AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

IDBDR Pt. 9 - Move Over, Moose!
July 25, 2019.

I wasn't sure how sunrise would be given that we were in a bit of a bowl around Dworshak Reservoir - with no line of sight to the horizon - and no clouds in the sky - it could be a complete dud. And for the most part, that's what it was. Unimpressed, I went back to sleep.

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Having made good time yesterday, we still had a lot of making up to do - given our little brake caliper issue on the Lolo Motorway, and the fact that we'd spent two days completing the second stage of the IDBDR - so we got up reasonably early and ate a quick breakfast of granola bars before getting packed up and on our way just before 8:00am.

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Still in the land of Potlatch Corporation, we enjoyed good roads for an hour or so until we reached the leased/private/public land boundary - where I assume that USFS became responsible for the road, and it quickly went to sh!t. Until then though, we had mile markers and designated CB channels to call out our position - you know, so we weren't hit by any logging trucks barreling down the road with a full load.

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Of course, we didn't mind the roads-less-traveled, our aired down tires and reasonable suspension absorbing nearly everything that was thrown at them. Still making our way up and out of the bowl, we eventually came up on the Blue Heaven Cabin. A warming hut that's been painted blue (duh!), it's available year round on a first come basis and even on this warm morning, the front door was open and there was a bit of smoke coming out of the chimney - hopefully for cooking breakfast rather than warming the place up!

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Not wanting to disturb the occupants, we didn't linger or look around - opting instead to push forward towards the town of Avery, Idaho - the next waypoint we had on the route, and one with a bit of history to boot.

As we crested the final ridge however, we saw a Jeep Wrangler stopped in the road - one of it's occupants out of the vehicle, looking around on the ground. Naturally we stopped to make sure everything was OK. It was, the driver informed us - they were just a couple rock hounds out hunting for Azurite - a blue crystal - found in the area. So we continued on our way down the hill, eventually passing through a tunnel before finally arriving in the sleepy little town of Avery.

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Avery it turns out was once a bustling hub - a transportation center for the Cicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroads and a logging community for over 100 years. But fires in the early 1900s caused widespread panic - many residents fleeing; those who couldn't, finding refuge in the newly constructed railroad tunnels as the fires burned. Ultimately, fire fighters set back fires to save the town, but the damage was done. Today, 25 permanent residents call Avery home.

Still, it's fun to hear stories from the old days and think just how crazy the times must have been...

In the center of town - at the only intersection - an old dining car still sits on the side of the road, now converted into a museum. I got out and investigated a bit - it must have been quite the experience to ride in one of these trains in their heyday.

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We also took the opportunity to refuel while we were in Avery, though I think we found the local's gas station rather than the normal station that out-of-towners generally use. Completely unstaffed, we saved ourselves over $1/gallon compared to the fuel on the highway, and we were able to shine up the front of the truck a bit as well.

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From Avery, the IDBDR splits. Not for long - the two possible routes are separated only by the St. Joe River that runs between them - but each route has it's highlights. To the west, the road follows the old rail line through several tunnels. To the east, the road follows another rail line over several trestles.

We chose the west - and will forever wonder if we made the right call! The tunnels though were cool, and I'm sure either route is equally intriguing.

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Whichever route you choose, after about 7 miles, the two routes join back together and the track continues north towards Wallace - a reasonably large town (as towns on the IDBDR go), nestled under the I-90 freeway. Because of this, the road is obviously well-traveled and meticulously graded - but very dusty. We got stuck behind a dually for the first several miles, and I felt like not only did the truck need a shower, but so did @mrs.turbodb and I.

Eventually we got around into the clean air, and we kept our pace up to ensure that we were at no risk of being passed again - the dust so thick it was blinding.

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At about the same time the gravel road became an oiled gravel road, we happened upon a memorial that we couldn't pass by without stopping. Remembering the great fire of 1910, it tells the story of one Edward C. Pulaski - a Forest Ranger and leader of 45 men fighting the fire. Six of those men died, but Pulaski is credited with saving the lives of the remaining men by leading them into train tunnels until the fire passed.

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And that is where the name of a Pulaski comes from!

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Less concerned with traffic in front of us on the road at this point, we made our into and through Wallace - a cute little town that would likely be the bees knees for someone touring around old towns of Idaho.

