AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

I mean, I'm surprised no one has suggested option #5...

So who's doing what?

I don't think I need a new bed, but I do need details. At least what color is it?

 

I was going to suggest tubbing and long travel with 35s. You know, to go along with the glass that Zane suggested. But I thought you might be offended by that.

Silver.

 

Someday, maybe. If I'm ever in the enviable position of Brett @Squeaky Penguin and have another exploring rig.

And REALLY? I only know one silver truck, and I'm surprised that it might be ditching its bed given what's on top. Ditching for what?

 

Ahh, not the silver truck I know. Thank goodness.

 

I still love my 1st gen, but the newer trucks are so much better for what you do. You'll love it when you finally make the jump.

Also, are your front bed mounts not imploding yet?

 

So how are the scheel-mann seats holding up ? Still worth the price of admission??

 

Nah, all my mounts are just fine. I'm a pretty "gentle" driver compared to some of you young guns, I think.

I've already written a post on that, hahaha! Just need to get it uploaded. I'm on the road - out of town until Monday exploring the Eastern Sierra - but will get it up when I return.

 

Well enjoy your trip. Looking forward to hear what you have to say.

 

I came across a book written by Greg Childs who is a climber and author. The book is called

$14 Tracing Time: Seasons of Rock Art on the Colorado Plateau

Tracing Time: Seasons of Rock Art on the Colorado Plateau. It was written during the pandemic and recently released. He's done research and has travelled extensively in the area. Doesn't have a lot of pictures, something he addresses in the forward and it doesn't say much about where things are either. After reading the forward, I've convinced myself this will be very different and might yield a better understanding of the people and art. Dare I say it may be something of a spiritual understanding as well. In the forward, he mentions things like colors and techniques--not likely to find much of that in a guidebook.

So far, it seems like a very interesting book.

 

Adding a Third Band - GMRS for the Tacoma

One of the jokes we always make about the folks (ok, let's be honest, it's 99% guys) we hear talking on the 146.520 simplex ham radio frequency that we have tuned in the Tacoma most of the time, is that they are always talking about their radio setup. Whether they have just tuned a new antenna, are calling for CQ ("anyone out there") from the top of some mountain, or are reorganizing their "shack" to fit a newly acquired transceiver, every radio operator seems to be... a nerd.

Guilty as charged.

My first mode of communication in the Tacoma was a dual band (2m/70cm) Icom 5100A mobile ham radio that I thought would be the only communication I would ever need. To this day - and even though I don't have it anymore, having traded it out for a dual band Kenwood TM-D710G that now also serves as my APRS transceiver - that Icom was still the best radio I've used.

Shortly after installing the ham radio, I went on my first group adventure - The De-Tour. For that, the ham radio was no good - or at least, it wasn't enough - since all the guys used CB radios to communicate on the trail. And so, I installed a CB Radio - 'cause not everyone's a HAM. That little Uniden Pro 520XL has been a workhorse over the years, and is most definitely my most used radio - for truck-to-truck communication - on the trail.

But then, more than a year ago - perhaps even two - I won a giveaway. That never really happens to me, but somehow my name was randomly drawn for a pair of Midland T51 handheld GMRS radios, as well as a Midland MXT275 mobile GMRS that I could mount in the truck.

And now, I sound like the radio nerd that I am.

I (almost) never win anything, but it was super cool to win these radios!​

Of course, with little actual use for the GMRS band - no one I travel with uses GMRS - it was only my nerdom that nagged at me to add a third radio band to my truck. In fact, not wanting to drill yet another hole in the roof, I didn't even open the box until recently.

When I did, I was pleasantly surprised to find two things that would make the install significantly easier than I'd worried about for the last twelve months:

1. The antenna that came with the MXT275 is tiny - only 7" tall or so - and has a very strong magnetic base. That means I don't need to drill a hole to mount it, as long as I can find a way to run the wiring appropriately.
2. All of the controls are in the microphone, rather than on the radio head unit. This meant that I could mount the head unit anywhere that was convenient, without worrying about access to it for operation.

I knew just where I wanted to install the Midland MXT275 - under the passenger seat, next to the Kenwood D710G. That is, if there was enough room.​

Recklessly plunging ahead with no measuring of radio size, wire lengths, or anything of the sort, the first order of business was to get the scheel-mann passenger seat out of the truck so I could mount the radio to the seat bracket.

