September's Truck of the Month - Bryan's Story
Off Road Tents' "Truck Of The Month" Special Guest Post
At Off Road Tents we had a new idea and initiative, we would like to have serious overlanders, off-roaders, call them what you like, write a guest post every month.
The idea is for customers, readers and followers read refreshing stories or tips from other people just like them. The idea is to choose every month a new person, based on votes (or "likes") they receive on our Facebook Group.
By no means is this a sponsorship or to ask anything in exchange, simply, if someone feels like it and others want to hear their story, then we publish it so anyone can read it.
This month we're featuring Bryan.
The 2008 FJ Cruiser from the US Air Force Veteran from Upstate NY, gets features. Bryan tells us about his journey & his nomad travels throughout America.
Bryan's Story:
Hello everyone, I’m Bryan!
Just a brief intro about myself, I’m a United States Air Force Veteran from Upstate NY. I inspected, fixed and maintained specialty equipment; purpose vehicles and facilities for our nation’s most powerful weapon system, the Minuteman 3 ICBM. Its primary mission is Deterrence. Also, I played an integral role in 13 rocket launches alongside the United Launch Alliance that placed satellites and “stuff” into space.
Currently, I’ve been stationed in North Dakota; the middle of the Utah desert, Central Coast CA, and Montana. And it was in California where my love and passion for off-roading and overlanding began. Going to breathtaking sites with outstanding landscapes simply became a constant for me.
I purchased my 2008 FJ Cruiser in summer of 2010 in California and I’ve been building it ever since. When I first bought it I jumped on Google and started searching for Off Road groups which (at the time before Facebook) led me to the FJ Cruiser Forums (Blue Room), the Socal FJ’s and NorCal FJ’s. Through the Blueroom and the Norcal FJ group site I met “my FJ Cruiser dad the Gray Bush [the head Pirate]”.
At the time there were only 2 FJ Cruisers groups in California, the North Cal FJ’s and the SoCal Fj’s. Also, there happened to be only a few of us who lived in no man’s land Central California. Due to our geographical location we didn’t really align with either the Northern or Southern groups.
Under the protection of the NorCal FJ’s the Gray Bush, myself and a few others created an unofficial (now mythical) group called the Step~Cal FJ’s where we flew our flags proud! “Being from the vast area of central California we don’t fit into the usual breakdown of north or south, we are the step children of California. California Nomads who wheel with both groups all over California and the Western United States”.
And thus, I am the NyNomad! A New Yorker, an Upstate New Yorker (because there’s more to the state of New York than the city) who travels throughout America like a nomad. And now with the RoofNest Falcon, I’ve become a true outdoor adventurer. Because a roof top tent truly adds a whole lot to any overlanding experience. Plus, I have a small off-road support trailer with a Smittybilt 1st Gen that I use for basecamp style during long weekends.
I’ve traveled a lot along my never ending journey to explore the country and there are just too many adventures from California to Vermont for me to pick out to tell the tales. Perhaps someday we’ll meet up at an event, we can huddle around the campfire in a non-Covid-world and I’ll tell the campfire stories of camping along the Mojave trail after a fellow FJ Cruiser guy broke a shock and left me alone in the desert with his girlfriend.
Or the story of Camping on the side of the Morrison Jeep Trail on the border of Wyoming and Montana just after the switch backs when an FJ80’s fan clutch broke. OR maybe the story about the time my buddy almost rolled his H3 on Hells Revenge OR OR OR! Maybe the story of about!… no, I’ll keep that story for myself ;)
In Conclusion, From Coast to Coast, Deserts to thick forests the FJ Cruiser creeping up on 200k miles and the Adventures never end! Keep on Wheeling, Keep on Exploring and Remember, “YOU CAN’T BE AFRAID TO SCRATCH IT!” -NyNomad
Also, October is Annul Pumpkin Snorkel Head Season. If you have a snorkel and don’t know what it is, Google it :) .
This is a hotrod style picture art of my 2008 FJ Cruiser, which an artist from British Columbia made for me.
You can follow me on Instagram: @nynomad_fjc
