Tacomaworld.com Writing Challenge!

What about bird shit? And does it require a species-specific method?

 

Nope, but regardless of species you should try and remove it ASAP.

It actually discolors and stains some types of colored glass.

 

That's not an essay...

 

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Disclaimer: Might be deemed too sensitive, sappy, and bro-mantic for some. Reader discretion advised.

Christmastime, 2012.

At the time, I was driving a 2004 Nissan Xterra. A hand-me-down. A reliable vehicle, no doubt. Trouble was, any chick friend of mine was persistent in letting me know how jealous they were of the thing.

"Oh it's so cute!", they'd say. Cute? Why the hell was I driving a 'cute' vehicle? Don't get it twisted...I appreciated that I had that instead of a 1989 Oldsmobile Cierra Cutlass that was originally to be mine. In hindsight, that's a pretty cool car. Nevertheless, I couldn't help wishing I drove the typical rough neck choice of truck. I had a 2500 Suburban in mind, full safari-type rig. Ridiculous dream really, as I had a limping bank account. Still, I pestered the living bejezus out of my folks (still living at home and in high school at the time) for a TRUCK.

Money is tight...has been for the past few years. We all know it. I couldn't just up and get a new truck. My folks made that very clear. I understood. Music was my passion and they have been supportive, both in idea and monetarily, for quite some time. I probably have more in musical instruments than my life insurance would be worth.

Fast forward. The Xterra gets totaled when a buck attempts an Urlacher form tackle on the driver side front quarter panel. That was my shot. Why keep a vehicle that was almost totaled?

Back to Christmas 2012...I was surprised with a 2007 Tacoma, bone stock and well-taken-care-of. I was ecstatic, needless to say. By this time, I was a sophomore in mechanical engineering at the Univ. of South Alabama (horrible institution of higher learning).

I had known OF my buddy Nick. We had gone to high school together, and he graduated a year before me. He also attended USA as a MechE. Probably 6 months before I got my Taco, he got his...also bone stock, minus a toolbox (I think).

We both had the same truck, so I asked him if he had any interesting mods or suggestions for the truck. Boy, that started a friendship.

No homo, but me and my buddy Nick (trdNick) have worked on our trucks together since then, had classes together, and generated a great friendship.

Aside from that, he had been working as a co-op/intern at Aker Solutions. He's the one who got me an interview there, where I still work. He basically set me on a career track and a better study and work ethic. I owe the dude a ton. He's helped me become a decent handy-man, a better engineer, and has made me a decent shot at 100 yards with a .22LR.

But now I have the mod bug.

All thanks to having the same truck to bullshit about.

Thanks dude.

 

I guess you could be. I just figured that something I got in a forwarded email like 2 years ago was probably copy and pasted from somewhere.

 

Here's the writeup I recently posted on building the "Ultimate Off-Road Utility Light and Power Station".

Original thread can be seen here.

 

That's a really cool setup my friend.

 

This past weekend I wrecked my truck and below is a letter to Trail-Gear I wrote that night and have since revised for this thread.

Dear Trail-Gear,

On March 29th, I was run of the highway at 65+ mph by an individual who thought he owned the road (and was very annoyed I didn't agree). The gentleman (asshole) attempted to cut me off and slam on his brakes as a form of “retribution” for not driving to his standards (not getting out of his way fast enough I guess). Unfortunately, the driver (douchebag) grossly underestimated the length of his Dodge Magnum Wagon and his childish maneuver almost took off my front bumper (in hind sight, I should have placed said bumper into his back seat…). I swerved and braked to avoid the road raging lunatic, and in the in the rain slick conditions, and with 150+ lbs of gear in the bed, my truck fishtailed and lost control. I over corrected and at about 50-60mph, my truck spun off the highway and slammed into a concrete barrier. The impact was incredible and I was pretty sure my truck was toast. As I rolled to a stop on the shoulder, I had to pep talk myself that it will be ok and I can always get a 4Runner. Seriously, I thought my truck was utterly totaled and everything between the cab and rear bumper was now in a hundred pieces and scattered across the highway. I very much wanted chase down the quickly departing driver and have a friendly conversation with him, myself, and my Glock, but I knew my truck wasn't going anywhere without a flatbed. It took a bit of time to calm down; it felt like eternity; but I eventually mustered the courage to get out and face the carnage. As I climbed out and took an initial look at the truck I couldn't see anything wrecked, bent, or even scraped... In fact, the only damage I initially saw was a giant gash on the concrete barrier. Now to put this into perspective, it took a few seconds of me standing on my brakes to actually come to a stop after the hit. At this point where I hit the barrier was now about 50-75 yards away, yet I could see very clearly where pieces of concrete exploded on impact and were flown across the other side of the highway. As shocked as I was from the accident, I'm now even more shocked that my truck was very much in one piece, with not a single noticeable scratch. Dumbfounded, I started inspecting every inch to see what in the realm of reality hit the concrete so hard that my teeth were rattled loose. When I found it, I was socked a third time. It was your bumper. And (excuse my French but there is only one way accurately to convey this in words) holy fucking shit, did your bumper take that hit it like a champ! Not only was I able to drive away from the accident, but the resulting damage to the frame only was about 1/2 inch of shift. The collision assessor was very impressed with the bumper’s quality and design and believes that it's side support bars ultimately saved the frame from total failure.

I want to thank you for saving my truck, but more importantly, me, my wife, and two kids want to thank you for more than likely saving my life. For your viewing pleasure, below is what a Trail Gear bumper looks like after eating a concrete barrier for lunch at 60+ mph.

Sincerely a very happy and now very loyal customer,
Christopher





Impact (driver) side:



Passenger Side:



Impact side (bed doesn't open anymore):



Passenger Side:



Impact side frame mount (this was a hard shot to get, but basically the steal is bent a good deal:



Passenger side frame mount:





Corner of the bed slammed into the rear of the cab

 

Thanks man. My guardian angel got some overtime pay that day (and my wife is no longer able to give me shit about "that stupid bumper" as she used to call it )

I wrote it up late last night when I stumbled on this thread... I did some minor edits to some grammar (that's allowed, right?) and to make it a bit more family friendly I took out "dick guzzler."

 

I just got a TG front bumper for Christmas and my fiance hates it! I can't wait to share this with her!

 

LOL That's low.

 

Who/how will the judging be done?



Who do I need to pay off?