Four (4), 14mm bolts and a bunch of disconnected ham radio connections later, the seat was out of the Tacoma and headed toward the workbench.​

After removing the seat from the bracket, I finally decided to see if the new radio would fit. Naturally, given where I'd mounted the ham radio there wasn't quite enough room - doh! Luckily, I was able to move the ham radio a few inches, allowing just a few millimeters of clearance between it and the GMRS unit.

Drilling and tapping a couple of holes to mount the bracket that will hold the Midland MXT275.​

As a woodworker, my brackets are made of beautifully figured scrap that I couldn't throw away from some previous project.​

With the radio installed - or at least, awaiting reinstallation of the seat - it was time to work on the antenna situation. My breakthrough came when I realized that 99% of the time, I don't need the full range of the 15W GMRS transmitter. In fact, I suspect that most of my GMRS use will be in CB-like situations, and so no more than a mile or two of range will be needed. And that means that most of the time, the antenna doesn't need to be in the ideal location, it just needs to be good enough. That meant that I could mount the antenna inside the truck... as long as I left enough extra cabling to run it out a window and up to the roof - for the rare moments when I need to realize the full potential of this little beast.

And so, I got to work on my second bracket of this project. This time it had to be steel, since - to my knowledge - there isn't any magnetized wood species as of yet. Luckily, I had a short length of flat bar that I could bend in a few places to make the perfect little perch that would sit in the back corner of the cab, completely out of the way and within just a few inches of windows where it could be run up to the roof.

A little Minwax paste wax will keep the bracket shiny for years to come.​

Conveniently mounted out of the way, the magnet is super strong and keeps the antenna firmly in place.​

With the antenna taken care of and the head unit positioned under the seat, it was a simple matter of putting together a wiring harness to connect the head unit to the electrical fuse panel that houses my second battery (see MOAR Power, More Redundancy - Dual AGM Battery Install) and get everything connected up.

​

One red and one black wire are all that are needed when the radio is powered through a Blue Sea fuse block.​

The seat went in without fanfare, and after connecting all the antennas, power lines, and microphones to the Ham and GMRS radios, I was ready to go.

Almost.

All I needed to do was to find one other person with GMRS. Who knows, maybe I never will. But at least I can talk about my new transceiver installation the next time I'm hanging out on 146.520.

---- ---- ----


Please Support the Airwaves

Unlike CB, GMRS use (over 2W) requires a license from the FCC. This is a bit like Ham, except that there's no test for GMRS. As of 2022, a 10-year GMRS license costs $35 and covers an entire family. That's not much money and helps to ensure that these "reasonably public" frequencies continue to be supported/available and not sold off to the highest bidder, so please do your part to support them.

You can get your license here: FCC License System

Midland Radios has a good page that walks through the process, here: Step-by-Step Getting GMRS License

​

 

We did a hasty 'soft install' on a Midland on my wife's truck a day before a short trip (she was over having to use a handheld), ran the magnetic antenna thru the firewall to the hood and that thing held in place four days no worries - it is pretty impressive
Great radio's, we use them to chat amongst ourselves - call out 'marmot' sightings and what not

 

I didn’t bother to mount it. I added a cigarette adapter and magnetic mount. For me, I chose the stubby.

There’s even a repeater network if you’re so equipped.

 

Replacing my SPC Upper Control Arms ...with SPC UCAs

September 1, 2022.

Note: There is an important update below.

It was more than three years and 120K miles ago that I installed SPC UCAs on the Tacoma. Shortly after installation, SPC came out with an improved design that was a single forged piece of material, with an entirely new type of joint. That joint - which they call the "X-Axis" joint - was essentially a sealed spherical bearing that replaces the polyurethane bushings where the UCA is mounted to the frame.

And so, when I took the truck in for an alignment and the alignment tech (a good one, which can be hard to find) mentioned that my UCA bushings were in need of replacement, I had some thinking to do.

