Dirtbag Build

Awesome! Might have to look into getting a Yeti. What did you do for power, Goal Zero? I bikepacked through Idao last summer while on the GDMBR, mostly the north eastern part (Island Park/Tetonia/red rock lakes area) and loved it; will definitely take you up on that next time I'm back!

 

Those goal zero things look cool but we just charge stuff while we drive. That’s awesome though, bikepacking is something we have not tried yet.

But we did get out this weekend on our other bikes for some Idaho fun

 

Nice, is that a KDX 200? Been on the lookout for one of those...

 

Good eye thats exactly what it is! You should definitely get one. I love my bike, its cheap, simple and awesome.

 

I copied you, bought the same truck and bike!

 

That's fantastic you have great taste! That's a great looking truck and a great looking bike. Awesome decal by the way. We've been getting out a good amount, the bike and truck have been treating us well. I hope you enjoy em!

 

Its been well over a year since I last read your thread. Truck looks great. I see you enjoy your ADS shocks as much as I do mine. Looking forward to reading about your future adventures. Cheers.

 

Thanks man! Right back at ya, I really enjoyed your last trip report.

Can't say enough good things about the shocks. We took the 4runner (now up to 335k miles) out last weekend because the taco is getting some goodies burned onto it. All I can say is wow, we have been very spoiled in the tacoma.

 

Finally got the 4xinnovations sliders from @traxman25 burned on. The Landcruiser Shop here in Sandpoint did the work and I couldn't be happier.

 

After doing mostly day trips this summer we finally got to spend a week camping out of the taco and mountain biking in Montana.





We found some great campsites and rode some awesome trails.









Whitefish has some super fun bike trails.






One of the days we got pretty lucky. We had driven up a mountain to this lookout thinking we'd be able to camp somewhere in the vicinity with a view. Shortly after we got to the top the weather turned from nice to 40 mph winds and rain\hail\snow. It was one of the lookouts the usfs let's people rent out but nobody was there and it was magically unlocked unlike other ones we we've come across. There was even a stove inside so we got to make dinner in comfort out of the elements. We still slept in the taco, Eska hated the way the lookout swayed in the wind.



This was the view when we first got to the lookout.



This was a pretty memorable campsite. We were up on a ridge in national forest outside of whitefish and actually got to listen to the Packers win a really close game on the radio while we had a fire. Then at about 2am we were awoken by a loud crash which happened to be a massive bull moose stepping on a log. We were sleeping with the windows open and it was only about 5 ft from us totally lit up by the moon. It was really freaky being that close but it just trotted by like we weren't there. No lie you could actually feel the ground shake when he walked.

 

Awesome thread. I’ve really enjoyed reading about your journey and progress. Cheers to you, your lady, and your awesome dog.

 

Enjoyed reading through this...one of the better written build threads I've seen. Nice truck

 

I really appreciate the kind words you guys!

 

Might try a brand called a Kenai, built in the Midwest, same basic idea, comparable performance, less money:

KENAI 45 Cooler | 45 qt Ice Chest Durable Rotomolded Insulated | Made in USA | Warranty for Life | for Beach Boat Camping Fishing Hunting | K45 | Red

https://www.amazon.com/KENAI-45-Coo...1&keywords=Kenai+cooler&qid=1602907744&sr=8-2

I suppose for power you might think go with Goal Zero, depends on what your loads are, maybe add a aux fuse panel and a few charging ports, and some switched relays for bigger loads. Get you a good start for the trip down the rabbit hole....
Good luck

 

Yeah, moose are rarely subtle. Nice looking rig, you are on the right track. Hope Sandpoint is a good fit for you two. Not a bad area, I have been bouncing around that area for years, it definitely has grown, and since they revamped the traffic patterns it is getting way busy. Good luck and enjoy the area.

 

Earlier in December we were lucky enough to take a week and a half to head to Utah for some mountain biking and camping.







It was a ton of fun even though it got pretty dang cold especially at night.


We even got to do some black diamond ohv trails. It was definitely the most we've pushed the truck. I installed a transmission skid from skid row a month earlier which I'm pretty happy about because we put it to good use. There was only one trail we had to stop and go back on because the bike rack was getting hung up on rocks. Kudos to rockymounts though, it took it like a champ.

 

Recently got back from Utah. This time we decided to check out the SW part of the state.



Not many people know this but northern Idaho is really really far from Utah. As in over 10 hours just to get to the Utah border.







We decided to avoid salt lake city this time and head down the eastern part of Nevada. Which was gorgeous and surrounded with snow covered mountains. On the first night after driving 14 some hours we pulled off to sleep in some blm land. We just had to go a couple miles through some private ranch land to get there. Only issue was that part about the snow covered mountains. It was dry and easy going until about 50 yards before the property boundary where there was a really deep snow drift.



Normally the Tacoma handles deep snow like a champ but since this stuff was of the very heavy slushy variety the ko2s couldn't hack it and it ended up taking us over an hour. Even with using our ebay traction boards and backcountry shovels. Because shoveling super heavy snow with a thick ice layer on top is exactly what you want to be doing after driving all day.

This is after getting through the snow drift. At least the moon made for a good view.



At least we got to wake up to this.









After that it was on to the desert.







The morning we left I found a nail in the tire. So got that patched once we got to southern Utah. The kid didn't even stall it when he pulled it around unlike the last 2 tire shops I've been to.



We found some great camp spots and hit up some really fun mountain bike trails.

















Even got to meet up with some friends from San Diego.



They ended up completely destroying a tire on their vehicle and we ended up breaking a rear shock.



Its the 2nd bilstein we've had break like that. I was able to jb weld it back together but looks like its time for some longer travel rear shocks. Along with a new leaf pack.



Other than that it was a great trip.

 

Got a new daily for April to drive.





The green 4runner is still kickin with 348k miles but its getting real crusty underneath. We're definitely keeping it though.





2003 GX 470. We were originally looking at V8 4runners but this was actually cheaper. Even though it's essentially the same thing.

 

In Tacoma news we ordered a soft topper and some Alcan springs. Next is rear shocks. I'm really excited.

 

Nice trip reports, definitely enjoyed my trips down to Utah via 95 and several semi close routes, even went down the eastern side of the Wasatch as I recall. Really hard to avoid SLC. Always sighed in relief when the exit for Hwy 6 came up after the mess that is SLC.

A soft topper, that should be interesting, I have seen a few in that area, would you stow it during big snows or park it under a carport?