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But that wasn't us. For us, Wallace was simply the end of section 6 and the beginning of section 7 - an exciting milestone to be sure. Plus, we were looking for somewhere a bit more...rustic to eat lunch. So we did what we'd done dozens of times over the last week - we hit dirt of this new stage, and started to climb a mountain.

An hour later, we found the perfect place for lunch. The view was obviously to die for, and we enjoyed it almost - but not quite - as much as the shade that came along with it!

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See, we were back in the land of burned woods - with all the pros and cons that go along with that; better views, but no shade for miles. Here and there we'd see fire lines - generally that had failed - as they worked their way across the hillsides. A lot of work it must have been to build those, and I can only imagine the feeling of disappointment when the fire jumped the line.

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Having eaten lunch near the top of the ridge, we commenced our descent into the next valley north. Down we went, the elevation profile of this section of trail indicating that we we'd just gained 2000', would now be losing 2500', and would then get to climb 3000'. This time though, we had plenty of fuel.

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Resigned to the up-and-down-only-to-go-up-again, we were probably halfway through our next up when 50' in front of us, a moose came barreling out of the underbrush on the driver side of the truck. On an uphill gradient, it was reasonably easy for me to slow down and so as surprising as it was, we were both thrilled to see the moose, a rare occurrence for us.

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We followed it for a good half mile or so, I'd say, before it finally found a suitable spot to exit the side of the road.

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Reinvigorated by the excitement of the moose, we - perhaps a bit more cautiously - continued on. Over mountains and through valleys, we were covering varied landscape at this point - the southern faces hot and dry, the northern cool and shady. And of course, at the bottom of each valley, rivers. It was a pleasant change from some of the monotony that we'd seen in earlier stages.

Oh, and there were wild huckleberries to boot!

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And then - another moose on the road!

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Seriously crazy to have that happen twice in an hour. Likely a once in a lifetime experience for us. We were making great progress through the stage and soon enough, we found ourselves in another burn and riding along the top of another ridge, a short side trip taking us up to Grassy Point - perhaps the buggiest spot that we visited the entire trip.

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Though the bugs were just gnats, we couldn't bear the swarms of them, and cut short our admiring the views - @mrs.turbodb doing her viewing from inside the truck.

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Now nearing the halfway point of section 7 - which we'd only just begun at lunch - we were making amazing time. We've actually found this to be the case on all the BDRs that we've run - as you get closer to the end, the sections seem to go faster. Almost as if the original creators of the route were getting tired, and just wanted to be done.

It's a double-edged sword of course - on the one hand, we too were ready for showers; on the other, we were likely bypassing some amazing opportunities that we didn't even know existed.

One that we weren't bypassing was the old Magee Ranger Station. In what is perhaps the definition of middle-of-nowhere along Teepee Creek, the ranger station and airport are no longer staffed, but belong to the pool of USFS dwellings that you can rent for a night, should that be your thing.

It's not ours, but that didn't stop us from checking out the old buildings.

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From there, it was a reasonably straight - and definitely well-graded - shot into the town of Clark Fork where we quickly filled up with fuel and set out on our third stage of the day - stage 8, the final stage of the route!

It was - at this point - early evening, and feeling good about having made up an entire day or more, we figured that if we found a nice camp site, we'd just go ahead and stop. The problem was - perhaps because we were reasonably close to town - there weren't a lot of good camp sites, and those that looked reasonable were already occupied.

Soon, we found ourselves some 10 miles into the stage already, a sign along the side of the road advertising Char Falls. As much as we were ready to settle down, we couldn't pass up a falls. A short spur road led us to a parking area/camp site that would have been a great spot to camp had it not been quite so damp, where we set out on a quarter mile jaunt to see the falls themselves.

We were definitely glad we did - the water falling some 50' over a rock face, and (for me) a vantage point from directly above the falls.

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Our visit here was quick, as we continued to look for a suitable place to spend the night. We knew that another 15 miles up the road was Lunch Mountain Lookout, and as is generally the case, I was rooting for that to be our stopping point - the views from lookouts generally spectacular by definition.

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It soon became clear that even though it'd take us another 30 minutes to get there, we definitely weren't going to find anything better - and so we continued on with purpose, hoping that this lookout would be accessible... and that if it were staffed, we'd be allowed to camp below.

