AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

Great photos and write up. Really only one of the reasons why i still hop on TW nowadays lol.

 

What I wish the shooters would do is take a tarp and shoot from that. It'd capture most of the brass leaving next to nothing to go pick up.

Spectacular camps and views, especially the lookout.

 

Well, thank you for the kind words - I appreciate them and I'm glad you're enjoying! TW has a lot of great stuff to offer, still - way more than most "forums" these days, and (IMO) so much better than the social media morass. But hey, if you just want to read my stories, I wouldn't be offended if you sign up here : https://adventuretaco.com/subscribe/

Thanks Ian! I feel like the responsible shooters already pick up after themselves (and others when they find trash out in these places). And the irresponsible ones - well, they wouldn't be the ones to bring a tarp anyway. So, that leaves me like, .

 

It's a challenge for sure. It's just so frustrating to be in a place you could imagine as pristine and find that there are people who just don't care.

 

@turbodb Thanks for the cleanup: I do the same in my neck of the woods. It's annoying and disheartening to park my truck at a 'shoot site' or an at large camping site and see all the casings, and general trash, including 'blooms' people leave; and would you believe underwear! If I know that if I don't clean it up right away my outing will be tainted and less enjoyable.

A Lot of casings here are military surplus which are usually made of steel; so I use a magnet with a handle to collect those, available at Harbor Freight. Still have to bend over to get the brass, though. 22 casings are the hardest to pick up. Steel, brass and aluminum are taken to a recycler. Get big $ for the brass and Al.

My clean-up kit contains; gloves (nitrile and leather), 3 buckets (brass, steel,& aluminum), magnet on a stick, shovel and garden rake, heavy duty trash, dog food bag(s) for the fire pit trash, pointed nail in the end of a wooden broom stick or dowel, maybe other stuff that I cant remember though.

The NF that is close is closed to vehicular traffic & horses; walkers, runners and old hikers are good. Also closed to shooting April 1st to Sept 10th. But it's amazing to see the carnage done from Sept to April.

 

Love the magnet and buckets ideas.

 

Rig Review: Summer 2020 - What worked and what didn't?
August 29, 2020.

Well, it's been a while since a rig review - things have been working reasonably well; a nice side effect of constantly evaluating and tweaking the setup of the truck to dial it in. Since last time, we've completed the following trips:

1. Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route
2. Bridge-to-Bridge in the Middle of Nowhere
3. Dead Ends through WA, ID, and MT
4. Roaming Around Rainier

So, lets dive right in.

Cooper ST/Maxx Tires (resolved)
TL;DR - I have four brand new 255/85 R16 ST/Maxx tires on the truck now. Again.

I looked around a bit for new tires, given that my ST/Maxx were on their last legs. I also did a bit more digging into why mine were so worn out, as I noticed that the fronts were worse off than the rears. Or rather, the current fronts were worse, as I've been doing a really good job of rotating on every oil change.

Turns out that my alignment was total crap, and I got that addressed just before getting a new set of 255/85 R16 Cooper ST/Maxx. These tires haven't let me down on the trail, and I really like the highway manners as well, so I decided to go with them again. If I could have found something in the 255/85 R16 size in a C-load (instead of E), I'd have gone with that, but I couldn't, so I'm sticking with something that works really well. After this last trip to the Naches Trail, I'm glad I did - I don't think I could have made it with my old (bald) tires.

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Relentless Skid Plate Attachment (resolved)
TL;DR - The mid-skid is now securely fastened to the frame again, nearly a year later!

I finally got around to putting a Rivnut in the frame at the rear driver attachment point, so I don't need to worry about the bolt there backing out. This was the last piece to making the mid-skid attachment more secure, so I'm glad to have finally gotten it done. I should note that I no longer run the mid-skid on most trips (to save weight), so I haven't really used the skid since the rig review where I noted it needed work. But I have another trip to Colorado coming up, and I'll need the skid for that ... so yeah, forcing function!

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It's Noisy in the Cab (resolved)
TL;DR - I did a bid sound deadening project, and it worked great.

If you haven't read about the sound deadening I did, you should check out the two-part story. The first part outlines Materials and Prep, and the second part covers Mat & Foam Installation. I couldn't be happier with the different that was made by the RAAMmat, especially when on the trail. It really is quite a bit quieter.

