300AACTaco's Black '15 DCSB Alaskan Adventure Build

It's a good day for my Tacoma!! Finally got her aligned and the tires are all perfectly balanced, it rides straight down the road and is extremely smooth. Only took it getting balanced 7 times lol. Should have gone to CCA Motorsport the first time. Great shop in Anchorage. Ordering a frontrunner rack for my Tacoma tomorrow, should be here late next week. Also putting together a tool kit for my truck, getting a hi lift jack, krazy beaver shovel and some other goodies.

 

Glad to hear the SAGA of the maxx/s has come to a good conclusion at last! I had picked out these in 255 as my next tire (I had 285s on my old 07 SR5) But was watching to see what would happen with your situation. Because I will be living with and riding on these tires for 3yr/30k+ I want to get it right. Not in a position to buy new tires every year.

 

Me too! It was such a pain in the ass. I think the two main factors that contributed to it were, one the shop I bought them from originally sucked, but I went there because they were the only cooper tire dealer in anchorage with a road force machine. Turned out to be totally helpless though. And two, tires like these are hard to balance in the first place, especially for trucks like ours that are lighter. I fell in love with these tires after my first set, so I was really hoping I could get them to ride right. Still not sure if when it comes time for new tires in a few years if I'll get them again, but in the meantime I'm gonna enjoy these badass tires. Because when they ride right, man are they awesome. Puncture resistance and quietness is what sold me in the first place.

 

Yes I had good luck with my last set, this is a crappy pic but these are 285s at 35k+,(edit maybe 40k+? No so sure...) lots of chunking (lived on a poorly maintained private rd, like bedrock in sections) but plenty tread left. Cooper treated me good with long life and a good ride I'm gonna give them another shot.

 

What's the rubber on that taco at the moment? Since that was your last set? Also these are amazing in winter. I don't even switch to winter tires here in AK. ST Maxx all year round

 

Alas the 07 was sold awhile back. I bought my '15 with the thinking that I would retain the 07 as a trail rig but it had a rough life and expensive stuff was cropping up. I read the tea leaves, let her go, and think I saved myself a ton of ha$$le.

 

Just saw your tire updates from the other thread- looks like I may just suck it up and go get aligned at another shop!

 

You having issues with your ST Maxx? I guess a proper alignment is really crucial

 

Welp, a month of summer has gone by and I haven't used the RTT or camped once yet, all thanks to my tire issues. Pretty shitty. But there's still a ton of summer left. I've got plans to drive the Denali Highway and go to Kennecott Mine here soon after I get my frontrunner rack. Here's a list of gear I want to get in addition to the rack:

Krazy Beaver Shovel and mount
Hi Lift Jack and mount
Camp Table
Camp Chef
Milwaukee or DeWalt Electric Impact Gun
Awning for the roof rack
Axe and axe mount
NOCO Genius Boost Plus GB40 1000 Amp or 2000 Amp 12V UltraSafe Lithium Jump Starter

 

Just ordered an ARB 1250 Awning to mount to my Frontrunner roof rack which I also just ordered! Can't wait for it to get here. Also added on one of those tan ARB touring camp chairs. Next up I'm going to order a hi lift, camp table and camp chef stove. Also got the camp kitchen utensil set from frontrunner, looked really nice. And last but not least I ordered a

$85 Milwaukee M18 Cordless Lithium-Ion 6-1/2" Circular Saw - 2630-20 - ( MILWAUKEE ) - BARE TOOL

Milwaukee M18 3/8" cordless impact gun for general truck stuff

 

I'd really consider cancelling the order for the 1250 awning. I had one and it's just way too small. It looks good attached to the truck since it fits right on the rack and matches the roofline but the 6.5' awning I replaced it with is so much more useful.

 

Do you have any pictures of it opened up on your truck? I was looking at the 55" CVT awning but I ordered the ARB one through GTF because it was half the price and just 5 inches less in width. It'll open up on the same side that my RTT does so it'll be side by side with the tent overhang too

 

Not the best picture, but that's the 4' opened up. You can see it doesn't even cover the width of the doors. If your tent is higher than mine it will be better coverage, but still not what the larger size gives. You can get a 6.5' TJM up here for about $200 from Boss4x4 http://www.boss4x4.com/product-p/tjm7-620rctra200.htm. The material is slightly thinner than the ARB awning but I've had no problems with it. Same size as the 2100x2000 ARB and the ARB accessories fit it just fine.

 

I'm wondering if maybe your wheels are the reason they weren't balancing out correctly? Did you have a problem with them on the Methods?

I had literally the same lift, tires, and wheels as you(when you had the Methods). They balanced out perfect and never had a problem.

 

Thanks for sharing that picture! Sorry for just now getting back to you, been super busy. My awning will sit pretty much even with RTT overhang so I don't think it'll be an issue. I do see your point though about it not covering the entire width of the cab

 

I had brand new wheels and tires, so both were starting out fresh. I don't think it was the wheels because the road force machine measured them to see if they were out of spec and they were fine. I think it was just incompetent shops

 

Frontrunner Rack came in the mail today! I'll finish the install tomorrow. Along with some Frontrunner Awning Brackets for my ARB 1250 Awning that will be here tomorrow. I even picked up an awesome Frontrunner Camp Kitchen Utensil set and it's awesome! All of the knives have a full tang so they're pretty nice. Has enough utensils for 4 people. Tomorrow I'm also expecting the following in the mail from Amazon:

ARB Tire Seal Kit

$55 ARB 10000010 Orange Speedy Seal Tire Repair Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P91FCO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Krazy Beaver Shovel

Krazy Beaver Shovel

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EUFNTIK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ALPS Mountaineering XL Camp Dining Table

ALPS Mountaineering Folding Camping Table with Smooth Easy-to-Clean Roll Top and Sturdy and Lightweight Aluminum X Frame, Shoulder Carry Bag, X-Large, Silver

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038Q2ME0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Hey there. For the pinch weld, did you bang it inwards towards center of truck or outwards?? Thanks!

 

I've been so indecisive about whether to keep or switch my wheels recently (Methods or SCS Ray10's). However, looking at your pics I have to say Method's + St MAXX are crazy aggressive looking and I think it's my final decision! Haha, would you get NV's again?

 

Nevermind I see you bought SCS