My options - as I saw them - were really twofold:

1. Replace the existing polyurethane bushings with more of the same. This is easy and straightforward, since SPC sells the bushings SPC 25466 Bushing Kit separately for around $50.
2. Replace the existing poly bushings with new SPC X-Axis joints, though I had no idea of the cost. (see below)

To find out more about option 2, I emailed SPC at 10:11pm on a Thursday evening to enquire about purchasing the X-Axis joints:

It took less than 13 hours for Esteban from SPC to get back to me, which I thought was pretty darn cool. He let me know that while they could sell me some X-Axis joints, the more cost-effective route would be to get into their UCA swap program. As you can imagine, that entails me forking over several hundred dollars - essentially purchasing a set of the new forged (stronger) UCAs with X-Axis joints already pressed in. Then, after I replaced the arms, I'd send back my original SPC UCAs and SPC would refund most - but not all - of the money I'd sent them for the new arms. In the end, this option would cost about $250, but would also refresh my upper ball joints at the same time.

Now, my upper ball joints were just fine - so I didn't really need a refresh on them - and spending 5x as much for X-Axis joints compared to poly bushings seemed like a lot, but after a few more back-and-forth emails with Esteban, I learned that the X-Axis joints were lifetime joint that required no maintenance, not even greasing! With all the maintenance I have to do to the truck, I felt like not having to worry about maintenance of this part forever was worth every penny.

Update October 17, 2022 (six weeks after install)

I originally posted this "upgrade" to the Tacoma about 5 weeks after installing the new SPC UCAs on my truck. When I did, the feedback was swift - many people with the new X-Axis based UCAs were having lots of trouble with them, and the X-Axis joints were lasting shorter periods of time than the previous SpecRide Polyurethane bushings had lasted me.

Here is a bit of the feedback I received (note, each comment links to the original for more context/replies):


The overwhelming negativity of the feedback concerned me, so I started up an email thread with SPC.

The response I got was not ideal (Note: I've removed names of SPC employees, as I understand that they are just doing their job.)

Shocked, I sent a follow-up email - what would be the first of many - and finally had a phone call with SPC, where I shared that:

The answer - perhaps to be expected - was that there was no way to "go back" since my original arms had been thrown away on receipt, and SPC only makes the new-style UCAs now. Not only that, but they are completely discontinuing the SpecRide bushings, so whatever is left in stock... is it.

Through all of this, they did say that they want to stand behind the new X-Axis joints, and that I should keep an eye on them over the next few years. If there's a problem, they (say they) will swap them out under warranty. That's a good thing (assuming it is true), but of course, part of the reason I made this switch in the first place was so that I'd have less maintenance over time. It appears that in reality, I'll have more.

I can't say that I'm happy with how this all worked out. Personally, I think I'd have preferred to buy a few of the (now discontinued) SpecRide bushing sets to keep on hand, replacing them as necessary over the next 5-10 years, rather than gambling on the longevity of the X-Axis joints. But, given that that is no longer an option, I'm going to be keeping a close eye on these, to ensure that if they fail, I'm able to catch it early and (hopefully) get them warrantied out.

/END UPDATE​

The new SPC UCAs arrived, and they were pretty.​

A close up of one side (outside) of the X-Axis joint.​

A close up of the other side (inside) of the X-Axis joint.​

With the new arms in hand and a desire to recoup some of the cost after I sent my original UCAs back, I knew my usual modus operandi of waiting 6-9 months to install anything wasn't going to work. And, with nice weather, I got to work swapping out the parts.

I should note that I show several of the steps below, but that if you really want to do this yourself, it would be better to use the Step-by-Step Install of SPC Upper Control Arms on a Toyota Tacoma guide.

​

First, the wheel and tire have to come off.​

Initially, I'd thought that I would first remove the coilover just to make things easier, but looking through the instructions that came with the new arms, and carefully inspecting the situation by eye, it looked like I could do the entire job without pulling the shock. So, rather than go to all that trouble, I got started by removing a few bits from the engine compartment so I could access - and remove - the long UCA bolts.

Out comes the air box on the passenger side.​

It's also necessary to remove these two 10mm nuts to get the ABS sensor out of the way so the bolt can pass through the space it occupies.​

On the driver side, the battery has to come out.​

So does the driver side ABS sensor and a 10mm bolt that holds the wiring harness.​

With the engine compartment cleared out, it was time to disconnect the control arms themselves by removing the long bolt securing them to the frame, and then separating the ball joint from the spindle. Both of these operations went much more smoothly than when I'd replaced my original UCAs, because the SPC parts are manufactured to be serviced without the use of presses and pullers. It was great!

