"When" not "if" - Trail Damage

ooops i read the suzuki thing and forgot what the thread was about. damage will happen, even to the most cautious, there's always something sticking out from the bush from below or beside that will get your truck! not to mention the fact that the paint on the newer tacomas practically gets scratches just looking at it.

 

I have an ATV to ride trails with, the truck is only used to haul it to the places I ride. I rarely wheel full size rigs anymore, it just gets too expensive. On the other hand, ATVs are made for the abuse and demands of off roading while trucks and other full size 4x4s are really only designed for the lighter side of wheeling without major modifications.

 

I'm a girl which makes me inherently cautions and safe and not a risk taker... or a terrible driver...or both... take your pick.

Did this out wheelin last weekend...

 

I learned that the hard way,have sliders.front skid,tranny skid and i skimped on the t-case and got a t-case cover that All-Pro sells,it bolts to the bottom where the factory one does,but it can't take a good hit from a rock.


This is the cover i had on the t-case


What i have now.

 

I didn't even realized it happened until i got home,drove 60 miles,went out later on and saw a small puddle under the truck,believe it or not the All-Pro cover held the the bottom together,as soon as i took the cover off,the place where it bolted to pretty much fell of when i touched them.
Got lucky,but it was an expensive lesson to learn!

 

I think at a bare minimum trail rash from sticks and branches and rock chips are impossible to avoid.

I like to tell myself you can avoid any damage worse than superficial if your careful but who knows.

 

Unfortunately Ti is a controlled metal at Pearl Harbor
But that doesn't mean that I don't have a small stash hidden away
The chips make an amazing light show

 

Fixing my truck is too expensive. I hardly wheel anymore but when I do I try to pick the best lines /least possible damage way. Honestly I can't keep it from happening but I sure wish for the best. You take a risk wheeling. I' starting to think about just getting a bike when I wanna go ride around. Although that requires gear

 

Scratched mine from headlight to tail.... 1st week of ownership. Many more dents since

Its going to happen. Armor helps somewhat

 

It looks like your profile pic is reacting to your accident

 

Stick to wheeling in the day time & your luck will be better.....ask me how I know.....sorry, no pics of the bumper/bed side.

 

Yep, after spending the last week wheeling, i finally took a rouge branch, in my blind spot to my rear passenger door... its going to happen, question is, do we live with it or try to get it buffed out.

 

Dang! Even with sliders, huh? Bummer!

I'd be trying to get that taken out for sure

 

Ya, the branch was sticking off a log, couldn't see it taking a turn though i cleared it.

Def going to get it removed, there's no crease or scratch, was a soft wet arm on the log. So hopefully some heat gun, cold compressed air and some elbow grease, or its to my boys shop.

 

I think the first time is the one that stings the most. Might not be the worse but to me its the one u always remember.

 

You're probably right.

I have some scrapes on my front left fender flare that aren't super noticeable, but I know they're there. I think it happened at the dealership, but I didn't have enough proof (ie: I know for a fact they weren't there when I dropped it off, and they're here now and I'm not taking it back from you till it's fixed). But, I've never brushed my fender up against anything, nor has anything brushed up against my fender while under my watch.

Oh well... it is what it is...

 

Avoiding trail damage is as simple as knowing when to get out and walk. A motor vehicle can get you a long way into the wilderness, but in the end, you have to get off of your butt to see it all.

In my personal vehicles, I have never sustained worse than paint scratches while off-road. Military vehicles are a whole different situation, but the carnage was acceptable in context. In 35 years of driving, nearly all of the damage to my vehicles has occurred while parked or maneuvering in and out of parking spaces. Flying road debris and vandalism make up just about all of the rest.

Mike

 

I hit a deer last hunting season on a trail. Busted the right front part of the plastic wheel well. Bought the part and had it painted and installed it my self. Still cost $200