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Well, when we arrived, one thing was for certain - this was going to be a great view. We'd raced to the top of Lunch Mountain, hoping to catch the sunset - and we'd made it just in the nick of time - perhaps 15 minutes or so before what was sure to be a dramatic moment.

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And, the lookout was open - a young guy inside. We asked permission to come up - which was granted - and bearing chocolate we made our way up the stairs. Turns out, when we got to the top and went inside, it was a lookout like no other we'd seen - there were nice hardwood floors, and no Osborne Fire Finder (that circular sighting tool that's always in the middle of the lookout).

What was going on here?

When we asked the young guy about it, he looked at us like we were crazy. "They don't staff these lookouts any more, I rented this one for the last three nights." he said.

And suddenly things became a lot more clear .

Intrigued, we chatted for a few minutes to tell him about all the "unstaffed" lookouts we'd chatted with over the last week of our trip, all getting a good laugh out of that one. Turns out that he'd grown up in the Coeur d'Alene area, exploring the forest in his spare time. He'd been trying to rent this lookout for years, and had finally gotten it - taking full advantage over his three-day stay - riding his bike through the woods, fishing, and having a great time.

And he was more than willing to let us setup camp below him, which was awesome.

So, we headed down the hill just a bit so we weren't right on top of him... or I guess, so he wasn't right on top of us and set about our dinner routine for the last time. Cheese ravioli with a meat arriabata sauce was on the menu, along with the last of our homegrown green beans. Yum!

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Dinner prepped as the sun set, the problem with this site was immediately obvious - mosquitoes. Tons of them. So many that even with the hoods up on our sweatshirts, they'd fly into the hood, seeking out a bit of bare skin on which to land and attempt enjoyment of our tasty dinner, directly through our bloodstream.

Hate those little buggers!

What could have been an extremely enjoyable evening was instead a rush to get into the tent - its screened windows and doors the only thing that offered true protection from the tiny terrorists all around. So we ate quickly, and got everything cleaned up and put away - the only thing left to do, open the door and try to get in without bringing 10 mosquitoes with us.

It was about this time that a group of seven built Jeeps also showed up - their BroBars blasting billions of gigawatts of LED light around the place, their Dorkles sucking in the dust filled air from the Jeep in front of them. Windows down, they were rowdy and at least partially intoxicated as they made their way past our camp and up to the lookout.

Luckily, we were far enough away that they didn't bother us all that much as we enjoyed the last of sunset from the safety of our tent, but we felt sorry for the guy staying up there - it couldn't have been fun to have that crowd around until 11:00pm, disturbing his last night in a favorite place.

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By the time they decided to leave, we'd been asleep for an hour or more. But, with that ruckus coming down the trail, and several small suns illuminating the mountaintop, their exit wasn't something that went unnoticed. Glad they were gone, we snuggled back down in our covers and fell back asleep to the sound of mosquitoes buzzing all around the outside of the tent.

Knowing that tomorrow would be the day - the day we made a run for the Canadian border!

 

IDBDR Pt. 10 – Where Are the Nice Canadians?
July 26, 2019.

Positioned well above the horizon, sunrise would have been one of the best if just a few clouds had made an appearance in the sky. Without them, an orange glow an hour or so before the sun peaked out was all we got. Shucks, right?

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The mosquitoes were out in full force again, buzzing and gathering around the windows of the tent - our scent like sweet sweet nectar to them. Not that our scent - after 10 days on the road - was anything but a sweet sweet nectar, mind you.

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Not wanting to hang around the swarm any longer than we had to, and the tent already warming up in the hot early morning sun, we donned our long pants and sleeves before exiting our protective enclosure for the outdoors.

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A quick teardown - and no breakfast, even granola bars could wait - and we jumped into our seats, rolled down the windows to get good air movement and pull out all the blood suckers, and took off - the sweeping vistas around us belying the inhospitable reality of this place!

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Down the mountain we went - the more room between us and the mosquitoes the better - until we finally reached the edge of Lake Pend Oreille, and pavement.

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Less than halfway through the final stage, we joked to each other that from here, the IDBDR planners were just ready to be done with their confounded adventure - I mean, it's not really about the dirt, right?

Little did we know... we were closer to right than we would have liked.

We continued on - the track criss-crossing but avoiding the highway for the most part, while at the same time also avoiding several dirt tracks that we could see on the map would have taken us nearer the border. Hrm.

