The non-build Thread: Size matters and other Musings of a new Tacowner

"Nice Tacoma!" said the young man enthusiastically.

"Thanks - she's a rescue!" i replied, generating a confusing look upon the face of the young man.

"Uh.." he started.

"Yeah - I got her a couple weeks ago; she was re-homed from a guy who was ready to move-on. Sad if you think about it. But she has a ton of spirit, so i'll keep her."

Arriving in SW Oklahoma in the new-to-me Tacoma was supposed to be a bit of a coming-out party. In Sep of 2015 I sold my 06 Expedition in preparation for a move to Germany.

(seen adjacent to my ex's F150)



Was a smart move I suppose - that truck would have had a lot of trouble navigating the places i wanted to visit. Couple that with almost no off-road and probably no dispersed camping meant those 34.5" tires would have worn slowly down grinding against Autobahn 6 in/around Kaiserslautern. Then there's parking and all that.

I found a 2000 320i on Ramstein AFB lemon lot, and drove it a couple years before settling on a 07 CooperS for the last half of my tour. And i loved that Cooper - not so much for it's autobahn prowess (see avatar), but for it's fun, nimbleness and parkability.

I picked up the tacoma during the first week of Aug and eventually steered it to Oklahoma. Going from the Mini to the Taco - holy geez, holy heck, holy moly, felt exactly like going from something small you're used to (ask my ex-wife about that ) to something much bigger (ask my ex-wife about that, too). The vision and the purpose and sense of command from the pilot's chair had me expecting passers-by in/around my new hometown would - maybe not bow in deference, but at LEAST stand at parade-rest when they see my truck.

thing is...Nobody cares. Most people don't care. And they don't care for probably a variety of reasons, not least of these would be the fact every. other. friggin. truck. is. huger. 90% domestics around these parts and even a leveled F150 can run 34s (see pic above, would have been tight but would have fit - thatswhatshesaidexceptnevertome).







Instead of the acknowledgement or head-nods (even other Tacoma owners seem to never wave, say hello, or otherwise show solidarity) I get the sentiment other truck drivers revert to the line I heard-often from my ex "awwww...look at him...the little fella sure is tryin!"

I console myself with things every Tacoma owner might know - the truck IS capable. The truck IS reliable. The truck IS fun. The Truck IS the truck I own and I bought it for a reason. I'm not jealous nor do I want a domestic truck - even a full-size import would give me pause. If I could do one thing right now to my truck I'd find a way to lose 15lbs at each wheel/tire without losing off-road capability; the current wheels and tires are just too heavy I think. So I'll shop for tires soon; and will find the lightest mud terrains i can find in 255/85/16 - I really do enjoy that spec of tire so far, though I know my options are limited. 33s just feel right. So far.

But I love the truck - though it has what i think may be serious steering/alignment issues i hope don't require many new parts. When I get a sleeping solution i'll spend as much time as I can over-camp-landing or whatever we're calling it these days. Then I'll get the ARB Locker, but I willn't regear because I have to drive six to eight hours on pavement to get to the place where a locker MIGHT be useful.

So here's my thread - I'll use this space to ramble and bitch and whine sometimes, or to share trip reports and junk and stuff or whatever - and maybe a modification or six.

 

This morning up at Mt Scott, OK.

 

First tow coming up tomorrow - the trailer (UHaul says 2000lbs) weighs nearly as much as the cargo (2012 Fiat 500). I really love the Firestone Airbags - barely any air pumps them up really high. I have just under 15lbs in the bags in this pic; its about level. Rear tires at 50psi. When I load the car I may put a bit more in the bags, but so far - and the daystar cradles - am super happy.

 

All-told about 400 miles towing the Jelly Bean. Things went just fine - though I'd hesitate to tow anything much heavier. Truck felt strained, but not unsafe. Part of the issue is i have/had no baseline of how the truck handles when towing. The car is listed at 2450lbs, the trailer is supposed to weigh 2000lbs. I have another car I need to haul - much longer distance and 600lbs heavier and I'm not sure i wanna try it. Those airbags though - absolutely a must-have in my view. Felt a little like it was running on the bumpstops but they kept the attitude of the truck just better.

Data: MPG: Towing empty trailer - 14.3mpg. With the Fiat - 13.83mpg.
Gross Weight (Including 300lbs of Me and two dogs) 9740lbs.

 

Should've just put the fiat in the bed /s

 

right? The bed-slide takes up too much height - wouldn't have fit

 

little drive tonite...

 

Welp I did it - I 'had' to use 4 wheel drive today. I took a spin on my lunch break and found some dirt; will try to get vids up but they aren't exciting - and like a dork I didn't get pics of where i actually drove - but was steep and short with a rock face on one side, and dirt/grass on the other.

In the second pic you can see what the exposed rock looked like - was that stuff but slicker as i came back up the hill. Anywho - Progress

 

I wish I had some space to go off road near my house/work. Really only get off pavement when I go visit family.

Looks beautiful out there though. What do you do for work?

 

it's beautiful here - I work for the Army; these pics were on base here in Oklahoma. Most of my time is centered around Powerpoint so i take little bits of dirt-road whenever i can.

 

Over the weekend i took my first truck-camping trip - Ozark Mountains; while i was mostly focused on the experience I captured a few pics. Im hooked.

The first road i explored had moderate terrain - definitely needed ground clearance; at 20psi in the tires i never resorted to 4x4 and still made it over some pretty nice obstacles, holes, mud-things, rocks and more.

 

No real adventures lately - just living the life

 

More of Oklahoma