F/R Locked TRD Sport DCLB Build & Colorado Wheeling

Great pictures

 

Thank you!

 

Funny enough we just got some snow in Denver and obviously I got to test ‘em a bit getting the tree, but I think it’s still too early to really give a great comparison.

So far I think the KO2s were better. They seemed to grip the snow better during acceleration and braking. The Goodyears have had more wheel spin in cases that I didn’t expect, especially given they’ve got some much new tread. I’ll keep you posted on how they do throughout this winter.

 

Day 3: Cinnamon Pass

After a great night of sleep, we woke up bright and early, eager to explore the San Juans. For day 3, my dad and I had thought it'd be fun to change up our mode of transportation & decided we'd try to rent a UTV to drive the Alpine Loop. As mentioned earlier, I grew up riding ATVs with my dad, so renting the UTV had us incredibly exciting for many reasons, but mainly the for freedom you feel when driving/riding in an open air vehicle.

In order to make this happen, we'd need to find a business who had a UTV available, which I thought would be no problem given it was the middle of the week and Lake City has tons of businesses who rent UTVs & jeeps. My dad & I both have always longed to own a Polaris Rzr or Can-Am Maverick, so we had our eyes set on renting one of the many available in Lake City. After calling nearly every business in town, only one had a UTV available for renting, and it wasn't a Rzr, but a new-ish Honda Pioneer Trail. Comparatively, not the most exciting rig, but for our entire lives, we've only owned/ridden Honda utility ATVs and have absolutely loved them - they're incredibly reliable and versatile (used ours for snowplowing, hauling trailers, and just generally working around the property, but also for tons of trail riding).

Anyways, we got setup with the company, learned the logistics of running the loop, paid, and headed back to camp to load up the Pioneer. We loaded up lunch, rain coats, and sunscreen & hopped back into the rig. Unfortunately, when I went to put it into drive, the transmission wouldn't go into drive. Only Park or Reverse. Not ideal... We messed around with it for about 10 minutes, and ultimately determined something with the linkage was malfunctioning. Luckily, my dad had driven the Tacoma back to camp, so we loaded up into it and made our way back into town to notify the rental company. We caught up with the owner who followed us back to camp with his brand new, super badass Honda Talon and we helped him get the Pioneer hooked up. He was incredibly apologetic and offered us a full refund + $100 credit. Overall, a super standup guy and I'd definitely rent from him in the future. I think it was just a freak thing and we were just happy that it didn't happen to us in the middle of the trail. And anyways, we had the Tacoma, so we still had plenty of opportunity to explore.

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After all that, we decided it was too late to run the entire Alpine Loop, so we opted to run Cinnamon instead, starting from Lake City.

I've ran Cinnamon to varying degrees 4-5 times before, so I was familiar with the area, but it continues to be one of my favorite trails in all of Colorado. And I think you'll see why in the upcoming photos. The scenery is absolutely epic - from narrow shelf roads, to slow flowing streams, to massive glacial valleys, to Red Cloud & Sunshine 14,000 ft peaks - this route has everything you want in a Colorado backcountry route.

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We arrived at American Basin and enjoyed nearly panoramic views 10,000+ ft peaks. We had tons of sunshine on the drive up, but you could tell a storm was brewing over the peaks, so we had a quick lunch in the basin and packed up the truck just as the winds started to rip across the valley. As we headed down, we had intermittent sun & clouds, but it didn't rain until we reached back at camp.

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At this point in the trip, my dad and I were definitely in need of a nice, warm shower and I knew just the spot. I'd stopped into Highlander RV Campground a few times before on previous trips to Lake City and had always been incredibly impressed with their facilities and the hospitality of their family owned business. We paid and enjoyed immaculately clean & piping hot showers. It's amazing how nice a shower is after camping for a few days. A total refresher. As we were heading out, the owners of Highlander RV even invited us to the campground's weekly cookout later that evening, even though we weren't officially camping on their property. Just a testament to how well-run this business is!

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After getting freshened up, we decided to head into town for a bit of walking exploration. I also had a strong craving for a chocolate malt, so we stopped into the local ice cream shop and enjoyed a truly old fashioned ice cream.

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To close the day, we headed back to camp, made some dinner and sat around the fire before heading to bed. Another great day outdoors.

 

Huge dump of my favorites from this past weekend's solo trip down to Moab. I absolutely love Utah's landscapes.

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I've been working on putting together a website to document my build, wheeling trips, camping adventures, and more.