Eventually, after a good 20-30 miles of pavement, hoping that the next windy turn would be dirt, we decided it was time to air up. Plus, we ran into a sign that couldn't be passed by.

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The 3.4l V6 much happier with firm tires on paved ground, we quickly ticked off more miles as we made our run for the border, reasonably convinced at this point that it would be paved the rest of the way. As we crossed a set of railroad tracks that would dump us out on the highway, I happened to glance down the line and see the lights of a train - stopped in the distance.

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Hoping it would start up again, I parked the truck and got out with the camera. Dorking around for a bit, I happened to look the other way on the tracks and saw a second train approaching. "Huh, that's strange." I thought, before realizing that we were about to witness something pretty cool. We were at a crossing loop, where two trains - running in opposite directions on the line - could navigate past each other.

We were definitely waiting to see this. Sure enough, as the northbound train pulled entirely onto the crossing loop, the southbound train started moving and passed along the main line. It was a ballet of steel that I've never seen before.

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We cruised along for the remainder of the stage, eventually hitting a few miles of highway-grade gravel as we skirted the west side of the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge - the grading so nice that we were still very glad to be aired up and able to travel at a high rate of speed.

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And then, well before lunch and only three hours after breaking camp - we were at the border!

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Not wanting to cause any trouble, we pulled over to remove the plate cover before proceeding forward to the Rykerts, BC customs station.

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We'd made it! Pulling up to the window, we were asked the usual questions - "Where are you from?" "Do you have any guns, alcohol, or tobacco?" "Are you carrying over $10,000 in cash?" "How long are you going to be in Canada?"

Our answers were of course mundane. We were from Washington, but had just traveled on dirt roads all the way from Nevada to Canada - can you believe it? We had no guns, alcohol, or tobacco...much less $10,000 in cash. And we were going to be in Canada for about five minutes.

And that, apparently, was a problem. "You mean you're just going to turn around the office and head back to the United States?" The border service officer asked.

"Yep." I responded.

And with that, he held on to our passports and asked us to park the truck, letting us know that if we'd just wait a few minutes, our passports would be returned to us. Awesome.

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With that, two additional offers exited the building and asked us to empty our pockets, even going as far as to pat me down when all I produced was my cashless wallet and a few credit card receipts. Then, they asked us to sit in a windowless room while they searched the truck.

Fifteen minutes later, and quite obviously disappointed, they returned our passports and let us know that we were free to leave. We thanked them for their hospitality and the extra time in-country, and proceeded to repack the interior of the cab that they'd left a mess after ransacking it in their search.

And then, we headed for home! Well, for the United States anyway.

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The border crossing here went much more smoothly - our answer to "How long were you in Canada?" being, "Fifteen minutes, though we only expected to be there five." drawing a raised eyebrow.

Seeing that, I quickly shared our story which got a good laugh from the US Border Patrol officer and we joked that they were probably just bored and wanted to get a closer view of the awesome truck - you know, ideas for their own builds.

Now nearing lunch time, we pointed the truck south toward I-90, found a bite to eat, and watched as a train full of planes passed us - likely heading the same place we were. Home.

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Hope you enjoyed our adventure on the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route. Now get out there and make your own adventure!

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Shoulda brought Timmys, those lazy bastards would have sooner drank a cup and ate a donut than gave you trouble if you had.

 

I too hate Canadian border guards.... Went up to BC for a concert in our brand new truck (no plates yet). The guy saw my Scotty Cameron camo duffel bag in the backseat and starts in on, "how many guns do you have with you?" None. "Why not?" Because I am not carrying a gun into Canada. "How many guns do you have at home?" Uh, not sure why that is relevant? "Where are your guns at your house?" None of your business. "Please pull ahead to that area, park and walk in the building SIR." They separated my wife and I and as I sat there stewing they peppered her with questions, "Is he going to do something, he looks mad, are we going to have a problem with him?" blah blah blah F Canada.

 

What?

I'd have driven West and picked another entry to cross back in. Because.... Canada!

Another great trip report, excellent pics, glad I came along for the read.

 

Ahh, Timmy's - the secret.

Yeah, it's strange - we've been questioned twice now on two BDRs. And yet, all the Canadian's I know are the nicest people.

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed!

