Montana Tacomas

If we roll up Hwy 200 we'll certainly check out Trixie's. We have two small dogs, hopefully they have "to go" options.

 

Been looking at properties online all over Montana from mostly Bozeman westward. Trying to focus from the Rockies westward towards (and including) the Idaho Panhandle.

It's looking like the housing/property price boom is hitting everywhere like it is in PNW Oregon.

For some reason Polson seems cheap or not as affected for some reason? Any intel on that area would be good to know.

 

Usually a tad cheaper on the Rez...

 

I'm not familiar with Rez life. Nothing like that on the wet side of Oregon.

 

Housing in the whole state really went up pretty much.

Wy and ID too. You can't really avoid it at this point I think anywhere in the country.

 

Looking to put some on the 2nd gen but can't find many people who have opinions on lt kits in Montana where there are only trails and overlanding. Looking to crush the trails up here for the weekend. A Weekend Warrior build.

 

They seem to be more and more popular out west and in the PNW. I've never even ridden in one but certainly drool over them. I'm also curious about @Blackdawg's experience-- I've always wondered how uniball suspension bits do in our Montana winters. Huge fan of his first gen, hoping I get to see it in person one day.

 

Well to start off, my 1st gen with a Long travel kit and 12.5'' wide tires is barely wider than a 2nd gen. So keep that in mind. A 2nd gen with a full 3.5'' LT kit is damn wide.

Family 4th Camping-72.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

But that said, I've never really had issues fitting anywhere. And if so, I usually just drive over whatever was possibly blocking me, like a choke point of rocks. I've only turned around once in my life due to width with the LT on and that was really only because I was alone and had no real winch point ahead. If i'd had another rig with my I'd have gone for it.

Since the tires are the wide point, not the body, it is different. It's not like the whole truck got 7'' wider, just the tires. So that helps.

I've wheeled a 2nd gen(my dads) with was a double cab long bed and spent plenty of time with friends with them. You won't have any issues stock width.

That said, I'd be a bit hesitant on a full 3.5'' kit. Im certain you'd had some places that would not be fun or turn you back. But a +2" LT kit is made for that.


If I had a 2nd gen, I'd get a +2 Total Chaos Race kit or Dirt King kit and then one of the baby SUA kits or the full blown DMZ LT rear with slim bed cage for the rear. Thats a pretty sweet setup for weekend warrior/go pretty fast setup. Honestly that probably what I'd recommend you look into for around here. Especially for DD as you can keep the tires mostly tucked still with the +2 kits. The Cops, mainly the highway patrol around here, will not like the tires poking out full bore. So keep that in mind. I've only ever been pulled over in MT for that. Didn't get a ticket as I had Wyo plates still back then. But now I'm sure I would. Which is crazy, canada it's illegal as hell to have tires like that and never even got pulled over there. But whatever.

If I went 3.5'' I'd do a DMZ rear with it look at links even, and do the JD Fab LCA relocation kit up front too.




One thing for sure is gusset everything while it's mostly straight. It is amazing how much faster you can go with a few more inches of travel up front and you WILL go faster hahahahaha

It's hard not too..

IMG_0128 by Benjamin Springli, on Flickr


You'll never be able to go back, not really. I have Mid travel on my double cab first gen and its nice don't get me wrong. But jesus...sometimes I hate it hahaha Its crazy how much better the 35'' tires and LT ride and perform compared to a 33'' tire on mid travel.

So I'd go for the +2 kit setup honestly. I have been in some super dialed mid travel 2nd gens too. Honestly 2nd/3rd gens have so many suspension options it's like a kid in a candy store for choice. You're lucky that way. But I think the +2'' kit up front and a nice setup in the rear with maybe Archive garage towers or the Camburg SUA setup would be nice for sure.

I honestly haven't had issues with the uniballs. Not on the UCA anyways. The lower heims on the shocks seem to last only about 2 season. Which is pretty normal given the abuse. Granted I don't drive my trucks in the winter that much. I drive my single cab SX in the worst weather most the time to get to work and stuff. Igor gets the long trips though and has seen his share of shit that's for sure.


Where you at in MT? I can't wait to get Frank on all 4s again. I miss the crap out of beating the shit out of him. Making move to get a house in the next couple of years. That'll be what I need!

 

@Blackdawg What's needing to be fixed on Frank? I just finished up school at MSU in Bozeman. My family has a cabin in Columbus so I'm down there somewhat often, do I remember right that's your neck of the woods?
Also, I totally credit you for being one of the reasons I went with ADS. I couldn't be more pleased with mine.

 

oh thats right I have a memory about that now.

Yeah i live in Columbus currently. So that's cool.

Congrats on graduating!


And he just needs a lot of TLC. Few too many years of run hard put away wet. But needs enough stuff and I don't have a garage he'll fit into at my current rental. so hes in Wyo still just waiting.

