TL;DR - The new 5th gear is gutless, but it does seem to have improved my gas mileage significantly. Maybe.
Category: Rig Reviews
TL;DR - The Exped Megamat for the RTT continues to be one of my most "worth it" purchases, and Exped (the company) stood behind it - years after my initial purchase - when it developed a slow leak.
With summer coming to an end and the Tacoma headed back down to the desert for the winter, it's time to take a look at what's been working and what hasn't been working over the last three months. In that time, we've travelled - mostly around the Pacific Northwest. Or, I suppose, the Pacific Southwest, if you're Canadian. The summer also saw quite a bit of maintenance work to keep the Tacoma in tip-top - or at least, not-falling-apart-too-quickly - shape. Most of this was in the form of some wheel, tire, and suspension work that I've been putting off,…
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TL;DR - I knew I had cracks in the front passenger corner of the bed, but I had no idea how bad it was. Luckily, I have great friends who could help get it buttoned back up!
TL;DR - I'm going to try replacing my 5th gear with a taller gear that should lower my RPMs at highway speeds and will hopefully improve my fuel economy (MPGs).
TL;DR - Over our last five nights of camping in Canada, we had mice in the cab three times. What is going on?
TL;DR - The new 1st gen Sequoia double 5-spoke wheels sit a little too inboard and cause some rubbing on my suspension components, so I've installed some wheel spacers to fix the problem.
TL;DR - I am not happy with the lifespan I got out of the X-Axis joints on my SPC upper control arms (UCAs), so I'm going back to the original polyurethane bushing-based SPC UCAs.
TL;DR - The new wheels and tires look good, but they rub in places that are not acceptable. It's my fault, and I'm hoping to solve the problem with a couple 0.5" spacers.
TL;DR - I waited too long to swap out the spherical bearings in my ADS coilovers, and they ended up destroying the rod ends of my shocks. A simple job made more complicated by my lazy ineptitude.
July 31, 2024 I've fallen behind with Rig Reviews since there are lots of trips to write up and share (and I think people like them more), but I'm hoping to do better. This will cover things that have happened over the course of the following trips: So, let's get into it! Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews I didn't solve much from previous rig reviews this time, but I waited long enough to write up this review that all of the new issues were resolved! I'll chalk that up as a win. Unchanged / Still an issue…
6 CommentsTL;DR - I have been extremely happy with Cooper S/T Maxx tires over the last six years. I would not hesitate to recommend them as one of the best tires you can run for the type of exploring that I do.
TL;DR - The scheel-mann seats I bought two years ago are the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in and continue to work as designed. The only thing better would be Toyota OEM seats that were built/upholstered to provide the same support but with a slightly less bulky form factor.
TL;DR - I fixed the wiring for my rear e-locker, and it was pretty easy!
TL;DR - It's finally time to replace my front brake pads on the left (driver) side, and I've been so happy with the Toyota OEM pads I've been running that I'm not even looking for other alternatives.
TL;DR - I couldn't get my rear e-locker to disengage on a recent trip. Turns out that one of the wires broke at the frame harness, so I need to fix it.
April 30, 2024 The first third of the year is in the books, and it's time to take stock of what's been working well, what's gotten a bit of attention, and what still needs to be addressed with my setup. This will cover things that have happened over the course of the following trips: So, let's get into it! Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews The Rear Diff is Weeping - I didn't fix the weeping in particular, but with the new rear axle housing, the third member got a new FIPG seal and everything is good to…
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TL;DR - the ride on the Chevy 63s is great, but I have a little too much lift, so I'll be removing a single leaf.
TL;DR - After installing my second LutzAuto Speedometer Correction Device, I've started having trouble - the speedometer jumps randomly from 0 - 130mph - with it again. As such, I'm removing it and I'll just do math to correct my odometer readings for MPG averages.
TL;DR - I had my second oil analysis done. With 260K miles on the Tacoma, everything still seems happy.
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