PcBuilder's 2018 Tacoma Build

I see somebody decided to jump in here... @NateMob

 

That tag is awesome!!! Congratulations on the new truck. I'm no longer sad thinking you got out of the game!

Please let me know if you are ever in or want to come visit Colorado.

 

Thanks! I'm looking forward to getting out more. Trying to make myself set aside more time to do something I love.

I definitely want to visit Colorado! I just don't know where to start haha

 

Nice truck Subbed for its evolution

 

Have you hit any of the trails here yet?

 

Nope. Only been to Colorado once and that was in a car.

At some point I want to try to do the Colorado BCDR. Need to do some more research first though. Totally down for a 3 day weekend trip though!

 

Did some exploring up into the mountains yesterday. Nothing crazy, but enough to warrant airing down and pinstripe the truck quite a bit. Hopefully most of them will buff out. Put a nice little dent in my stock skid plate too from dropping the front end into a washed out section. These will be getting replaced very soon though.

 

Thanks! It was too long of a hiatus.

 

Yup! And I’m really enjoying it so far. Way more comfortable than the old truck and does very well for a stock 4x4.

It’ll get built up slowly but surely. Trying to take my time and do everything exactly how I want and not cheaping out.

 

Picked up a set of Maxtrax just in case my Mojave Road thanksgiving trip becomes a solo trip. I really didn’t want to spend the money on these, but I guess if they save me once then they will have paid for themselves. Plus expo points

 

Finished installing the RCI rock sliders as well as the engine, trans, transfer case, gas tank, and diff skid. Happily full armored. All I’m missing are some bumpers!

 

Bottom of that truck looks so nice and rust-free....I wouldn't know what that's like.

 

Haha yeah, just a lot of dirt!

I was going to wash everything off really good, but then got busy and another trip is happening so no point in making it clean just to get dirty all over again so soon.

 

MOJAVE ROAD: DAY 1


Just got back from doing a Mojave Road trip over the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend. Was a great trip with @Norilsk and a friend from the Vegas FJ Cruisers Facebook page.

Truck performed well considering it's basically a stock truck with all of the extra weight. Used my rock sliders and skid plates much more than I was expecting. I do think I will be doing an add-a-leaf very soon to keep myself from bottoming out so easily.




The beginning of the Mojave Road at the Colorado River in Laughlin, NV.




Unfortunately, 12 miles in and the white Tacoma got 2 flats on the passenger side from a sharp rock sticking out into the trail. One came completely off the bead. Unfortunately we were not able to get either flat to become drive-able, and with it being Thanksgiving day there were not tire shops open. So we took our chances and threw both his and my spare tire on his truck and just hoped we wouldn't see any flats during the rest of the trip. A little nerve racking to say the least.





Once we got on our way we continued on to Fort Piute. "Fort Piute was an outpost of Camp Cady and later of Fort Mohave. It was one of a series of posts built to protect wagon traffic along the Mojave Road and keep local Native American people of the Mojave Desert away from the springs on the route during the periods of hostilities with them between 1859 and 1870."

Afterwards we got to what are some petroglyphs from before the Piute Native Americans.






With the delay from flat tires and the sun setting so early, it was time to push forward to find a good camping spot with some fun sections of trail along the way.




Our first camp site for the trip. Once of the only trees in the area and when we first got here it was pretty windy. Luckily for us it calmed down right after we finished setting up camp.

 

MOJAVE ROAD: DAY 2


The following morning we went to check out the rock house that was built back in 1929 and is in great condition today.








We continued on by some other locations as well as an old mine. Unfortunately we passed through some things pretty quickly to meet up with the friends in the FJ.








After meeting up with our friends we drove down some pavement that led to Kelso Depot. "The Kelso Depot was built in 1923 to provide services to passengers and railroad employees, and a water stop for the steam locomotives."






The original jail cell at Kelso Depot.






After Kelso Depot we continued on to Mojave Mailbox and the Lava Tubes before camp for the night.










The Mojave Mailbox was placed along the route in 1983 for travelers to log their attendance for this section as well as leave a "few" things behind.
























Then we made it to the Lava Tubes. Totally not something you'd expect to see in the middle of the California desert.
















After checking out the Lava Tubes we went to the nearby Aiken Mine to set up camp for the night.

 

MOJAVE ROAD: DAY 3


The next morning we enjoyed a bit of a slower morning having breakfast before heading to Brannigan Mine. The mine is pretty awesome as it's practically a safe haven for any traveler in need of supplies. Plenty of spots to rest, get a shower, use the bathroom, cook a meal, and get away from any weather outside. All from the upkeep of travelers.














Now, it was time to cross the dry lake bed to traveler's monument. This monument has a plaque that only travelers to this place can see. You're also supposed to bring a rock to contribute to the pile. It's pretty awesome to say I've now been there.









After the monument we pushed a bit further to find a camping spot for the night. We ended up in the sand dunes and made a spot for ourselves.

 

MOJAVE ROAD: DAY 4


This was the last day of the trip with not a lot of road left to complete of the Mojave Road. This small section left was just as awesome as the previous sections. We didn't see everything that we wanted, but we were pretty close. Just means we'll have to do another quick trip out to the Mojave Road to finish up the remaining sites!

 

No problem! Death Valley is definitely on our list as well. Just trying to get there during the right temperature... Haha

We saw about 15 vehicles on the actual 140 mile route. But there is so much to see around the route as well and we ended up doing over 200 miles. We talked to some locals and they said that the holiday weekend had a lot more people traveling the route than usual. So it's safe to say that you'll probably see less if you come down here.

The route itself is pretty easy to follow. The GPS track I used was very accurate. On the West end it does start to get confusing, but that's only because there are a ton of 2-track paths withing a dry riverbed. Almost the entire route has cairns dotted along the North shoulder of the path. So if you see one and follow it your good to go. At the very West end of the route is a water crossing. Lately it's been deep, so we didn't cross it and had to backtrack 7 miles to a bypass. Just so you're aware.

 

Can do, just PM me your email. I'll add some stuff that we came across as well.

Yeah, I think I'm going to look into what the temps are in March/April. I have no excuse not to go see it when it's only a few hours away and relatively stock friendly.