The Southern California Toyota Land Cruisers is a Chapter of the International Toyota Land Cruiser Association. We are active in all fields which relate to our sport, off-road adventure. This includes active support for both TLCA and the California Association of 4WD Clubs that includes trail maintenance, political awareness, family outings, and just going out and getting dirty on a weekend having fun. Everyone is invited to join us, no matter what Land Cruiser you drive, from all terrain to mall terrain. Even if you drive something else, you can tag along, since we know you`ll upgrade to a Cruiser before long.
President = Joe Roy (Newsletter) – josephroy@cox.net
Vice President = Patrick Goddard – patrickgodd@gmail.com
Treasurer = Jerry L’Ecuyer – jerry@tembotusk.com
Website = Chris Heron – cwheron@yahoo.com
Past President = Marc Mason – marc.mason77@yahoo.com
Adopt-a-Trail = Kim and Jim Harlow – kharlow@kleinfelder.com
SoCal TLCA Club Dues and Trail Assistance $25.00/yr. Please fill out our Membership Application and submit it by mail (we can now accept checks, money orders, or cashiers checks) or to Jerry L’Ecuyer at a club meeting. TLCA Dues $35.00/yr. (Includes 6 Issues of Toyota Trails Magazine). CA4WD Dues $50.00/yr. (Optional, but we encourage you to join. Includes 12 issues of In Gear Magazine)
DUES REMINDER
If you haven’t already paid your 2024 club dues ($25), will you please get them in to Jerry (Jerry@TemboTusk.com)? A membership application can be found HERE. Thanks!
June Club Run Report
The following rigs/drivers attended our June Adopt A Trail Club Run:
- Jim & Kim – FJ Cruiser
- Joe – 80 Series
- Chris & Helga – 100 Series
- David S. – 100 Series
- Dave & Billy – 100 Series
- Dat – 80 Series
After a brief trail meeting at the Fawnskin Fire Department parking lot, and the signing of some required USFS forms, we headed out to begin surveying our newly adopted trails. Our two new trails are Polique Canyon Spur (2N09A) and Delamar Mountain Spur C (3N12C). The “spur” designations seem to indicate that these are not “through” trails. However, these trails do link Polique Canyon Road (2N09) with Delamar Mountain Road (3N12). As such, SoCal TLCA now has a really nice through trail with a fair amount of dispersed camping opportunities along the way!
Since we had not yet received USFS permission to do any actual work, we used the time to familiarize ourselves with the trail and to make note of the areas that will need our future attention. Kim took appropriate photos of the areas to which we will devote some future attention, while Joe made note of the associated GPS coordinates. Once again, we owe a debt of gratitude to Kim & Jim for all the work they put in to help SoCal TLCA participate in this valuable activity to help keep our local trails open! Will you please thank them personally the next time you see them?
By the end of the morning we had completed the trail surveys. Dat led us to a nice, shaded lunch spot. We decided to “take the scenic route home”, as they say, and we once again followed Dat. He brought us to trail 3N07A, a.k.a. “The Squeeze”. Undaunted by the name, we followed our fearless leader! This short but exciting trail offers a unique obstacle at the Coyote Crag rock formation. The Trails Offroad write-up gives the following warning: “If you have a good spotter, or your vehicle is rather narrow, you will likely squeeze between the boulders from which this trail got it’s name with no problems, but if you get off the line just barely, well you might lose a mirror or worse, add some character the body of your vehicle.” How prophetic!
Most of us made it through fine with the expert spotting that is a hallmark of this club (thanks, Chris & Dat!). Unfortunately, either Jim was just a tiny bit off the line, or more likely, he had a little tire slippage that brought his driver’s side rearview mirror into contact with the rock. Fortunately, he didn’t lose the mirror (only a few plastic bits of the housing), and he didn’t gain any “added character” to the body of his vehicle!
Once through The Squeeze, we bid each other adieu and headed our separate ways to home (after a brief comfort stop at the Big Bear Visitor Center first). All in all, we had another great club trail run. And we look forward to more time spent on our fantastic newly adopted trails!
Great job Dat Tran for getting your article on the Big Bear-a-thon published in the September/October TLCA Toyota Trails magazine!
Click on this LINK for the article.
Big Bear A Thon – August 2024 – Photos
Adopt-A-Trail Scouting Run – June 2024 – Photos
San Bernardino Mountains – February 2024 – Photos
Calico – January 2024 – Photos
Club Meeting – November 3 at ***3:00 P.M.***
Thanks again to Rich for volunteering his Modjeska Canyon lot for our meetings. Directions to Rich’s property are as follows: The property address is 17336 Croatian St., Silverado 92676. 
To get there, turn off Santiago Canyon Road on to Modjeska Canyon Road. Go just about 1/2 mile and turn right on Croatian. Go to the cul-de-sac and the property is on the left. There are no buildings, just dirt and trees. Since it’s an outdoor venue with no lighting, let’s meet at 4:00 PM. Bring your favorite camp chair, and your own food & drinks – just like we do on our club runs.
Best wishes, and I look forward to seeing you at the meeting or on the trail.
Thanks,
Club Sponsors
Club Membership
The SoCal TLCA is your Southern California chapter of the International Toyota Land Cruiser Association.
Our member’s four-wheeling interests range from roaming mild forest service roads to long-distance back country travel (overlanding) to hardcore rock crawling. Everyone is invited to join us! Naturally, we love our Land Cruisers, but any Toyota is a good Toyota. And even if you’re not currently driving a Toyota you’re welcome to tag along. We love to be out on the trail, so while we may kid you a bit in your choice of rig, we’ll always be glad to have you along.
For questions about the club, please reach out to Club President Joseph Roy at josephroy@cox.net, and if you’re on Instagram, follow us @socaltlca.
Dues are $25: Cover the cost of the website, email exchange, Annual Beach Party, Holiday Dinner, etc. After 15 years with no dues increases, at our December 2019 meeting the club voted a modest $10/year dues increase to ensure we are financially able to meet our club goals. All club duties will continue to be fulfilled on a strictly volunteer basis.
If you have not paid dues or want to update membership info, please click on the link below.
Download Club Application: SoCal Land Cruiser Club Membership Application
Other Information:
So Cal TLCA Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/socaltlca/
Visit the club’s page on IH8Mud
So Cal TLCA Facebook event page (any volunteers to keep this updated?):
https://www.facebook.com/events/2055929414458332
The 10 Commandments of Modifying an Overland Vehicle
