Driving a Tacoma around the world

ahh makes sense tbh thats my fav part of playing games online i meet so many people from all over the world and i get to learn so much since i know i wont be able to go to any of these places in my life time haha

that is really neat they found them overseas and stayed with each other for so long idk if i could do that at all

ive been told that by my euro friends that they dont rush to do daily task/errands they get them done in a timely manner but not rushing to finish it all so quickly which to me is interesting

and i wouldnt mind that at all tbh to hear the stories feel free to send me a pm

 

Believe me that picture frustrated me in that it doesn't show how steep the slopes were and how incredibly hard it must have been to build a wall all the way up to the top of the cliff

 

Thank you!
My wife just got her British passport renewed for this tour. Her parents were English and Scottish. Enjoyed meeting her relatives and visiting where they grew up.

 

Hey! No problem always interested in other peoples stories

 

Slovenia

We only spent four days driving through Slovenia and didn’t do it justice. We also had to get to Zurich to fly back to the US for a family wedding (we booked the flight six months ago, just picked a big city where we thought we could find secure parking for the truck).

Slovenia had gorgeous mountains and what was for us an unexpectedly intriguing capital, Ljubjana.


Beautiful Lake Bled.



We entered Slovenia with truck issues and ended up at a helpful Toyota service shop in Ljubljana. Here they replaced another torn CV boot and were nice enough to allow us to ship a new solar panel to them. On one lift the truck was so rear heavy that it threatened to tip over, had to move to this one. Have found that even Toyota dealers sometimes struggle with dealing with the size and weight. Even at a dealer the truck attracts alot of attention.




One of the reasons we chose a Toyota as such an internationally common make and model (Tacoma basically the same as a Hilux)

Some olive groves are small enough that the family owners just do it themselves. The large ones have a tractor shake the olives onto tarps.




A beautiful shell of a church.

Along with the accompanying urns.







The drawback is that they have some of the most strict rules against wild camping in the Balkans, accompanied with enforcement and hefty fines. We risked it once but then stayed in campgrounds like below - not our cup of tea.


Then into our favorite place - the mountains and Triglav NP

 

Austria

Austria contrasted impressive mountain vistas with stately historic cities. The scenery was beautiful but the culture more restrictive than we had been used to with prohibitive wild camping rules and relatively expensive food and gas. We purchased the required toll pass sticker as soon as we crossed the border from a bureacrat who was not happy with our lack of the German language (Andy’s prespective - she was actually quite rude to Dawn). Glad we did, more speed traps than we had seen in months, yes the first one got us (50 euros, police hidden 10 meters from the slow down sign. Watch out! The town and the surrounding area around Zee am See is full of speed traps) but we got through the rest fine free.


Burg Hochosterwitz - first stop in Austria, impressively built castle perched on a rock cliff



Another stealth camping spot

We spent a day wandering the streets of Vienna, a cosmopolitan blend of the old and new.


Vienna - ready for the holidays


Took the obligatory break at a classic cake shop


The architecture





Balcony where Hitler once spoke. Has not been used since


Honestly, Vienna was not our favorite city. At first glance, it lacked the quirkiness and sense of humor we had come to appreciate in other cities. It felt like a very serious place. And it was a very grey and wet day. But it is possible we did not dive deep enough. To be fair, we were feeling saturated with stately buildings and palaces. As we feel the fatigue and sensory overload of European cultural sites we anticipate even more the upcoming year and a half in Africa which will re-set our capacity to appreciate the culture, history and vibrancy of Europe, but right now, we are a little jaded and acknowledge it. We can tell when we are excited about a place because immediately the phones come out and we start snapping pictures. Unfortunately, that is tapering off these days after 2 1/2 years of touring the European continent.

So, back on the road to check out some famous Austrian monasteries.


Melk Abbey


Beautiful!



St. Florian Monastery

Our spirits were up when we hit Austria’s other cultural center, Salzburg, and we were ready to be inspired by stories of Mozart and Baroque architecture.


Fabulous schnitzel lunch


Beautiful view of Salzburg from the castle on the hill


Our next couple of Austrian stops were focused on hiking and it was world class.


Starting point of the hiking at the top of a chair lift at Zell am See


Views for days, fresh snow on the peaks


But the trail still clear!


Hike into Zillertal Lake


Charming mountain village of Hall in Tirol


The view


Amazing bread shop with a line of locals at the door -a good sign


Innsbruck - bridge across the glacial river


Colorful town, outdoorsy and with easy access to hiking and a plethora of mountain biking trails


Drive back from a quiet wild camping spot - glad we fit. Happy we have a Tacoma!


Radsattel Circuit drive - the day after fresh snow, so far so good with mud, bog, sand, ice and snow

On to a bit of the Italian Alps

 

Beautiful. Wish I were tagging along! On your journey if you ever see the name Houghton or Van Houghton, I’d love to hear about it…

 

Sure thing! We’d love to have some one join us! Especially in Africa

 

Amazing, once in a lifetime adventure! So glad I found your posts!

 

Well thank you for reading!

 

Do you have any ideas why your CV boots are failing so often? The truck doesn’t seem to be lifted too much to put extra stress on them?

I am glad the Toyota shops have been able to service the Tacoma everywhere you have travelled.

We love following your adventures and knowing our Tacomas are round-the-world capable! Thanks for taking the time to document and share the trip.

 

Good question. We don't do a lot of off roading yet.
So far we had two torn CV boots, both of them were the outer one on the drivers side. The first one I’m guessing was a stick but no evidence of that. The second boot, who knows but it was not an OEM. I’ve heard that aftermarket ones are not as robust as OEM so when it failed I put on an OEM bought in the US from a dealer.

 

Italy (well really mostly just the Dolomites)

So gorgeous! A place we would like to return to someday for an exended stay. Around every corner, another stunning view. We just had to keep stopping and taking photos.


Hike into Pragser Wildsee


It reminded us of where we brought our kids up - hiking in the Trinity Alps of far Northern California



Found an area where wild camping is allowed - what a view!



Hike in to Tre Cime del Lavaredo



View down on the valley below from Tre Cime del Lavaredo






OK, final Dolomites photo


Last stop in Italy, a walk along the edge of Lake Como


Lake Como. And Andy with statue

 

Thanks for continually updating with photos & stories!

Vienna is so serious...Salzburg...so much more Alive! (The Sound of Music)

Our kids loved Germany and learning what they could of the German language. Too bad the locals weren't as accepting of you not knowing how to speak German in Austria.

We visited Innsbruck for a day and did the Swarovski Crystal tour.

Your record keeping and adventures are much better described as opposed to my faint memory!

Thanks for staying so positive throughout your experience.

 

Some of Mother Nature's best work! Majestic and Beautiful!

Thank You both for sharing so much of it with us. Love seeing the photos and reading of your adventures. Keep 'em coming!
Safe travels!!

 

Thanks!

We love our time in Germany, despite being the largest economy on the continent, we both feel the German people have retained their hospitality.

Part of the reason we have our blog is because our, well really my memory is bad. We've actually visited the same European spot twice in 18 months.

 

I appreciate it! We’ll keep em coming as long as the cell service exists.

 

Can you pls tell us 3rd gen folks, that are tall with tall torsos, the way to obtain the low profile seat mount?? A manufacturer and a part number would be most appreciated!! Thanks

 

just found this....loving it! Thank you for sharing!

 

I hear ya! We installed Scheel Mann Vario X seats and the installer custom built the seat bases, a lower one for me (I’m 6’ 5”) and a higher one for my 5’ 6” wife. Heres a write up i did about these seats and installation. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/driving-a-tacoma-around-the-world.585792/page-36