AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

i may go try this for my awning zipper...thoughts ?

https://www.crcindustries.com/products/dry-ptfe-lube-10-wt-oz-03044.html

 

Pfff. Sure. blame the steel haha

ouch

hahahaha

 

Maybe an ignorant suggestion, but what about a dry lube? Those supposedly don't attract or hold onto dirt / debris?

 

We were on a mountain bike tour (GC North Rim, not in the National Park, amazing trails and views) with a guy who worked for MSR. We were having trouble with our ancient Eureka tent zipper and he tweaked it which helped. He said it’s rarely the teeth, almost always the slider, and a good slider can usually “repair” damaged teeth, assuming it’s nylon not metal. Squeezing the slider helps, replacing it is better. He wasn’t big on lube. We ended up buying a new Big Agnes tent later, for other reasons, though he gave everyone on the ride an MSR friends and family discount code.

 

Windshield Glitter Bomb, Gone!

I've procrastinated replacing the windshield for two years now, a problem I appear to have first noted in a rig review after our Mojave Redemption trip in 2019! My reasoning - or worry - was twofold, really:

1. I've always heard bad things about windshield replacement and the resulting leaks once the new glass is installed. I'm sure this is - as usual - due to inexperienced workmanship or lack of attention to detail, but I always feel like that's sort of what you get when someone else works on your vehicle. I know that's probably a broad over-generalization, but it's a great reason to find a good local shop where you can get to know the guys and be confident in the work they do... for when you can't - or don't want to - do it yourself.
2. The current state of the windshield has allowed me to be much less concerned about getting any additional chips or cracks as I've travelled many highway miles over the last few years. This has actually been quite nice, as I often find myself drafting semi-trucks as I plod along at 62 mph in the slow lane, doing my best to stay out of strong headwinds that always seem to be against me.

Annoying, but also strangely liberating!​

But, I figured it was finally time. Really, the crack right across my straight-out-the-windshield-line-of-sight, which I find myself having to move my head to see around was the main impetus. That, and I realized that I actually do have a local body shop that know does great work and that I've started to build a relationship with: Jim's Body Shop!

I gave Humberto a call to see if they replaced glass in addition to doing body work. To my delight, he confirmed that they could definitely replace my glass, and that the price would be right in line - even a little lower in fact - than having one of those mobile windshield replacement places come out and do the work. Now that's what I call a win-win!

Humberto set about ordering the glass, and I put a bit of blue tape over the defroster and climate control vents, just in case there was any glass breakage during the replacement.

Just to be on the safe side.​

Humberto was also great about coordinating a time with me when I could drop off the Tacoma and he'd work on it immediately. I'd mentioned to him that there was a lot of gear in the back that I'd prefer to not have parked outside for an extended period of time, and he totally got it. I suggested giving me a call when he was "between" other projects, and I could get the truck down to him in 10 minutes. That was fine by him - another reason I like his shop so much - and a couple days later I got a call asking me to bring the truck by.

​

I was back three hours later to a perfectly replaced windshield, ready to go. Humberto asked about the blue tape as well - "Something wrong with the A/C?" he said. He got a good chuckle out of my reasoning for the tape, letting me know in the kindest way possible that they are good enough at their jobs that I need not have worried. Man, what a great shop.

 

I feel you, man, I probably would have left it just as long as you did, knowing that as soon as I replace it I'll get a chip again *ugh*. Just be quick to repair any chips, and you should avoid cracks for a while. I have a tiny one I am keeping an eye on.

When I did paint work back in the 80's, every shop I worked at brought in dedicated glass guys for windshields and rear windows, but I never worked at a big shop. If you are a big enough outfit, you might just have your own glass guy. The last shop I worked at in Dallas was previously Carroll Shelby's Sports Cars, I didn't even know that until afterwards. Our paint prep bays were his old mechanics bays.

 

@turbodb @Digiratus

Com10t bearings in my ads.

 

I can't tell if there are any FK markings on them.

 

There are not. Far as I could tell just a standard bearing.

 

They look OK though. Are they still tight? My originals did not have FK markings on them.

 

Yet you got 25K out of them?

 

Correct. I don't think ADS put FK bearings in any of our shocks. At least, I've never had FK markings on any of mine (originals or replacements). The only difference (for me) is that the originals "lasted longer." Though, even that is questionable, since the originals ended up in this state: (way gone). I've never gotten to this point again, with ~7-10K mile replacements.

Here are my various posts about it; not that anyone cares, hahaha. spherical bearings

​

 

Yeah they are fine. Will run them another season with no issues.

 

Mine came with FK stainless bearings from factory.


My foxes I just installed on the 2nd gen have a seal around the spacer to hopefully protect the bearing. I'll be curious to see if they last any longer.

 

First of all..

You bought foxes for the 2nd gen? Wtf haha

And any photos of this boot?

 

Wanted the DSC.

 

Hope they don't rust. Interesting. Like a little o ring

 

I had something like that on my rear Foxes. I was skeptical but they actually seemed to do a decent job of keeping crap out of the bearing.

