Patriot Campers FJ49

The Montesalvo twins have big shoes to fill.

We all know the best part of turning 17 (or 16, depending on where you are in the world) is getting your driver’s license. But when your dad is Justin Montesalvo of the famous Australian Patriot Campers, getting your license means a whole lot more than just getting behind the wheel to drive. The 45 Series Land Cruiser FJ49 you see on these pages is the result of the hard work of twin teens Ashton and Christian Montesalvo, who used their savings from working in Dad’s Patriot Campers shop to buy the FJ49 just months before their 17th birthday.

Inside the Patriot Campers Garage

You’re probably familiar with some of the most famous builds to come out of the Patriot Campers garage, and you may have seen the few that made the trip from Down Under all the way to SEMA Show back in November 2022. The Queensland-based Patriot Campers brought over their best “supertourers,” including the massive 6×6 “Megatourer” and basically indestructible “Black Truck,” as well as two trailers, the X3 and XN-1 Limited Edition, in addition to the FJ49.

At SEMA, the boys’ FJ49 was on display at the Toyota USA booth, alongside some other really cool rigs. This Land Cruiser is what the Montesalvos are calling their “biggest build yet,” and “the baddest FJ in the world.” With the power of Patriot Campers behind them, Ashton and Christian are well on their way to achieving their dream.

This Land Cruiser is what the Montesalvos are calling their ‘biggest build yet,’ and ‘the baddest FJ in the world.’

Patriot Games TV

The gang from Patriot Campers has long been documenting their adventures on their Patriot Games TV YouTube channel. In the 19-part series on the FJ49, Justin and the guys walk us through every part of the truck, at every point in the build process, including engine transplant, wheel and tire upgrades, driving tests, paint jobs, electrical wiring, and more.

The truck on these pages looks quite a bit different from the FJ49 you’ll see if you watch the series from Episode 1, which aired way back in July 2021. It’s been almost two years, so how did the antique FJ49 that originally failed on its first outing become the badass 4×4 you see here? The answer is hours of hard work from two determined kids, a bit of help from some truck-building pros, and plenty of time spent both behind the wheel and under the hood.

…hours of hard work from two determined kids, a bit of help from some truck-building pros, and plenty of time spent both behind the wheel and under the hood.

Coming Of Age

We all remember how much we loved our first car. Justin jokes that his sons have become “infatuated” with the FJ49, and if we remember right, that’s exactly the right word for it. But as much as we loved our first cars, we’ve gotta admit they were nowhere near as cool as Ashton and Christian’s FJ49.

Justin jokes that his sons have become “infatuated” with the FJ49, and if we remember right, that’s exactly the right word for it.

Help from Justin and access to the Patriot Campers garage and resources was “A reward for many years of hard work,” as both boys spent practically every minute of free time in the shop beginning in their preteen years. That’s a lot of money and time saved up, and a lot of sweat put into a project, especially for guys so young.

Spending your teen years wrenching is also just about the best way to gain the knowledge it takes to create a truck this cool. It’s about more than just looks – after spending so much time with Patriot Campers, Ashton and Christian know cars, and that’s how they decided the original FJ49 needed some upgrades. To be specific, they wanted the power and reliability of today’s 79 Series Land Cruisers, so that’s just what they did.

Land Cruisers Never Die

Really, they never do. They just donate parts to other Land Cruisers in an endless cycle. That’s what you get when you manufacture such a reliable vehicle. Lucky for Ashton and Christian, they were able to find a 2011 V8 Diesel 79 Series Land Cruiser and execute a complete engine and driveline swap.

Today, the FJ49 still has its original chassis; however, its engine, transmission, air conditioning, differentials, and springs are all donated from the 2011 Land Cruiser.

Once they had the new engine and drivetrain in, it was time to add some modern performance upgrades. First came Harrop Eaton ELockers that push out equal power to both axles, giving the twins double traction. They also incorporated a PWR Performance radiator and intercooler to keep the engine running at its peak.

Up front, the 79 Series suspension works great for the twins’ off-roading needs. In the back, they added a JMACX Heavy Duty Diff Upgrade to even out the leaf-spring suspension overall.

GSL Fabrication, also out of Queensland, supervised the FJ49’s performance enhancements, including the addition of a stainless-steel exhaust and dyno tuning the whole build.

