Not so girly working Tacocat

When I was born (in the German Democratic Republic), my parents signed me up for a new Trabant (26 whole horse powers, made of cotton and plastic), to be ready for purchase when I would turn 21.
Yes! A 20year waitlist to be allowed to by a new car. How things can change…

I am now married to my American Highschool sweetheart, living off grid in SW Oregon. And what do I need for that??? Correct! A Tacoma!
My hubby got me a plain ol silver 2014 trd sport with the 4.0 after lots of research. Nice ride! … on a standard Road.

The previous owner had already installed a dual exhaust and cold air intake for efficiency. On highway/freeway trips we get over 20miles to the gallon.

On my behalf I do have to add here my first car after drivers Ed in Germany was my dad’s Alfa Romeo 184, my task - get my brother to school driving the Autobahn. My heart car for over a decade in Germany a very much lowered, chip tuned, spoilered etc etc. Renault Clio sport. So lifting a vehicle is just not in my genes…

Last fall it became more and more apparent to me, that yes, hubby, former wheeler, is correct. We had to adjust her to our living situation, which is focused around our homestead 7 miles out on BLM roads.

In November a wildlife suicide ended up with damage to the front bumper. Replacement with plastic didn’t make sense, so we used the chance and switched to a Body Armor 4x4 pro, which really caught my eye because of the more rounded edges and more coverage on the sides.

That winter she proved herself when we were blessed with 3ft of wet Oregon snow in 36 hours. With 4 chains on studded tires, much lowered tire pressure and in 4low she crept up from 1400 to our home at 3000ft.

In spring I noticed my summer tires wearing out and started looking for new soles. Until a set of wheels on Facebook caught my eye. For the same price as the tires I was looking at! What a steal! Until hubby had to blow that bubble and tell me I would need a lift to put them on. A week later a set of 33/12/50 on a black 17inch Raceline were ours.

With the last couple miles of our “driveway” being pretty rough and rocky, the lift - big tire combo would bring a softer ride and substitute parts mostly worn out with parts designed for the abuse. My husband decided on a Rough Country 3.5inch kit with M1 struts, upper (red) and lower control arms and new leaf springs. All this installed just on our dirt driveway. Thank you hubby! Now I’m the one with the lifted truck in the disabled parking spot, driving clients around. One of my happy clients got me a pink step stool to make things easier.

That makes an almost happy wife! With me being only 5.2 I did request a step - one that looks nice and protects the truck from sticks and rocks. We went with a set of Go Rhino RB20 Slim Running Boards. And I installed them myself.

I’m very happy with the result. We’ll keep working on it. We will probably go down a size on the tires once they’re worn down, since they keep touching the frame when I’m turning sharply. They did lower my mileage from 17.2 to -14.8.

Thanks for all the great advise on the forum! It really helped me decide on things.

 

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