 

Opening the door closes the switch and closing the door opens the switch, right? Did you try putting the illumination terminals in series with the switch? Leds are polarity sensitive so it would only work one way.

 

Mud and Solitude - Owyhee Outback #1

We've visited the Owyhee region of Oregon (and Idaho) several times, each time discovering something new, something special. Looking on a map, the region - located in southeast corner of the state - seems to be an empty wasteland. I assure you, nothing could be farther from the truth! Surely, it is remote, and from any single spot the landscape can seem monotonous - but all it takes is a little looking to find the gems hidden in plain sight. With a few days to explore, I decided it was time to look for remote areas we'd never before visited.

Plus, another benefit of a trip to the Owyhee Canyonlands was that it is reasonably close to home - at least compared to what we become accustomed to during our long drives south during the winter months. At only 9 hours, we could probably even do a little exploring on the first day of our adventure!

Stringing together a series of roads that I hoped would simply exist, I plotted a course that would lead through deep canyons, to petroglyph carved rocks, and along the edge of thousand-plus foot cliffs. All - hopefully without seeing another soul - in the remote Owyhee Outback.

With rain forecast for the area on Wednesday night - our usual departure day - and through Thursday morning, I suggested to @mrs.turbodb that we delay our start by a day and head out at 3:00am Thursday so we'd be there a few hours after the rain had stopped. Hopefully that would allow us to avoid the worst of the mud, which can turn the roads in the area into a slick, slimey mess. That was just fine with her, and we found ourselves pulling out right on time Thursday morning.

We'd made it three hours into our drive when things went sideways. @mrs.turbodb had forgotten that she'd scheduled something for Sunday, and there was a mad dash to figure out whether it could be fit into the plan. Needless to say, it wasn't happy times in the Tacoma when we turned around and headed for home so I could drop her off and do the trip by myself; seven extra hours added to the "short" drive.

As such, it was 4:30pm when I arrived in the Owyhee area, with Succor Creek Road being my entrance into the canyonlands. The sky was ominous - scattered showers still in the area - but the sun was starting to poke through in places as well. I knew the roads could be...interesting.

Hitting dirt and airing down to some really nice light.​

Succor Creek Road itself was in good shape.​

I planned to spend as little time on Succor Creek Road as possible - the point of this trip being to get into the outback of Owyhee - so after only a mile or two, I turned onto Camp Kettle Creek road and quickly found myself at Devil's Gate, and spent a few minutes wandering in the rocky outcropping.

Not a gate to anything.​

Could use more blue sky.​

I'd considered camping here, but the ground was extremely slippery and a group of eight cows had taken up residence in the same area, so I decided to press on, my tires doing their best to pull the Tacoma over the terrain as chunks of mud pelted the roof.

Oh, joy. ​

The top of Devil's Gate.​

Like much of the Owyhee Canyonlands, this area is largely BLM land leased to ranchers. As such, there are numerous barbed wire fences, and gates to navigate - usually not any sort of problem when the weather is dry. Today however, the mere act of stepping out of the truck immediately added two inches or more of mud stuck to the bottom of my shoes and I found myself hoping that each gate I'd approach was already open.

None of them were.

Through another gate. By this point, I'd sort of given up on not having a bunch of mud in the truck. At least the weather was continuing to clear up.​

Heading south now, a short stint on McIntyre Spring Road shuffled me over to an unnamed road that passed the trailhead we'd taken on our very first trip to the Owyhee's, when we'd hiked The Honeycombs. From this point on, it was going to be new territory and the unknown for me - something I found myself relishing, even as I could tell that it was time to start looking for camp.

Slipping and sliding, I followed the rolling hills, looking for a suitable spot to call home as the clouds made for a wonderful canvas on which the sun could work its magic.

​

​

And then, just before the sun fell below the horizon, it found a small opening through which it could illuminate one of my favorite features of this area - Three Fingers Rock.

I've never seen Three Fingers from this side before.​

The light on the rock lasted only moments, and soon, a pink glow behind it was all that remained.​

I pressed on, still looking for a "less muddy" spot to open the tent. At one point, I passed two Prius' - the ground tents of their owners set up in what I can only call a mud pit - nearby. Cooking dinner over a propane stove, they seemed content enough, though it looked like a miserable way to spend the night if you ask me. Perhaps what you get for driving such a vehicle into this area in the middle of a rainstorm?

Eventually, I spotted a short side spur to the to of a knoll and knew I'd found my site. Still muddy, at least the terrain would dry out "first" from the overnight winds and morning sun. Not that "first" would necessarily be "fast."

I made a quick dinner and got the tent deployed before retiring to the cab of the truck for a bit of reading and a bit of work on photos. It'd been a reasonably calm evening to this point, but just as I wrapped and got myself ready for bed, the winds picked up. I was glad to have oriented the truck in such a way that the tent wasn't trying to fold up on itself, and with earplugs and a cap, I cozied down in the comforters - hoping for a good night sleep and a drier day in the morning.