 

You guys talking about navigation has me thinking I might need this.
https://www.newegg.com/p/0EJ-001J-0...blets-_-lenovo-_-9SIA5EF8HT1287&source=region

On the topic of mosquitos, have you tried any of the clothes with permethrin integrated into the fabric (or tried spraying your clothes with permethrin)? I remember watching one of the earlier episodes from xoverland (before they became annoying) where one of them was wearing some of that special clothing and didn't have a gnat or mosquito on her. Everyone else was covered. I bought one of the shirts and wore it the next time I went camping and some kind of flying insect landed right on me....needless to say, i was disappointed. At least it wasn't a mosquito. I still have yet to determine if they work well for me.

Finally, will you please, just once, give your truck a nice wash and wax? I know its a trail truck, but it has served you well and deserves to be pretty at least once.

 

I use permethrin all the time at work. It is safe for the FR we have to wear, unlike OFF.

Its the chiggers, that I use it for mainly so. I spray boots and from the knees down . Is is supposed to last.6 washes, but we usually do it a bit more often

 

Used Premethrin (sp?) on our last backpacking trip... worked great, worth it.

 

What the hell are "Timmys"

 

what the hell is krispy kreme!

 

I scrolled up from the bottom, saw this dope picture and just figured id stop reading the thread here, this train of planes was plenty cool enough for me

 

It took me like two months to read through this whole thread, but it's been a really great read, and inspirational.

I have a sort of random question. I noticed in the last few trips that the window awning closest to the cab only ever has one rod in. Is this because of where the CVT is mounted in relation to the cab? I recently built a bed rack and my first time out with it I realized that I couldn't get one of the rain fly rods in due to how close the tent was mounted to the cab.

 

Get A Rope!



It's a doughnut shop. A sweet, light & airy glazed doughnut. Very popular, more like a pastry than a doughnut.

 

I really like that tablet. The only downside that I can see is that it only supports FAT32 on the SD card - no ExFAT. That means that with larger card sizes, you waste a lot of space with small files/map tiles. So, a 64gb card is really as useful as 128gb (they store essentially the same data).

And as far as washing waxing the truck - - we were just talking about this yesterday around the campfire (out of country ). I've never been big on waxing, but I mentioned at some point that I don't even use a wash mit anymore... whatever the pressure washer gets off, that's what comes off. I actually spend way more time washing the undercarriage than the body even! For me, at this point, it's a trail truck - with the number of trips I go on, a wax is really just a waste of time - it'll be muddy again in less than two weeks.

For mosquitoes, we use these bug jackets. They have the added benefit of being extra stylish. We prefer not to spray, mostly so that we don't get so disgusting over the course of a week long trip.

Whatever does it for you man! Come on another trip! I need more pink Jeep.

Glad you enjoyed the thread - I've gone through my share of threads over a long period of time too, and I know the authors always really appreciate someone taking the time. I sure do.

For the tent - yep - with where it's mounted, that rod won't fit. That's fine with me - we get plenty of ventilation from the other three sides. In fact - the trade-off - having it lower (center of gravity) and behind the cab (aerodynamics) is totally worth it in my opinion.

 

Yep, one of the best threads on TW.

If you have a roof rack, you can use a bungie cord on that side.

 

Rig Review: Idaho July 2019 - What worked and what didn't?
July 29, 2019.

In perhaps our most-traveled month to date, July was nearly an entire month in Idaho. In fact, we've had four trips in the last couple of months to this tiny state - after only having visited once before. After our SE Idaho trip to Indian Hot Springs and City of Rocks, our trip to the Highest Roads in Idaho, and running the Idaho Backcountry Discovery route, there are definitely a few things worth mentioning on the rig. So let's get right down to it.

Front Brakes (long term)
TL;DR - One of my 13WL brake calipers seized on the trail and had to be replaced. The issue was that Napa no longer carries a workable caliper, and the 13WL caliper really wants a hard brake line connection, which Tacoma banjo bolts don't offer. I'll be switching out my lines.

I'm a big proponent of the Tundra brake upgrade for a well-built 1st gen Tacoma. Our trucks get heavy, and being able to stop quickly is important. My 13WL Tundra calipers that I sourced from Napa have been working great since I installed them - I thought. But, one failed catastrophically on this trip, seizing up overnight on the trail.

The biggest problem was that Napa no longer carried the Napa Total Eclipse calipers anymore - at least not in-store - having switched to a new, and no-doubt cheaper, vendor (Adaptive One Brake Calipers).