While I absolutely love the TacomaWorld platform, I’ve decided to start my own website for a few reasons. First, I’m hoping to expand my vehicle lineup—whether that means adding a Jeep TJ, picking up a new motorcycle, or something else entirely—and I feel like some of that content might not fit perfectly here. On top of that, I’ve got some exciting plans in the works to launch a small business within the next two years, and having my own site will help me share updates and stories along the way.

Another reason is that I want a place where my “journal entries” can live long-term, just in case TacomaWorld ever becomes unsupported. Plus, having my own website gives me more creative control over formatting and how I present my content, which I’m really excited about.

That said, I absolutely will still be keeping this build page up to date and active. But I’ll also be posting even more content to my new site, and I can’t wait to share it with you all once the initial draft is ready. Stay tuned!

 

As per usual, my Moab plans came together last second—literally two days before heading further west. I was walking Theo on Tuesday afternoon, and wheeling in Moab was stuck in my mind. When I got home, I grabbed my phone and texted a good buddy who recently picked up a tastefully built 5th-gen 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium. His truck has 33" Goodyear Wrangler Ultraterrain ATs on TRD wheels, a small leveling kit, and sliders—the perfect build to explore the West reliably. When he responded, he mentioned that he was just about to text me to see if I'd consider wheeling that weekend. Obviously, he was in. We made a plan to head out from Denver after work Thursday afternoon and grab a hotel in town that night so we could work Friday.

After a "long" day at work Friday, we loaded up the trucks and headed out to get a short hike in before the sun set. We hiked the Corona Arch trail—a beautiful and easy ~2.5-mile hike about 15 minutes outside of town. We caught some great views of the stunning Moab canyons, an epic view of Corona Arch, and a classic American West portrait of a train chugging through the canyon. Aaron even got the conductor to blow the horn—classic. A quick note to fellow dog owners: there’s a very steep climb/descent and a ladder section that’s tough to navigate solo with a pup.

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After the hike, we swung by the gas station to fill up and then hit up the local DABS to snag some warm beers (worst part about Moab, lol) before rolling into camp. Upon arrival, we set up camp and started a fire. Aaron had made a delicious Guinness beef stew the day before, so we fired up the stove, warmed up an incredible dinner, and enjoyed a warm cup of soup around the fire. We also enjoyed a couple—at this point—cold beers and some good convo before heading to bed.

We woke up to a freezing (~18°F) desert morning. I gave Theo a quick stroll around camp, then we loaded up and stopped in town at Moab Coffee Roasters—one of my favorite and most frequent stops—for coffee and breakfast burritos. After breakfast, we headed toward the trailhead of Porcupine Rim, aired down the tires, and started the trail.

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Porcupine Rim is a beautiful, high-elevation trail in the Sand Flats Recreation Area. It’s quite long and can take up to eight hours, according to trail reports and videos I watched. The trail starts off mild, with a few small obstacles and some narrow sections that have steep drops into the canyon. As we ascended, we started hitting sporadic sections of icy snow. None of these sections were on steep inclines or declines, so we proceeded. Around two miles in, we reached the first major obstacle, which was covered in a good amount of snow. I hopped out, and Theo and I walked the trail for a few hundred yards. Unfortunately, the snow only got worse, so Aaron and I made the call to turn around.

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On our way back to the trailhead, we came to a fork where we had the option to take an alternate route back to Sand Flats Road—the "Porcupine Jeep 4x4 Route." Based on my research and the trail map at the entrance, we assumed this would be a fun and quick ride back to Sand Flats Road, allowing us to move on to another trail for the second half of the day. Well, turns out our understanding of this "shortcut" was way off, haha. This portion of the trail is actually about 5–7 miles long and can even connect to Fins & Things, which is pretty cool.

We ended up running the trail all the way back to Sand Flats Road and had a blast doing it. Heading from Porcupine Rim toward Sand Flats, you descend most of the obstacles, all of which had multiple lines ranging from mild to wild in difficulty. In this direction, the trail was totally doable for a rig with 33" tires, some mild armor (sliders and an engine skid), and ideally a rear locker—though I’m not sure it’s totally necessary, it definitely helps with a few obstacles. Running it in the opposite direction, where you’d be climbing, I’d say a truck with 33s, armor, and a rear locker (front would help in some cases, I’m sure) could handle it, though you’d likely use your armor a decent amount. I’d love to run it that way sometime in the future. Overall, we had an incredible time, and Aaron had a great first outing with his rig in Moab. The only trail damage was a minor pinching of Aaron’s exhaust after dropping off a ledge on one of the first obstacles—definitely a win!

