What brought you here?

I came seeking knowledge, I stayed for frog pictures on Wednesday.

 

Absolutely. It's all about the frogs...

 

I originally wanted a Tundra.

Was talking about a B.A.T. to wife since I had my accident in Oct 2018. (2003 Honda Pilot with 200K+ miles was a total loss)

After Refi/Cash-out of our mortgage, a month later I bought my AT 2021 Sport.

I won't mention that my wife told me I did not need a Big Ass Truck (B.A.T.)...and after sitting in the Tundy, I agreed.

My MT days stretch back to 1993 Isuzu Rodeo. Once I found out my wife was not transitioning to manual gearbox, I decided to stick with automatics.

Personal decision that benefits me in case my wife needs to drive my truck. (which she dislikes driving anyway!) lol

I've been on forums since acquiring a 2000 GSXR750 in 2011. After selling the gixxer, I transitioned to a 1982 GS750T and found another forum to help with maintenance on that vintage bike.

I had my Sport 5 months before I found TW doing research (which I can't remember what I was searching).

My after purchase expenses have been roughly under $5K and I'm at a point where I'm happy with the looks, safety and performance of my Sport.

 

Your BAT reminded me of my former BAT life - in 2016 I was fresh off a divorce, oil industry was in another bust year, and I was rolling in a Ram 1500 with a 6MT.

I never liked the Ram. I tolerated it, but I never liked it. It was a bigger vehicle than I needed on the daily and I knew it. It was also horrifically underpowered (it was a base model 3.7). Anyways, back to 2016. The Ram had developed a phantom gremlin where it would randomly stall at freeway speeds. That's where I really appreciate that I got an MT: whenever it would sputter I'd simply clutch in to let the stall happen, then at 70mph I'd shut the ignition, restart the engine, clutch out and keep rolling. I took it to a couple of shops and both of them said "yeah we can try to chase it down, but you're basically looking at throwing a bunch of parts and labor at the wall until it goes away."

Meanwhile, oil bust. And I worked at an oil lab. It was one of those where once a month, every month, they would call the whole building in for a productivity status update (how many projects do we have, how many are we anticipating, etc) and like clockwork 10 more people got quietly laid off within an hour of that meeting. Every month for 6 months. The building went from a staff of 90 to 35, which is to say it went from 65 lab personnel and 25 project managers (an already incredibly stupid ratio) to 15 labbies and 20 PMs.

Also meanwhile, the terms of the divorce meant that I owed my ex half of the estimated equity in the house, and that was coming due by EOY. It was either scrounge up the cash or sell and find an apartment time.

I knew what was up. And I had interviews lined up, most of which required some long distance traveling. And I, being the eternal optimist in the face of the headsman's axe and financial ruin, walked into a Toyota dealership on impulse and leased a new Tacoma. Literally the next morning, paper tag still wet, I drove that truck up to Fort Worth for a 6 hour interview (not including the unofficial-but-still-part-of-the-interview dinner) and nailed it. I charmed those fuckers like my life depended on it. And three weeks after that, a moving truck was emptying my old house while a realtor was closing on my new one, all courtesy of my new employer in the mining industry.

And that's how I got my silver '16.

 

@Rock Lobster

I knew there's a reason why I like your story-telling.

Glad to have brought that scenario out (unintentionally of course) and your success behind it.

 

The wife and I started to get into camping and overlanding as they call it. She finally got tired of me working on Mitsubishi Montero’s in the driveway and told me to buy something else. Found a 2019 with just 6500 miles on it in a showroom floor next to my mechanic friends shop. Couldn’t resist when wife said yes to this and thought the gladiator felt cramped inside. Now I have two broken Monteros in my driveway one is going to scrap next week and the other needs a a rebuilt motor. Hopefully I can get that one sold.

 

Damn, now that’s a story!

 

Nothing really special to my story. I knew of TW long before I was ever here, but I never had a Tacoma until this year. Had an 05 MT Ranger, it was old and tired so I bought a 19 AT Frontier (hated the AT and didn’t like the problematic white paint), then got an MT 19 Frontier (LOVED it but it had problems), so I ponied up the extra 10 grand I didn’t want to spend and got a 21 MT Tacoma. Overall, I like it.