These new calipers are not remanned as cleanly as the Total Eclipse brand, and have the fatal flaw of being powdercoated on the surface where the brake line attaches; the Total Eclipse's being machined there. This powdercoating makes it impossible for the crush washer between the banjo bolt and caliper to seal, and you get brake fluid leaking everywhere.

Just to be crystal clear - the following Napa calipers DO NOT WORK with Tacoma banjo bolts:

• Adaptive One Brake Calipers Front Left 13WL - part: ADC 1766XA
• Adaptive One Brake Calipers Front Right 13WL - part: ADC 1766XB

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Note the orange peel texture (powdercoating) on the donut shaped surface where the brake line connects. This is bad if you're using a banjo bolt.​

The best solution is to spend a bit more money when converting to Tundra brakes, and install the a hard brake line conversion kit, which converts the Tacoma front brake lines to a combo soft+hard line - just like the Tundra (and 4Runner) ships from the factory.

Note: LCE Performance used to be the only game out there for a hard line conversion kit. I actually bought one from them. However, they charge way too much for what the kit is, and so now the best place to get a kit is from me - I've put together an essentially identical kit for substantially less money - like $60 or so less! Buy one today.)

An alternate solution (that I used to get home from this trip) is to find a 13WL caliper at a different parts store - I used O'Reilly - that is re manufactured well, and not powdercoated on the mating surface. The part number that worked for me was:

• BrakeBest Left 13WL - part: 19-2712
• BrakeBest Right 13WL - part: 19-2713

I've already ordered my hard line kit, and will be installing that when it arrives.

Door mat (long term)
TL;DR - If you don't carry a small 2'x3' door mat for the bottom of your tent ladder, or in front of your tent, you should. Keeps the tent clean and is a great mat to work on when something goes wrong with the truck.

The mat we have is a hand-me-down from a friend who was tossing it. It's just a small mat, made of a plastic-grass material. That's great because even when it gets wet, it doesn't soak in. And, it's much lighter than a traditional mat. Love it.

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Electrical System (new)
TL;DR - the dual battery system is working amazingly great. It was extremely nice to not have to worry about powering the fridge, even when the overnight temps were in the 50°F's.

The dual battery setup worked flawlessly, and the plywood cabinet hasn't rattled apart into a bunch of pieces. The two Northstar 24F batteries, and the Blue Sea Systems ML-ACR were spectacular - all working in tandem and keeping the truck's electrical system in tip-top shape for the entire trip.

I never realized how much time I spent worrying about whether the fridge ran at night (and whether the battery would have enough juice to start the truck in the morning) before I had two batteries. This trip, it was a relief every time I heard the fridge power up, knowing that there was nothing to worry about.

I did have one issue with the initial build-out: the drawer would slide out when bumping down a hill. A simple catch to hold it closed was all I needed and now it stays in place just fine.

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New Bed Rack (update)
TL;DR - The new rack works just fine, but I have no idea if it's preventing bed cracking until I take it off.

I have nothing more to day about this, but you're welcome to read about the new bed rack design and the issue I was having.

Hi-Lift (update)
TL;DR - It's more valuable than I'd given it credit for. Mine is a little "sticky" going up and down - likely a result of how I store it.

I've carried the Hi-Lift since I've started going on these longer trips, but up until now, I've never used it (on my own truck) and others who have used it have noticed that it's a bit sticky in its operation. This trip, I used it 4 times in one day and really got a sense for how it works.

It's definitely stickier than when I rebuilt it (How-To: Serviceing, Cleaning, and Rebuilding a Hi-Lift), but I think that's due to how I store it - exposed to the elements - on the side of my rack. I've considered getting a cover for the mechanism, but really - a good dousing with WD-40 before and during use seems to be enough to get it working properly again.

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4Runner Wheels (updated)
TL;DR - The wheels are awesome and the bronze is a great color IMO. It does not however hold up to brake fluid that sits on the paint for an extended period of time.

The 4Runner wheels look great painted bronze. The I really couldn't be happier with the Dupli-Color Wheel Paint. It looks great and seems very robust to trail conditions and pressure washing.

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On this last trip however, it got abused when brake fluid was leaking on it from the front driver caliper. That wheel now definitely has some paint that's missing, and other paint that is discolored. Basically, the inside of the wheel - which you can't ever really see anyway - needs to be repainted.