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That evening, we stopped in town and grabbed a big ole pizza before heading back to camp for a fire, some reminiscing about the day, and a couple of cold ones. We headed out early the next morning to beat the I-70 ski traffic. Yet another terrific weekend in the Utah desert.

 

My dad just booked a flight to meet up w/ me for a 4 day wheeling trip out to Moab at the end March. So stoked. I am not sure what trails we'll be hitting yet, but contemplating doing a multi-day scenic trail with camping along the way + one day of more technical wheeling. Would love any input + pictures (please post pics, makes it so much easier to get an idea of what the trail has to offer ) you guys have from your Moab trips for inspo / planning.

 

If you are wanting to do a bit more of an exploration trip and finishing off with some technical wheeling. At a look at The Swell area, trails like Behind the Reef and fun way around temple mountain give you a good way to explore some new area a couple hours from Moab and with some good route planning you can be out there for a week and never seen the same things twice.

 

Awesome. I will absolutely be checking into these. Appreciate the suggestions!

 

^^ Recently spent 9 days in The Swell. Lovely place.

Photos for inspiration:

HSWOR - Day 2 - 24 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

HSWOR - Day 2 - 42 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

HSWOR - Day 8 - 148 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

HSWOR - Day 8 - 154 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

 

If you like the Moab area, you will fall in love with the Swell.

 

Incredible shots Michael. Looks like you guys had a great time. I recall reading about this trip on your build thread a while back! Any good technical trails you ran in that area (e.g., somewhere you can use the lockers)?

 

Oh yeah. Fix-It-Pass and the Devils Racetrack.

We did both in one day, but you can split it into two days, as there is a ditch out point to the freeway in between the two.

Not sure how competent your dad is with spotting, but its a doozie.

Racetrack

HSWOR - Day 5 - 108 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

HSWOR - Day 5 - 106 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Fix-It

HSWOR - iPhone Photos by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

HSWOR - iPhone Photos by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

HSWOR - iPhone Photos by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

 

Hell yeah, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the information and the pictures. So helpful.

My dad has a ton of off road experience and is a great spotter, so these could be great options, especially since we could divide it up over two days.

 

Installed new OEM lower control arms today. I’d been dealing with a loud squeak/creak from the driver’s side front for the past few weeks, and it just kept getting worse. Took it to the dealer to see if they’d replace the LCA under warranty, but—classic—they hit me with, “Yeah, it’s your upper control arms. The ball joint was bone dry. Also, the warranty company won’t cover an LCA for a squeak.”

That annoyed me because:

1. I had greased the ball joints two weeks before the appointment.
2. I stay on top of greasing them religiously.
3. I knew it was the LCA, told them that, and pointed out it’s a safety issue.

So I went straight to Olathe Toyota—my go-to parts site (funny enough, the same dealership I bought my first Tacoma from)—and ordered a pair of OEM LCAs at 30% off. The passenger side wasn’t giving me trouble, but figured I might as well replace both since I’d have it torn down anyway.

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While I was at it, I decided to pull the sway bar. Been wanting to see how the truck handles without it, and this seemed like the perfect time. Stoked to test it out in Moab with my dad here soon.

Install went smoothly, just took longer than expected—always does. Here's a picture of the old LCAs with about 122,000 miles on them.

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Driver side took forever, passenger side was accomplished in about 1/3 the time. Below are the final results. I also sprayed the new LCAs with Amsoil's HD metal protector to keep the elements from getting to their paint too quick.

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Took it for a drive afterward, and the squeak/creak was gone. Now just need an alignment, and she’s good to go

 

Another known location to check for squeaks is the front body mount bushings. Just becareful what you replace them with if so, several have replaced with energy bushings and claim that’s what caused inner fender cracks. Mine were making noise, swapped with just replacement OEM

 

How’s it ride without a sway bar?

 

That's great to know. I'll keep an ear out for any additional squeaking. If I hear anything more, I'll definitely check out the body mount bushings.

And totally agree with you - running OEM parts, especially for bushings, is the way to go. So much durability & performance testing goes into all OEM stuff that it's nearly impossible to beat those parts with something aftermarket.

 

Haven't had it on the road for a proper test drive since removing it, but will report back once I have had a some decent seat time with it removed.