AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

Oh shit, the engine light's on - upgrading the air filter (Part 1: Prelude)
May 2016

"Uh, Dad? Can you hear me?" I yelled into the phone, hoping that 1 tiny bar was enough.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves again. We need to rewind about 20 minutes. To when the engine light came on. Or maybe even a bit further - to the beginning of the epic trip to the Owyhee Canyonlands. The first trip that would take advantage of the new suspension.

 

Oh shit, the engine light's on - upgrading the air filter (Part 2: A trip to the Owyhee (pronounced 'Hawaii') Canyonlands - Chalk Basin)
May 2016

It was just like any other work week. Or at least, any other week where you go to work for half a day Monday; take a 24-hour flight to India at 6pm; work in India for 34 hours; and then arrive back in Seattle at 7am Friday morning after 24 more hours in the air. Except it wasn't. Memorial Day the following Monday meant a four-day weekend, and that meant that this was the perfect week for an extended camping trip.

Where would we go? Being May, our normal haunts in the Pacific Northwest were still largely under snow, and we were headed down to northern California later in the summer - so that was out. But southwest, in Oregon, we found the perfect solution - the Owyhee Canyonlands.

As I mentioned, I landed Friday at 6:55am and booked it through customs, getting home around 8am. @mrs.turbodb had already driven the truck home and gotten our gear ready to go Thursday night - so it was a simple matter of a final check and getting it all stowed in the back. We were on the road by 9am, headed east on I-90, hoping that the jet-lag from my 24 hours in the air would hold off for the duration of our 11-hour drive.

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During the first leg of our journey, we spent a bit of time with the phone in the car figuring out our exact itinerary - we had a general sense of where we wanted to go, but @mrs.turbodb was able to match up directions that said things like "go for a while on a dirt road past some cow poop, and then turn left on another dirt road where there are cows pooping" into actual roads, distances, and times on bing maps so that we'd know approximately when we'd be at each of our planned destinations: Chalk Basin, Jordan Craters, Three Forks, and The Honeycombs. The conclusion: we could do it, but it'd be a lot of driving, much of it off-road.

Dan: Awesome.

@mrs.turbodb: This seems crazy and not relaxing.

Dan: Uhh...

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It was too late to turn back, so we just fought about it for a bit in the car until we realized we were hungry and needed to stop for lunch. We stopped in Pendleton, OR where we found a great little Mexican food place where we could refuel.

We got Enchilada's Mexicana's and they were delicious.

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After lunch, it was back on the road, and on to our first destination: Chalk Basin. We were completely unsure we could find it, and we were right. Headed along the highway, the directions said, "take Highway 95 left for exactly 8 miles to a gravel side road on the left marked only by a stop sign." Right.

Chalk Basin
Amazingly, 8 miles after turning on to Highway 95, we saw the stop sign and turned onto dirt roads, basically for the next 48 hours, and it was here that we got our first glimpse of some real geology. It was awesome. At the time. We had no idea what lay ahead.

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We continued on for 90 minutes, sure that we were going the wrong way, hoping we weren't, and surprised when we'd see a referenced landmark, having missed the one we were looking for (we never found the telephone pole that we were supposed to turn left at, 22.4 miles out a dirt road).

Luckily, we were in a weird appendage of Mountain time, so it was light until 10pm, and at 9:30pm, we arrived at an unmarked intersection that we were sure was the trail head (a.k.a "place to start walking in a general direction"). We'd seen only one other car the entire time, and that meant we could camp just about anywhere - so we did.

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We pulled off the side of an even-more 4WD road than we'd been on previously and up onto the top of a hill overlooking Chalk Basin, just as the sun was setting. We got the truck leveled out with a few volcanic rocks, and built a rip-roaring campfire as the stars came out. Life: good.

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We climbed into bed, tentless and enjoyed the view. It was windy, really windy. But it was cozy, and we were tired.

Now, while it was great that we were in Mountain time on the "setting up camp" end of the day, it wasn't totally awesome on the "getting out of bed" end. But, we had a full day, and so at 6:03am sharp, I opened my eyes and poked my head out of the sleeping bag. More room in the bag, @mrs.turbodb pulled her head further down.

Sunrise was beautiful.

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The truck was clearly in its element, and it was becoming clear that nearly every photo on the trip was going to have some truck in it. As @mrs.turbodb roused herself out of bed, I took a few more photos of the geology on our hill, and we ate a breakfast of Honey Bunches of Oats (with Almonds) and blueberries.

Then, it was off on our first hike of the weekend, to see Chalk Basin, close up. The scenery was amazing - at the height of spring, we had no idea how perfect our timing (it would only become clear as we headed back Monday).

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As we rounded the corner of the trail, we got our first glimpse of Chalk Basin. This was why we'd driven long hours - so we could experience this in full morning light, sunlight gleaming off of the rock. It was great. It turns out, we still had no idea what was in store.

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We continued on. Turn after turn, the landscape improved. Turn after turn, we were more and more lost.

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We saw deer (both alive and dead), all kinds of geology, and we saw what we thought was a landmark called Yellow Dome. We thought wrong. At this point we were in the "head cross country for .2 miles" part of the trail, so we continued to trek for two or three times that, not at all worried about the fact that we hadn't brought any water on this (we thought) short stroll. Except that we were a bit worried.

Still lost we headed straight up the nearest ridge, and surveyed the landscape. Nice rolling hills, and there, in the distance - a landmark we recognized - the truck (and trailhead)! Re-oriented, we headed off in the opposite direction to find Yellow Dome.

Just over a ridge about a quarter mile away, this vista opened up in front of us. It was crazy - we were so close and had no idea it was even there (Yellow Dome on the left).

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With that, it was nearly 10am, and time to head back to the truck. We had a full day ahead of us, with two major stops - at Jordan Craters, and Three Forks.

