Long time comin'

Hello Tacomaworld!

After COUNTLESS hours spent on tacomaworld searching for info on my tacoma, I finally got around to making a profile.

I got my baby last June. It had the frame recall done the previous year (2013)! So im hoping to get a decade out of this beauty
I spent most of the summer in the woods in Nova Scotia looking for hidden woods trails. 90% of the time they are dead-end logging roads, but the other 10% lead to some beauties. The winters been a lot of fun with a 4x4.. but its had its costs..

BATTLESCARS:

The first battlescar(s) came from a woods trail that tapered off a little more than i expected. A bunch of Alders had grown in over the trail. I thought it was just a patch on the trail.. but it went for about a km! Bye-bye clearcoat.

My next one was much more serious. While on the tail-end of a snowy 4 hour tour through some logging/back roads i got lazy and slid off the road around a hairpin turn. My buddy in front laid down a nice drift, but i slid and hit the brakes like a ROOKIE. I slid off the road and hit a FAT spruce tree.
Initially this looked terrible, but, I was able to drive away to my buddys shop with only cosmetic damages. I needed a whole new bumper (bar, valance, and filler), grille, and a new hood. My bumper reinforcement bar is also bent in, but its hidden behind my valance so i'm not too worried about it. The rad support was also bent which made closing the hood an issue since the hood latch was misaligned. Some banging and a few washers took care of that though. (However, during my 'banging', i knicked the plastic radiator!! FUUUUDGE! It was a hairline crack <1cm though, so some permatex sealed it up well.) I also bent the condenser a little, but there's no indication if that needs replacing yet.
All in all it cost my ~$500, and i lost my safari light bar and fog lights. I am just glad my airbags did not deploy!

The next wound came from a harmless tour through the woods. There was a fair amount of snow on the ground (~25cm) on a mild day and i was breaking trail. I was going up a slight incline when i began to spin. Hit the brakes, put it in 4wd, tapped the gas, slid, hit the brakes, slid MORE. This incline had a slight tilt to it. SO, with the mild weather, the snow turns to ice as soon as the tires roll over it. By the time i tried to roll back down the hill to take another run at it, i was too close to edge and slid down the bank.
It was sitting a few feet from the woods and with the snow conditions, i could not climb back up.
A friend of mine tried to pull me out with his Ranger but it was tough to get any traction at all.
We cut down some trees to make room to be pulled out, but we didnt quite clear enough.
My passenger side got banged a bit and my pass. rear wheel popped over a stump and BAM crushed the very front my box right behind the cab. Luckily this is pretty short length of box on the double cabs, so the fender flare hides it pretty well.
I also lost my mirror in this one and got a couple bumps in the rear on my box.
This one cost me $80 for the mirror and $80 for the winch out (I had to call a tow truck, even the dually almost slid into the ditch beside me!).

I have stayed off the snowy woods trails since that last one. It is insanely fun, but conditions are so unpredictable and I cant risk having my daily driver curbed with damages!

The Future:
-new brakes
-new rack/pinion (mine is leaking at the steering column.. not losing any fluid though).
-new paint. I may put some spray on bed liner on the lower doors/box/rockers. i have no mudflaps so there are lots of rock chips.
-change valve cover gaskets
-new muffler. Might get a magnaflow. I have a hole in mine so i figured i should upgrade if i need to replace it. I hear the oem muffler has to much backpressure as well?
-install a slight lift. I've been thinking Bilstein 5100's up front set at .85, and maybe a 1 or 2 inch shackle in the rear with 5100's back there as well. I mainly want to fit a bigger Duratrac. I still use this truck for long commutes so i don't want to lose any drivablility or worry about doing a diff drop.
-285/75 duratracs. I currently have 245/75 duratacs and LOVE em.
-a winch sure would be nice!
-Some black trd 6 spoke rims (drool).
-SUPERCHARGER hahaha in my dreams.. someday


Anyway, this site has given me a lot (especially StAndrew's 1st gen DIY and how-to thread!!) and i figured i should start contributing.
Thanks TW!
(before any damages, I've got a black bumper bar on the front now [half the price of chrome!])