BigMike’s Big Journey: New 2016 Tacoma

Great write up so far and looking forward to the entire build process

 

I actually had another 3rd gen Tacoma owner give me the thumbs up yesterday on my way home from work. Kinda reminded me of the "biker wave" we motorcyclist do.

 

Yeah you can usually tell if its just a person who happens to own a Tacoma and not care or the ones like us who are enthusiasts about it Let me know if you ever plan on driving through Northern Nevada!

 

I used to ride when I was in college and during that time when I'd be in my 1981 headed to the trails without any doors on, out of habit I'd throw the peace sign down to the left and actually many riders would wave back. Ha ha too cool

I've never been to northern Nevada before. The closest would be a direct through shot on I80. We do have close family friends and customers who live in Spanish springs above Reno. Of course we are at Tahoe three times per year running the Rubicon trail. How far north do you live?

 

I don't know if its mating season for Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona bugs but it has been quite the journey for the truck





When the bigger ones strike the mirror they also splatter down the length of the side windows. My wife made the mistake of lowering hers resulting in nice streaking bug guts.





Curiously large gaps on both sides of the windshield that collects even the common housefly. They get embedded pretty deep. Don't think ordinary car washes will get them out.



To the right of the mirror you can see there is a hump in the plastic trim. There are three more (smaller) humps under the mirror as well. According to Toyota literature, these are designed to reduce noise around the mirror.

 

The body line is also curiously high above the windshield. Is it like this on 2nd gens? If you run your finger up the glass there is a definite bump at the body. If any of my college studies in fluid dynamics were worth the effort, this will encourage flow separation at higher speeds leading to increased drag. Maybe this is done to disrupt airflow over the cab early to better manage flow coming up the back window? Deep thoughts by Jack Handey...



Bug are so out of control they are splattering on the rear trailing edge of the XtraCab window frame.



Front and rear fenders also getting some kills in



With a grill as massive as the 3rd gen, this is to be expected...



This rubber divider is doing it's job preventing bugs from tainting the beautiful 2GR-FKS.



More under hood carnage

 

The Tacoma even managed to take out a bird!! Poor lil guy!



I watched the guy try to cross paths. See what happens when you make the most gaudy grill possible Toyota?

 

Right at the base of the Sierra's in Carson City. 20 minutes south of Reno and 30 minutes for the West side of Tahoe. It would be great to see your rigs in person next time you're running the Rubicon.

 

I will try to remember this the third weekend of June my friend Would you be able to meet up for lunch in Tahoe City?

Saw some interesting Oversized Loads...

Anyone know what this thing is?









Found the tires I'd like to get for the Tacoma

 

That would work out great for me. I love taking the truck up to the lake and it would be awesome to see your truck and chat. See how slow your first gear really is. I'll try to remember as well and remind you closer to it.

With some minor cutting and some massaging with a BFH you should be able to run them without rubbing

 

Man, I'm glad you finally got your Tacoma, I'm still playing the waiting game, and it's almost a year since my salesman told me to wait for the 2016, and due to the little supply and tremendous demand here in Mexico, I'm not driving one until **hopefully** September...

 

Awesome read! Wish I would have known you were in San Antonio, I would have bought you a beer!

 

What a great write up! Can't wait to see what this truck will look like when its complete.

 

Cool thread. Being a 1st gen 4runner guy, I've probably read through your 3rz stuff 50 times. I've been browsing the 2016 Tacoma section on here for months and will be taking delivery of my own next week. I'm looking forward to the great things that will come from your shop, and the updates you'll be posting.

 

W-O-W! I know what I just went through and I feeeeeeeel for you man!! Isn't it SO DUMB? They are made in your country and then you can't even get one!!

Saturday, April 23, 2016: Flagstaff, AZ to Las Vegas, NV

This was the part of the trip we were most looking forward to

Left our motel and stopped at a grocery store for some snacks. It's a habit of mine to park alongside fixed objects or at the end of a row to reduce the chances of someone's door striking my vehicle by 50%. I actually haven't parked next to a shopping cart return in a long time. Found this when I came out of the store. I should have known better!!



