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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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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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.
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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TL;DR - I don't ever really mention them, but my Canon R6 and lenses are doing great.
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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TL;DR - The seal in the transmission that accepts the input shaft from the transmission is leaking and needs to be replaced.
Leave a CommentTL;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.
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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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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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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TL;DR - I no longer recommend SPC upper control arms (UCAs) if they contain X-Axis bushings.
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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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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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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.
TL;DR - I replaced the lower ball joints (LBJs) as preventative maintenance after 75K miles.
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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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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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