Nice hot showers. Love those. Of course, when you're out exploring the wilderness, showers can be few and far between. Often times that is fine - there are opportunities for hot springs, lakes, and creeks - any of which can make a great place for lathering up and taking care of some of the sweaty grime that can build up. But sometimes it'd still be nice to have a warm shower. On our week-long trip running the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route, it turned out that the first 4 days of the trip presented no washing opportunities. And with temps hovering…
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August 20, 2017. As soon as I installed the bed rack, I knew that there were going to be trade-offs - on the one hand, it made for a much nicer sleeping experience with the CVT; on the other, it was a lot harder to get stuff that was in the bed of the truck. Like the cooler, and kitchen stuff. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a trade-off that’s totally worth it. But what if it didn’t have to be a trade-off? What if I could have my cake and eat it too? That’s what I thought when I heard…
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July 23, 2017. Ham radio is for old guys. I must be getting old. As the truck has gotten more capable, and as we’ve started doing longer and more remote trips, I’ve started carrying more tools, extra parts, etc. in order to make (minor) road repairs - hopefully enough to limp back to civilization. But in the back of my mind there is always a little voice that’s been saying, “What happens if you’re many miles out?” I knew I needed some sort of ability to communicate. I considered getting an inReach device a SPOT tracker, or some other ePRB/PLB,…
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July 22, 2017. It was July 8, 2017. I know because I will always remember the day @mrs.turbodb said, "You should just get a fridge for the truck." We'd just returned from our week-long trip to Canada with the little kiddo, where we'd pre-prepared and frozen many of our meals, using our crappy 48qt cooler to keep everything chilly. Of course, even sandwiched in the middle of our gear and under the CVT, we had to get ice every day (does Canada not have block ice?) - which meant staying relatively near civilization. So when we started talking about our…
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July 15, 2017. The truck has always had a bit of rake, with the rear being ~2-3” higher than the front. And I like it that way - it looks good. Until the constant weight of the bed rack and CVT, the combination of stock leafs, Deaver AALs, and air shocks that I installed as part of the suspension overhaul were working reasonably OK. “OK” because I’ve never been able to get the air shocks to hold pressure - they lose about 10lbs a day, so I’m constantly filling them (which is easier with the ARB compressor installed). But with…
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June 18, 2017. As our excursions have been getting longer and more remote, I’ve started paying more attention to things like the amount of extra fuel and water we carry. It’s still nothing too extreme - 6 gallons of fuel (50-100 miles) and 6 gallons of water (several days). And for convenience of packing, I’ve switched over to Rotopax from the cheapo red plastic gas cans and 1-gallon milk jugs. Of course, even finding deals on Craigslist means that I’ve spent a small fortune on the containers. But, they look great and are relatively compact when a trip gets started……
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May 25, 2017. I’m not getting any younger, that’s for sure. It used to be that I could do all kinds of manual labor for 20 hours/day, wake up the next day, and do it all again. I’d hurt myself in some semi-major way and my body would heal itself quickly. Now, I get a little cut somewhere and it takes a week to heal. And if I work for 20 hours one day, I want to sleep for 20 hours the next. With all that in mind, I quickly realized that I needed a better way to fill my…
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April 2, 2017. Thousands of miles. How far have I travelled on washboard roads at full tire pressure? Definitely thousands of miles. Probably not ten thousand, but enough that I wish I’d have known how much better life is when you can air down and air back up without too much hassle. Luckily, while I’m still cheap, I’ve smartened up over the years, and I know that some things are worth a little extra. And comfort is one of those things. So, it’s time to install an ARB CKMA12 air compressor. I’ve opted for the single compressor here rather than…
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April 2017. Wires everywhere. That’s how it’s starting to feel with the various accessories that I’ve added to the truck. Sure, I tuck them away here, and zip-tie them away there to try to clean things up, but in the end I still have several pair of wires running from various fuses and relays in the engine compartment to accessories and switches on the truck. As someone who likes organization, it’s always bothered me. Luckily, there are solutions out there for those of us who like order. There are pre-made fuse boxes from folks like Blue Sea Systems, and there…
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February 14, 2017. You may recall that no too long ago I decided to purchase a CVT, and then of course realized that the truck would need a bed rack to attach said CVT. That led to my Millermatic 211 acquisition, and the realization that this bed rack was the beginning of yet another expensive hobby (metalwork). Excited to get going, I started looking for bed rack designs. I wanted something that would support the CVT - both on the road as well as deployed would position the top of the CVT "in-line" with the top of the cab -…
