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I know it's not a Prado, but since Ive been here a while I thought I would share this with you.
My daughter Kennedy has always liked my Sun Fusion (Yellow) FJ Cruiser and calls out, "Daddy Truck" every time she sees one and has done so from when she could talk barely talk. I thought it was time she had her own.
I started with a Radio Flyer ATW (All Terrain Wagon) as a platform to create this custom Radio Cruiser that looks like Daddy's.
I sent off the tub to Mark Brown Studio's in Darlington, MD to pain the tub. I ordered some Sun Fusion Paint (even though it seems a little light) through a local paint supplier and he used the same two step process as Toyota uses for the FJ Cruiser. He did a great job and was quite reasonable if you ask for an (under the table) price.
I ordered the shocks (I know coil-overs don't go in the rear) through an eBay bike shock supplier at a reasonable $.99 (US) each, but was hammered on the price of shipping: Oh well! it is after all eBay.
I cut them down to size, bored and threaded holes to screw into the existing mounting holes to keep the rear axle rigid. I had to do this because it's still Kennedy's Daily Driver.
I ordered a spare All-Terrain 4.10/3.30-4 tire through Radio Flyer so those rough trailed don't leave us stranded due to a flat tire. I took off the bling wheel covers to expose the inner wheel support structure that looked more off-road appropriate then painted matte black to match 'Daddy Truck'.
I made a 'juice box' holder that mirrors my gas can carriers on the FJ and painted up 2 gas cans that started their life as flasks. They were chromed out, but as Chuck points out Shiny don't work on a trail rig. I sanded down the flasks, prime red, than painted in a more appropriate gas can red.
As the project was coming together I felt it was appropriate to change the lame name from Radio Flyer to a more appropriate "Radio Cruiser" I contacted a vendor on ExPo who made them up in no time.
The last personalization was probably the most difficult…the license plate. Kennedy is a somewhat common name, but you can’t walk into Wal*Mart and get one of the tiny plated in that name. I ordered one through a web-side and it was almost the size of a motorcycle tag and it was over $20.00 for shipping. I sucked it up and got one of the mini 'make your own' bicycle tags form Wally World and made my own for under $2.00, however it doesn't have space for 7 letters. I have temp tags on it until a smaller version is made, but think MUDDY K fits her and the wagon well.
I added a size appropriate Bruisers sticker and she is ready to hit the trail. Look for it at events, but don’t look for me pulling Kennedy over the 18 mile loop at Green Ridge.
Kennedy is already looking at new mods. She wants a set of sliders, and we have looked at similar wagons on CL to make a matching single axle adventure trailer that will be the perfect size for a cooler.
If anyone knows where they can get me a custom W.A. bicycle license plate please let me know.
Keep posted for more.
-Ben
My daughter Kennedy has always liked my Sun Fusion (Yellow) FJ Cruiser and calls out, "Daddy Truck" every time she sees one and has done so from when she could talk barely talk. I thought it was time she had her own.
I started with a Radio Flyer ATW (All Terrain Wagon) as a platform to create this custom Radio Cruiser that looks like Daddy's.
I sent off the tub to Mark Brown Studio's in Darlington, MD to pain the tub. I ordered some Sun Fusion Paint (even though it seems a little light) through a local paint supplier and he used the same two step process as Toyota uses for the FJ Cruiser. He did a great job and was quite reasonable if you ask for an (under the table) price.
I ordered the shocks (I know coil-overs don't go in the rear) through an eBay bike shock supplier at a reasonable $.99 (US) each, but was hammered on the price of shipping: Oh well! it is after all eBay.
I cut them down to size, bored and threaded holes to screw into the existing mounting holes to keep the rear axle rigid. I had to do this because it's still Kennedy's Daily Driver.
I ordered a spare All-Terrain 4.10/3.30-4 tire through Radio Flyer so those rough trailed don't leave us stranded due to a flat tire. I took off the bling wheel covers to expose the inner wheel support structure that looked more off-road appropriate then painted matte black to match 'Daddy Truck'.
I made a 'juice box' holder that mirrors my gas can carriers on the FJ and painted up 2 gas cans that started their life as flasks. They were chromed out, but as Chuck points out Shiny don't work on a trail rig. I sanded down the flasks, prime red, than painted in a more appropriate gas can red.
As the project was coming together I felt it was appropriate to change the lame name from Radio Flyer to a more appropriate "Radio Cruiser" I contacted a vendor on ExPo who made them up in no time.
The last personalization was probably the most difficult…the license plate. Kennedy is a somewhat common name, but you can’t walk into Wal*Mart and get one of the tiny plated in that name. I ordered one through a web-side and it was almost the size of a motorcycle tag and it was over $20.00 for shipping. I sucked it up and got one of the mini 'make your own' bicycle tags form Wally World and made my own for under $2.00, however it doesn't have space for 7 letters. I have temp tags on it until a smaller version is made, but think MUDDY K fits her and the wagon well.
I added a size appropriate Bruisers sticker and she is ready to hit the trail. Look for it at events, but don’t look for me pulling Kennedy over the 18 mile loop at Green Ridge.
Kennedy is already looking at new mods. She wants a set of sliders, and we have looked at similar wagons on CL to make a matching single axle adventure trailer that will be the perfect size for a cooler.
If anyone knows where they can get me a custom W.A. bicycle license plate please let me know.
Keep posted for more.
-Ben
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