Michigan Tacomas

Are you looking at more the West side/Manistee National forest, or more East side/Huron National forest?

 

I don't care, I'm already at white cloud.

 

Man am I bad at neglecting this place. Guess you could say I am checking back in /re-introducing myself to you fellow Michigan Tacoma folks. I am Matt and I am down in Monroe. I check in on this thread from time to time and am always lurking around tacomaworld looking at stuff. I saw a couple pages back there was some talk of some UP tripping this year sometime. I am interested in that, or any other meet ups here in Michigan this summer.

I am always doing something to the rig. Just finished up replacing a cv axle (passenger side), and just took delivery of the ECGS bushing for the front diff. Now I have to pull the perfectly good axle out of the driver side to get that needle bearing out and replaced with the bushing. Also bolted on a plate bumper this week from At the Helm fab. Looks great, fits well, and if you are in the market for a good looking bumper, I would recommend checking them out. The owner, Morgan is a great guy and does some amazing work. Aside from the that, I have a leaky valve cover gasket to replace (oil leaking into a pass side spark well), as well as an upper ball joint on the passenger side. I am running SPC UCA's and noticed some play in the upper ball joint when I yanked out the cv last week. Truck is a 2014 w/ 72k on the clock.

I am a bit late in the season to be wrapping up all the maintenance / upgrades I am doing, but have been busy with life stuff. Truck heard me talking about selling her earlier this year and after wrenching on it and realizing the work i have put into it I realized she isn't going anywhere.

If anyone wants to talk about some tripping anytime let me know. Would like to get out more this summer and explore.

Hope everyone is doing well. I will post some pic

 

Sorry about that... I'm just re-reading my post and realized I'm an idiot. Years ago, we used to refer to the West side as Manistee National Forest, and the East side as Huron National Forest. I don't remember when it changed (probably many, many, years ago), but I sometimes still forget that they're both now referred to as the "Huron Manistee National Forest".

 

I probably should have been more clear about where I was headed as well haha. But I didn't realize they were both called that either. Would make sense if Huron was over by lake Huron, but I don't make the rules

 

Out of curiosity I googled it, and it looks like they've been "technically" called Huron-Manistee since 1945. Growing up we always called them one or the other, and seems like up until the past few years, they were always labeled separately on maps. Who knows, I don't make the rules either, lol.

 

Either way, which do you prefer to ride?
East side or west side lol

 

West side.

There is an assload of trails near Wellston. Great trails for a Tacoma.

 

I spend most of my time on the East side; a lot of hills and cool trails around the West Branch/St Helen area... though those areas can also get a bit congested with ATV/Dirt Bike/SXS traffic. St Helen also has a legal scramble area, one of the few areas with legit legal hill climbs and sand bowls. Rose City not far from there is decent as well, and a bit less congested. Also have spent some time up around Mio area, which is typically a bit less traveled (except for Bull Gap; which is a really big legit/legal hill climb). I've been all over around the East side; we have a cabin that's been in the family for ages that borders Huron NF. But a lot of the other areas these days are either now closed off, overgrown, or basically turned into just a dirt road.

For the west side, I agree with koditten about Wellston; there are some cool trails around there. There is also a seasonal road off of Low bridge road/M37 that had pull offs along the Pine River with some great views. I want to say it was Pine Rd, but don't recall for sure. Wellston also has a good fudge shop, and an interesting grocery/hardware/sporting goods store, that's also a good meat market with some decent jerky.
Also on the west side in that general location, the area in the triangle formed by 115, 55, and 37 between Cadillac/Mesick/Wellston, there are a ton of trails with a few good spots. Near Baldwin there is the Tin Cup ORV Route, and there is an area around Little O that is ORV Route that are fun (Big O is all ORV Trail, 50" or less, so it's a no-go for us). Aside from those spots... I haven't spent a ton of time on the West Side, though I'd really like to get out there and explore more. (Aside from a few seasonal roads around Newaygo, which was pretty much just to get to fishing spots).

Have also spent a lot of time around Grayling, MI - in the areas surrounding Camp Grayling.

 

Hey everyone, I'm selling my Softopper and am in the Traverse City area, but travel all the time everywhere in Michigan (and even Toledo, OH) for work.

I want to avoid shipping if I can, which is why I'm posting it here in the Michigan specific section.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/softopper-5-short-bed.613845/#post-20822902

 

Hey Michigan friends! I am a Wisconsinite who will be in the UP next week. I've got a few days on my hands and am looking to do some exploring. My destination is Iron River but I'm still putting together an itinerary. I've got a stock 2017 OR and not much recovery gear to speak of. Any thoughts on some easy trails to enjoy driving solo without worry of being ill prepared? I haven't really done much off road and would like to have a fun, safe, first experience. Anything I should know before I go? Thanks in advance.

 

Crystal Falls area.

Go north to Deer Lake area. Tons of Forrest trails. 4x4 is rarely needed. You will never find the end.

 

Awesome! I'll start researching your recommendations. Any permitting required?

 

He sure to hit high Rock Bay Area outside copper harbor.

 

Most forest roads you are fine on; if you're legal to drive on the roads, your good to go... but just to be safe, it's not a terrible idea to pick up a Michigan ORV and Trail sticker. ORV is I think $26, and TRAIL is another $10. I don't recall for sure, but I think as a non-resident it's also $11 for a sports pass before you can buy the stickers or other hunting/fishing licenses in Michigan. All of which can be done from most any sporting goods, power sports, hunting/fishing, or big box store like Walmart or Meijer.

The laws on where you do and don't need the stickers is a bit fuzzy... you could ask two different DNR officers and get two completely different answers. But essentially, ORV should only be needed if you take an ORV Route (that is not also a designated forest road), and you should only need both ORV and TRAIL in designated scramble or ORV use areas (St Helen, Bull Gap, Silver Lake Sand dunes; as examples).

 

Hey all - trying to offload some 1 yr old nerf bars - here is a link to the for sale thread.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...erf-bars-for-double-cab.610945/#post-20886013

 

Good afternoon everyone. I'm staying in the Auburn Hills area this summer for an internship, and I'm curious if anyone has some suggestions for places to get some standard maintenance done? I have a 14' baja (relatively new to me) and I'm just looking for good work at a decent price. Nothing too crazy, really just want to find someone who can do an oil change without sloppin oil all over the place when they go to change the filter, haha. Thank you all in advance for any recommendations. I'm be looking back through previous posts to find some easy trails this summer, but if you have any suggestion for that too, please feel free to drop them here too. Thank yall. Have a great weekend!

 

Welcome to Michigan! I'm also in Auburn Hills. Unless it's something warranty related, I do all my own work... so can't help much on a recommendation for basic maintenance items (aside from recommending Page Toyota in Southfield for dealership service). But my garage is always open and I'm always willing to lend a hand if you want to DIY or need some help with modifications.

 

Wow, I wish I lived in Auburn Hills. Way to look out for people.

 

I have a set Thule Xsporter bars that I used for my CVT for sale if anyone is interested. I've sinced went a different direction for my setup.

See link: