CA to TN Road Trip Maintenance

My wife and I will be moving to Knoxville Tennessee at the end of October. We will be driving from CA to TN. Ill be taking my 2006 Tacoma on the journey. Its got 106,000 miles on it, and just had the oil changed. What else should I be checking/inspecting on the truck to make sure its a smooth trip?

 

It’s breaking in! You have nothing to worry about lol

But if you must… Check all fluids (motor, trans, coolant, ps), check tires and tire pressure, make sure is alignment is on point, and ensure that all your lights are operational.

Enjoy your trip and good luck with the move.

 

does this year model have a serpentine belt or regular belts. What does the book say on when they need changing. Just a thought. Having a belt break on a long road trip would dampen your spirits.

 

100,000mi on a 06? You got nothing to worry about. Drive it like you stole it.

 

Check your fluids, air filter, cabin filter and tire pressure. Enjoy the drive and take the time to do some site seeing.

we took my tacoma from Birmingham to Northern California and back pulling our 5x8 enclosed trailer last December. No problems. This summer I went to Idaho twice in it. I currently have over 410,000 miles on it. You should be good to go with having only 106,000 on the clock.

 

Do all of the above......Then pick a route - enjoy the journey as much as the destination. For example, avoid east west "interstate" highways. It will take a few extra days to get to Knoxville, but, you'll experience small town "Americana" that was cut off by interstate highways. Be safe.

 

Like @whatstcp said...especially greasing U joints if you havent in the past!

 

On top of the above (especially U joints)

@ 100k miles, serpentine belt (assuming it hasnt been replaced recently) and coolant are ready for replacement. Keep the still working old serpentine belt in the truck.

When was the last time rear diff oil was changed? if its been longer than 30k, change it.

When was a full 12qt trans fluid change done? If never, do it along with a trans pan drop with filter change / magnet cleaning.


That stated, you could likely skip all of the above and have no issues on that drive.


Congrats on getting out of this LOVELY effing state.... just dont take the CA majority views to your new state PLEASE.

 

If you're not having an issue now, there's no reason to assume you'll have one on the trip. If it does, it would've happened anyway. I do, on average, 2 cross country trips per year in the taco and never worry about preventative maintenance.
In fact, I'm driving to Louisiana on Saturday and staying in TN til monday. I might consider changing the oil, which has 6,800 miles on it right now, but only if I have extra time. If not, I'll do it when I get back.

ENjoy the drive. Take time to explore the country along your travels. (And dont California Tennessee).

 

Just do the regular maintenance as called for in the owners manual assuming you’ve been doing routine maintenance all a long.

 

Thanks for the feed back yall! I will be looking into the things mentioned here, but also wont stress to much about it.

 

Haha trust me we are moving for a reason.

 

I agree with the rest.

Welcome to Tennessee neighbor.
I’m in the Knox county area myself.
I think you will like it here. We got all 4 season all year long.

Of you can get passed the humidity, in the summer you’ll love it here.

 

Thanks! We cant wait. Already thinking of trading in my pre runner for a 4x4 out there.

 

Have fun with the move! I went from Knoxville to LA actually, and absolutely miss the southern hospitality out there, and just having space to think and breathe. It's quite a change, but worth it imo

 

I can’t recommend one dealership over another. I’ve bought 3 Tacoma trucks from 3 different dealerships.

Fox Toyota seems the easiest to deal with as far as parts.

I bought my first Tacoma from Rusty Wallace Toyota. It was a used 1999 SR5 4wd. (Best truck I ever owned)

Then my 2nd truck from Knoxville Toyota. It was a 2005 PreRunner 4cly 5spd.

And my current truck from Rick McGills in Toyota in Knoxville.

Never used the service department at any of them. I can’t spend that kind of money. I just do it myself. Or go to an independent shop.

If you do buy a 4wd. And you lift the truck. I got the tools to do the ECGS bushing. You are welcome to them if you need them.

 

Thanks so much! We will be reuniting with family out there, my brother in law works at Grayson BMW so he usually has all the things tool wise, but if not I will definitely hit you up. Any cool Toyota groups or communities I should be aware of??

 

I’m sure there are some.
After I sold my 1st Gen, I never really got back into the truck scene.
I actually lost a lot of money on mods when I sold it. So I told myself I wouldn’t do that again.
I been stock since, unless a truck bed tool box counts?

I will say, if you’ve never been to Wind Rock. You have to go at least once.
It’s fun until you make a wrong move and break stuff.
Thankfully it was on my 4wheeler and not my truck

 

You don’t have to do anything extra. If you’ve taken care of your truck properly during ownership, it’ll take care of you.

When I had my 2010, I wouldn’t hesitate taking it on a last minute cross country road trip with 5 minutes’ notice. I took care of it and knew everything there was to know about it.

Now if you abuse your truck, then that’s a different story…..

 

I baby the thing, and so did the previous owner!