Driving a Tacoma around the world

Pressure wash them first. Mine squeaked so bad before I started pressure washing them. I could bounce the truck rear up and diwn by hand and it squeaked like crazy. Every bump the same and you could hear it a block away and it drove me mad. Creaking like Draculas coffin opening.

I do the pressure wash on the leaf springs now after every offroad trip. It has never squeaked again a single time in the past year since starting that routine.

My leaf springs now look like new after every trip, shiny black. I can have an empty bed or a max load, and no squeaking. I was not cleaning them at all when I had the squeaking issues. So yes having them thoroughly clean will help. Takes only a few minutes per side but for sure do the full length getting between the leafs. At the least a cheap low effort experiment.

if the wash station has the pressure soap option, use that before the pressure rinse. I think a good cleaning could make a difference.

 

If you find yourself east of the Champagne region - check out Strasbourg it is a beautiful city with a cathedral and their wide variety of sausages and sauerkraut are incredible. Also not too far is the town of Molsheim where the Bugatti Veyrons have their final assembly facility and there is a Bugatti heritage site there where you can see his engine designs, boats, bicycles, etc. All very cool. They also take the Veyrons out for test drives on the roads around the city. Next to the Veyron facility is the Bugatti Manson where the customers get their cars delivered.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...C9F857E4C8F74250773BC9F&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

 

Sounds good. I give it a try and thanks for the tip!

 

Darn! We just went by Strasbourg day before yesterday and are now in Munich. But thanks though!

 

Well, Munich is not a bad place either! I have spent less time in Munich though. Not sure what direction you are headed, Innsbruck is great as well!

 

Thanks. Here’s our rough schedule:
Germany-12 days, Czech-5 days, Poland-6, Slovakia-4, Hungary-7, Croatia

 

Nice, be safe as you head east

 

I have definitely been way over payload in my truck for a while now and finally decided to take stuff off until I can get a tundra

 

We’ve been way over weight for 50,000 miles, so far so good. But it’s always good to shed unnecessary weight. I recurring dream I have is to build a chassis-mounted camper out of carbon fiber and lose a 1,000 pounds and wonder how better the truck would drive. I think the Norweld flatbed weighs 500-600 lbs by itself

Notre Dame all bundled up after the infamous fire of four years ago. Luckily the famous towers didn’t collapse

 

Been radio silent for a while. I left my phone on a train and my wife had hers stolen from a outside pocket in Paris, so connecting has been a challenge.


How many of you recognize this castle? This is the famous Neuschwanstein castle in the Black Forest in the German state of Bavaria. This castle was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s.

It’s crazy crowded but with German efficiency it is actually not that bad to visit and the inside is incredible.



Next, we headed north towards Munich on the German Romantic road and discovered the wonderful little town of Dinkelsbuhl.


Unlike many towns with a beautiful Town Square, pretty much every street looks like this.


The Black Forest has many great spots to wild camp. It’s very similar to the Coastal conifer forests of the western US. Hopefully my internet issues will resolve soon

 

Beautiful shots again. Great stuff. My holiday continues!

I hope your phones were password protected.

How big are those wilderness forested areas? I always imagined Germany as very industrialized and little wild space left.

 

Unfortunately there are no real (similar to the western US Wilderness areas) wilderness areas in Germany. Only forested areas that have been growing trees for harvest for hundreds of years. That said they are still beautiful.

No, our phones weren’t but we remotely wiped them quickly.

 

Perhaps stop by the Passion Play. Only once every 10 years since the 1400s, delayed due to Covid. I saw it in 2000 and it was a remarkable experience. https://2022-oberammergau.com/time-schedule/

 

The amazing medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany.


Found out later that this THE photo spot of the town, who knew?!


It also has some of it town walls still standing


For a town of 11,000 there must have been several thousand tourists.

Sorry, internet is still problematic, getting caught up on a post

 

Thanks but we’ve just left Germany. I’m behind in posting updates as my internet provider in Germany stinks, who would have known

 

Found some cell coverage. Four years ago I got an iPad with an unlimited data plan. It’s been working really well until a month ago. But today I found coverage.

Here’s some pics from our Berlin stop. This is one of the few sections left of the Berlin wall. It’s now fenced off and you can’t even get near it . For us it was a blast back in time because as newlyweds, we visited Berlin in January 1990 only a few months after the wall fell. Wow! Have things changed.


Here’s a Soviet propaganda wall mural showing everyone happy. They repainted over a Nazi propaganda piece.


The Berlin Holocaust Memorial.


Brandenburg gate.


On to Poland!

 

I've been following your trip for a while but finally made a TW account. I lived in York for a moment, just behind the rail station. I didn't enjoy living there but there's this little pub called the House of the Trembling Madness, which at the time was located on Stonegate just off the Minster (now on Lendal close to the Yorkshire Museum). That place kept me sane until I returned to Oregon. Awesome to see the Shambles and York Minster again.

 

Hopefully I can be the first to welcome you to Tacomaworld! We loved York, so much history there. What part of Oregon are you living in? We sold our house which was in Ashland

 

Thank you! I live in Portland. Lived in Hood River and the upper valley for years, but couldn't afford to buy a house in the Gorge so moved to the city.

 

Rothenburg is such a cool city! Went there 5 or 6 years ago and loved it there! It's an amazing journey your on!