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CVT Tent Cover Strap Broke (new, and resolved)
TL;DR - After cinching down the cover for the tent a few hundred times, the stitching for one of the buckles on one of the cover straps ripped out. I sewed it back together and everything is good again.

I think there was probably some very minor manufacturing defect in one of my straps that only reared its head after I used the strap a couple hundred times, since I inspected the other strap and it looks just fine. This is one of those things that some might feel like they needed to buy a new strap for, but fixing it is so easy - just a needle and thread - that I totally recommend doing this kind of thing yourself.

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A/C Doesn't Work (resolved?)
TL;DR - the A/C blew cold this entire trip and seems to be going strong.

After a couple attempts at fixing the A/C, ultimately replacing the evaporator core (and other inside-the-cabin components), the receiver/drier, and ultimately the compressor, I think the A/C is working now. I'll keep monitoring it over the next several months, and I have a new condenser and some Schrader valves on hand in case I need to replace those.

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Oil spray in engine bay
TL;DR - I don't really know what this is, but I'm going to keep monitoring it. Hopefully it's nothing.

A couple times during the last (Roaming Around Rainier) trip, when I opened the hood to connect the air compressor and air up the tires, I noticed that there was some sort of oily looking splatter on the timing cover. At first, I thought it might just be water from a puddle, but eventually I was convinced it was some sort of oil-based substance. My guess was that it was one of either power steering fluid or A/C oil from the work that I did on the A/C. After a bit more investigation when I got home, I've ruled out A/C oil, since it doesn't glow under UV light (and I added UV dye when I filled the A/C). I don't see power steering fluid leaking anywhere, but quite a bit of it leaked out of the reservoir and into various nooks and crannies, so I'm betting that it's finally just leaking back out and once it's done that, I won't have a problem. Fingers crossed.

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Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews

1. Cooper ST/Maxx Tires - four new tires and an alignment and I'm good to go!
2. Relentless Skid Plate Attachment - with the rivnut finally installed on the driver side, I think the mid-skid is finally in good shape!
3. It's Noisy in the Cab - I sound deadened the entire cab.
4. The Air Conditioning Doesn't Work - The A/C held up great this trip and I'm hoping it's done. I suppose this might get reactivated if I run into problems again.

Unchanged / Still an issue from previous Rig Reviews

There are some things that have been featured in Rig Reviews that are - as yet - unchanged from when I originally reviewed them. Rather than highlight those things again, I'll simply link to them here.

1. The Ham Radio Antenna - continues to have the shortcoming mentioned.
2. Oil Leaking from Transfer Case - I haven't done anything about this yet, though I seem to be getting less leakage.
3. The Windshield Has Seen Better Days - I plan to wait until summer to fix this, just so winter rocks, sand, etc. don't immediately destroy the new one.

 

I camped in Moab the past few days for ROCKtober Therapy. My feet stayed toasty warm all night with mid 30's temperatures because I read about using foot warmers here.

 

Modernizing the Windshield Sprayer Nozzles

I don't know when I first noticed the terrible windshield sprayers on the Tacoma, but it was probably right around late 1999. I figured there was nothing I could do about it, and so for 20 years, I just suffered through the single-jet-stream-that-gets-spread-by-the-wipers.

So, when I saw various folks on TacomaWorld talking about Honda Odyssey replacement nozzles that would spray across the entirety of the windshield - you know, like you would expect - I was intrigued; I never realized that the nozzles were a reasonably standardized item across vehicle manufacturers.

Now, not all nozzles will work - the replacement obviously needs to fit into the hole in the hood, but it's also important to make sure that:

• The angle of the nozzle is correct for the windshield. 1st gen Tacoma windshields, being older are a little "steeper" than more modern vehicles, so the nozzles need to point up a bit more than a modern, more wedge-shaped, sedan.
• The bottom connector from the nozzle to the fluid line needs to point towards the passenger side of the vehicle, so that the hood can close without being impeded by or interfering with the lines.

And, the other thing I wanted was to have a nozzle that was as low profile as possible - because, while the Tacoma nozzles don't spray well, they are nice and low profile.

After a bit of research, the biggest hurdle ended up being the 90°-to-passenger-side connection at the bottom of the nozzle; most nozzles I was able to find seem to exit towards the front of the vehicle. In the end, the only ones I could find were the Honda Odyssey (76810-TK8-A01) and Ford Fusion (8E5Z-17603-A).

