MARYLAND TACOMAS

I had my eyes set on chopping down a couple trees but found nests in them so now I have to wait again until after summer.

In other news, Phoenix has caught two baby bunnies in the last week. They can scream very loudly by the way for such a small animal. Fortunately Phoenix doesn't kill them. It was two, and I caught one and took it up in the woods, the other day, and yesterday it's sibling was back in the yard and she caught it too. I have to admit, holding a baby bunny will make you want to keep them but no freakin' way........She would be the perfect hunting dog. Her tail wags when she sees game, so I know we are close.

She's also caught 3 moles in the past couple of weeks. She doesn't kill them either. For those she will watch the ground moving and then literally dives head first and her nose and paws hit the dirt simultaneously and in an instant she makes a freaking huge mess. Pure Terrier mode at that point. She refuses to let them go so I found if I cover her nose she has to open her mouth to breathe LMAO.

It is cute though, in that when I had the bunny in my hands I was letting her and Maizy smell it through the deck railing, and Phoenix definitely wants to be friends, her tail wags, she gets giddy, and will try to lick it. Maizy on the other hand gets mean and nasty. She's very territorial and extremely cautious, like a dog should be, but almost to the point it's annoying when compared to her sister. Who would help burglars carry our belongings out of the house if they petted her. I guess they kinda equal each other out.

 

You are so lucky I don't have a FB account. I have so many irrelevant questions I could ask.

But the main one I have is......is this not the exhaust you just put on?

 

Those moles will destroy your lawn . I have actually caught a couple in mouse traps in my basement
I have a few dying rabbit mouth calls for hunting coyote . Terrifying sound for sure sounds like your doggy is busy !

 

Yea, I like them a whole lot!

Since 2000 I have have had 5 trucks and a SUV. In that time I have run about 6 or 7 (not including the Maxx) different types of tires. In 2000 it was the BFG's everyone swears by. I have to say, and will say, back then, they sucked in Maryland snow. The only tire worse in the snow was the Red Letter Grabbers I had. Duratracs, Nitto's, Pro Comps, were all decent, in that order, but the Coopers so far have edged them out. I'm sure I got a bad batch of Duratracs because I have never seen abnormal wear like I had with those. The Nitto Trail Grapplers were great but wore too quickly. They also hydroplaned too easily after 30k miles.

I wish I could afford to review tires. I can push shit to the limit, and do all the time. I am amazed with the Cooper's abilities. I mean, I push. Are they the perfect tire? Well, that's always going to be debatable and sadly, everyone of us will experience different results based on all the contributing factors. I offer recommendations but never tell anyone "you must buy these". Tires are not cheap and good tires are very expensive. Does it mean you have to spend a lot of money to get good tires? No. Of course not. But for me, I stake my life and my families life on the reputation of well known brands first. When you think about just how much rubber is contacting the pavement in a curve, and how small that is, then I want the best I can afford.

And as far as skinny tires go........it's science that they will be more efficient in mud and snow. At least around here. If I lived somewhere I needed more flotation I would run that type because that's what they excel at.

And yes Jim @Fire Arrow , this all applies to The Mall too shithead.

 

LOL, I just got some of those sonic mole stake things. I hope they help. Yes, those fukers are destroying the lawn and even if I mash the burrows down with the tractor, they are back the next day. I thought about poison but of course with dogs, out of the question. Moles are ugly too Jack! And will bite! I was poking one with a stick to see for myself and sure enough, it was biting the stick, and hard! So now I am more cautious letting her catch them on walks. She's protected by shots but still. Although maybe if one bit her she would stop. But I doubt it. It's her breed. I know Black Mouth Curs are not like Terrier hunters so I know it is the Pit in her driving it, and I am sure she just can't resist. I naturally tell her she did good so I can complete the cycle, and when I do she is very proud to do her job. I'm a pushover when it comes to them.

 

I can 100% agree with everything you just said. I had BFG A/T’s for two years, then the St Maxx’s and now the AT3 XLT’s. So far both sets of Coopers have held up amazingly. I’ll even tell you this. I can recall THREE (3!) separate occasions where, with my St Maxx’s, I had gotten a nail in them. Like on top, in the meaty portion of the tire. All three times I pulled those suckers out and never lost air/had to plug them. Could I have taken a different route to fix those problems? Sure. But I figured ah why not, I’ve got a plug kit anyhow so let’s see what happens. Talk about being blessed when it comes to tires….