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November 2016. Most of the time, modifications I make to the truck are firmly in the "meh" camp for @mrs.turbodb. I mean, she appreciates the results, but she'd really be just as happy without them. And, they generally garner at least some amount of teasing about how they aren't technically necessary or how much money was spent (by which I mean, "if you give a mouse a cookie…") But this time was different. This time, there was a sparkle in her eyes. One of the first things I did to the truck in 1999 - six days after I brought…
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October 18, 2016. I am a woodworker. For the last twenty years, metal (stock and shavings), oils, and dirt have been systematically removed from my shops - they can bring no good to wood projects. Metal can dull blades and stain wood as it rusts, oils can soak into the wood and make finishing near impossible, and dirt - well, no one ever said "Can you make that fine furniture a little dirtier?" (I take that back - some do - and I think it's crazy to "pre-distress" a piece.) But I've always been curious about metalwork. And I've always…
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October 18, 2016. When I purchased the Sportz Truck Tent back in 2012 (see Sportz Truck Tent and Truck Bedzzz), I thought to myself, "Boy, I'm really living large and spending the big bucks now." The tent cost me $189 big ones, and the air mattress was another $90. I don't know if RTT's (Roof Top Tent's) like Cascadia Vehicle Tents existed then, but if they did, I didn't know about them and they would have been out of my price range. Today, I committed to really living large - I paid for a Mt. Shasta CVT - on sale…
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One of the things about starting to use the truck on more trips is that it ends up with a lot more miles. And more miles mean more frequent oil changes. In the past, I've always taken it to the Toyota dealer. I figured, "Why not, it's only $29, and then I don't have to worry about having the right tools, spending the time, and they'll do it best - with a lift, etc." Of course, what really happened was that they cross-threaded my OEM skids several times when they re-installed them (it's easier to change the oil if you…
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October 9, 2016. When the winch was installed, it was obviously wired right up to the battery - this made a lot of sense, since it was easy, allowed us to get it spooled up, and is of course the way Warn recommends installing it. But I wanted something better. Or at least more flexible. I wanted to have a way to disconnect the winch from the battery when it wasn't in use (just so I don't have a bunch of #2 AWG wire hot to the winch all the time, and I wanted a way to quickly hook up…
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October 2, 2016. The day before we left for Crater Lake, the mid-skid had arrived - but I didn't have time to paint and install it before we took off. Not a big deal, since the IFS skid covers just as much as both stock plates. But of course, I wanted to get the mid-skid on just as soon as possible, so upon our return I figured some after-work cleanup and painting was in order. As expected, the unpainted skid had a bit of surface rust and dirt on it, so my first task after unboxing was to give both…
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September 2016. As an astute reader will recall, when the Relentless armor was installed, the skid plates were placed in the back of the truck. Actually, just one was placed in the back, since the second wasn't going to fit my truck - a California model with an extra catalytic converter. Upon getting the first skid home, I painted it immediately with a couple coats of Rustoleum professional enamel primer, and a few coats of flat black. Looked reasonably good. "I like the R," said @mini.turbodb. Then, I waited. I mean, I should put both skids on at once, I…
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September 2016. When I initially mentioned to Dad that I was going to get a winch and plate bumper, he had two questions for me. How's that going to be for your gas mileage? You gonna get some more lights? Hella's or PIAA's? Little did he know that I'd already purchased some Hella 500's, and they were sitting in the dining room collecting dust. I mean, who wouldn't buy some Hella's, knowing that a new bumper was coming in 6 months, right? Plus, they were a great deal on Amazon (well, they were the same price as always). I ignored…
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September 3, 2016. Ever since the truck was broken into in the alley, its place at night has been in the garage. That isn't simple, since the garage was built in 1925, and is only 1" longer than a stock 2000 Toyota Tacoma 4WD. I mean, I did have to sacrifice…by removing the tow hitch so it would fit. But with the new armor the truck was lengthened by 3½", due primarily to the Predator hoops on the front bumper. No problem I thought - we'll just knock out the front wall of the garage and go along our merry…
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August 23, 2016. The trip was a long awaited one. But first, some background. The lead up Six months ago (Feb 2016), I'd decided it was finally time to get a winch on my Tacoma - to allow me to get out of jams (if I get in one); to increase safety on certain trails when we're out solo, and to open up new trails where a blow-down may need to be moved out of the way (for instance). Initially I was going to go with a hidden front hitch, and a winch that I could move to the front…
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