escape the ordinary
These are 17x7.5" double five-spoke from an early 2000s Sequoia. With 4.5" backspacing, they are perfect for a 1st gen Tacoma.
TL;DR - I'm done with 16" wheels and the limited tire selection they offer. My next set of tires (and therefore wheels) will be 17".
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I do miss my avocados, but these always hit the spot.
TL;DR - with trips to Las Vegas now taking place via plane, it's much harder to bring avocados (compared to packing them securely and driving them from home). Becuase I refuse to eat tacos or burritos without guacamole, I had to find an alternative. Chicken Tender wraps have fit the bill fantastically.
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There are more powerful chargers out there, but at least for now, this one seems perfect.
TL;DR - I found a compact, 65W USB A/C charger that can be used for my laptop, camera, drone, flashlight, phone, and just about anything else, and it charges faster than the dedicated chargers for those devices. Fantasticly amazing.
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The DJI Air has allowed for shots I would have never been able to capture previously!
TL;DR - I've enjoyed taking still photos with the drone, but I've not enjoyed trying to shoot videos as my piloting skills leave many things to be desired. I've also got several more things to add to my like/dislike list, which I'm sure will continue to grow.
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Still dripping.
TL;DR - After replacing the transmission seal on the transfer case input shaft, my leak disappeared for about three months. But, it's back, so I need to replace the seal again.
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Currently, the Tacoma has a stinkbug stance. Too much rake, even for me.
TL;DR - I think Alcan makes great leaf springs, but I'm going to ditch them for Chevy 63s because my second set is too stiff and I want a better ride.
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The incremental calibration is really nice - so much easier than "hoping" with a speedo gear, and having to get a new gear if something between the transmission and ground changes in the future.
TL;DR - I've been happy with the device, though I had to replace it, and I discovered (because of the device) that getting the speedometer to be accurate is NOT what we should all be shooting for!
Leave a CommentTL;DR - I've not really had any noticeable bed spread over the last 5 years, despite every other Tacoma seeming to have the problem. However, I've noticed recently that the gap around the tailgate is not as even as it used to be. I'm not worried for now, but I'll likely address it with and update to the bed rack.
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With a 2x2.5" pad of aluminum, there's plenty of surface area to spread out the force of the ladder standoffs.
TL;DR - the aluminum plates that I installed to address the holes forming where the ladder standoffs were wearing through the floor skin have worked great. Highly recommend.
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So far, the Dometic is working out.
TL;DR - After switching over to a Dometic Fridge, things have been working "just fine." I think I still technically preferred the ARB overall, but the Dometic has a few nice features the ARB did not. And, most importantly, it's actually cooling.
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Old (cloudy) housings (left). | New housings with OSRAM Super Bright Halogen lo-beams (right).
TL;DR - The new OEM headlight housings into the Tacoma are working great with high-powered halogen lamps. This is the way, LEDs are crap.
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"Seems ...Unsafe."
TL;DR - Having the Tacoma in Las Vegas is by far the best thing I've done for exploring, ever. The convenience of not having to drive forever at the start/end of a trip is worth it alone. Icing on the cake is that it's been even cheaper than I originally estimated (which itself was cheaper than driving).
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This little guy will solve all my problems.
TL;DR - For the last several months my clutch pedal hasn't been returning fully. Clearly, the plastic bushings on the torsion spring are wearing out (they're squeaky too), so I'll be replacing the torsion spring with a linear spring.
Leave a CommentApril 28, 2023. The big news on this Rig Review is that the Tacoma has been stored in Las Vegas, largely eliminating the long, 20+ hour slog to get from the PNW to the SW before a winter adventure. While this has definitely reduced the wear and tear on the truck - saving something on the order of 2000 miles per trip - it has also introduced other benefits and drawbacks that I didn't really think about when I decided to go this route. With that in mind, let's get down to it. This Rig Review covers the following trips:…
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Repeated use has worn through the aluminum skin of the floor.
TL;DR - The two spots where the ladder rests on the bottom of the tent have developed holes in the aluminum floor.
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My $1000 ARB fridge, now a glorified ice chest.
TL;DR - I'm not happy at all that the ARB fridge wouldn't cool on my last trip. I'm going to be reaching out to ARB support to (hopefully) get the issue resolved.
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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.
Leave a CommentDecember 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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