Clean underwear

Nothing like a little IFS TLC after a long trip down the back roads. More of a meditation than a necessity. The engineering of the Tacoma front suspension always puts a smile on my face.

 

Is that salt on your shocks?

 

The rust? Probably. A hard area to clean. However, these 5100s have been to the Arctic ocean and back, and logged over 30,000kM of gravel roads, as well as suffering through 3 relatively long winter road trips, so I forgive them a little corrosion.

 

Arctic ocean! That's a goal of mine! did you swim in the water?

 

I forgive these shocks a little rust:

 

We dipped our feet, but did not dive in. It was pretty windy and miserable the day we were there.

 

Is that the Dempster Highway?

 

I've been to Prudhoe Bay but didn't drive there lol. Good for you! Will make that trip driving one day.

 

Yes.

 

Pictures don’t do justice to the vastness of the Arctic. I want to go back so badly. Zero problems on the Tacoma on this trip. Took the summer mud and silt like a champ. 10,000kM (6200 mile) road trip for us door-to-door.

 

Sounds familiar. It was so windy when I was there I had to drive back past Inuvik to find enough trees to block the wind so my GFC wouldn't get pushed back down.

Bilstein 5100s also on my 2nd gen that went there, all over Alaska, back and forth to the lower 48 a couple times and survived three winters below -40°, all without problems

 

We were there in August. The weather was so crazy and variable. We had sweltering 30C (86F) weather on the way north from Dawson, and were wearing shorts and t-shirts then a huge storm blew in a buried the Richardson mountain in 5 feet of snow, trapping people on the road who needed rescue. We were trapped on Inuvik for 3 days with the Dempster closed while they plowed it, and were unable to back head south. Expect the unnexpected.

 

I so desperately want to attempt the Dempster. Wonder if it's passable in December.

 

It’s open all winter. There is a period between freeze-up on the two huge river crossings (Peel and Mackenzie) when the ferries are pulled out of the water and they wait for the ice to thicken. Inuvik is run off LNG gas that is brought up the dempster in b-train tanker trucks, so as soon as the ice forms, the LNG trucks start rolling again.

 

It is so beautiful up there - Alaska has been on my bucket list for years - I'm not working for the next year so maybe it is time to check that off the list. Thanks for sharing the awesome pics

 

Clean underwear, dirty truck is better than the opposite.

 

Awesome posts. Can’t wait to do the Dempster Highway someday.

 

Zen and the art of underwear cleaning.

 

Just stumbled across this. Good job cleaning OP. Looks pretty nice for what they've been through. The drive up to Prudhoe is punishing I'm sure. Weather is always weird up here. And windy

Today

Caribou in there somewhere

Yesterday


Almost feels like 'summer' is coming to a close already