What's the craziest/most interesting/unique item you've ever hauled or towed with your Taco?

reminds me when we go to utah for snowboarding lol

 

Didn't think about a picture, but 25 bags of 80lb bags of quickrete. The TRD Pro handled it like a champ!

 

I drafted my Taco a year ago to tow a bear back to the forest because the tires on my work F-150 weren't up to the snowy road (purchasing can be a tedious, drawn-out process in a government agency). Along with his freedom, I rewarded Yogi with three bean bags in the ass, as a reminder that humans are to be avoided. Seriously, it's for the good of the bear and people to maintain a healthy respect -of which fear can play a key part. As much as I often wish I could balance the stupid-human side of that equation, I'm only authorized to bean-bag the wildlife...

FYI, I'm a wildlife biologist in the area where this 2 y.o. black bear (yes he's brown colored, but still a black bear) decided to dig around in my neighbor's back yard and stick around for 3 days (probably had a lot to do with the dead cat he dug up and ate, 2 mos. after it reportedly started its Euthanol-assisted dirt-nap).

 

I recently aquired a new fridge that was being replace due to it bursting beer stored inside...a late 1980's sears cheapie... the owner had no idea that the temp was adjustable all those years since she bought it new "way back when"...

 

One man's 1984 Bryant heat pump (or at least what's left of a 1984 Bryant heat pump) is another man's end table!

 

Sculptures:

 

How much was the big brake kit?

 

The cabinet/outer shell of a 1984 Bryant heat pump!

 

I cut palm trees for the neighbors occasionally for cash, made 4 trips dumping these in the swamp. If you ever do this just put a rope in the bottom, pull on it and everything will come out at once. Something I do is tie it to the hitch so i don't struggle getting it out, just drive away!

 

Back in the late 1990s when my dad was still in the Navy...

He was stationed at Moffett Field from the early 1980s until 1990 and then again from 1996-1998. We lived in two different military-owned homes. The second one on base. Our neighbor at the second house, Gary, was in the Army. He was married and had like three (maybe four) boys ranging in age from 4 to 12. As such, both him and his wife drove large vehicles. Gary had a 1985-1987 GMC Suburban 2500 4x4, and his wife had a 1991-1993 Dodge Grand Caravan (They also owned a 1980s Volkswagen Westfalia camper at one point and Gary intended to replace the Suburban with it, then he wanted to turn the van into a camper trailer and pull it behind the Suburban, and then he just sold the VW and kept his beloved Suburban).

It was like 11 or 12 years old at the time, but it was mint. He detailed it once or twice a week it seemed. He installed a train horn in it too. He even took the worn out front grille off and painted the whole thing gray. He then repainted the "GMC" logo in red paint. The detail he put into this Suburban was impressive. I forget whether it was a TH400 automatic or the rare 4-speed manual "Granny Tranny." I do not remember if it was a "High Sierra" or a "Sierra Classic." I honestly don't even remember if it had A/C! It probably did have A/C since this was a well-maintained family hauler and not a bare bones work truck. I think it had power windows and locks, which means it probably had A/C.

Here's how that old square-body Burb relates to your tree story: There was a large dead or dying plant in front of Gary's house (technically it was the U.S. Department of Defense's house, but whatever). Gary and his oldest son tried every possible way to rip that bush out by hand and with various tools, but failed. Gary finally wrapped a chain around the bush multiple times and then attaches the chain to the trailer hitch on his Suburban. World traveled fast around our cul-de-sac about Gary's plan, and pretty soon every kid in that part of the neighborhood was gathered around. Gary turned the key and that bulletproof 4-barrel 350cid V8 came to life. He puts it in drive and hits the gas but is initially gentle. The plant shakes but doesn't budge the first two times. Gary may or may not have shifted into 4-HI to get better traction, and then he just buried the gas pedal. He left impressive ruts in the grass, and then the Suburban goes flying forward and the both front wheels jump the curb onto the street; the bush goes flying, and there's a massive explosion of mud, insects, leaves, and other related debris in every direction. All of the kids started cheering... I'm pretty sure Gary actually got permission to remove that bush from whoever was in charge of groundskeeping on the base. He put new landscaping in and reseeded the ruts left by his Suburban's posi rear, so all was good!

This is basically what Gary's Suburban looked like, except it was all light blue and not two-tone, and it DID NOT have a snowplow on the front:


I told my friend's mom the story of Gary using his Suburban to remove a dead plant when all else failed, and she told me about the time in the late 1980s she used her 1987 Chevy Celebrity to do the same thing, and it actually worked! By the way, she told me she hated that car. She had a 1974 or 1975 Oldsmobile with a Rocket V8 when she married my friend's dad in 1985, a car she loved a lot. In 1987, she told her husband she wanted a new car. Without officially getting her blessing, my friend's dad traded the Olds for a Chevy Celebrity, which in my opinion is not one of the best vehicles GM built.

 

Lots and lots of scrap metal, cast iron boilers and furniture

 

When I haul stuff for people with my Tacoma, most of my customers are women...

Country singer Joe Diffie hit the nail on the head with his song "Pickup Man."

"There's something women like about a pickup man."

 

May 19th, 2017:

Two food runs for work in one day!

 

We have a legal cannabis grow operation that gives away the potting soil for free. They harvest over 50 plants a day.

 

Towed the racecar down to Road Atlanta because our other trailer was full of support gear.

 

Putting the "Pot" in "potting soil" LOL!

 

Ooh more inferno!

 

I love that color! I'm in the market for a bigger truck, but if I ultimately buy another Taco I think that's the color I want.

 

It's a pretty color and doesn't show dirt too bad. IK the TRD Pro Tundra came in inferno, don't know if they still do though