MARYLAND TACOMAS

You be quiet!

You have NO idea at how absurdly stupid people are around here when there just the threat of a few snowflakes. Schools and local Gov'ts shut down because of 2 " of snow. The beltway and major roads become parking lots filled with crashed and abandoned cars. Grocery stores get cleaned out, everyone fills their gas tank ( so that their buried car will have a full tank of gas even though it can't drive anywhere). Then there's the ice storms...

 

No truer words have been spoken ever before!

 

Good morning Maryland!

 

Morning Maryland

 

Here is a before and after. Subtle. I like it.

 

Morning MD!

 

Morning Maryland, hope everyone has a great and safe day today!

 

The chefs kiss

 

Now you just need a tune and you’re good to go!
Truck looks great

 

Who is doing tunes around here now? I am ready. Also, are we going to plan a woolswax gathering at my house again? I still have the tarp from last time.

 

This is the standard for a 'good' winter


All those things are indeed the result of people not paying attention; people without a strong sense of self-readiness. When I moved to Michigan I was a little dumbfounded talking to the majority of folks who thought "snow (winter performance) tires were silly. I'd hear "Oh, well I don't need them - my car goes great in the snow!"

No, your car doesn't go great in the snow - your car's tires do.

I'd sometimes talk to people who say "Snow tires are fine but you need them only on the drive wheels!"

How you gonna stop or turn?

Blank stare.

I like the "bad" weather for probably selfish reasons, if I were to really dig into it. I think when the weather gets shitty and I can survive just fine with the choices I've made I feel a little vindicated. Setting myself up for pretty-close to self-sufficiency is fun for me. Having ways to mitigate the BS....that does good things for my brain. It's akin to the trips I take to Alaska - staying with friends in an off-grid dry cabin. Learning to solve stuff like 'no water' or 'no power' or 'a brown bear in camp!' gives me a strong sense of - however silly this may sound - but manliness. Not macho, but to be providing - the act of living through "tough" conditions for awhile just to see how well i can do it. Living in Oklahoma a couple years, and living in LA (Lower Alabama), and shit, living near Seattle most of my life I've seen what you're speaking of - the mass craziness of...the masses. I remember years ago ice/snow hit Atlanta and this was the scene on the freeway:



I cannot understand folks who'd do such things. I suppose I can understand the fact they do it, but I cannot understand why people pay no attention to things like tires, leaving-work-early, staying home that day, maybe? Even living in OK I always kept a way to move myself or self-"rescue". I took a lot of pleasure (that sentence always makes me feel seedy, because for some reason I read the last word and in my brain I say "PlezzZOOR" all fancy) from driving around on shitty roads pulling people out; lending a traction board; giving them a hand as needed. Plus, I like wheelin' and if I can go wheelin' on my way to work..well, win-win!

I live on a military installation, 3 miles from work - if things go sideways I can count upon a few things - heat, food, shelter, water, etc. It's an advantage for sure. And if I lose, say, heat and food, I can accommodate that loss for probably two weeks. That's not enough, but it sure helps.

As an aside, but related, this is why I need three cars/vehicles. One is a daily-driver/commuter/type car. The other is a fun/track/date-night car. One of those three (in this case, my tacoma) is the tool I use when shit goes sideways; when life becomes a soup-sandwich for a week or so. Once my girl challenged me: "Darin, you don't NEED three cars; you WANT three cars!"

Well I disagree - see, I WANT three cars, it's true...but to get what I want, well, I NEED three cars to achieve it. Ergo, three cars is, in fact, a need. See? Simple.

As an aside part 2: Me and my girl and our three cars were caught in a Soup-Sandwich type event while moving to Maryland. We were stuck in a 7 hour traffic stoppage due to a wreck head on the freeway. Because I was in the truck, and most of my camping kit was also in the truck, we had gallons of water, refrigeration, sanitation (my girl uses a she-wee while camping - helped her on the side of the road - no squatting!), first aid (didn't need), entertainment (solar and gas generator for movies, charging stuff, etc).

 

That'd be great!

 

@dave5623 does OTT, which I have. There is someone that’s posted here about being a KD Max tuner but I can’t remember the name…

I have no idea when I’m free but definitely need to get it done after an alignment

 

So I'll shamefully admit, I got a phone call this morning regarding the 4Runner. Technician took a peek at the fuel filter and concluded that the line on the engine side needs replacing entirely, however the line from the gas tank can be cut and have a new flare nut installed. They also mentioned that the brand new, oem fuel filter had been cross threaded, so that will need replacing, too. I don't even want to mention how much it's going to cost.

I got a little desperate and asked if they offered an LE discount, which they said yes (it's 10%) so there's that little update. Should, HOPEFULLY be ready for pickup tomorrow afternoon.

Deep sigh.

 

What are you charging for this service?

 

I dont charge but its a DIY event. You buy your own woolswax and we have a meetup at my place in HarCo. I have a huge driveway and we lay a tarp down, drive the truck on the tarp and you get on one side of the frame and someone else gets on the other and you spray your frame. We got through five trucks pretty quickly last time. We had a couple beers, some gatorades for the non drinkers and we banged them out. If we do it again we can do a potluck or do burgers/dogs on the grill. You can get a 3 pack on Amazon with the sprayer for less than $50. If we have enough interest I can look at some upcoming Saturdays and we can schedule it.

 

Is 3 Cans the 'about right' amount to buy for a tacoma?

 

Oof. That sucks. Since you're LE, I'll offer to buy the whole truck from you for the price of your repair bill. You know, as a favour to you - to help out, ya know?

 

I seem to remember buying 4 cans and if I remember correctly (maybe some of the others who participated last year can comfirm) I used just under 2 cans on my long bed. I seem to remember not needing as much as we thought we would need.

 

That sounds right, I’ll probably be using what I have left over from last 2 seasons… but I’ll need to make sure it’s enough