Fast forward to June 2020. I’m driving my oldest to an appointment out in Loudoun. 5 minutes out I hear this loud noise and feel some vibration. I look in my driver side mirror and see my rear tire is going flat. I hobble the truck to the parking garage, call AAA, they respond and attempt to refill the tire with their air compressor. Kaboom. Felt it pop in my chest it was so loud. So yeah. That was the end of the St Maxx’s for me, lol.

 

Yea, I dread the day I have to replace them, that's for sure. I'm saving now for that so it doesn't sting as much. Then there's the whole process of getting them mounted bla bla bla. That alone is going to be a nightmare for me because of the potential for them to damage the wheels. So yea, not looking forward to it.

Did it blow out on the inside of the wall of the tire?

I tell ya, there is one downside to having tires that last longer and that is depending on environmental conditions, they can become dry rot. It's very hard to see unless you let the air out and let them compress under weight. But minute fissures are unacceptable.

I'm really looking forward to the advancement of tire tech. I am really excited about those airless tires. Not runflats, but rather the ones that are molded right to the wheel. Sure, it will take away that custom look we all like but imagine not worrying about any of the things we do now. I even read that they are beneficial off road because they conform to changing ground conditions better, and there's no ir to let out or then put back in.

We'll see.............

In the meantime, $250 is the going average price for mine, not including incidentals. I'm also saving up for some Vaseline for when the time comes.

 

Okay so I really wanna open this can of worms— but for good reason. The 4Runner has 314,595 miles on it as I’m writing this. I’ve ran full synthetic 5W-30 ever since my ownership (bought with 191,586 miles) and nothing else. Use AMSOIL signature series from 200K-273K, then Pennzoil Platinum for two oil changes, then Pennzoil Ultra Platinum from then on until my last oil change, which was at 314K.

As you can tell, I’ve been a bit of an oil snob/purist over the years. Well it all changed recently when I discovered that Costco has their own line of oil— Kirkland Signature full synthetic. It’s made by Warren Distribution, who also produces Walmart’s SuperTech as well as the AmazonBasic’s oil. Figured I’d give it a shot since I’ve been extremely diligent about oil changes over the time I’ve owned the truck. It should be noted that I’ve also ONLY ever ran 5W-30, nothing else.

So recently, I’ve noticed more wetness on and around my oil drain pan. Yesterday I crawled beneath it and wiped everything off that I could see was wet/damp with oil. I’m planning to extensively monitor this over the next few months, checking it daily/weekly/as regular as possible.

My question, after some deep thought and lots of research, is, would you suggest running a full synthetic high mileage oil OR bumping my regular full synthetic up to a 10W-30 offering? Again, 314K on the ODO, all original everything, engine/trans/etc.

I have my personal reservations about running a high mileage oil. I’ve read that they’re a crock of shiz, but have also read that they’re like slapping a bandaid on a larger problem, like leaking rear main seals, etc. I also don’t know where this wetness/dampness of oil is coming from, so that may be my next big investigation.

I’d like to stay with the Kirkland Signature full synthetic as long as I can help it. From my understanding, the HM oils tend to cause seals to swell, resulting in the slowing/stopping of oil leaks. So I’ve got some decisions to make and would love your guys’ input on the matter.

 

Oof, I hope that’s am old picture… glad in blew out on the inside too… at least that’s what it looks like.

 

Yup, that was in June of 2020!

 

only liking it since it was not today!

 

Lol it’s allll good. I was sad when that happened. I really loved those tires and I do regret not getting another set. I would’ve loved to have tried the 255/85’s. But I had the 285/75/16’s.

 

Stand by and observe these photos:













Asking tree fiddy $350

barely used and currently boxed up for shipping or transport.

its cut for offroad use but could be rewelded. For reference, a new type s kit is $900

 

@RobP62 i put a magnaflow on my truckster



<3

 

This is one arena I stay out of Brother. Too subjective. If you and I had the same exact truck the findings would be different. Nothing wrong with being anal about this though, or a "snob".

With that said, I am a Mobile 1 Extended Life Full Synthetic user. If you catch it on sale it's a great price.

Have you ever did that thing where you send your oil to some lab and they tell you the condition? I have thought about doing that myself just because, well, curiosity.

 

Holy Shit Batman! I guess the whole episode fell outside the "what we will cover under manufacturers warranty" with Cooper? Dude, how much freaking air did he put in there!?

 

Ew. Why is your pipe all oily? That's nasty. Is that Crisco? Gross!

 

WTF IS A TRUCKSTER!?

You're scaring me Mason! I may need to do an intervention.