 

@Blackdawg Do you have any issues blowing out your rack n pinion running the LT? Seams to me that these racks are more for cars than trucks, let alone a truck with more leverage applied with taller/ wider tires and wider stance that can snag a whole lot more in a narrow trail.

Then you add the additional speed factor, I can't imagine a stock steering setup would last long?

 

Oh, almost forgot, if you’re headed east on 200 and have the time, the old Garnet Ghost Town is pretty neat too. Have fun on the rest of the trip!

 

The one time we tried to go there, we went with a guy that chose the hard route, deep in the snow; we didn't make it. It's certainly on our list of places to see.

 

Certainly worth another go! There’s also another old abandoned mining town back in there called Coloma that’s pretty cool too. It’s mostly in shambles and not maintained as an attraction like Garnet.

 

I've been to Garnet. Well worth the time to see.

It always amazes me how people lived back then.

 

So on a 2nd gen your steering rack is a pull type vs mine which is a push. Basically your rack sits in front of the front tires and mine is behind. This means my tie rods are constantly being "pushed" by the wheel when i hit a rock to move. Yours gets pulled and pulls the tires in the right direction.

Your setup is much better than mine and takes less abuse.

I'd be lying if I said you won't have any issues...but long travel doesn't necessarily contribute to this. more of a secondary thing like you said, higher speed. The higher speeds in general can attribute to a lot of other wear and tear in the long term. Just the way it is. Overall it'll up the need to maintain certain parts more and keep any eye on others and probaby repair things that slowly get killed by the speed. Thats just the LT life.

However!

That is also totally dependent on how you drive. You might not actually drive as hard as you'd think or maybe you'll drive harder. It's hard to know until you're there haha You won't be like keeping up with trophy truck stuff ever but you'll be able to leave even UTVs in the dust.

There is a steering rack upgrade for 2nd gens from Solo where they fit a 2nd gen tundra rack in there(super beef) but honestly I don't think you'll need to go that far especially for a +2 kit.





So basically, yes, it add more wear. The bigger tires though are something that is a bigger deal to the rack and it's life. Long travel with bigger tires just shortens the life span all the more. Race truck parts..race truck maintenance. But its not that bad and I think you'd be fine for a long time. The pump is more likely to fail first. And if you add a cooler to the fluid it helps a lot.

 

Thanks for the detailed info. More guys leaning toward LT will certainly benefit reading that. I don't do that kind of off road anymore, and when I did it was with VW Baja bugs.

I have my 17 Taco 6M TRD Offroad setup for smoother travel on forest roads and trails. But mostly for surviving SE Oregon desert washboard at 60mph, and crawling through the two tracks out there.

I have ADS mid travel res'd front and rear with clickers on the rear set. ICON billet UCAs and ICON RTX rear leafs on Stg 1.
255/85R16 KM3s so I get the 33" tire but no need to CMC or other clearance trimming needed. Just had Yukon 4:88s installed a few months ago along with ARB front locker.

So far this truck rides perfect for my needs, and cruises super smooth at 80mph as I am finding out in some parts of MT.

 

Tonight we are up at what is more like a hunting camp up in the forest above Superior that we found on Hipcamp.com. VERY rustic and basic setup. The camping spots are, should I say "roughed in" with an inexperienced tractor driver.

Everything is off grid! To take a shower, the owner fires up his early 90's Burb 454ci to make power for the water pump. The water is heated through an insta hot LP jobber quite effectively. The shower stalls are two steps up from the bathroom floor, for who knows for what reason? Oh, and after my wife finished her shower, I walk down to the shower house to take one. Find out there is no LP bottle attached to the insta hot thingy. I mentioned it to the owner, which he promptly says "oops, go ahead and use the womens shower". Right now I identify as a person that needs a shower.
So, I toodle off to the ladies room for my shower.

Earlier, shortly after arriving and getting my ear worn down with all the stories this owner could muster, my wife decides to take one of our small dogs for a walk up the dirt road out of camp. As I am walking back up to my truck/trailer setup she comes walking back into our spot and quietly mentions that she just saw a medium sized brown bear about 20-30 yards from her just up the road. She heard branches breaking just up the hill and looked to hopefully see a deer or elk. Nope! It was a brown bear, and it looked back at her and then scooted on up the hill.

Love my wife of 25 years! This bear didn't even phase her. It was so non eventful of a notice from her, you would think she just saw an average chipmunk or something. Most women from our area of Oregon would be like, "honey we gotta go, and go NOW"!!! There is a bear in the woods and we have to leave NOW!!!


Even for as basic and odd that this private campground iso, it is totally worth it!

 

Well if it's working don't break it!

The LT is nice but if you aren't looking to go any faster or do anything harder then don't sweat it. But a +2 kit would be fun. It's a great middle ground for your truck.

 

Dude thanks for the help man. Any recommendations for shops?