Photo: Toyota
The beauty and scale of the SEMA aftermarket exhibition inspired the Australians from Patriot Campers. They came to this year’s show with three “outrageous” Patriot Campers machines: the FJ49, the LC79 Supertourer – affectionately dubbed the “Black Truck” – and the LC79 6×6 Megatourer.
Toyota has monopolized the SEMA Show this year with a host of concepts and builds that surely attract a lot of attention to their booth. Among the more inspiring exhibits on display are the three overlanding machines put together by Australia’s Patriot Campers. Justin Montesalvo and his team have put on quite a show, demonstrating creativity and workmanship.
We’d start the tour with the FJ49 build, which twin brothers Christian and Ashton Montesalvo chose as their first-ever build. The twins worked at Patriot Campers during school holidays since their pre-teens years, but they decided to start their first project last year. Ashton purchased a 1977 FJ45 Land Cruiser and, with Cristian and his dad, started conceptualizing an FJ45 with modern technologies and components. Using their savings as the budget, the twins found a donor Toyota Land Cruiser 79 Series former mining vehicle.
The LC79 lent its legendary performance and reliability to the project. The team transplanted the engine, transmission, air conditioning, differentials, and springs to the FJ45 and added coil spring suspension up front, a JMACX heavy-duty differential upgrade for the 79 series Land Cruiser leaf spring suspension, and a stainless-steel exhaust system. Design-wise, the FJ45 features a patina-inspired scheme, and the brothers kept the retro look of their project.
The next project up the ladder is the uber-cool LC79 Supertourer, which, together with the X3 Trailer, makes up the perfect rig for an off-grid adventure. Affectionately named the “Black Truck,” the former Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series GLX got a new lease of life with an extended frame and the Patriot Campers-designed Supertourer body.
Apart from the engine, suspension, wheel, and tire upgrade, a full suite of overlanding enhancements is on board. This comprises a kitchenette, slide-out refrigerator, pop-up tent, and platform, complete with a water tank, air compressor, and communications tech. The team hitched the Patriot Campers X3 Trailer to extend the fun. The all-weather camper adds diesel tent heating and hot water as standard features, a 1500-watt inverter, two 150-amp hour AGM Battery gel batteries, and a semi-integrated 80-watt solar panel.
Finally, the LC79 6x6 Megatourer elevates Montesalvos’s skills to a new level. The extra axle and wheels, courtesy of JMACX Offroad Solutions, turn the Land Cruiser 79 Series chassis into a seriously capable overlander. The Custom 6×6 setup uses an Airbag Man adjustable custom air ride system with one-off TJM shocks with adjustable height and damping, providing 8 inches (20 cm) of total lift.
The Megatourer received a lot of upgrades, starting with the 4.2-liter inline 6-cylinder diesel engine reworked with the help of GSL. It also rocks two 240-liter Brown Davis replacement fuel tanks with an auxiliary fuel distribution switch and pre-fuel filter kit. Behind the rear seat is a Redarc Electronics management system that powers two lithium and two AGM batteries, twin compressors, twin air tanks, solar panels, and a full lighting system from X-Ray Vision.
We’d start the tour with the FJ49 build, which twin brothers Christian and Ashton Montesalvo chose as their first-ever build. The twins worked at Patriot Campers during school holidays since their pre-teens years, but they decided to start their first project last year. Ashton purchased a 1977 FJ45 Land Cruiser and, with Cristian and his dad, started conceptualizing an FJ45 with modern technologies and components. Using their savings as the budget, the twins found a donor Toyota Land Cruiser 79 Series former mining vehicle.
The LC79 lent its legendary performance and reliability to the project. The team transplanted the engine, transmission, air conditioning, differentials, and springs to the FJ45 and added coil spring suspension up front, a JMACX heavy-duty differential upgrade for the 79 series Land Cruiser leaf spring suspension, and a stainless-steel exhaust system. Design-wise, the FJ45 features a patina-inspired scheme, and the brothers kept the retro look of their project.
The next project up the ladder is the uber-cool LC79 Supertourer, which, together with the X3 Trailer, makes up the perfect rig for an off-grid adventure. Affectionately named the “Black Truck,” the former Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series GLX got a new lease of life with an extended frame and the Patriot Campers-designed Supertourer body.
Apart from the engine, suspension, wheel, and tire upgrade, a full suite of overlanding enhancements is on board. This comprises a kitchenette, slide-out refrigerator, pop-up tent, and platform, complete with a water tank, air compressor, and communications tech. The team hitched the Patriot Campers X3 Trailer to extend the fun. The all-weather camper adds diesel tent heating and hot water as standard features, a 1500-watt inverter, two 150-amp hour AGM Battery gel batteries, and a semi-integrated 80-watt solar panel.
Finally, the LC79 6x6 Megatourer elevates Montesalvos’s skills to a new level. The extra axle and wheels, courtesy of JMACX Offroad Solutions, turn the Land Cruiser 79 Series chassis into a seriously capable overlander. The Custom 6×6 setup uses an Airbag Man adjustable custom air ride system with one-off TJM shocks with adjustable height and damping, providing 8 inches (20 cm) of total lift.
The Megatourer received a lot of upgrades, starting with the 4.2-liter inline 6-cylinder diesel engine reworked with the help of GSL. It also rocks two 240-liter Brown Davis replacement fuel tanks with an auxiliary fuel distribution switch and pre-fuel filter kit. Behind the rear seat is a Redarc Electronics management system that powers two lithium and two AGM batteries, twin compressors, twin air tanks, solar panels, and a full lighting system from X-Ray Vision.
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