Well, the good news is that we were successful. It may have taken 14 hours, but the Dan's (@drr and I) were triumphant in our first attempt at a timing belt self-service to each of our 5VZFE's. But oh, how we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's back up say... six…
10 CommentsYear: 2018
May 28, 2018. We slept soundly until morning - it was our first night of the trip with calm weather and little-to-no wind. That, combined with the fact that we were in a stand of tall pines are the excuse I'll use for not getting up to enjoy the sunrise!…
Leave a CommentMay 27, 2018. By the next morning the storm had passed and the sun was trying to punch through the clouds on the horizon. That meant there was no beautiful sunrise, but that didn't keep me from rolling out of the tent to capture the first daylight shots of our…
Leave a CommentMay 26, 2018. We survived the night, the lightning storm and associated rain passing both east and west of our perch atop Monument Peak. As has become a habit, I was up early - I knew our location and the clouds in the sky could make for a spectacular morning.…
2 CommentsMay 24, 2018. Eastward to Adventure! We were packed and ready to go by 8:00am Thursday, having been looking forward to a Memorial Day trip with Mike (@Digiratus), Monte (@Blackdawg) and Devin (@MissBlackdawg) for the better part of a month. Still early in the season, we weren't sure what we'd find…
Leave a CommentMay 12, 2018. We all know how it goes - the list of things to do to the truck is so long that we have to prioritize. And often, that prioritization favors form over function. And from time to time, I've been as guilty of that as the next guy,…
8 CommentsIt wasn't long ago that Dan (@drr), Mike (@Digiratus), Zane (@Speedytech7) and I got together at Dan's shop to do some work on Mike's steering rack and LCA's. That didn't go exactly as planned, but we all had a great time and when we hear Zane was going to be…
Leave a CommentI was ready for adventure - running solo, I was returning to Death Valley, having only just wet my appetite on our first trip back in January. With 2500 miles to go, I knew I had a lot of driving ahead - but I was ready - or so I…
4 Comments"You should get a 4Runner." is what I tell just about anyone with kids who asks what kind of car they should get. Of course, nothing generally comes of that - people opt for something more racy - a Tesla, or an Audi, those kinds of things. So, you can…
2 CommentsApril 14, 15, 2018. A couple hours after falling asleep just north of Saline Valley Warm Springs, I was awoken by what I initially thought was a gunshot in my dream. But, with the valley still echoing, I soon realized it was no dream. Unsure what was going on, I…
2 CommentsHaving hit the sack relatively early (a drawback of being solo and not chatting into the evening around a fire), I was well-rested as I awoke to catch the sun chasing the moon on the eastern horizon. One of my favorite times of day, I climbed out of the tent…
Leave a CommentA Struggle from the Start If our first trip to Death Valley taught us anything, it was that our adventures there were far from complete. The three days of exploration had just scratched the surface of the vast wilderness before us. So, when I found out that @mrs.turbodb was headed…
Leave a CommentApril 2, 2018. A while back, I somehow stumbled on @jberry813's post where he installed a garage door opener in his headliner (Homelink in a 1st gen) near the map lights. Having the same issues - a garage door remote that floats around in the center console; @mrs.turbodb's car that…
4 CommentsOur trip to The Maze was awesome. However, you may recall that near the end, we hit a whoops a little fast, which led to me peering under the truck a few times on the way home to try and determine what the god-awful shake was that we were feeling…
1 CommentMarch 24, 2018. "I feel sorry for anyone who needs a cam bolt sleeve in the Seattle area this weekend." said Mike @Digiratus as he and Zane @Speedytech7 walked in the door a little after 4:30pm. See, they'd just driven a 50-mile loop to get every last one they could…
Leave a CommentMarch 18, 2018. To say it was one of the more blustery nights we've spent in the tent would be an understatement. Perched on the edge of the canyon wall, the rain fly was getting whipped around, and the tent was acting like a sail in the bed of the…
1 CommentMarch 17, 2018. Our night at the Doll House was the calmest of the trip. We all slept soundly and though we each awoke a different times, we all experienced a beautiful morning. Having nearly missed the orange horizon the morning before, I refrained from hitting the snooze button on…
2 CommentsMarch 15, 2018. Day 0. As we pulled out of the parking lot in Idaho Falls, we were already late. See, the plan had been to show up at @cbi offroad fab when they opened at 8:00am, and have the new bumper install done by 10:00am so we'd have our…
3 CommentsMarch 14-15, 2018. There is perhaps nothing that changes the look of a truck more than adding a swing-out rear bumper. Sure, you can argue for bigger tires or lift or a front bumper, but in my mind, none of those things compare to the entirely new footprint that a rear-swing-out…
6 Comments