Who can be this lazy with shopping carts! Geeeeeeez. The cart return is right there and they missed. They had only one job to do.

Fortunately the cart didn't leave any permanent damage. The point of contact was the taillight lens assembly which didn't get even a scratch. My first thought other than "I'm an idiot" was, "well at least the lens could have been readily replaced".



Hwy 89 north from Flagstaff was a really nice drive. Calm with nice rolling plateaus and buttes.



We had some tailwind and the fuel mileage was INCREDIBLE. I don't recall the tailwind being "really" strong but it certainly helped. This was our average with cruise set to 70 MPH for a solid 1-1/2 hours.



At "The Gap"

 

Thank you dorton, myself and our staff here at MC take these words kindly to heart. What model/specs Tacoma did you order? Love the factory SR5 stripes on your 4Runner. Post up some pics on our forum, Let's see those SR5 graphics and Custom strips all TOYOTA'S. The future is certainly bright for Marlin Crawler and the third gen Tacoma!

 

Dude, your story and write-up are awesome!! Beautiful new ride!! Enjoy it and congratulations!!

 

Awesome write up. I agree whole heartedly that Toyota has no idea the demand for manuals. I had the same interaction with my dealer. I told them I would only buy a manual and they would say "but we have this auto sitting right here and it is only 1600 more than the manual". I'd say, I want a manual. They'd say "it will take months and this auto is sitting right here". I finally told them find me the manual I want before I find it at another dealer. They finally got the message and tracked one down.

Toyota needs to build more manuals!

 

Thanks man!!

Simply unbelievable. I understand these "sleazy cars sales people" need to make commission and they have inventory on their lot that may very well have been there for weeks and weeks. But dangit at least try to listen to the (potential) customer instead of shoving offers down our necks!

After all of this I began realizing that ultimately the fault lies with buyers who didn't do their due diligence in researching what option is truly better for them or are simply too easily persuaded. If trying to push an automatic vehicle onto potential buyers only worked on the least, then we wouldn't be experiencing what we're experiencing. They do this because for the majority of buyers it works. The person gives in and another automatic is sold. Another angel looses his wings.

I don't think I mentioned it but I heard from multiple dealers that they experience LESS issues with these slushboxes than stick shifts. I was shocked but the reasons make sense, such as...
1) People who drive stick are more performance oriented and are more likely to modify their vehicle in a way that breaks warranties and/or places larger strain on drivetrain components
2) Owner is likely to dump the clutch at high RPM placing large spikes of strain on the drivetrain
3) Bad or new-to stick shift drivers will abuse the clutch causing premature failure
4) Bad or new-to stick shift drivers will abuse gear engagements wearing out synchros and ultimately shift hubs and forks
5) An inadvertent downshift could be done that could cause catastrophic failure
6) A downshift could be done on purpose that could cause catastrophic failure
7) Assuming #1, then higher average RPM usage
8) Possible to shift late and bounce off the revlimiter whereas an auto is programmed to shift before this happens
and so on.

Combining the facts that autos have a higher sticker price (more likely to inflate the price because, "there is more involved with an auto") and apparently experience fewer warranties and Toyota stands to make more profit overall with the increased sales of boring automatics.

Why stop there really... Cities should install rails and have every car programmed on auto-pilot. After all a vehicle is only intended for transferring something from point A to point B and nothing else.

Sorry. I'm probably being an ass over this. I don't "hate" automatics and I don't "look down" on automatic owners. I accept the fact that the majority of our Tacoma customers have already been automatics. Just don't like all the pushy sales tactics I had to jump through and the biggest thing is I wished I could have gotten a TRD Off-Road so I'd have that E-Locker right now but noooooooooooooo not allowed by Corporate Toyota

A-M-E-N.

 

Approaching the Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River, the views were really becoming amazing