How a Taco saved my ass and why there's one out front now.

I'll make the actual intro as brief as possible, how I got here is more interesting than I am.

I live in Scottsdale with my wife (29) and son (6). 4 years ago I started a company and that is what I do. I'm the CEO of a reasonably successful botanical supplement company. We specialize in natural compounds that actually work. Believe it or not that was an original idea. I am 32 and my relevant interest lies predominately in outdoorsman activities. My Tacoma is more for reaching unobtainable places than actual pure off-roading though both are of interest to me. Beyond the Taco I am equally interested in motorcycles and my favorite bike is the motorcycle equivalent of the tacoma, the Honda CB750 which garnered a near identical reputation for strength, ability, reliability and styling. Having both vehicles makes me a very fulfilled man. It is a lucky guy that can take his 74' CB750 to the grocery store and his 2014 tacoma 4x4 out to the woods. My son loves them both and endures them fearlessly. It took many years of sacrifice and effort to acquire both in their condition as fantasized... I am interested in entrepreneurism, science (physics, chemistry, astronomy), military history, music and mechanics. I am a former bodybuilder though I now stick to symmetry, composition and stamina more than the sheer mass of bodybuilding.

Here's how this all began. About 8-9 years ago, some friends and I took a trip to an AZ lake using a small plastic boat with electric trolling motor I owned. The only truck anyone owned was an old Chevy, probably early 90's era that belonged to my friend. We loaded it up and set out. Nobody knew what roads took us to the water. The deeper we got, the scarier it got. The hills became madness. We had to be pulled up one hill to even get there. We realized every vehicle but ours was a tricked out 4x4. I looked in rage at the front end of the truck. "Why in hell would anyone make a truck with such pathetic ground clearance" I bitched. It was 2 wheel drive with small, balding tires to boot. The final hill to reach the water was the worst. On the other side, we knew we were screwed... The next morning, we confronted it for our return journey hung over and without confidence. We scaled 1/3 of it and slid back to the bottom. Again and again, from every angle we tried, we were simply incapable of scaling the first hill heading home. There was no one around, they'd all left earlier than us. We waited for hours. Finally we heard vehicles approaching and watched as 3, stilted 4x4s arrived. We asked for help and one of the drivers accepted graciously (actually a little excited). He chained us up and I remember thinking that his truck was pretty damn small. He was going to bail us out with a truck half the size? It was also a very old truck. Across the bed, the legend read, TOYOTA. We prepared and he embarked up the hill. When the chain went taught, an enormous whiplash went through the truck. He was not taking it easy up the hill. Immediately, I was struck by how this tiny toy truck was throwing us around like rag dolls in our big Chevy cab. So much force was traveling down that chain to our chassis, there was a distinct violence about it. Straight up the hill we went, quickly and without grace. The TOY never flagged, it spewed rocks at our window, it belched angry noise, its tires rotated with the implacable motion of something not being challenged. Yet it was so damn small. At the top of the hill, a sun baked and beaming Mexican or Mexican-American stepped out of the TOY and called us to it. He popped the hood and with no coherent English statement to make, pointed at the motor and repeated the number "FOUR!" again and again while pointing to the motor. He was apparently wanting us to understand that he just bailed out our V8 with a straight 4. They moved on and we made it slowly to the highway.

I have spent from now to then waiting for my opportunity to buy the modern version of the mythical beast who saved me that day. I had heard stories of the old Toyota trucks before this. I read many more after this of course. Of course this line of trucks became a fascination and I plotted to one day partake of the model. I tried to get one when I was a little poor, $2500 doesn't buy a lot...trucks with 300,000 miles and mechanical issues. I tried again with 10k saved up. Still, miles were all so high. at 15k, I figured I would find it and though there were agreeable trucks, the bug bit me to acquire something more modern. At 20k saved, I started searching again. I learned that Tacomas are ####ing expensive. So I held off a while. I also had an interest in not "losing my head" so it became a point to not get one until my car broke down. About a month ago, my A/C went out and that was enough (its AZ and its summer). I started looking and 2 months later finally found something that met all of my parameters. I can't tell you what that was like, waiting that long, respecting the model that much and being so patient to get it. Buying it was stressful but in the days after purchasing, realizing that I did indeed get a decent deal, it sunk in. I love it. Its an amazing vehicle. I have yet to really put it to the test but what challenges I have presented it in Sedona wilted to its capacity. I also waited to buy it until I could afford to put further money into it so there are parts coming and I intend to build an outdoorsman's trusty anywhere machine.

 

Cool story man, welcome.

 

Thats a one heck of a toyota story those 22r and 22re engines are beastly welcome to Tacoma world

 

Congrats on finally getting the yota! I'm in Desert Hills.

 

Great story and welcome to TW!

The above quote only made me think of this though!


https://youtu.be/kAqIJZeeXEc

 

Gr8 weight up. Writing is your 1st skill! Welcome to the show.

 

Happy to be here, looking forward to learning some things about my vehicle and sharing trails. Thanks for the warm reception and yes, it is a great story. It honestly improves the ownership experience, narrative always has that power. Its sort of like becoming a fire-fighter because when you were a kid, you were rescued from a burning building by one...except arguably less meaningful than that. But it sure did impress the hell out me. Hopefully I get a chance to go full circle and bail out a Chevy or 2 in the coming years.

 

SUCH A GREAT MOVIE You don't even know how relevant that clip is. There's a lot of people out there that get onto buzz marketing and literally don't even know what the compound is they want. Like putting gatorade on plants, a lot of people make some silly choices when they begin to look at botanicals as possessing some sort of magical characteristics. Its not magic, its science and science is an unforgiving mistress. On that note, I think I'm going to go grab a full body latte at Starbucks.