On our way out of Chalk Basin, it was time for one final picture. And of course, another on the way to Jordan Craters, all on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land, and all on 4WD "roads."

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[to be continued ...]​

 

Oh shit, the engine light's on - upgrading the air filter (Part 3: Owyhee, Jordan Craters)
May 2016

The whole of Owyhee Canyonlands are composed of various volcanic activity. Jordan Craters is the most recent of that activity (parts of which are only ~100 years old) and are a crazy sight to see. Looking at the area when approaching via car, and even more when viewing it via satellite, it looks like a huge lake. In reality, it's a huge (~25 square mile) lava flow, with basically nothing growing in the area at all. At the very northwest corner is the place we were heading - Coffeepot Crater.

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We made great time, passing a slow moving Nissan and got to Coffee Pot a little after 1pm. At the crater, we were greeted by another Tacoma, a 4Runner, and shortly after we showed up, a Tundra. Of course, the Nissan showed up eventually as well - right about the time we were leaving ;-). We also saw this guy - clearly enjoying the BLM roads in a way that only a dune buggy can!

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We ate a quick lunch - peanut butter and jelly, Lay's potato chips, and an apple, and headed out for a short exploration of the crater. We thought that it might be anti-climactic after Chalk Basin, but we were in for a surprise.

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The crater was big, and being BLM, you could walk just about anywhere. We saw amazing rocks, lava tubes (if there are animals in there, they got a couple apple cores), collapsed domes, flows, and geometric cracks that fit together like puzzle pieces. A few of the colorful volcanic rocks even made their way home with us.

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An hour and a half later, and we were ready to hit the road again. We had a 3-hour drive to Three Forks, where we planned to spend the night, taking advantage of the hot springs located next to one of the forks of the Owyhee River.

But oh, if only it was that easy.

On our way to Three Forks, we headed through Jordan Valley, a small Basque cattle town, with a few homes, a school, and a gas station, hotel and food mart (all owned by Jim). It was time to fill up with gas, and being Oregon, the attendant ran out and topped off the tank.

On our way out of town, disaster. The engine light in the truck came on.

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That's never happened before, so I gave pops a call while @mrs.turbodb read her guide book. It was suspicious that the light came on just after getting the truck filled up, and in the end we decided to keep going - it wasn't an easy decision with 800 miles left to go (many of them off-road) but the fluid levels were good, engine temp was normal, and hey, this is a Toyota Tacoma.

[to be continued ...]

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Oh shit, the engine light's on - upgrading the air filter (Part 3: Owyhee, Three Forks)
May 2016

A few miles outside of Jordan Valley, it was back onto dirt roads for 30 miles to Three Forks. Mostly uneventful, we saw many more cows than cars, and we arrived at our destination around 7:00pm. Once again, we were deceived right up until we got there, as the canyon opened up below us, rather than being something we drove into. Coming over the edge, we were greeted by this sight, and it was just the beginning.

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We continued down, and found ourselves in the most populated place we'd see all weekend - 7 or 8 other campers, already setup along the edge of the river. We looked around a bit for a spot, and then ventured up stream, forded he river in the truck, and kept going along something marked "Jeep trail," that was steep, narrow, and fun. There were no Jeeps. Only Tacomas.

We made our way to the end of the trail, which also happened to be the hot spring location, where we found three ATV-ers already enjoying a small, lukewarm pool. We joined them and had a good chat ("You're from Seattle, and just got back from India?!") while tried to inconspicuously wash our faces and bodies after a couple days of no showers and lots of dusty roads/hikes.

Then it was back to the car, and off an even less-well-traveled spur of the Jeep road. No Jeeps or Tacomas here, just our Tacoma.
Eventually, we found ourselves above the crowds, on our own canyon finger, looking out over two of the three forks of the Owyhee River.

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This part of the Jeep trail was clearly untraveled on a regular basis, and was a perfect spot for us to setup camp. A little closer to water than Chalk Basin, and partially sheltered (from wind) by the canyon, there were more bugs here, so it was a tent night - our only one on the trip. Nearly 10pm already, it was dinner time - 3 hot dogs each, an ear of roasted corn, some roasted veggies, and marshmallows. Yum.

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Sleep came easy after our full day, with @mrs.turbodb hoping the tent would help us sleep later into the morning than we had this morning.

It probably would have, were it not for the fact that I can't sleep past 6.

The next morning, we awoke to the sound of roosters in Hawaii. Except that they were quail in Owyhee. At any rate, one was perched on the top of our finger (over by the tree), and he was not happy that we were visiting...but he was also very camera shy, taking off before I could get anywhere close. The sun was just peeking over the plains, and like the previous morning, it was awesome.

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Breakfast (cereal and blueberries) overlooking Three Forks as the sun rose was the perfect start to the day, which only got better as we packed up the truck and pulled out of our spot, with the engine light no longer on! With that, we headed out, and enjoyed Three Forks again as we drove out in the morning sun.

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[to be continued ...]​

 

Oh shit, the engine light's on - upgrading the air filter (Part 4: Owyhee, The Honeycombs)
May 2016

With a new lease on life (no check engine light), the trip through Jordan Valley (again) and to our final destination was fun. We saw a ring-necked pheasant and of course 1 million billion cows just grazing wherever they wanted on the BLM land. The highlight however was a cattle grate crossing on the top of a rise where, at 50 MPH, the Tacoma played "Dakar rally truck" and we caught air, much to our surprise (and enjoyment).

As we continued to drive, we entered a whole new landscape - green valleys between rolling hills covered in obvious volcanic activity. We'd timed this just right, to hit the 10 days of "spring" that happen each year.

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It was obvious when we finally arrived at the trailhead (again, some 30 miles on unmarked, unpaved, 4WD roads), because there to greet us - of course - was another Tacoma. Of course, we pulled up alongside to compare our 1st generation truck with a brand new 2016 model. Let's just say that there wasn't going to be any trading going on, at least on our part.

