New Taco, first truck

Hi all, I had been hounding some folks on a FB group about a group ride and I was kindly ushered here. I'm excited to arrive. So here I am. Originally from Pittsburgh but now live in Birmingham, AL. I'm a mechanical designer previously working in the 3D printing industry. I'm a frequent backpacker and in general and outdoorsy person. I dabble in photography and recently getting into cine. I'm a gear nerd and can afford to shed a hobby or two. Since I'm from the north I also play hockey. Yes, there's hockey in AL believe it or not. Go Bulls!

Anyways let's talk Tacoma's. I've been wanting/needing a truck for a long time now. Not sure why it took me so long...I'm 40 yo. I'm currently building two cafe racers and it got to the point where my crossover just wasn't cutting it. Then COVID happened and noticed Toyota was happy to give discounts to move inventory finally. I jumped on it. I've always had a thing for the Tundra but once I took the Taco for a spin I knew I found the one. That same week I also discovered overlanding. I've seen the truck setups before but never knew it was such a big thing. I'm absolutely obsessed now. It really compliments my love for the outdoors and honestly the Taco is very photogenic out there too. So it works out nicely.

The following week, the Taco immediately went to the local off road shop to get new rubber, wheels and a lift. UCA's coming in June (DIY). Of course I have big plans. Currently, I'm designing and building a custom bed rack. I have to say, it's pretty slick. I should probably start a thread on that.

Wrapping this up, I'm looking to get out once or twice a month for some off road adventures. So if you're in the AL, GA, TN area let me know; rain or shine, I'b be happy to join in the fun.

Russ

 

Check the regions page!

WElcome m8

 

Awesome! Welcome from SE VA! sounds like you are ready for some adventures! have fun and enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!

 

Welcome to TW Russ

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Thanks! Are you familiar with Dolly Sods? If so can you give me any info on some info?

 

No, sorry i don't have any info on Dolly Sods. I'm looking at hitting Rapidan in the next few weeks....depends on when i get my truck back (see my intro post /photos - had it less than a month, 2 bullet holes from some reckless shooters at a WMA....erggg). there is a good 'trail reports' section on here where you can find some decent info sometimes. Good luck and look forward to hearing about it if you make the trip!

 

Welcome to the best damn Tacoma forum on the interwebs Russ! Awesome introduction! Love the enthusiasm. As others said, look for a regional thread. That's going to be your best resource. Alabama is a great state and there's no doubt that any of our members there aren't some of the best people you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting.

Post up some pics of your truck

 

hell yeah, dude! I'm not very familiar with forums but I've already found myself really enjoying it so far. Seems like an endless wealth of knowledge so I'm taking it as a win win. Alabama has treated me very well so far even though I'm a damn Yankee lol

I've already done 600-1 which was beautiful. Did a few local power line rides and Bankhead NF last weekend but nothing spectacular. Me, my lady and my dog are headed to Chattahoochee this weekend for 3 days. Hopefully, someone here has some good trails and campsites they can recommend.

 

no worries! thanks for the heads up! woah that's crazy someone hit your truck with some lead. as long as everyone is ok that's a pretty cool story though lol

 

Can't forget about Mazzy...and that other lady lol

 

I've been active on various automotive and other hobby forums for at least 20 years. This one has more adults than some, but can still be a lot of fun at times. Especially on Fridays when people are wound up and excited about the weekend. Then you can smell the "dumpster fires" for miles. My recommendation be care posting in those, trolls can lead you astray and mods are less forgiving when they start handing out temporary bans. LOL. They are a lot of fun, just tread lightly.

Yea, the knowledge pool is deep AF in here. I agree with you on not needing to look far. Use the search feature as much as possible and when that fails just jump out on Google and do a search and add the words Tacomaworld. I generally have a lot of success that way. Just be careful to pay attention to the dates of those results. Although an old defunct thread never stopped me from resurrecting it if I can't find the answer I need elsewhere. It's just sometimes pointless when it's a generation gap related issue you're trying to resolve.

It seems like you are fitting in very well in Alabama already. Nice! I expected great photos when you said you were getting into Cine, and you didn't disappoint. Great job.

Speaking of photos, in that first one, from head on, has anyone asked you about your Camber? I am no pro but to me it seems like that might be a little off. Positive Camber is when the top of the tire is farther outside the center of the wheel. Negative is the opposite of course and the top of the tire is inside. Neutral is straight up and down. It could be when you got your lift kit installed the alignment shop decided this was ok. I feel like unless you are racing offroad and use your truck on road you'd want it to be as close to or at 0 Degrees, or neutral.

Ask in your build thread or on another thread that discusses camber. I did a very quick search and found this.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/visible-positive-camber-after-lift-an-alignment.338110/

There are definitely more knowledgeable people than me so ask around, and post up your results. Most likely it will help me too

 

Welcome!

 

This is the bed rack I designed. Sending out the models to be laser cut as we speak. I can easily design different heights (currently 11.5") and customize anything now that I have it completed. If anyone is interested in a system like this let me know, I will see what it ends up costing me. Just didn't feel like paying over a grand for a name brand when I can build it myself for a small fraction of that.

 

thanks for the info! as far as the camber thing, I took that shot with a wide angle lens and when I corrected it in Lightroom it made the wheels look like that. I promise there's nothing wrong with the camber, just a funky lens correction. I'll be more carfeul about the lense length from now on to get front shots like that cuz you're the second person to point it out.

 

So it's applying tilt shift?

I was just looking out because that can definitely be unsafe on and off road. Moreso on that off. Not to mention cause premature/uneven wear, and issues with things like your bearings.