A couple of 19mm tools to loosen the long UCA bolt.​

A big, 32mm socket is used to loosen the adjustment nut on the top of the SPC ball joint.​

Removal of the cotter pin, and then a 22mm socket easily removes the castle nut from the upper ball joint, which can then be tapped out of the spindle.​

Finally, the long bolts can be pulled out, releasing the UCA.​

With the old parts out, I definitely noticed a bit of wear in the original polyurethane UCA bushings - several of the metal sleeves slipped right out! They had lasted 120K miles though, which seems like a reasonable lifespan - in line with components like the timing belt and water pump. At any rate, before installation of the new arms, I figured it was time for a little comparison.

Old 25460 arm on the left; new on the right. Note the difference in construction, where the old arm was tubular and welded at the upper ball joint; the new arm is completely forged.​

Polyurethane bushings require greasing, but the new X-Axis joint requires no maintenance, forever.​

Installation of the new UCAs was essentially the reverse of removal, and a simple matter in all regards except for getting the long UCA bolt seated - that is an operation that requires the help of a friendly companion. Luckily, @mrs.turbodb was around for a few minutes of assistance.

First, slide the new retainer into the spindle. Note: if you are simply moving from older-to-newer SPC UCAs, you don't need to replace this part, but I did anyway.​

​

Install the snap ring using the ever-useful Stanley Lock Ring Pliers.​

Ensure that as you get the long UCA bolt threaded entirely through the UCA - with the help of a companion - the offset washers hold the outside of the washer away from the new X-Axis joint. Torque to 85 ft-lbs.​

Secure the upper ball joint loosely into the UCA with the 32mm nut, using the supplied instructions to adjust the ball joint to the desired caster setting.​

Insert the post of the upper ball joint into the spindle and secure it with the castle nut and cotter pin. Torque to 45 ft-lbs.​

At this point, I only had a couple things to do before reassembling the engine compartment, putting the tire back on, and standing back to admire my work. Specifically, I needed to grease the upper ball joint with SPC-approved grease, and I needed to adjust the ball joint so that it was centered in the slot on the UCA before torquing the 32mm nut to 150 ft-lbs. Easy peasy.

In all, the entire process took about 2 hours - mostly because I spent a bunch of time photographing everything, and wondering if I was going to have to remove my coilover at the beginning.

With the whole thing done, and the original arms on their way back to SPC, I took the Tacoma in for an alignment and was somewhat disappointed with how things turned out. I'd hoped for a good 1.5° of caster on both sides, but given my caster adjustment on the SPC ball joints, I got significantly less than that on the driver side. The solution is obvious of course - I'll change the position of the ball joints to add more caster - but that will have to wait for my next alignment.

Not a great alignment, but a lot better than when I took it in.​

For now, it's time to get back on the trail with my never-to-be-serviced-again control arms!

 

Lifetime eh? Yeah, we'll see.

 

Rig Review - What worked and what didn't for the last five months?
Part of the Me and Mike Climb into the Kootenays (Aug 2022) trip.

September 2, 2022.

Overall, the Tacoma has been doing great since my last rig review back in March, so I haven't felt any need to write anything about it. Still, there have been a few things worth noting on the last several trips, so let's get down to it.

• 250 Miles of Washboard - Bradshaw Trail (Mar 2022)
• Oh, So, (San Rafael) Swell (Apr 2022)
• Rock Art Overload - Nine Mile Canyon (Apr 2022)
• Owyhee Out-and-Backs (May 2022)
• A Tour of Cabins atop Steens Mountain (May 2022)
• Slowing Down in the Sierra (Jun 2022)
• Wyoming Backcountry Discovery Route (Jul 2022)
• Plumas National Forest Discovery Trail (Jul 2022)
• Lassen National Forest Discovery Trail (Jul 2022)
• Me and Mike Climb into the Kootenays (Aug 2022)

OMG, this review covers a lot of trips!

ADS Coilover Spherical Bearings (resolved)
TL;DR - I'm convinced that switching to extra tight stainless steel spherical bearings is the way to go, and I have numbers to prove it.