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The hike to the Honeycombs was definitely going to be our longest hike - at 16 miles roundtrip - but little did we know that it was also going to be our hardest. Not due to terrain, but due to the fact that we had no idea where we were going, or whether we were on the right trail.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Shortly after our arrival, as we were making lunch and getting ready to set off (at noon), the owner of the 2016 Tacoma showed up, having left earlier in the morning and taken a wrong turn, completely missing the trailhead (and then deciding to call it quits for the Honeycombs (bummer!). We all chatted for a bit (mostly about how old Tacomas were better than new ones) and we got some pointers on how to get onto the trailhead. With that, we headed out (just as a third Tacoma was pulling up...though it turns out, he never stopped).

With renewed confidence, we headed to the end of the road and the trailhead, where we promptly took a wrong turn and lost the trail. With topo map in hand, @mrs.turbodb pointed us the right direction, and we headed up and over a 400 foot ridge, and back down the other side to meet up with where the trail was supposed to be (and was). We continued on that trail until it met a two track road (?) at which point we thought we were totally lost again.

That meant @mrs.turbodb was looking at the map every few minutes.

That meant I was getting frustrated with all the map looking.

Grouchiness ensued.

@mrs.turbodb ate her potato chips.

It turned out we were on the right "trail," though we only found out about that 2 hours later when we passed the only other three people we saw all day, as they were on their way back from "not quite making it" to the Honeycombs.

But the views. They were spectacular.

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That's @mrs.turbodb "coming down the trail."

When we finally got to the Honeycombs, we realized it was all worth it. For all the lost-ness earlier in the day, the views here were more dramatic than any we'd seen on the trip. The oranges, golds, and yellows were bright, and the spires were tall.

And the trail was straight down, 1000 feet.

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@mrs.turbodb took a break at the top, and I headed down to get some pics.

The further I went, the more amazingly crazier it got. I couldn't capture it with a single picture, or a panorama - the camera just wouldn't do it. Eventually, I ended up with a bunch of pictures and a video to try and capture the whole thing. Still didn't do it justice.

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Then, it was back up the hill (probably a few hundred feet) to a little cave in the Honeycombs where we ate lunch.
PB & J again, it was delicious. Even though mine was squished and soggy and @mrs.turbodb's was pristine. Go figure.

After a short break, it was 3:30 and time to head back. More confident in our location and knowledge of the area, we set out, cross country for the 6 mile return trek, soaking up the wildflowers and sights we'd also seen on the way out.

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Back at the car a little after 5:30, we had a decision to make: Do we camp out here in the middle of nowhere, with amazing views of green valley's blowing in the breeze, or head north for a few hours to cut down on our trip back to Seattle the next day, and to enjoy some amazing hot springs we'd heard about from Camille, the 2016 Tacoma owner.

As much as we wanted the hot springs, we knew that the camping would be a much more "civilized" experience, and we weren't really up for the sound of generators late into the night. Plus, this:

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So, we made our way up to the top of a ridge between two rock cliffs, and setup camp for the third and final night. It was a great choice, and was (again) the nicest place we'd stopped.

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Dinner was simple - we'd mastered it the previous night. A package of hot dogs, an ear of corn, and veggies. We skipped the marshmallows. A rip-roaring fire at the top of the ridge, a washcloth "bath," and views of the sunset were all we needed before hitting the sack (under the stars) after a long day.

@mrs.turbodb was sure we could sleep in a bit the next morning, before we headed back home.

Umm, right.

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The next morning, sunrise was a mirror of sunset on the opposite side of the valley. At the top of the ridge, we had views in all directions, and they were again, amazing.

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After the last of the cereal and blueberries, we packed up camp and were on the road by about 7:00. A few last looks back at our site, and 50 miles of 4WD roads were all that stood between us and a 10-hour drive home.

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Who's that dope who keeps taking all these truck pictures?

The trip back was relatively uneventful. The engine light came back on (but everything seemed to be running smoothly (turned out to be an air filter, and thus air-fuel mixture issue) which wasn't awesome, but we made good time, stopped in Pendleton for a good lunch at Joe's Mexican (we're so predictable) and arrived home in time to wash the truck and mow the front lawn.

All in all, an awesome 4-day excursion to the Owyhee Canyonlands.

Oh, and on the way back, we happened across the Snake River Crossing of the Oregon Trail, where we fixed the American flag (on Memorial Day) with the help of ... the truck.

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[to be continued ...]​

 

Oh shit, the engine light's on - upgrading the air filter (Part 5: Upgraded air filter)
May 2016

Epic journey behind us, it was time to find out what was wrong with the engine and get it fixed.

Step 1: Read the error code. To do that, I bought a Kiwi3 OBDII adapter and the DashCommand app. Error code P0131 - which in mechanic-speak is "bank 1 too lean" and in human is "dirty air intake." Side note: these two gadgets are an awesome combination. With them, it's like having a car from 2010 - instant fuel economy, average fuel economy, and all sorts of stats, coming directly from the computer. Sweet.

Step 2: Fix it. So I read up everything I could on the infamous P0131 (it turns out, quite common) and determined that there were two courses of action called for: MAF sensor cleaning, and air filter replacement.

Always looking for the easy way out, I did the air filter replacement first. To save $3 on a $70 filter, I spent about 3 hours online researching air filters and determined that the aFE washable filter was the one for my truck. Never again would I need to shell out $12 for a paper filter that would last 30K miles. Which means I'll break even in about 150 years. But I saved $3, and actual installation time was on the order of two minutes. (Plus the time to install the aFE sticker that tells those shop guys to clean - not throw away - my air filter.)

Then it was on to cleaning the MAF sensor (mass airflow sensor). Basically, a little piece of circuitry that is "behind the air filter," which measures how much air is going to the engine. Apparently this thing can get dirty after 60K miles, and then it stops registering all the air. An astute reader may think, "Does it change any of the operating parameters of the engine as a result?" That's very astute of you, but I have no idea. I'm just trying to fix this thing, stop asking me so many questions.