I have recently left all the Tacoma FB groups I ever joined. I have found those are mostly wastes of time that I don’t benefit from. I receive and give technical knowledge here, which I enjoy much more.

 

Well I had a tundra before my tacoma. The tundra was obviously older (an '04), and there were some things that needed fixing on it or things I wanted to do to it that I wanted advice. Started searching for answers online and got tons of links to forums. Chose a tundra forum and kinda made it my home. Then when my tundra got totaled and I got a tacoma I realized how helpful being part of that type of community so I joined here. Prolly the biggest tacoma forum so that's why I chose it. And all the people here are cool as hell.

 

I figured it would be a good resource for info on mods and maintenance.

 

I was tired of another forum I frequented for years. Turned weird and toxic. Then I found this place when I bought a Tacoma. Kinda replaced the old forum I was on.

 

I feel the same about work sometimes...the "toxic" aspect of people interaction dynamics!

At least on forums, you don't have to engage everyone...like would have to at work...I work in a hospital as Surgical Materials and people see me working and focused on what I'm doing but I have to stop and acknowledge them (not all but most)...lol!

Apparently, we can't be too focused on our daily tasks otherwise I'm not fulfilling my social skills. lol

Not everyone says, "hello" either...just give strange looks...which I won't go into.

This place has plenty of personalities and very knowledgeable people. I can appreciate the threads I've been involved with on TW and value the folks who take time to reply with seriousness & humor...not to be taken too seriously, of course.

 

My Tacoma.

 

I've worked on cars all my life beginning with cleaning parts when my old man was oval racing at Ascot park in L.A. I must have been 11 or 12 when I did my first oil change and tune up. But there's always that shimmer of doubt, is there something I could miss, something I could overlook? (Wife's Rav4 oil change is a perfect example, if you don't get the O-ring in just the right place it will leave an oil slick down the block.)

Before I put on the Dickies, open the toolbox and pop the hood, first thing I do is research the task to see what other wiser, smarter people have done. Admittedly, this can definitely lead you down the wrong path but if you hit a couple resources you can sort out the BS from the truth.

Time and time again TW came up for answers to the questions, the part goes on this side not the one you're trying to shoehorn it into, there's an easier way to get that part out, here's the schematics that you won't find on any other site, over and over. Since joining I've discovered there's a glovebox light I never knew I had and a place to store a spare key in the gas fill door . . . always more to learn.

Mine is an 03 extended cab TRW, V6, all manual with power locks and electric windows, and it was love at first sight. As of today it has only 81,225 miles on it and I want to keep it running to that 300K I hear about. I have a stoic appreciation for all things stock and will probably never mod it beyond silly things like LED interior lights or upgraded parts. That's why I'm here.

 

tough hill/curvy driveway vs fishing boat and a Tacoma. Researching front hitch receiver installation to improve quality of life. (or at least fishing season)

 

Funny you would ask but here it goes I'm old have a dodge farm truck for heavy stuff I drove 1967 chevyII wagon 1-2 a month to town. One day wanted something different sold wagon started shopping for new hotrod. I realized I don't want to work on old cars anymore so decided on new . Looking around it came down to Tacoma or Frontier. I went to forums snooping TW everyone was talking about fun stuff mods and beautiful pics on mountain tops. The nissan forum they were talking about the problems they were having . So I bought Tacoma to enjoy not work on hahahahah

 

There is a blue (I want say ‘63) Nova wagon sitting in a field near me and no it’s not for sale but I want it! Nice rides, Sir!

 

Thank You sir Here is my VERY LAST [i don't believe it either] hotrod It is in shop now getting interior done Then I'm giving it to my 24 year old we bought it when he was 15 This is his first hotrod

 

Typical Chrysler electronics. It was the crank angle sensor failing. I had the same problem in a Jeep Liberty. Friend's Dakota developed that problem after I figured out what mine was, and one sensor later he still drives it.