I've replaced my spherical bearings several times (I put a lot of miles on the truck) and there have been no shortage of posts covering the topic. Now, more than 120,000 miles after putting the first set on the Tacoma, I have what I feel is a conclusion: it is extremely important to use FK branded bearings, and they must have the F1 fit. F1 is the FK designation for an extra-tight fit (details).

For the curious, here's the overall timeline for spherical bearings in my lower front shock eye - the bearing that is subject to the most grit and grime of any bearing on the truck.

• The first set (from the ADS factory, I have no idea what brand they were) lasted 22K miles
• Second set of (as far as I know, unbranded, purchased from ADS) COM10T: 9K
• Third set of (as far as I know, unbranded, purchased from ADS) COM10T: 7K
• Fourth set of (as far as I know, unbranded, purchased from ADS) COM10T:10K
• Fifth set of (as far as I know, unbranded, purchased from ADS) COM10T:9K
• Sixth set of FKSSX10T-F1: 40K
• Seventh set of FKSSX10T-F1: 15K so far, still "like new"

Over that time, I haven't had to replace the upper front or rear spherical bearings until the sixth set of bearings went into the lower front (97K miles).

There are two benefits of the FKSSX10T-F1. First is the stainless steel, which (obviously) does not rust. As such, there isn't rust eating away the Teflon. Second (and maybe more importantly) is the -F1 fit. That is a tighter bearing and as such, allows much less grit and grime from the trail into the bearing.

Personally, the lower eye on my front coilovers sees *way* more grime than the front uppers or rears (both lower and upper), so I'm now continuing to use the stainless steel in the front lowers. For all the rest, I'm using FKS10T-F1 (this is a hardened steel version vs. the COM10T which is just mild steel) and of course, with the -F1 fit. This saves money on 3 of the 4 spherical bearings. Frankly though, since I've only had to replace them after 97K miles, it probably doesn't matter what I use on those.

Replacing spherical bearings on the front coilover. Note that the (left) FKSSX10T-F1 bearings from the lower eye show almost no rust (since they are stainless steel) after replacement, while the (right) upper bearing FKS10T-F1 (hardened steel) shows significant rust.​

Skid Plate "Fun" (ongoing)
TL;DR - While I think that Relentless armor is some of the best out there, the mounting of the skid plates could have been better and is causing me a bit of trouble over the years (because I lightly beat the truck).

I've quite enjoyed all of my Relentless armor on the truck, since I picked it up as one of my first modifications back in 2016. Early days, I had no skillset at the time and Eric @RelentlessFab did a great job. Since then, I've certainly beat on the skid plates, and the armor itself has held up well - only requiring the occasional persuasion to continue service.

The persuader.​

However, attachment points to the frame have not held up well and could have been designed better in my opinion.

The Relentless skid plate system is comprised of two skids with several attachment points.​

In the past, I've had trouble with the mid-skid attachment points to the frame rails as well as the transmission crossmember. After drilling out and re-tapping the frame rail holes several times, I finally replaced the self-tapping screws there with rivnuts using the Astro 1442 Rivnut Tool, which has worked out really well. At the transmission crossmember, I've consistently broken off the 3/16" steel ears on the skid plate. After welding them back on several times, I finally gave up and used a better solution - carriage bolts through the skid plate and through the crossmember.

The front skid plate has given me less trouble, and part of the reason for this - I believe - are the three 17mm bolts that secure it to the front bumper in a super-beefy way. In fact, those are the only three attachment points that I've never had a problem with. The other attachment points - to the front cross member and LCA tabs - have both needed work over the year. The LCA tabs broke off completely and had to be re-welded, and all four of the holes have needed to be drilled and re-tapped for larger bolts.

I'm at the point now where I've re-tapped all four of these holes to be 3/8"-16 thread - much larger than the OEM M8 bolts that used to secure each point - and one of the LCA mounts needs to be enlarged again. The captured nuts there only have so much meat, so I can't enlarge them indefinitely. So, I'm looking for a better solution. Weld the nut solid and re-drill? Some sort of insert? As yet, this is not resolved.

Front Bump Stops (new)
TL;DR - I've really liked all of the bump stops from Durobumps, so I've installed a second set on the front lower control arms!