So off came the air filter box, and then the MAF sensor, which did in fact look dirty. Cleaning it is a matter of spraying some magic MAF cleaner on it until it shines (I mean, looks orangey) which I did.

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It was then back together with everything, a reset of the error code, and voila, it never came back. Some might say I was finally starting to get the hang of this car stuff. They'd be wrong, trust me.

 

Replacing the wimpy horn
May 18, 2016

First generation Toyota Tacoma's are known as great trucks. The horns - specifically on 2000 Tacoma's - not so much. For some reason, Toyota decided to only put "half a horn" in the 2000's, and it's obvious. The thing is wimpy. It's quieter than my Honda CBR 600 F2 motorcycle. It's time to make a change.

As with most projects, this one starts with opening up the hood, and in this case, taking off the grille, which is held on with 8 little retaining clips.

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And with that, the weakness that is the OEM horn is revealed. Simple enough to remove (a one-wire harness), it was out in no time and I'd wired in two spade connectors - one for each of the 130db Fiaam "Freeway Blaster" horns that I'd purchased as a replacement. Those puppies had to be crammed in a bit, but they worked out just fine.

And now, the horn is loud. Still a bit high-pitched, but at least you know someone's there.

 

Mileage milestone - 60K
July 2, 2016.

It's been close for a while, and it's been a long time coming, but on our way out of town for a what would become an off-road adventure to a brand new site - the truck hit 60K miles.

That's an average of 3,600 miles each year, or a whopping 300 miles per month. Except that I'd driven it 10K miles in the first two months, so it's really more like 200 miles per month over the life of the truck.

This truck is going to last me forever.

I hope.

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So we arrived at our super-secret-undisclosed-location-that-you-have-to-rush-to-or-someone-else-will-get-there-first, and several someone's had gotten there first. In fact, the best site™, along with the second- and third-best sites were taken.

We were bummed. @mini.turbodb was tired. And then, we had an idea.

See, there's this site that's been inaccessible to car for the last several years due to a few blow-downs, but it's perfectly positioned - with an overview of and access to the creek, plenty of space for hanging out, and away from everyone else.

So it was time to break our own trail.

Doing so required some digging, some tree removal, and some careful driving (and videography), but an hour later we'd made it the 50' through the forest (around the blow-downs) necessary to get back onto the road.

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Stop reading. Watch this amazing video of our trailblazing. Amazing. Or at least fun.

With that, it was on to camp, where we all enjoyed ourselves. @mini.turbodb, playing with her found "knife stick," @mrs.turbodb reading, and me building another larger-than-@mini fire. Of course, there was also delicious food, lots of playing/skipping rocks down at the creek, and for the first time, @mini.turbodb got her own tent - next to the truck.

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Flat tire vs. Best hike.
July 22, 2016.

The trip started out on the iffy side. We wanted a beautiful weekend for a stunning hike, and instead it was raining, there was a faint hiss coming from the back left tire, and 20 miles up a Forest Service road I had no tire patch kit.

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But, a spare tire can be installed, and weather can change in 24 hours. And when that happens, you can end up with great camping - 25 miles up a Forrest Service road - and perhaps the most beautiful hike you've ever encountered...if you have a truck. (This is the North Cascades Pass and Sahale Arm trail.)

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Life changing magic of tidying up - or, "I hate my stereo"
August 7, 2016.

I've suffered enough.

That Panasonic stereo I installed back in 2013 was great for the Bluetooth, and it was nice for playing videos, but the UI was just horrendous. I mean, why can't there be an option to just make the background black, and not some pulsating craziness that belongs in "The Fast-er-est and Furious-er-est," not a Toyota Tacoma?

Plus, I'm getting to that point where I should just buy what I want - I mean, I've learned from Pops that I'm just spending Clara's inheritance at this point, even if she did love the old stereo for watching videos.

So, I did the same thing I did last time. Let me refresh your memory:

I want a black background.

This stereo is Android (5.1 Lollipop) based, and is oh-so-much better. It's got the black background. And yeah, I had to sand down the double-DIN opening a bit to get it to fit around the stereo bezel, but c'mon, the background is black.

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I'm sure this stereo will last me 10 years.

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Here are detailed install notes from this thread that I started about the stereo.

So, I just got a new head unit that got a bit of discussion in a thread a few days ago - an Android (v5.1.1) based unit by JOYING (JOYING JY-UL135N2). I got it to replace an already after-market Pioneer that I wasn't a huge fan of due to the obnoxious background graphics that I couldn't get rid of.

Stock pics of the head unit and harness from amazon:

• JOYING JY-UL135N2
• harness available from JOYING

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Install notes (on a 1st gen - 2000 XtraCab SR5 V6 4WD TRD):

• The harness available from JOYING makes the head unit plug and play electrically
• While the head unit body fits just fine, the bezel is about 2mm too wide and 2mm too tall for the opening in the dash; had to carefully enlarge the opening with sandpaper
• The GPS unit is magnetic; I placed it on the round bar between the firewall and passenger air bag, which seemed like a place that would get relatively good reception
• It supports two cameras, but I didn't install any
• The password for the "Settings > Factory Settings" (where a lot of the useful settings are) is "126"

Overall, I definitely like this unit better than my pioneer, and of course better than the OE CD/Tape player. If you don't mind the minor mod (above), I totally recommend this for a great experience in a 1st gen.

Things I like:

• Boot screen is configurable. And it comes with a Toyota logo, which makes it look OEM
• Easy to configure the wallpaper. I'm basically using "black" and it's nice to have it be so clean looking
• The built-in apps seem to work relatively well for basics (radio, pairing with phone for podcasts and phone calls)
• The microphone on the head unit works well (there's an external mic too, which I tested, but ultimately didn't install after testing sound quality of both)
• It's Android, and so it's configurable (including the hard buttons on the device)
• I can install apps from the Play Store. Waze, etc.

