January 3, 2018 When I got my Alcan leaf pack, I knew it was top quality. I really liked how the guys at Alcan asked what I wanted from the pack, as far as "every day" weight in the back, as well as "loaded" weight for adventures. So far, I've been really happy with how it has held the weight in the bed, provided a better ride than my OEM leafs (which were perpetually riding on the overloads and bump stops), and have given the truck back it's aggressive stance, even when loaded. Once I got bigger tires however, I…
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Reviews of products used, and links to those products.
December 6, 2017. Over the last 17 years, the truck has been amazing. Truly a joy every time I get in it, work on it, or even just get all googly-eyed looking at it. But, as we've started bigger and longer adventures, and turned it into an adventure truck as much as an around-town-mobile, the truck has slowly gotten to a point where it was time to do something about the drive train. Big Tires = Big Problem …and by slowly, I mean it was about like this: And that cliff, right there at the edge, was the installation of…
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Having just installed a new ham radio setup to get APRS, I was keen to play with Kenwood TM-D710GA and Mobilinkd to track my location. So, on a few local trips, I turned everything on and waited. And waited and waited. Over the course of 30 minutes, I never got a single APRS beacon from another station. I knew something was wrong. And then I realized that the difference between my initial setup and my current situation was that the truck was on. Turning the truck off resulted in almost immediate APRS packets coming through. Crap, something is causing interference…
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November 5, 2017 It wasn't all that long ago that I got my Ham radio license and installed an Icom-5100 in the truck. A great radio, it's gone now - because a great radio isn't all I need; I need a great radio that can also do APRS. What's APRS and why's it so important? Great question, let's start there! APRS is the "Automatic Packet Reporting System," a machine-parsable protocol used on a known frequency (144.390 in the US) to send all kinds of information from one ham radio to another. But the reason I care about it is that…
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October 28, 2017 New brakes nearly installed, I waited anxiously to see how the replacement brake line that Steve @Wheeler's Off Road sent was mailed - was it fast, or would it be slow? It was great - he sent it 1-day and I had it Saturday morning. Not only that, but he sent an entire brake line kit, so now I've got an extra line and set of crush washers to throw in the trail kit, in case something goes wrong on my or a buddy's truck! Thanks Steve! Installing the line was pretty straight forward, especially as I'd…
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If you're here looking for how to install Tundra 13WL or 13WE brakes on a 1st gen Tacoma, you can read how I did it on this particular day, but the more useful page for you will probably be this guide: Step by Step Tundra Brake Upgrade on a Tacoma (or 4Runner) The guide shows step-by-step (with pics) how to do the upgrade, and has links to all the parts needed (at varying price points). When you find yourself on a trip with other Tacoma owners, there's a tendency for everyone to come away from the trip wanting something. And…
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October 13, 2017. Two wise men once told me: If you're going to get bigger tires, then you should consider bigger wheels at the same time. Because with bigger wheels, you can fit Tundra brakes. So yeah, these showed up today... When they did, the UPS guy said, "Were you expecting me?" and "What kind of vehicle?" and it was clear that he'd been checking them out. @mrs.turbodb suggested that he may have been even more excited than me.
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After running the CB for two weeks straight on The De-Tour, there are a few notes I'll make about it for anyone considering the same setup: It's a really nice setup. It fits so perfectly, especially with the AC housing "mod," that you don't even really need to secure it in any way...which is nice if you have to remove it for any reason (I did a few times to tune it). Even when wheeling, it didn't dislodge at all. The antenna setup worked out well - it tuned up really nicely once I got a SWR meter on it.…
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September 10, 2017. When I got the ham radio, my hope was that I'd just skip the whole CB thing. I mean, when you've got the real thing… 🙂 But, as it turns out (and let's be honest, I knew this when I installed the ham radio), a lot of folks don't have a HAM license, so CB's are the common denominator on trips. About to set-off on a 14-day De-Tour of Montana and Wyoming, it was time to get the CB installed. For First Gen Tacoma's, there's really only one option for a CB radio IMO - the Uniden…
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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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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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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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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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August 7, 2016. I've suffered enough. That Panasonic stereo I installed back in 2013 was great for the Bluetooth, and it was nice for playing videos, but the UI was just horrendous. I mean, why can't there be an option to just make the background black, and not some pulsating craziness that belongs in "The Fast-er-est and Furious-er-est," not a Toyota Tacoma? Plus, I'm getting to that point where I should just buy what I want - I mean, I've learned from Pops that I'm just spending @mini.turbodb's inheritance at this point, even if she did love the old stereo…
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July 2, 2016. It's been close for a while, and it's been a long time coming, but on our way out of town for a what would become an off-road adventure to a brand new site - the truck hit 60K miles. That's an average of 3,600 miles each year, or a whopping 300 miles per month. Except that I'd driven it 10K miles in the first two months, so it's really more like 200 miles per month over the life of the truck. This truck is going to last me forever. I hope. So we arrived at our super-secret-undisclosed-location-that-you-have-to-rush-to-or-someone-else-will-get-there-first,…
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February 2016. Or March. Sort of April. If you're going to lift your truck, there are two ways to do it. You can do it for looks, or you can do it for real. For looks, you're talking about a spacer lift or a body lift - something that raises the truck but doesn't raise the performance. For real, you're talking about a suspension lift - replacing all the parts that make up the suspension on the truck, and in doing so, improving the performance - both on and off road. Clearly, you want a suspension lift. But, we're getting…
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January 13, 2013. It turns out that auto tech changes in a decade. "What?," you say. "Yes, yes it does." Before @mrs.turbodb and her Audi (which I call a station wagon, but she'll have me tell you is a "Dark Gray 2008 Audi A4 Avante named 'Kitty'"), I'd never experienced Bluetooth in a car. Not for phone calls, not for streaming podcasts, nothing. I mean, I'd only gotten my Windows Phone 7 a few months earlier. But the Bluetooth in the Audi - that was a great thing. So, it was time to get Bluetooth in the truck. As always,…
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