Recently, I replaced a lot of the bushings on the front of my truck - the lower control arms (LCAs), steering rack, and front diff. When I did that, I also installed some Durobump bump stops on the LCAs, and an astute reader mentioned to me that I installed them in the wrong position, replacing the front OEM bump stops rather than the rear.

​

Thanks for noticing the screw-up, Andrew!​

Anyway, while I didn't notice any problem with the bump stops in the front rather than the rear, I had a chat with the creator, Curtis. Technically, we were chatting about other products that he makes for Tacoma's - specifically the rear bump stops and u-bolt flip kits for 1st gens - both of which I installed and love, but that he no longer offers. Through the flow of that conversation, he mentioned that he was working on a set of bump stops for the front mount of the LCA, and asked if I wanted to give a set a try.

Liking his other products, I jumped at the opportunity, and had a set sent my direction. I've had them installed for several months now, and the cushioning of the ride up front has been fantastic.

1st gen Tacoma front LCA Durobumps. The bump on the left is for the front hole of the LCA; the angled bump on the right is for the rear.​

A much nicer cushion than the stock hockey-puck style bump stops.​

I Broke my Kartek Limit Straps (new, resolved)
TL;DR - My dirver side limit strap in the front broke. I replaced it.

When I was up in Canada with Mike, I mentioned one day that it felt like I needed to (finally) adjust my limit straps because my side shock seemed to be bottoming out when I would go into full droop. Of course, that bottoming out is what can cause shock tower destruction - due to the enormous change in force - and was the reason I installed limit straps in the first place.

Turns out, adjustment wasn't what was needed.​

I was surprised to see these straps break, but I suppose they are a wear item. Figuring that the passenger side might be ready to go soon as well, I ordered up three more 7" straps from Kartk - to amortize the cost of shipping - and installed a new strap in just a few minutes.

Ready to protect my shock towers, again.​

Worn Upper Control Arm Bushings Leads to Updated SPC UCAs (new, resolved)
TL;DR - the last time I got an alignment, the tech mentioned that the rear passenger side bushing on the upper control arm (UCA) was starting to get a bit loose. After some consideration, I decided to install completely new UCAs, with lifetime joints so I never have to worry about those bushings again.

It was more than three years and 120K miles ago that I installed SPC UCAs on the Tacoma. Shortly after installation, SPC came out with an improved design that was a single forged piece of material, with an entirely new type of joint. That joint - which they call the "X-Axis" joint - was essentially a sealed spherical bearing that replaces the polyurethane bushings where the UCA is mounted to the frame.

And so, when I took the truck in for an alignment and the alignment tech (a good one, which can be hard to find) mentioned that my UCA bushings were in need of replacement, I had some thinking to do.

My options - and full thought process - can be found in Replacing my SPC Upper Control Arms ...with SPC UCAs, but the short of the matter is that I ended up getting a great deal from Esteban at SPC and swapped out my existing UCAs for a new set with the X-Axis joint. I'm still a bit apprehensive about the lifetime nature of the X-Axis joint, but only time will tell. If they are a lifetime part, I will be a very happy camper!

My original SPC UCAs with sleeved poly bushings on the left; new UCAs with the X-Axis joint on the right.​

The Bed is Failing (ongoing, resolved)
TL;DR - The passenger front corner of the bed cracked all the way down to the bed floor. I've fixed it, for now.

On our first day of the trip to Plumas National Forest, on our way down to Poker Flat, we heard a new banging noise. It reminded me of the noise I'd heard when I'd broken a leaf spring, so I was out of the truck quickly to look for the problem. I wasn't able to isolate it entirely, but I was pretty sure that I found where the bed had split (more than in the past) in the passenger front corner - something I'd tried to avoid by replacing my bed rack. Luckily, it only seemed to rattle around on significant downgrades with rocky conditions, and I knew the bed liner would mostly keep things together, so we ignored it for the rest of the trip.

Once we got back, I was able to get the bed off. Sure enough, the entire corner had split. A bit of metal - and half a day later - I got it all buttoned up. Details on the process are covered in My Bed is All Cracked Up, and hopefully it'll be good to go for several more years. Really though, the bed has issues all around, so who knows - perhaps I'll need a replacement in the future.

That is certainly not supposed to look like it does.​

Installation of New Lower Ball Joints (ongoing)
TL;DR - I replaced the lower ball joints (LBJs) as preventative maintenance after 75K miles.

