seeing where it takes you!
Thanks, Kathy! Happy to have you here following along with the adventures! :)
How exciting! I bet your driving and confidence already improved driving cross country.
I really love that this vehicle has been through some of the world already with at least one set of owners and is going to get out there again with you, and hopefully again with somebody else later. Love it! Congrats on such a cool truck!
Thank you so much! This truck definitely has stories for days. We're excited to be the owners for its next chapter of adventures!
WE own a 1997 LC 80 series and a 1999 LC 100 series. OH MY I am so excited for you guys. Never seen such a beautiful creature !!!! Very excited and now I want one :) ............ long story short ...... I am 54 years old. At 17 years old I bought my first vehicle. It was a Nissan Extended cab truck. Ummmm it was manual......I had no idea how to drive it. I went to the dealer and paid for it and then I told my salesman.....I will be back when my boyfriend gets off work. He was kind of dumbfounded. Then I sprung it on him.........that I did not know how to drive a stick. He stepped out of his office and announced to everyone "She just bought a truck she can't drive." I learned however. It was my favorite vehicle. This adventure you two are on.....just took me back.
HAHA! That story just made me laugh. 😂 That's exactly what happened to us, we bought a truck we didn't know how to drive! lol All Land Cruisers are absolute gems and we're in love with it already! It's so fun meeting other LC enthusiasts out here. It's definitely it's own little community which is so cool!
You should do some research for a bumper to bumper repair and service manual for that truck. Autozone used to carry repair manuals, but they’ve all gone digital. It’ll be your best friend for diagnosing and repairing your truck by yourself anywhere in the world. At the very least, it’ll help you understand your vehicle and will make you better informed when negotiating with mechanics that you’ve never met, and may end up saving you money from unnecessary repairs. Bring tools.
Such a good tip, thank you!! We're definitely in the process of learning as much about this truck as possible. It'll be empowering to know how to diagnose problems when something does go wrong.
Awesome camper y'all! Congrats!!!
Thank you!
Sara, just remember to put the car in first gear before releasing the handbrake, if you are worried about the hill start, start on the flat with the handbrake on in first gear rev a little and lift the clutch until you feel the engine engaging then release the handbrake.
Good trick!! Thank you! I'll be sure to do that on the super steep hills.
Hahaha we use those for smugglimg here
I had a 4.5f and man it was something else
Such a powerful truck, feels like a tank
Used it for moving things from borders to cities for a few years, it drove uphill with 3 tons of stuff like it was nothing
So cool. It’s a tank for sure
Congratulations on your new home.
Thank you so much 😀
This is sooo exciting!!! So happy for you both. Btw, Chris - you are NOT bad at driving manual. You're in the process of learning how to drive manual and I guarantee you'll be a pro before you know it. When I was learning, anytime I stalled I would just take a deep breath and start over. You got this! Ps. send all your advice to me, my hubs and I will be doing a cross country trip in our small 1988 car in October!
Chris is going to be a pro any day now! :) Good luck on your cross country road trip! I'm curious what sort of car you're driving?
@@chrisandsara Yes he is! And, thank you. We're going to need it. We're taking my hubs 1988 BMW E30 (shipping 1-way to PDX and driving home). We wanted to do something out of our comfort zone and I think this will do just that lol.
Looks like a lot of fun!
❤️
Great video, guys 😊
Thanks, y'all! How's the new camping setup working out for y'all so far?
The best thing about the land cruiser is it's a toyota. I took my Corolla to autozone because it had a check engine light. The reader said "It's a toyota. The engine's fine." Basically any Toyota is an heirloom car. This Land Cruiser is a car you can leave in your will, and the person you will it to will leave it in their will.
😂😂😂 This just made me laugh. But you're right! Those old Toyotas go forever! That's exactly why we love them.
I would totally move the shower outdoor and make the indoor shower into storage....closet :)
We do have an outdoor shower with this as well! It's game changing.
Congratulations on your new rig. I kept asking where Kramer was going to go before I saw the pass through. It reminded me of our dog climbing in the front and rearranging herself on my lap under my wife's unapproving watch while driving.
I love the pass-thru! Congrats you two and HAPPY TRAVELS!!😊
Thank you! Your dog sounds like a great adventure buddy.
LOVE it !