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So, on the left, is the original Tacoma nozzle - which obviously sprays two straight jets. In the center, the Ford Fusion nozzle has the same, low profile and has a non-adjustable spray pattern. Finally, on the right, the Honda Odyssey has a larger profile, and has an adjustable spray pattern.

Close ups of the Ford and Honda sprayers.

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Due to the low profile, I tried the Ford nozzles first. Unfortunately, while the spray shape was good, the spray angle - which is not adjustable - was too low, spraying only about 60% of the way up the windshield, and then relying on the wipers to move the water over the rest of the surface. Surely, at speed, it would have "worked," but on slow, dusty trails... it would have been meh.

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Being completely adjustable both up and down as well as left and right, I knew that the Honda nozzles would work, so I popped them in and got them adjusted. While they are a tiny bit larger, I have no doubt that only I will notice that, and only for a few days.

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And, it's really great to have a spray pattern that actually covers the windshield!

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I usually order my Honda parts from College Hills Honda in OH or HondaPartsNow. They're reasonable as far as pricing goes but most dealers charge for shipping-which sucks. I've ordered Honda parts from Amazon before but had failure the two times I did-feels like whom ever fulfilled the order buys surplus parts but doesn't understand what they're selling.

And yes, I own a Honda too

 

The Honda nozzles are a great mod, just have to remember how tall they are when clearing the snow off the hood, and they can be easy to knock out of adjustment.
I think I got mine from a dealer on eBay

 

Was a bit rough in 2015 too...


That was fun, I wanna run Naches all the way again.

 

Yeah, I generally look to get parts directly from OEM sources as well when I buy enough to offset the shipping cost. Since I was in experiment mode, the free shipping superstore seemed like a reasonable alternative though.

I guess there are benefits of living in a snow-free (mostly) area. Of course, the 9 months of dreary gray... well, maybe I'd rather 4 seasons.

LOL! So do I understand that you fell of the boardwalk and then rolled the truck. Some good luck on that trip for you!

From what I hear (or rather, read) you guys didn't get to Lower Naches, or even the west end of the main trail. I think you'd have fun there! I'd be up to do it again, but only when it's dry!!!

 

No I rolled the truck on a different trip. This was a good few months before that. Almost 6 months I think. I'd run it again rain or dry. The sloppiness made some of the rutted parts really fun. I just plain wasn't looking what I was doing when I turned there, figured I'd bump an edge, but somebody else had already knocked the guardrail portion of the bridge off, so I dropped the wheel off it haha. A good time was had by all still, not like a wooden bridge was going to hurt my lower control arm anyway, and this is back when my trucks were still ridiculously tall.

 

Gotcha. For some reason I thought your rolled on WABDR, and that you did Naches as part of WABDR as well. Glad to hear you had another 6 months of green truck, LOL.

The ruts would be interesting and in many places fun, but IMO it's the steep sections on Lower Naches that would be a shit show when wet. Esp. going the direction you guys did (which would be downhill in chutes @ ~35% grade). Big part of the reason they close it from Nov - July as I understand it.

 

I will admit that in recent years I have only done the middle part of that trail. But honestly, the reason for not doing either the very east end and the very west end is because of the gnarliness of those sections. Maybe time has mellowed them a bit. They were really, really bad. Like guaranteed body damage bad.

It has been at least 15 years since I have done either one tho.

 

I keep meaning to try, but the 1st gen tundra has the fan style spray (at least my 05 does) they’re pretty low profile and I believe would work fine on a 1st gen taco.

 

My understanding from talking to folks who ran them years ago is that they've gotten worse, not better. Obviously still navigable without damage, but I believe that's only the case when it's dry (hence my statement earlier ). There were a few places that I was sure we were going to slide into tree trunks at roof level, and one place where I stalled and had to lock front and rear in order to continue up the trail (I was going west-east - uphill).

Oooo, nice. Will look into. Actually - can you check which way the opening under the hood points for me? Does it have the same 90* to the passenger side? If so, it would likely work!

 

I can take a look in the morning. I want to say yes, but then again, the last time I had them out I was more worried about fixing the rollover damage rather than the nozzle orientation! I’ll be sure to let you know

 

eh decided to crawl out in the rain and look. its pointed down.. got my own hopes up.