I wasn't having any issues with my LBJs, but as a known weak point on 1st gen Tacomas, I figured that 75K miles - and a little less than two years - was long enough and I replaced them. I'll continue to check the new ones every time I do a tire rotation, but by and large I feel as though this part has served me well, despite the trouble it seems to give many.

Out with the old, in with the new.​

How are Those Expensive Seats Doing? (ongoing)
TL;DR - The new scheel-mann seats are doing fine. The jury is still out on whether they are worth it (and will be for several years, I think.

These seats are definitely the most expensive mod I've done to the Tacoma.​

I don't often post photos of the interior of the truck, but when I do, people always ask me about the seats. I wrote up the entire saga of finding new seats - which, if you're looking for a more comfortable ride is probably worth reading - as well as the installation and my initial impressions of the scheel-mann Vario R seats that I currently have installed.

I've had the scheel-mann seats for nine months now, and I continue to like them conceptually. My previous impressions - both good and bad - continue to be true. I do find myself wondering - for two main reasons - if I should have tried re-foaming my original seats prior to buying the scheel-mann:

1. I am worried about the lack of seat covers. The seats still appear to be in great condition, but I know that with all the dirt and dust that they are subjected to, covers extend the life by a good margin. Like, years.
2. Cost. Even if the cost doesn't really matter for me from a budget standpoint, I still feel like the cost of these seats was so great that I have a hard time justifying it. I probably should have spent half the amount on a really good re-foaming - perhaps adding larger bolsters in the process - to the OEM seats, before I bought these.

Interesting Times with Cooper ST/Maxx (new, resolved)
TL;DR - My Cooper ST/Maxx tires finally gave me a bit of trouble. Still, I'll probably buy a 5th set when these wear out because they've performed better than any other tire I've seen others run on the trail.

I had two flat tires on our recent trip to run the Plumas NF and Lassen NF trails in Northern California. The first wasn't really the tire's fault since I sheared off the valve stem; the second was a flat I got on the highway as we drove home.

That's not right, but at least the tire is fine!​

That's not right either. After running on this for two miles or so at 65mph, even though it looks pretty normal, the tire is toast.​

This is the first time - in more than 4 years and 19 (3 sets of 5 and a set of 4) Cooper ST/Maxx tires - that I've gotten a flat. Plus, in that time, I've only had one tear into a sidewall along Black Bear Pass in the Alpine Loop, so I'd say these are tough tires.

Luckily, for my most recent set of four tires - I only bought four this time because they'd increased in price by nearly $100/tire since my last purchase - I'd also bought the extended warranty, so SimpleTire replaced the freeway flat free of charge. For the valve stem, several folks mentioned a product I'd never heard of before, so I picked up a pair of Colby Valves that should allow me to repair a broken valve stem, should it ever happen again in the future!

Valve stems that insert from the outside!​

Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews

1. Front ADS Coilover Spherical Bearings - The new FK stainless steel bearings wit F1 tightness have solved my problems as noted above.

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 Zipper on the CVT Tent is Shit - I don't know how I'll ever address this, short of getting a GFC.
2. My Suspension Squeaks - still squeaky. I'm not all that worried about it, so I'm in no rush to fix it.

 

Zippers suck in general. Keeping them lubricated helps (even the plastic ones) but they always seem to fail when you least want them too.

 

I rubbed an old candle around my zipper to wax it. Seemed to help and actually got smoother over time after waxing. Bonus, it smells like cinnamon.

 

I hate doing this...but this may be a safety issue for some people. The sensors you are calling ABS are actually for the SRS (airbag) system. They are the airbag impact sensors. Anything with a yellow cable to it is SRS. So some extra caution should be used when messing with them...mostly just disconnect the battery and your good.

 

Yeah, I’ve been having trouble with these for years now. I’ve decided to use water as lubricant so I don’t attract more gunk, but it requires regular tightening of the zipper clasp to keep working. Bleh!

I’ve worried that using wax would attract dust in the trail. Have you had any issues with that?

Thanks for calling it out, I’d already caught that brain fart on my website and fixed up the photos there, but forgot to come back to TW to fix them up here. I’ve updated them now and I am a little surprised the old images were still showing, since I deleted them from Flickr when I updated my site a couple days ago.