Lefty's golden taco.

https://youtu.be/Sd8K_RfIkHE
https://youtu.be/AdOCl2ilTgU

 

Then there were 4.

 

So that completes my pictures from that trip. i clocked about 300 miles off road. I could be off. I didn't get better pictures because we were going at a pretty decent place.
It did highlight a couple of things about the truck.
My rear spring are either wore out or I'm just carrying to much load behind the axel. I kept hitting my bumps the whole trip,well whenever going over a drop anyways. The dura bumps definitely made it bearable but I know it when I hit them. Also I was getting pretty decent axel wrap which was new.
My rear didn't try to come around me which I had been experiencing. I think more of my weight is down lower from the RTT and rack. which helped.
The shell was awesome for sleeping. It definitely made for easy set up and take down. I'm doing some tweaks to to it to hopefully make it stay I'm place a little better. I need to find some toots that fit better or soft bags for everything. Also when the wind blew all it did was rock me to sleep no flapping. Not everyone else on the could say the same on the second night. The 4gen 4runner was pretty cozy sleeping in the back of his rig.
The expomatt was pretty comfy.

 

So the latest bits to the truck. I got my ebay awning on . And I broke down and bought a fancy top for my ebay snorkel. My filter was just eating dust like crazy.

I got a OME add a leaf from phesser that I'm adding to the dever pack. I might throw another leaf from my bold pack to help also. The truck is up in the air while I'm taking my lunch break.

So my GF is coming with me on this next drip but insist on being able to encose the back.Somthinhg about bugs, idkn . I'm to tall to sleep in the back with the tailgate up and the top closed. So I found a tent that covers the back so I can still have
Covers the back and the fridge can stay on the tailgate.


And it fits into a small bag. I
It takes a couple to put up but if comes off fast. I'm gonna have to mess with it a little to get it just right. And I'm making some mesh screens for the side doors. And I changed the hinges on the carpet kit so that I can access them easier from the outside. And I got new struts for the shell so I don't have to use channel locks to hold the doors open anymore or have it fall and hit me on the head again. And I got some new seals for it too. Also I'm going to measure to see if I can fit a fantastic fan between the braces in the roof.

 

Well it's back on all 4 . I think I got just a little lift which is great. The OME spring didn't add and arch to the pack. Also it was ment for a stock pack not a aftermarket pack with a military wrap. So I had to adjust the length a little bit.
Here you can see how it doesn't work. But I was looking at my old stock pack and it would have been perfect.

A little chop chop and some grinder.

And they still have the same arch the pack is just a little thicker.

And my bumps are starting to chunk a little.


And all butted up. Just need to go for a ride.

 

I made a screen for my shell. Got one all done .I need more velcro to finish the other. It has velcro on all 4 sides. I tried using magnets but it didn't work out as planned .the velcro makes it more versatile and holds stronger. I had a decent breeze and it held up fine..

I also got a battery for my duel batteries. now just to make some cables.

 

Looks good, I need to look into doing this on my shell.

 

Thanks, I messed around with a couple of different options but this one seems to be the easiest way to still keep the full function of the doors. hopefully it'll keep most of the bugs out and the misses happy.

 

So my screens were sort of a bust. The spray adhesive that I used wasn't keeping together. So I sent it off to an upholster to get some stitches through the velcro. Seems super sturdy now and won't come apart anymore. But it's super sticky from the adhesive. So I power washed them. And since I had the washer out I sprayed the old girl down. I pulled the tires and lubed the upper control arms ,they were starting to squeak pretty bad. I also sprayed and scrubbed the bed .there was a bunch of oil stains from the leaking gas struts. Hopefully it'll be all dry before the trip.

Also I tighten up and aimed my aux lights to add to my crazy day I replaced the TB on my son T4R . Fixed the high idel he was having. Once maxboar is back from vacation were going to send it off for a rebuilt.
Time to sleep.

 

Had some more maintenance. Changed the rear diff fluid. There's about 600 miles on them at the time of the change. Initial oil was Lucas non synthetic. Theses gears received a REM polishing before the installation.
https://youtu.be/Ybb12Vhx6GE

I also went through and made sure all the bolts that I could reach were tight and grease the zerks .
I worked on the shell a bit too. I wiped up the 3rd brake light and added a led light to the back. I made them both disconnects. I added some wire loom to some missing parts under the truck. Had to add some spacers to the carpet kit to keep it from spreading out and going under the bed rails in the front. I also added some wood to the rails to help keep the tops from sliding off.

You can see the old crappy wires hanging. New wires are all loomed up and pretty ish. Added the cargo net up front too.

 

3rd annual azbdr trip. Picked up approximately were the last one left off. Had to deal with a couple of fires around the state the changed the trip a bit. Installation a last minute grms. Worked pretty awesome. Crazy range compared to cb. Anyways I didn't get a lot of pictures. But the truck did great only had one issue. Part of the latch broke on my swing out. I was getting about 14 to 15 mpg for the trip. 4.88 gears and 70 make for bad meg's. I kinda felt down on power and I think my Temps were up a touch.
Never had a problem with the battery. I made sure that the yellow top was completely charged before the trip. A new bigger alternator might be in the future I definitely need to get some gauges to keep a better eye on the volts. On to the pictures.
Some ruins.
And a bad unedited video of them.
https://youtu.be/jDaFlGraaTw

 

On the trail
At camp

 

All packed up and ready for the next day.

I missed hearing the start time .


Az rim country is super pretty and a nice reprise for the heat in the valley.

 

So the fire put a halt to a section .this was after the second night. We had split with 1/2 the group. We bypassed the section with the fire and drove to the grand canyon.

We decided to head home at this point. My girlfriend was having back pain and was generally over it. But not without a stop that I've always wanted to make.

Bedrock city!! They've changed the name to falcon feild. They train and display falcons as well as other birds. They had a huge owl too.

 

The 3rd azbdr trip report
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-annual-aztw-azbdr.725436/#post-25838215
All photos courtesy of @MR E30 . My gram is gonna be awesome for a second.

 

Here's some pics.
I need to replace my mas air sensor now.

Gonna have to flip my durobumps.





Got a pic of my camper light in action.

And the switch.

Showing how my storage opens.

That's how I had the carpet kit configured while on the road. helped keep everything low and easily accessible.
It's hard to make out but here are the pices off wood that I added to help keep the carpet kit in place. On my previous trip the front "by the cab". Kept sliding under the bed rails. Spacer prevented it from happening this time.


So I finally wash all the dust off and it starts raining as soon as I finished drying it.

It never rains here. The forecast had it for 4%chance of rain. FmL.

 

The front of mine would slide under as well. My auxiliary battery stops one side now.