Things I don't like:

• The built-in app names are lame. The app used to make calls is "Bluetooth" (should be "Phone) and the app used to stream audio from my phone is "A2DP" (should be "Bluetooth")
• The bezel is a bit deep for my tastes - nearly a half inch. That makes seeing the top of the screen tough, because of the bezel overhang
• The "hard" buttons work fine, but they feel cheap
• The Bluetooth stack is pretty lame. It's probably fine for most things, but it won't connect to my Kiwi3 OBDII device; thus, no DashCommand (EDIT May 2017: With the newer JY-UL135N2 Intel Sofia based version of this head unit, the Kiwi and DashCommand now work!)

Ask away if you have questions.

 

Relentless Armor - An excursion from Seattle WA to Sparks NV
August 23, 2016. The trip was a long awaited one. But first, some background.

(also - I previously wrote this up in it's own thread, over here)

The lead up
Six months ago (Feb 2016), I'd decided it was finally time to get a winch on my Tacoma - to allow me to get out of jams (if I get in one); to increase safety on certain trails when we're out solo, and to open up new trails where a blow-down may need to be moved out of the way (for instance).

Initially I was going to go with a hidden front hitch, and a winch that I could move to the front or back of the truck, but I soon found that there aren't really any hidden front hitches for 1st Gen Tacoma's, so I looked at a few different plate bumper options. Once I saw the Predator from @RelentlessFab on @cmj's build, I knew that was the bumper I wanted.

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So, I sent a few emails to the good folks at Relentless (which really means Brittony, since she handles that side of things) and a whole bunch of questions later - I really felt like I was bugging her with tons of questions - measurements, etc. - I knew I was going to get what I wanted, and we'd arranged an install date - August 23rd.

Now I had six months (and a whole summer's worth of camping) to wait.

Six months of anticipation
As we all know, when you have six months anticipating your new armor, and you read TW on a relatively regular basis, there's a lot more you end up wanting. Knowing that a trip to Sparks (from Seattle) wasn't going to be a regular occurrence for me, I decided in May that I should also get some sliders. With only a three-month lead time, it was going to be tight, but Brittony came back with the good news - they could be welded on the same day.

Of course, I was now on the slippery slope and at the beginning of August I just knew that the right thing to do was to replace my stock skids with a full set from Eric and his guys so I added that to my order as well. With the skids though, I'd just be picking them up (bare) and rattle-canning them myself once I got back. No need to get those finished since they'll need regular refreshing anyway.

Oh, and of course I needed a winch for the bumper, and I got a great deal on a Warn M8000-S before I headed down for install day.

Oh, and I needed some new suspension for all that weight. (That's another story.)

Install day
With install day just around the corner we packed up the truck (I was combining this trip with delivery of a display case I'd built and some camping in northern California) and headed out. We'd stop and deliver the display case, do a bit of camping and hiking, and then end up at Relentless Fab on August 23rd.

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We got to the shop bright and early on the 23rd, just as Brittony was pulling up in her new(er) T4R. She hopped out with the dogs, greeted us (@mrs.turbodb was there too) like we were family and had us pull into the shop where the guys were already there and clearly raring to go. A quick round of intros and in no time flat they had the hood up and were prepping to do both the slider and bumper install at the same time.

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Through the intros and first few minutes I was wondering if Eric or Brittony would want me to stick around and take pictures but after about 10 minutes I realized that it's probably pretty normal for us Taco owners to stick close by our trucks as grinders, welders and hammers are taken too them. In fact, looking back on it now, I think there was an expectation that I was going to stick around - sweet.

From the beginning, Eric was super hands-on in the work. Laying out for the sliders, he called me over to ask if I wanted the body pinch weld notched in order to move the slider up another half-inch. He was great - talking through the pros and cons (I couldn't really think of any cons, and he didn't really have any either and then taking the time to carefully mark and notch the pinch weld to move the sliders up for just a bit more clearance over obstacles. Sweet.

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Brittony popped out throughout the day as well to keep tabs (and learn about!) what was going on - as we all know, Relentless is highly sought after (hence the long wait times) but from conversations I had with each of the guys and Brittony throughout the day, it sounds like most of it's mail order - there just aren't that many install days.

Now, my specific install situation was a bit unusual. Generally, I'd guess that if you buy a bumper from Relentless and you're going to install a winch, you'd buy the winch from them as well. As it turned out, I got a pretty amazing deal on my M8000-S, and Brittony came through again saying that they would install it as long as I had it wired up when I brought it in. So that's what I did, and in talking to Eric about where to put the solenoid, I mentioned that I would eventually mount the solenoid to the bumper using a bracket. As it turned out, he had Danilo build a bracket while the rest of the guys were installing armor, and I left the shop with the solenoid mounted (at no extra charge!) Wow.

"Slower is faster." - my favorite part of the day
As the prep for the bumper install proceeded, Eric kept a close eye, and at what became my favorite point of the day he came out of a quick break he'd taken to talk to Brittony in the office to find something not quite up to his standards. Totally respectfully, but also firmly he pulled the team together and said "Go slower. You're rushing. Slower is faster." As a craftsman (woodworking, not metal) and perfectionist myself – that was music to my ears. And it was great to see him get hands on again, taking measurements, marking exactly where he wanted a few additional cuts made, and then handing the reigns back to the guys - again, showing his confidence in them as well.

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The home stretch
From there, work proceeded pretty much without a hitch. All the preparation was completed quickly and efficiently with Weston grinding the frame to prep for the sliders, Tyler prepping the front of the frame for the bumper, and Chad helping to get the winch installed in the bumper for install. As each step progressed, Eric would come in to do the welding (these are beautiful welds) - welding on the sliders and frame end caps that would hold the bumper in place.