Exterior Building

Not many 17-year-olds have access to state-of-the-art welding and manufacturing facilities like the ones at Patriot. Patriot Campers played a major role in outfitting the exterior of the FJ49 build, particularly with the EXOCAGE roll cage and other body reinforcements, which include custom fenders and a tow bar.

Not many 17-year-olds have access to state-of-the-art welding and manufacturing facilities like the ones at Patriot.

The patina paint job on the FJ49 is as unique as the other components of the build, throwing back to the classic FJs. It sits up on its max legal track on PCOR Signature 261 wheels, thanks to a -25-inch offset, the widest possible setup for the truck. The wheels are wrapped in BFGoodrich 35-inch A/Ts, another throwback to the skinny tread patten of the OG FJs from back in the day.

Up on the front bumper is a Warn High Mount Winch, packing tons of power and plenty of speed, which they definitely need. Traveling in groups with family and friends is all good fun, but if you put too many adventurers behind the wheel, you wind up winching them out of a ditch more often than usual. A twin onboard air compressor, standard for all the builds that come out of the Patriot Campers garage, also helps with that. Custom lights are, of course, one of the very last things that round out the exterior of the Patriot Campers boys’ FJ49. New headlights as well as two custom lightbars from the folks at X-Ray Vision utilize Multiplexer Projection technology that keeps the trail lit wherever the guys point the FJ49.

In the truck they keep a Dometic fridge, and up top they mounted a set of PCOR Maxtrax Xtreme recovery boards – both very necessary and often used.

Interior Upgrades

Redarc Electronics powers not just the fridge out back but the whole dash inside. This is the very first 45 Series to be fully powered by Redarc, using the combo of a Manager 30 and RedVision TVMS. Mega Life batteries power a 350-watt Redarc inverter.

Another benefit of all this advice from pro rig builders is knowing when things will go wrong. To that end, the FJ49 is outfitted with ETG Gauge monitors and a TowPro Electric Brake Controller, along with the PCOR Trail Connect system. An XRS Connect UHF Radio system keeps Ashton and Christian connected to Justin and any other riders in the crew; you’ll often spot them talking back and forth while on the road with their handhelds.

California Adventure

After showing their three builds off at SEMA, what was next? Shipping all those vehicles right back to Australia? No way. The Patriot crew kept their plans under wraps until after the show, but they spent a few weeks wheeling in the States, testing out their vehicles on some new terrain in California.

During a crazy winter for snowfall in California, Big Bear was calling out to any off-roader bold enough to think they could keep their rig on the road this past February. Even into March, kicking it into 4-wheel drive and keeping snow chains on hand was a necessity — even that sometimes wasn’t enough.

Of course, California was a stop on the Patriot Campers American adventure in early 2023. Expecting beaches, sunny skies and surfing, the Patriot crew instead hit the snowy SoCal mountains for some snow wheeling with all three SEMA builds and their two newest trailers in tow. And of course, they captured the excitement for Patriot Games. We’re sure as they head back to the land Down Under, we’ll be seeing more builds, more trips, and more from Ashton and Christian (and the whole Patriot Campers crew) as they continue working on the FJ49.

Be sure to check out Patriot Campers on Instagram @patriot.campers and follow along with Ashton and Christian’s adventures @patriotgamestwins. Watch their builds and adventures on YouTube @PatriotGames.

UPGRADES

45 Series Toyota Land Cruiser 

Engine: 2011 V8 Diesel 79 Series Land Cruiser conversion; PWR Performance radiator and intercooler; JMACX Heavy Duty Diff Upgrade

Suspension: One-off coil system using 79 Series components (front); JMACX Heavy Duty Diff upgrade for leaf suspension (rear); Harrop Eaton ELockers

Wheels & Tires: PCOR Signature 261 Wheels; BFGoodrich 35-inch A/T

Interior Accessories: Redarc Eelctronics Manager 30 and Redvision TMS; two Mega Life Batteries; 350-watt Redarc Inverter; EGT Gauge; TowPro Electric Brake Controller; PCOR Trail Connect system; GME XRS Connect UHF Radio System; Nardi steering wheel; custom upholstery; custom overhead console

Exterior Accessories: Warn High-Mount Winch; Twin air compressor; X-Ray Vision headlights, 900mm and 1200mm lightbars; Dometic CFX 55L fridge; PCOR Maxtrax Xtreme; Patriot Campers custom flares, bars, tow bar, and EXOCAGE roll cage

Editor’s Note: A version of this story previously appeared in the May/June 2023 print issue of Tread Magazine.