New Tacoma owner

better pic of my 1998 Cobra. Awesome car! Dad and I drove my mom's Dodge Intrepid to a dealership and traded it in. And.. mom was not happy.

sorry about all these photos going into TW Live. it's the only way i know how to upload photos into my album

 

my place.. wife parks in the driveway

 

just wanted to add my clean truck pic to my original thread. 20% tint.. you can almost see my dogs inside

 

my previous truck, 2004 Ford Ranger. dad bought it from me for his daily driver. i loved that truck. "Walker Kansas Ranger" was his name

 

the trucks are looking good in my driveway. it was almost a sad day when i was going to trade in my ranger for the taco. but, then dad bought it and kept it in the family.

 

oh heck no!! The pic of my 1966 mustang was my first car in high school. it's still back in my hometown getting worked on by my old shop teacher. (points, carb, distributor, drum brakes.. etc. all that stuff that i've forgot how to do with modern vehicles)

My 1998 cobra was my daily driver until i bought a house and realized i needed a truck. So I bought a cheap 93 Ranger that fell apart and traded it for the 2004 Ranger in the pic. So I had my Ranger for my everyday use and my Cobra just sits in my garage. And, my Cobra did crappy in the winter so i needed some 4wd.

i have a GREAT wife that still allows me to store my Cobra AND my Tacoma in the garage. she's okay with parking her car in out in the driveway as long as i scrape the ice/snow off in the winter for her.

there's my long story for ya.

 

got my rear leaf TSB done. not a huge difference. but, it was free.

 

Good call. Got mine done a few months ago. Made the truck feel a little tall in the rear. But like you said, it was free.
Also, hey from Newton, KS. Good to see a fellow TX owner.

 

Nice truck, welcome to TW.

 

tacos at home depot

 

nothing crazy. took off door emblems

 

Looks like you are having a good time with it! Have you done any four wheeling yet? Is there any place in Kansas for you to play off road?

 

We mainly stick with mud in these parts. Murder I'd get your mud play in while those all-terrains have some life in them. They pack up pretty badly with mud after the tread wears down a bit. Ask me how I know.

 

One All Terrain tire that is very self cleaning in mud is the Hankook Dynapro ATm... I have been very impressed with them in sand, mud, snow and they are quiet on the highway...

 

so far my truck has done 0% off roading. unless you count the grass parking at the KC Chiefs game I can't comment on the BFG's Rugged Trails as far as off roading is concerned. But, they do hydroplane easy in heavy rain. My old Ranger had Goodyear RT/S, so I'm used to crap tires in the rain.

As far as Off Road trails, the closest "nice" one is about 2 hrs west of me near Manhattan, KS. back in college I had friends with jeeps that hit the trails all the time at the Randolph Terrain Park. you can YouTube some Randolph videos, it's actually some serious trails.

Like Blueberry said, most people around here hit the mudd'n.

 

Well tires do make a difference in mud... The Dynapros worked very well in mud and snow for an all terrain tire. If you will be using the truck as a daily driver (like me) and go off roading when you can, on vacation or weekends, then I recommend the Hankook Dynapro ATm... It is as quiet on the highway as the Rugged Trails, but works much better in mud. If you are wanting a mud all the time truck, and don't mind highway noise from the deep lugs, then a mud tire is good... Hankook's mud tire beat all the others in a big test a year or so ago in the off road magazines. If Hankooks are not in your area, then Toyo makes good A/T and Mud tires under the name Open Country. I had the Toyo Open Country A/T on my '05 and was happy with them.

 

don't hate me, but i think my next set of tires are either the Michelin MS/2's or AT's . I do 99% of driving on highways and read awesome reviews on the Michelins. The wife already said "no" to getting new tires since my Rugged trails are brand new. She just doesn't get replacing new tires and spending money on Other new tires.

I do hunt and fish. But, once again here in KC most of my ponds/lakes have a paved road for access. And when I hunt out west, we usually just park on the highway, jump the barbed wire fence, and my truck never sees dirt. (yes we get permission before hunting on the land).

 

I had the Rugged Trails on all three of my Tacomas, as that is what they come with... and after 12,000 miles they are prone to flats (driving on graded roads with sharp little volcanic rocks, in Baja)...

My last set I finally got rid of at 20,000 miles and I only waited that long because the economy has hurt my business so money is tight.

My second Tacoma I got new tires at 8,000 miles... got Cooper Discoverer STTs, which look crazy good for off road and mud, but were noisy and poor in the sand... traded them for Toyo Open Country ATs after 40,000 miles on the STTs. The Toyos were good, but I tried the Cooper Discoverer ATRs after 35,000 miles on the Toyos... I like the ATRs as equally good as the Toyo ATs.