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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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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December 28, 2023. It's been quite a while - eight months to the day - since the last Rig Review, making this only the second review of 2023. That's just pure lazy on my part, but I'll plead "no way to work on the truck since it's been in Las Vegas" most of that time ...and move on with my fingers in my ears and a la-la-la escaping my lips, as though that were the real reason. With that in mind, let's get down to it, because there is a lot to cover. This Rig Review is the result of…
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April 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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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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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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March 15, 2022. Time flies when you're having fun, and the last several trips have been exactly that. A regular reader may recall that my last rig review was just as the transfer case blew up on my Back for More trip to Death Valley. Since then, the truck has been out four more times (which obviously indicates that at least something has gone right! . Lipstick on the Pig (Jan 2022) Hiking Saline Valley (Jan 2022) Almost Stranded (Mar 2022) Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews I Need New Seats The Drawer in the In-Cab Battery Cabinet Rattles Transfer…
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December 15, 2021. It's been three months since the last rig review, and in that time I've put another 10,000 miles on the Tacoma. With a nearly catastrophic failure, as well as a few great successes, it's time to dive into the good and the bad from the last several trips: Last Minute Rush (Oct 2021) Lowest Peak in the Park - aka Into the Owlsheads (Nov 2021) Highest Peak in the Park - aka Pushing into the Panamints (Nov 2021) Back for More (Dec 2021) Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews The Axle Housing is Cracked Oil Leaking from…
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September 12, 2021. Whereas my previous update was several months in the making, it seems that I've already got several updates regarding the Tacoma after my trip to Canada and a few days in California, so let's get right down to it. Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews Relentless Skid Plate Attachment Hella HIDs fail to turn on, sometimes Unchanged / Still an issue from previous Rig Reviews There are some things that have been featured in Rig Reviews that are - as yet - unchanged from when I originally reviewed them. Rather than highlight those things again, I'll simply…
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August 1, 2021. It's been a while since the last Rig Review. Since then, I've put five trips and 20K more miles on the Tacoma. It has - as always seems to be the case - been fantastic. Scouting Black Rock Desert (Apr 2021) Owyhee West (May 2021) Forty-One Miles of Mesa (May 2021) New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route (Jun 2021) Smoke in the Sawtooths (Jul 2021) One Night at Mt. Rainier (Jul 2021) Let's do a quick rundown of things that are working well, and places that need a little TLC after the last bunch of miles. Seemingly solved…
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April 14, 2021 When I started Rig Reviews several years ago, I quickly found that after addressing a few significant items, most trips seemed to go smoothly, with relatively few notable issues - good or bad - cropping up along the way. But, on my last trip to Utah, that was far from the case. In fact, though most were minor, there were so many this time that I feel it worth listing them here, just to drive the point home: Passenger rear indicator lamp has burned out Driver front marker lamp has burned out Hella HIDs fail to turn…
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March 8, 2021. Over the course of the winter, the truck has performed well. Four (!) trips down to the desert to stay warm have put a bunch of miles on the odometer and resulted in only a few little tweaks to the set up. But any tweak is worth understanding, so let's check them out. This rig review covers: Tragedies in the Tablelands (Jan 2021) Right Back to the Owens Valley (Jan 2021) Mid-Winter Mojave (Feb 2021) An Island in the Sky at the Top of the World (Feb 2021) Whew, at ~2500 miles each, it's only the beginning…
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December 1, 2020. There've been a few tweaks to the truck, and two trips to Death Valley since the last rig review, so it's a good time to take stock of how things are going. First, in case you missed the trips, check out: Retracing Panamint Valley's Nadeau Trail Death Valley Loose Ends Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews ADS 2.5" Coilovers - Need Limit Straps Unchanged / Still an issue from previous Rig Reviews There are some things that have been featured in Rig Reviews that are - as yet - unchanged from when I originally reviewed them. Rather…
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October 12, 2020. There's no doubt about it, the truck worked pretty well on the Clear, Colorful, Colorado trip for the entirety of the two weeks. Heck, it even got me there and back on the highway - two 20+ hour drives straight, with a bunch of dirt thrown in-between. So, without further ado, let's do a quick rundown of what worked well, and what could have been better. Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews The Ham Radio Antenna Oil Spray in the Engine Bay - solved itself. I hope. Unchanged / Still an issue from previous Rig Reviews There…
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August 29, 2020. Well, it's been a while since a rig review - things have been working reasonably well; a nice side effect of constantly evaluating and tweaking the setup of the truck to dial it in. Since last time, we've completed the following trips: Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route Bridge-to-Bridge in the Middle of Nowhere Dead Ends through WA, ID, and MT Roaming Around Rainier So, lets dive right in. Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews Relentless Skid Plate Attachment Cooper ST/Maxx Tires It's Noisy in the Cab The Air Conditioning Doesn't Work Unchanged / Still an issue from previous…
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May 24, 2020. Our last two trips have both been to the Owyhee area of southeastern Oregon and western Idaho - Into the Owyhee Uplands and Owyhee Redux. The truck performed well on each trip, but as always there are little tweaks I want to make to the setup, so let's dive in to the rig review. Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews Front ADS Coilover Spherical Bearings - "solved" in that I know they are going to require constant maintenance for a while. Second (House) Battery Seems to be low - completely fixed with a new battery. Propane Bottle…
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March 17, 2020 Back from the eastern Mojave, it's time for another look at how the truck performed over the course of the last 5 day's adventures. If you haven't read those - and want to - go right ahead, I'll wait. Removed from previous Rig Reviews The Swing-Out Table - I still don't have one and the truth of the matter is that I've been getting along fine without by using the tailgate. Adding a table would be a nicety, but would also add weight - even if only a small amount - so for now it's…
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January 4, 2020 Another year of wheeling and camping is in the books. I find myself here writing a rig review as one of 2020's first posts, for the last couple of trips that we took in 2019. By and large, the truck performed well on those trips In Search of Overlooks in Death Valley and though an unexpectedly snowy trip to the Mojave Preserve. There were - as always - a couple things worth calling out - so without further ado, let's get to it! Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews Front ADS Coilover Spherical Bearings Squeaking Unchanged /…
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September 30, 2019. It was another whirlwind of trips through August and September, with three more trips and 21 more nights now in the books: The Whipsaw Trail in BC, Canada, a trip with Pops to the California Sierra, and a nearly two-week adventure through Wyoming and Colorado. Of those, the two driving adventures both ended early due to mechanical failure of at least one vehicle on the trip, so without further ado, let's get into what's bound to be a stunning rig review! Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews Front ADS Reservoirs Too Close to Tires Unchanged / Still an…
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July 29, 2019. In perhaps our most-traveled month to date, July was nearly an entire month in Idaho. In fact, we've had four trips in the last couple of months to this tiny state - after only having visited once before. After our SE Idaho trip to Indian Hot Springs and City of Rocks, our trip to the Highest Roads in Idaho, and running the Idaho Backcountry Discovery route, there are definitely a few things worth mentioning on the rig. So let's get right down to it. Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews The Electrical System - now with moar…
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