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In no time at all, the bumper was ready to be installed. As I looked at the time, I noticed it was still before noon - amazing, when we'd planned that just the bumper would take us to mid-afternoon, and the guys had already installed the sliders! Well, there was a bit of a hiccup with the bumper install - a minor frame alignment issue (that took about 15 minutes of grinding by Tyler to remedy) but that was quickly resolved and the guys moved on to connecting the winch to the battery, installing the solenoid bracket right where I wanted it, and getting the winch spooled up - using the Relentless Runner as an anchor point - all while clearly having a great time.

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Done
By 12:15 or so, it was done. I had the bumper, winch, and sliders I wanted and half a set of skids in the bed. Yeah, half a set - because Eric took a look under the truck and realized that the t-case (mid) skid wasn't going to fit. Being a California Tacoma, mine apparently has an extra Cat which means the skid needs to be 10 inches longer than normal. A true pro, Eric didn't hesitate to tell me about the issue, and offered to send the skid up to me in Seattle once he was able to fab one up a few days later. Top notch.

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So, what can I say, but thanks? Eric, Brittony, Danilo, Tyler, Chad and Weston - you were all awesome. The workmanship in the shop was great, the email communication was always quick, and I'm thrilled with the results. I've already got my front skid painted and ready to install, and I hear from Brittony that my mid-skid should be here in just a few days.

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Where do we park the Truck now? - garage expansion
September 3, 2016.

Ever since the truck was broken into in the alley, it's place at night has been in the garage. That isn't simple, since the garage was built in 1925, and is only 1" longer than a stock 2000 Toyota Tacoma 4WD. I mean, I did have to sacrifice…by removing the tow hitch so it would fit.

But with the new armor the truck was lengthened by 3½", due primarily to the Predator hoops on the front bumper. No problem I thought - we'll just knock out the front wall of the garage and go along our merry way. As projects go, it was easy and straightforward. Of course, it took about three hours - twice as long as I'd expected.

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Of course, it required a trip to Lowes where we got a bit of framing (clearly, I like to choose wood precisely), and the garage walls were framed a bit strangely (like the were done 100 years ago or something), but in the end it all worked out and I gained 3" of space. For astute readers, that means the truck now fits (forward only - you can no longer back in) with ½" of clearance when the garage door closes.

Plenty.

@mrs.turbodb has decided that she will never again park the truck in the garage.

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Finishing the look - Hella's
September 2016.

When I initially mentioned to Dad that I was going to get a winch and plate bumper, he had two questions for me.

1. How's that going to be for your gas mileage?
2. You gonna get some more lights? Hella's or PIAA's?

Little did he know that I'd already purchased some Hella 500's, and they were sitting in the dining room collecting dust. I mean, who wouldn't buy some Hella's, knowing that a new bumper was coming in 6 months, right? Plus, they were a great deal on Amazon (well, they were the same price as always).

I ignored the first question. It was irrelevant. Obviously.

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With the armor on, and the garage big enough to house the truck again, I set about installing the Hella's. This was going to be easy - they come with all the wires necessary to wire them up, and so it's just a matter of installing the switch, placing the relay and fuses under the hood, and bolting on the lights. 2 hours tops.

Or 8 hours. You know, when you round up.

Most of the install went smoothly. I found the perfect place to mount the relay and fuses under the hood (a pre-threaded 6mm 1.0 hole), I got the dash disassembled (again) and switch installed with relatively little fuss (though, in a different place than I'd originally envisioned on the dash), and most of the wiring was easy (but took some time to push through smurf tubes and route. But man, getting the lights mounted on the bumper - that's where I ran into trouble.

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In the end, everything worked out, the install is pretty clean; and the truck looks pretty great. Now I just have to decide - is it time for an accessory fuse/relay panel under the hood? That could keep things clean for mods to come.

I don't really need it.

But that doesn't mean I don't want it.

 

The last of the armor - belly protection
September 2016

As an astute reader will recall, when the Relentless armor was installed, the skid plates were placed in the back of the truck. Actually, just one was placed in the back, since the second wasn't going to fit my truck - a California model with an extra catalytic converter.

Upon getting the first skid home, I painted it immediately with a couple coats of Rustoleum professional enamel primer, and a few coats of flat black. Looked reasonably good. "I like the R," said @mini.turbodb.

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Then, I waited. I mean, I should put both skids on at once, I thought. But of course, I got impatient. And I wanted to go off-roading. So it was time to install. I had all the hardware from the Relentless crew, so using the jack stand, I plonked it on. No mess, no fuss. Easiest installation ever.

I wonder if the mid-skid will be just as easy?

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A volcano. In a lake. On a volcano.
September 16-18, 2016.

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Belly protection on, it was time for some dirt roads. Back from India a Friday morning at 6:30am (again), we packed up the truck and headed to Crater Lake National Park in central Oregon. The idea was to get in some great sites, but also spend a day or so exploring the back roads, finding camp sites, and putting the truck through some paces.

The drive down was long but easy. Waze and a podcast running on the JOYING, and a mid-day stop for Jimmy John's, we arrived at Crater Lake at 5pm, an experience not unlike Owyhee Canyon - where you see almost nothing until you drive up to the edge of the lake, and BAM!

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Of course, the truck had to get in on the action early, so we backed up to a viewpoint and snapped a pic.

With couple hours to dark, we decided we had to check out a short hike to Watchman Lookout, since we wouldn't be back this way for the rest of the trip. It was totally worth it, as this late in the day, we were the only ones at the top, so we got the view all to ourselves.

It also meant that the signs to stay off the lookout were deemed optional. By one of us.

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Up and back in just under an hour, we headed off again to find our camp spot. We'd scoped out a few roads west of the park, so we headed that direction and onto dirt as soon as we could. Exploring around for two hours, breaking trail as we went, we finally came to the end of a road that opened up on a flat clearing that was the perfect spot for us to spend the night.

