TL;DR - After considering a switch to Gaia, I'm (mostly) sticking with Backcountry Navigator for GPS software because it works better for the things I do.
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Polishing worked OK, but quickly reverted back to the foggy state.
TL;DR - my headlight housings are getting foggy again. Given their age - original to the Tacoma - it's time to put in some new ones.
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Costs pretty much the same.
TL;DR - having the Tacoma in Las Vegas and flying back and forth for each trip is one of the best things we've done for the setup in a long time from a quality of life perspective. It doesn't save any money though.
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December 18, 2022. The final three months of 2022 have seen several more trips and the Tacoma has weathered them well (as usual). Interestingly, while the set of trips is large, the actual driving for these trips has been relatively small: Olympic Peninsula Passages (Sep 2022) Lake Hopping the Eastern Sierra (Oct 2022) Hart Homesteads (Nov 2022) Highway Hikes [on CA-190] (Nov 2022) Panamint City via Surprise Canyon (Nov 2022) Inyo East (Dec 2022) The Olympic Peninsula - while large - is located in our home state, eliminating the long drives to-and-from that have become so common. The Highway Hikes and Panamint City trips in Death…
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Love this thing!
TL;DR - I don't ever really mention them, but my Canon R6 and lenses are doing great.
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These are the best fuel canisters out there. They are hard to get in the United States, but if you can, you should.
TL;DR - I've begun to carry three, 20L Scepter military jerry cans full of fuel and despite the extra weight, it's been great.
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Is this cavity ever dry? In real life?
TL;DR - The seal in the transmission that accepts the input shaft from the transmission is leaking and needs to be replaced.
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Caked dust - a telltale sign of a slow leak.
TL;DR - the form in place gasket (FIPG) used to seal the carrier to the rear axle housing is leaking just a tad and needs replacing.
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The detail of our location using BCN (left) and Gaia (right).
TL;DR - For years I've used Backcountry Navigator. After checking out Gaia on our last trip, I'm considering a switch.
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End of the road.
TL;DR - The zipper finally failed catastrophically. Both CVT and YKK had amazing customer service and solved the problem in different ways.
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That's not right either. After running on this for two miles or so at 65mph, even though it looks pretty normal, the tire is toast.
TL;DR - I got my third Cooper ST/Maxx flat ever, all on the same set (my fourth) of tires. I still think they are one of the best tires out there.
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Older SPC UCAs with SpecRide bushings vs. newer arms with the X-Axis joint.
TL;DR - I no longer recommend SPC upper control arms (UCAs) if they contain X-Axis bushings.
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The full report, minus my deets.
TL;DR - I had my first oil analysis done, and with 235K miles on the Tacoma, it came back great.
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September 2, 2022. Overall, the Tacoma has been doing great since my last rig review back in March, so I haven't felt any need to write anything about it. Still, there have been a few things worth noting on the last several trips, so let's get down to it. 250 Miles of Washboard - Bradshaw Trail (Mar 2022) Oh, So, (San Rafael) Swell (Apr 2022) Rock Art Overload - Nine Mile Canyon (Apr 2022) Owyhee Out-and-Backs (May 2022) A Tour of Cabins atop Steens Mountain (May 2022) Slowing Down in the Sierra (Jun 2022) Wyoming Backcountry Discovery Route (Jul 2022)…
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Valve stems that insert from the outside!
TL;DR - My Cooper ST/Maxx tires finally gave me a bit of trouble. Still, I'll probably buy a 5th set when these wear out because they've performed better than any other tire I've seen others run on the trail.
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These seats are definitely the most expensive mod I've done to the Tacoma.
TL;DR - The new scheel-mann seats are doing fine. The jury is still out on whether they are worth it (and will be for several years, I think.
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Out with the old, in with the new.
TL;DR - I replaced the lower ball joints (LBJs) as preventative maintenance after 75K miles.
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That is certainly not supposed to look like it does.
TL;DR - The passenger front corner of the bed cracked all the way down to the bed floor. I've fixed it, for now.
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My original SPC UCAs with sleeved poly bushings on the left; new UCAs with the X-Axis joint on the right.
TL;DR - the last time I got an alignment, the tech mentioned that the rear passenger side bushing on the upper control arm (UCA) was starting to get a bit loose. After some consideration, I decided to install completely new UCAs, with lifetime joints so I never have to worry about those bushings again.
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Turns out, adjustment wasn't what was needed.
TL;DR - My dirver side limit strap in the front broke. I replaced it.
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