What's the craziest/most interesting/unique item you've ever hauled or towed with your Taco?

This was taken last Thursday; my parents think that neighbors find a truck full of scrap unsightly, but the funny thing is that several of our neighbors contribute to my side hustle!

 

After picking up some more scrap at a friend’s property, also last Thursday…

 

My neighbors paid me $40 cash (in addition to food a metric shit-ton of alcohol) to pick up the bounce house they rented for their son’s 10th birthday, since the thing will only really fit in a pickup truck (or a van). Employees at the party rental place helped load it, and I found out why when I unloaded it myself!

 

@Lt. Dangle

Amanda’s neighbor installed a new A/C and gas furnace in a house in Philly, and I got the old system along with a shit-ton of stuff removed during the renovation!

 

This was with my old 2005. About 12 years ago.

Thats a 6x12 trailer that's about 1250 pounds. And a Kubota B6100 Hydro tractor.

This was a local haul, only about 10 miles. But that Tacoma did pretty good on local towing.

 

That's about the size of the trailer I pulled with my RC 5-lug just over two years ago, and I hauled it probably over 200 miles total. However, it ended up being more trailer than was actually needed for the task at hand as you can see. This was back in the spring of 2023 when I helped my then-new girlfriend Amanda and her late friend Emily move back to PA from Jersey. This trailer belongs to my former employer (I got laid off from that job in October 2023), and I was given permission to use it for the weekend. I called my insurance company and was told that as long as the trailer was attached to my truck and not being used for commercial purposes, it was covered under my policy. It may have been way more trailer than we needed, but it was cheaper than renting a UHAUL for a weekend, my truck pulled it just fine at highway speeds.

 

@taco206

I also pulled UHAUL trailers on two separate occasions, both for purposes of scrapping. Seeing as these trailers were a bit smaller than the 16-foot Ringo from work, the truck also pulled them effortlessly. I will never know for sure if this is related, but it didn't help. Just past 200K miles (like 202K maybe), my truck started making this awful noise, but it only made it when the truck was NOT in park. It was steady at idle, and it got more pronounced under acceleration. Turns out that transmission oil pump was going bad and the clutch packs were burnt. At 203K miles, it was more cost effective to replace the transmission than to rebuild it. My mechanic sourced a transmission from a totaled donor truck with only 22K miles (also a 2010), and it came with a 3-year/50,000-mile warranty that included 50% of labor to replace it if it failed. The total cost of everything was just over $2,400!

 

@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@shakerhood
@Speedytech7
@steelcity2
@TnShooter

I scored a couple of nonfunctional lawnmowers for scrap; the Cub Cadet has a blown engine, which is really a shame because the deck is in such good condition!

 

Those little cubs weren't bad for what they are.....
Prefect little side hustle mowers.
Especially for a high school kid wanting to make a few bucks in the summer.

They weren't commercial by any means.
But they'd a weeks worth of 1/4 acre lots fairly easy if you didn't beat them up too bad and did maintenance.

 

If a high school kid who knew engines offered me $50, I’d take it, but I don’t really have the time to list it and I don’t want it sitting in the bed of my truck for days…

 

@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@shakerhood
@slossboss
@steelcity2
@TnShooter

Emily’s dad is giving us a lot of her stuff, including a very nice bedroom set. We are also taking the entertainment center visible in the two photos quoted above. There is too much stuff to take in one trip, but Emily’s condo is a short drive from both of our houses and it’s gonna be a while before the condo is ready to put on the market, so we have a lot of time!

 

Emily LOVED horses, and had tons of equestrian memorabilia including this horse head; I had a good laugh with Emily’s dad when I said this thing reminded me of an infamous scene from The Godfather…



Amanda had always loved the horse head, and Emily’s dad has no interest in keeping it, so it was only right for Amanda to have it!

 

I ended up putting the mirrors in Amanda’s car so they wouldn’t get broken…

 

@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@Just_A_Guy
@shakerhood
@Speedytech7
@steelcity2
@TnShooter

Emily’s dad has probably given us about two grand worth of her furniture and other stuff, including this nifty entertainment center with a heater that looks like a real fireplace!