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Out came the sleeping bags, air mattress, and pillows and comforter, and we setup in the back of the truck, tentless. Both tired, and not super hungry, we had some cereal for dinner and hit the sack.

Morning brought partly cloudy skies, more cereal, one of the best cantaloupes ever, and an awesome fire (to burn our trash). While we waited for the fire to die down (which is harder when someone keeps stoking it), we enjoyed the warmth, breeze, and our kindles.

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Around 10:30 we made our way out of camp and back down the logging/Forrest Service roads, which were a bit easier to traverse with some of the obstacles cleared from the previous evening.

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We'd planned the day to be one of exploring the back roads, since it was supposed to be the cloudiest day of the weekend, so we spent the rest of the morning looking for the perfect place to camp that night. Luckily, we'd packed up camp and taken our stuff with us, because several Forrest Service roads later, we found a beauty of a spot.

Private, westerly facing, and with a view! We were sure we'd be back, so we marked it on the map.

We were wrong.

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Done exploring to the west of the park, we headed East. The day was turning out to be beautiful - the cloud cover mostly burned off, and the sun was out - so we headed back up to the lake to get a picture or two of the amazingly blue water that is the cleanest large body of water in the world. We were not disappointed.

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One thing we didn't plan on was the fact that the east rim drive (basically, the entire eastern side of the lake) was going to be closed to car traffic on Saturday (it was bike-around-National-Parks day). But, that worked out just fine for us, since we'd previously decided to do more off-roading along the east side of the park; exploring the plethora of trails, with a goal to reach the Pinnacles overlook (which it turns out, used to be the east entrance to the park).

Getting to the Pinnacles was pretty easy (and beautiful), and the old east entrance was...just too tempting.

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Another short hike took us to a splendid overlook, and a parking lot on the Crater Lake side of the trail that was empty - in the middle of the afternoon - for perhaps only this one day of the year. Wow, did we time that perfectly or what?

From there, it was back into the truck and off to find a great spot for the night. We'd passed a few possibilities on the way to Pinnacles, and we liked the idea of staying on the east side, just to save driving back and forth before our early morning hike planned for Sunday, and the drive back to Seattle. This spot was promising, but buggy.

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After a bit more exploring, we ended up here - a spot that wasn't too dusty, was relatively near to the park, and where we had open skies (which meant no tent!) and a pre-existing fire ring (which of course, we were going to use)!

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Dinner of skirt steak and roasted corn on the grill. A fire with dry pine needles and dead wood found around, and we found ourselves once again tired and ready for bed.

Which was under the stars (and a full moon) again.

As we were getting into the sleeping bag, a shooting star. Then, sleep. At least, for one of us. For the other, falling pinecones and some rustling in the forest made for a fitful sleep pattern.

The alarm went off at 5:00 - we were planning for an early start in order to get a hike in before heading back to Seattle. That turned out to be a good thing - because a light drizzle was just starting. We got packed quickly, slurped down our cereal, and headed out - hoping the rain would hold off - after all, today was supposed to be the nicest day of the weekend.

Turns out, the drizzle was just heavy fog. Whew.

We arrived at the Mt. Scott trailhead along the East Rim Road and set out on our hike to the highest point in the park by 6:45 am. As we gained elevation, the dew of the night before was pronounced in some areas and completely missing in others (because it was windy!) Sunrise and a quick dissipation/burn off of the fog made for a view of the lake that was once again amazing. And once again our timing was impeccable - we had the top pretty much to ourselves!

On the way back down, we passed a few early morning hikers - all surprised to see us coming down the mountain.

By 9:30, we were on our way back to Seattle - another successful trip in the bag.

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More belly protection - installing the mid-skid from @RelentlessFab
October 2, 2016.

The day before we left for Crater Lake, the mid-skid had arrived - but I didn't have time to paint and install it before we took off. Not a big deal, since the IFS skid covers just as much as both stock plates. But of course, I wanted to get the mid-skid on just as soon as possible, so upon our return I figured some after-work cleanup and painting was in order.

As expected, the unpainted skid had a bit of surface rust and dirt on it, so my first task after unboxing was to give both sides a bit of a grind. I'm no fabricator, but with my grinder, a pad, and half an hour, I got the skid plate functionally cleaned up. Functionally, but not pretty.

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Paint was easy - just like the IFS skid, a couple coats of Rustoleum primer and a couple of flat black left the skid looking great, and left me happy - now I just needed a few minutes to get it installed. So I waited for a weekend morning.

Sunday rolled around and I headed out to plonk the skid on. My thinking was: I'll do this just like the front skid - put it on the floor jack; maneuver it into position; bolt it on; carry on with the rest of my day (part of which was a 3pm appointment to get the truck aligned after a summer of dirt roads).

I made the 3pm appointment, but without a skid.

(Slow down bucko, we're getting ahead of ourselves.)

Getting the skid onto the floor jack and jacked up into place was going well until I realized that the second catalytic converter wasn't done giving me trouble (you may recall that Relentless had to extend the skid, which is why I didn't take it home the same day as the IFS skid).

Anyway, on my truck the cat was positioned an inch or two closer to the passenger side of the car than Relentless had planned for. I don't know if this is common to all California model Tacoma's or if there's something special with mine, but it resulted in the skid hitting the cat - enough that there was no way it was going to fit.

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So a bit of measuring and down came the skid.

The plan: cut off a bit (about 1") of the skid along the step up, so it'll clear the catalytic converter.

The problem: I don't do a lot of metalwork, so the cutting disk I had was mostly used up, and this is some thick steel plate. This did end up being a real problem, so while I was getting the truck aligned at Sears Auto, I also made a pit stop to pick up a few more cutting disks, and a couple other supplies I knew I'd need in the near future.