That doesn't bother me since I know I'll need to touch these up due to road rash anyway, but it is something to keep in mind when doing a job like this - no spray-on finish is going to stand up the way a powder coat will.

ARB Fridge Cord (long term)
TL;DR - The 12V power cord has a design flaw. ARB is good about standing behind their warranty however, and sent me a new one.

We love our ARB 50qt fridge - it is @mrs.turbdb's favorite "mod." However, after two+ years of regular use - say on the order of 175 nights camping - it's clear to me that there is a design flaw on the 12v ARB fridge power cord. Namely, the injection molding used for the right angle plug that goes into the fridge has a seam that easily cracks, exposing the wiring - a possible short circuit/fire hazard.

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I contacted ARB about this after returning from the IDBDR, sending them photos and telling them what happened. They very quickly sent out a replacement cord, which is great. Of course, it still has the same issue, so time will tell how it holds up.

Re-booted CV Axles with OEM Boots (update)
TL;DR - Couldn't be happier. I was considering getting some CVJs to replace my CVs, but I don't think I will anymore.

Having busted both of my inner CV boots after installing my ADS coilovers, I rebooted both CVs earlier in the year. They've held up great since then, and I think dialing down the pre-load on the ADS coils has resulted in a healthier angles for the CVs in general. When I rebooted the driver side CV, I had a problem with the tulip, but I've not had any issue with the rebuild since it's been on the truck. As such, I'm no longer planning to purchase a new CV from CVJ at this point...though I may in the future. Super happy with the CV Reboot Kit (04438-04021) and process at this point.

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Rotisserie Chicken
TL;DR - Take one for dinner!

We generally do pretty well eating on our trips. This time, we tried something we've not done before - we purchased a rotisserie chicken and removed all the meat prior to the trip. One night for dinner, we simply dumped all the flavorful goodness into an aluminum foil pouch with a bit of water, heated it over the stove, and OMG - best dinner ever.

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Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews

1. The Electrical System - no longer has the limitations of a single battery system.
2. The Bed is Cracking - I hope, see above.
3. 4Runner Wheels - no longer silver, and looking sharp!
4. ADS Coilovers - now no longer overextending with the pre-load dialed down.

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 Swing-Out Table - as expected, it was unusable on this trip.
2. The Ham Radio Antenna - continues to have the shortcoming mentioned.
3. Front ADS Reservoirs Too Close to Tires - I've still got rubbing in sharp turns each direction.

 

The chicken idea sounds good.
I've heard the Hi-lift needs to be kept clean, lubed and covered, to be safe. I developed a fear of mine, having never needed to use it, so sold it.
Thinking about a replacement. the 12 ton bottle jack may barely get my front end up enough to change wheel.
Question on your Mid torque impact wrench, is it adequate? ever wish you had the Hi torque range?

 

As always - love reading your writeups.

mmmmm … Rotisserie Chicken. I took a rotisserie chicken and some Colorado Palisades peaches on my trip west to Pismo Beach last fall. Tasty easy meal with dessert.

An option for you regarding front ADS reservoir mounting location. On top of the frame. View looking down engine bay from passenger side:


Slee Offroad in Golden, Colorado installed my ADS shocks. My invoice says "SOF1286 96 - 04 Tacoma Coilovers W/Reservoirs and mounting brackets". I can't tell if Slee made the brackets or if they ordered them from ADS.
I attempted to get a better picture of the mounting bracket on the passenger side:

The bracket has this shape:

I am guessing about the bracket mounting holes since I cannot see them. Possibly the frame was drilled and tapped? They have held firm over the last two seasons of abuse.


Do you have any thoughts regarding the cause of the Eclipse caliper seizure?
I performed the Tundra break upgrade with the Napa Eclipse calipers in March and am curious if there is something I can keep an eye on. Thanks.

 

I am generally a ridiculous human when it comes to my "budget" and even I can't justify coilovers, seeing the real-world growing pains you are having with yours confirms that for me. I had Bilstein on the last truck, thinking Dobinson on this one. Did order a Galaxy A tab and am working on mounting solutions for that. CVT did not deign to run a LaborDay sale so I will have to continue to wait on that. Oh, I missed the "train full of planes" the first read through, so happy that someone pointed that out as your line was just perfect!