Thank you!! :)
Congrats on the new rig! Here’s a question - how “solid” does it feel while you’re stationary? I know from limited RV experience, they employ stabilizers so you can walk around without things moving. And by the way, I’m closer to Chris’ age - there’s plenty of good stuff from the 80s!
Thank you! Our rig feels pretty stationary. It does move slightly while we walk, but it's not too bad.
Congratulations!
Thank you!! :)
We are so excited for you both! Your new camper is the perfect adventure mobile 😆 This next chapter of adventuring is going to be so exciting, we can’t wait to see where you go first! 🎉 🙌 P.S we also have an outdoor shower, and it’s pretty awesome being out in nature 😂👍
Thank you! Our journey so far has been full of memories.
Love these old trucks see a lot down south on the pan-am. Does the cab even have AC?
No it does not. 😅 We love it even though we're melting over here in the 90+ degree temps! lol
@@chrisandsara At least there are lots of dc AC units available now we even have a second camper small dc unit just for the bunk area.
Do they have another camper? Glad you guys found what you wanted cheers. How does it handle?
Thanks! This is our only camper. It's had a few problem moments, but overall we like it.
@@chrisandsaraGood luck 😎
Once it clicks, driving a stick, even holding it on a hill, will become second nature. My first car was stick, and my mom taught me how to hold it on a hill by making me do so in our driveway. It only gets better from here!
It definitely takes getting used to, but we're much better now!
9:10 "I'mma just scooch in here..."
😂😂😂
Welcome to the Toyota Diesel club in the USA! Buy a manual from Australia, you will need to learn some Australian English! Find out when the diesel injectors and timing belt were last changed…
Thank you for the tip!! We definitely feel like we're in the "cool" club now. :)
You have mentioned several times that the rig is slow.....how slow? What is top end on this Toyota Diesel?
Inquiring minds want to know!
😂 the top speed we've hit is 61mph and 55 is pretty normal on the interstate. Up a big mountain pass we'll go as slow as 40 so we stick in the right lane with the 18 wheelers. 😅
@@chrisandsara makes me wonder if an overdrive is available or a two speed transfer case to increase the top end?
How much did you pay for it?
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As a mechanic, all I see is win. The problem with old is just age. Rust damage, wear and old hoses. Thats low miles an looks clean. The only real wory is hoses. You can get replacement hoses anywhere in the world. The upside of old is simple. That is a mechanical diesel, mechanical transmission, mechanical transfer case an axles with mechanical locking hubs. And he is correct, it will run without electricity. Just push it down a hill an dump the clutch in 2nd gear an it will start an run without a battery. Everything in the drive train works the same way as tractors all over the world two to three times its age. Not only will any mechanic anywhere in the world understand it an be able to fix it, most farmers will to. My diesel pickup that its just 6 years newer is a disaster to work on. The engine is computer controlled, the transmission is computer controlled an the fron axle is electric. I was hauling a 5th wheel camper for my brother saturday an the engine quit. Me being an Automotive Mechanic and my brother being a Diesel Mechanic for Kenworth of Chattanooga, we didnt even try to fix it. We went and got another truck to haul both of them home. It became an all day thing but was easier than diagnosing it on the side od the road. I would take yours over mine anyday. Ironically it was an old fashion mechanical issue. A rubber suction fuel hose cracked. Fuel pump started sucking air not fuel. If it was yours, air in the fuel would have been the first thing I would have checked. Mine, that would be somewhere on the list with 10 or 15 other things.
That's so good to hear from a mechanic! We feel really good about the engine we lucked out with. Having almost no electric is exactly what we were looking for! Now we just need to learn all the different parts in the engine.... It's a work in progress! 😅
@@chrisandsara I would order a shop manual for that truck to keep with you. Both Chilton an Haynes usually make one with lots of pictures. I like to have both if possible. But the main thing you need to know on any diesel is how to bleed air out of the fuel system. If you ever run it out of fuel, it will not start untill you do. Usually a bleeder on the fuel filter. Bleeder on the injection pump. Thats the thing in the side of the engine with several small metal lines going to it, And on the other end of those lines where a gas engine has spark plugs is the injectors. You bleed them by loosining the lines. Its usually done in that order an while trying to start it in short bursts to pump the fuel. short bursts of 15 seconds or so to not overheat the starter. Probably a youtube video on it. Its pretty simple but worth learning before you need to do it.