Back from the alignment, I set to work marking the skid (thank goodness for sidewalk chalk), trimming the offending bits (it turned out that I also had to trim a couple other tabs to clear the middle cross member), rounding over all the fresh cuts, and repainting the now bare spots to prevent rust.

All that taken care of, and a mere six hours after I'd started (albeit with a break for that alignment), I got the skid raised up on the floor jack and bolted into place on the bottom of the truck.

Whew.

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Pay attention man. There are sparks hitting your truck.

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Modification complete. This belly armor is sure to improve gas mileage. Or something. Right?

 

Sub'd

 

Oil change
October 2, 2016. And 28 miles later - October 9, 2016.

One of the things about starting to use the truck on more trips is that it ends up with a lot more miles. And more miles mean more frequent oil changes. In the past, I've always taken it to the Toyota dealer. I figured, "Why not, it's only $29, and then I don't have to worry about having the right tools, spending the time, and they'll do it best - with a lift, etc."

Of course, what really happened was that they cross-threaded my OEM skids several times when they re-installed them (it's easier to change the oil if you take off the skids), which I found out recently as I've been doing more work on the truck myself.

At any rate, several months ago I got a great deal on Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 full synthetic motor oil that I just couldn't pass up - 5 quarts for $17, with a $10 mail in rebate - so a total of $7 buckaroos. I also got a case of 10 OEM 90915-YZZD1 oil filters for $40, which brought my grand oil change total to $11 per change. Plus, I've been accumulating all of these new tools to work on the truck as I've been installing the various mods this year, and so I thought - "time to start doing my own oil changes."

The first change - back in March - went without a hitch. The oil drained out no problem; the oil filter came off without using a wrench; I didn't spill too much oil during removal; refilling was simple with the 5 quart container and a funnel. Oh, and it was super spacious with the truck up on the floor jack.

But the second oil change. It was more frustrating.

Things started off just fine. With the new Relentless skids, I decided I'd leave them on the truck rather than remove them (which is a real ordeal given their weight). That's not a problem, as there's an access hole for the oil, so I removed the bolt and drained the oil with very little spillage. So far, so good. But then, as the oil was draining into my catch basin, I reached up to remove the oil filter, and things started to go south.

Now, it should be mentioned that the engineers behind the oil filter positioning on a first-generation Tacoma were clearly crazy. The filter is nearly inaccessible (you can't see it from the top or bottom of the truck), and requires contortions to reach your hand up under the radiator, over the front axle, and over to the engine block, where you'll find about ½" of clearance to get at the filter. (I should mention - you can alternatively break several plastic anchors each time to remove a flexible rubber guard between the wheel well and oil filter, but then you're buying a bunch of anchors each time you change the oil, and the access isn't really any easier.)

So I got my hand up in there and turned counter-clockwise. Having hand tightened it myself the last time, I was sure I'd have no problem getting it off - but apparently the last six months have seen me age dramatically and my strength isn't what it used to be. After 20 minutes of nearly dislocating my elbows and shoulders, I submitted.

This wouldn't have been as big a deal if I'd hadn't returned (to amazon) the oil filter wrench I'd purchased to change my oil in March. But since the filter had come off so easily, and since I'd hand tightened the new one myself, I figured I might as well get my $10 back. Damn.

No oil in the truck and no wrench in the toolbox, I walked to the auto parts store where I purchased an oil filter cap wrench and headed back to finish the job. But of course, the cap wrench I'd gotten was for filters my size and slightly larger, so it continued to slip off every time I tried rotating it!

That left me with a dilemma: should I buy another one of those strap wrenches (which would have a hard time fitting up in the Tacoma, or should I just leave the old filter on there and order the original (self-tightening) cap wrench from Amazon that'd purchased before? I ended up deciding that I should get the wrench I really wanted from amazon - a Lisle 63600 - and so I replaced the oil pan plug and filled the truck up with 5.5 quarts of clean oil.

terrible vs. awesome ​

A week later I had the new wrench in hand and I was itching to get that filter changed. Of course, I had no idea if doing so (without first draining the oil) would result in several quarts of oil all over the ground, but I figured that there was no way that the oil filter could be submerged at rest - that would be crazy. So with a bit of help from @mini.turbodb, we got the car back up on the floor jack and I changed the filter (with minimal oil spillage).

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The new filter is on there hand-tight, but definitely looser than last time. And I feel better knowing that I don't have all that new oil running through an old filter.

 

Winch (and jumper) quick connect
October 9, 2016.

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When the winch was installed, it was obviously wired right up to the battery - this made a lot of sense, since it was easy, allowed us to get it spooled up, and is of course the way Warn recommends installing it.

But I wanted something better. Or at least more flexible.

I wanted to have a way to disconnect the winch from the battery when it wasn't in use (just so I don't have a bunch of #2 AWG wire hot to the winch all the time, and I wanted a way to quickly hook up jumper cables without opening the hood. You know, because of the last two times (in 16 years) that I've had to jump people. Anderson quick connects were the ticket, and I bought a couple pair, along with a crimping tool (TMS 16 Ton Hydraulic Wire Battery Cable Lug Terminal Crimper Crimping Tool 11 Dies) and proceeded with the install.

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Except for the anxiety that comes with cutting the #2 AWG cable (that wire's not cheap), installation was straight forward. After cutting the cable, I removed the requisite amount of insulation from the cable, slipped the end into the leads and stuffed them into the 16-ton crimper, which promptly pulverized them. Some rubber boots (including on the back side of each connector - not shown) and cable ties to hold everything in place, and I'm now running with the winch disconnected, but connectable in under a minute (above) without opening the hood.

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And the jumper cables plug right in.

And so does the air compressor.

"Wait!" you say, "What air compressor?" (Good catch. But there is one coming. I hope.)

 

Nice! Come across this looking for info on the Boss stuff. How is its performance? Any regrets or changes u would make now etc. enjoyed the adventures, nice read.