MCObray's 2002 Tacoma DC Documentation

It was a great weekend to get out and about. Our trek started Friday PM, by heading towards Central Oregon. We ended up posting camp about about 40 miles south of Bend in the wilderness of the Deschutes National Forest:
CVT Mt. Shasta RTT. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Campfire. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Temps were comfortable and the sky was light up with many stars from the little-to-none light population in the surrounding areas... don't get that in the city! We awoke the next morning and fired up some breakfast sandwiches with appetite for adventure. A small trek from our camp spot was Fall River, which was crystal clear water:
Fall River, OR. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Our destination was on the agenda for the day, so we hopped on HWY 97 and continue south for a few hours leading us to one of the 7 Wonders of Oregon.
This was my second time at Crater Lake... breath taking! If you are remotely anywhere in the area make it a point to see this place for its beauty. Some of the smoke seen seeping in the background was due to the Bybee Fire which started the day before arriving:
Crater Lake, OR. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Heading out, we pointed our Tacoma towards Diamond Lake for an evening of R&R. We had a great view of Mt. Thielsen in the back drop:
Diamond Lake, OR. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Sunday morning marked the beginning of the 4 hour return trip home, but i'll relish in the memories of the trip for sometime:
1st Gen Tacoma / 2nd Gen Tacoma. by Mason Obray, on Flickr

My Tacoma performed great and ended up logging 22.4 MPGs (hand calculated) on the way back home. The worries of the LBJs giving way on a bumpy NF road faded away with a new freshly installed pair coming last week. I'm really liking the simplicity of my Tacoma in stock form and plan to run it this way for sometime to come. My next immediate plans in the coming months will be taking care of more preventative maintenance items such as Fuel Filter, Transmission Cooler, etc.

Planning for the next trip starts now!

 

Well, I had enough of worrying about when I would encounter a puncture / flat tire on the P265/70/16 Michelin AT2s. They have been a great road tire with light off-road use, but the wife and I have been planning more and more weekend trips across the state. I don't want to put us in the situation of being more liable to lose a tire, so I decided it was best to bump it to a LT rated tire. After much deliberation and doing a few hours of research, I decided on the flavor of LT235/85/16 tires. So far, so good... I have had great luck with BFG All Terrains so I certainly wanted to stick with this brand, but did have doubts as they do not offer a C rated 235/85 or 265/76 tire. The hell with it, lets roll the dice!
New tires! by Mason Obray, on Flickr
I have been impressed with the minimal differences between my tire then, and my tire now. I commuted about 25 miles a day and it happens to be mostly interstate; not phased by the ride quality or noise. I'll definitely be keeping these!

Next trip planned is for Labor Day weekend out to Painted Hills / John Day area. My wife and I have found some points of interest and am now trying to determine route(s)... Can't wait to get out again!

 

Killed a Monday AM in the Oregon Coast Range... didn't suck!
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD. by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

I'm starting to set aside at least one Monday a month to adventure. Living in the PDX area allows for many different landscapes that are obtainable within 1 hour of drive time. Today, I set my sights on Buxton Mountain in the Oregon Coast Range. After getting dumped on yesterday with rain (1"+), the clouds parted and the sunshine ensued.
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

Ordered up a Transmission Cooler (B&M 70264) from Advance Auto Parts. I signed up for their newsletter and got sent a 40% off coupon for $100 purchase. I was a few bones short of $100 total, so I added tools to eclipse the mark in order to cash in on the savings. For others who are looking for ample savings, I would suggest going this route as the Transmission Cooler only ended up costing me $57.73!

 

Greater Portland area got hammered with snow last week, ranging from 6" - 1'... I sure did take advantage of the fresh AM powder!
Untitled by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

Nothing like a good drive off the blacktop. Putting around Timber, OR. in the Coast Range.
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

Suspension money become DSLR money, and I must say its money well spent. I picked up a lightly used Canon 6D + 24-105L locally for a great price... quite stoked! We've been under flood watch here in PDX so I decided to cruise around and see how bad it really is.
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

your wheels and tires are SO on point!

I also ordered 235/85 . Loving it.

 

Thanks. I love 'em, they're perfect for what I want to accomplish and can't see myself bumping up another tire size unless I also change the gear ratio... That's WAY down the road. What brand of tire did you go with?

 

I went with the Cooper ST MAXX.

I don't understand the letters you mentioned C and P in the tire world. I am used to running Yokohama A050 and Toyo R888 on all my other rides and changing them up every 2500 miles or so.

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/160747-Cooper-ST-Maxx-review-235-85-r16-First-Gen-Tacoma i read this and people were getting 40-50K miles out of them

 

Nice, those were going to be my second choice of tire but I have had good experiences and a bit loyal to BFG.

P=Passenger Tire
C, perhaps I was referring to the Load Range of the LT (Light Truck) tire. I think Load Range C is the perfect Load Range for our vehicles, but no one really offers them in LT235/85/16. You can find some Load Range C's in LT265/75/16 which is comparable in size.

 

Phew, its been a few months since i've been on TacomaWorld... Some awesome builds going down these days! I've been quite occupied myself with switching careers, traveling, and purchasing our first home.
My wife and I decided that it was time to head overseas to gain a perspective of this world we live in, as well as experience the way of living over the pond. Our three determined locations we picked were Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, and Antwerp. The trip did not disappoint, and while I could post hundred of photos, i'll limit it to a few of my favorites:
Amsterdam, Netherlands by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Amsterdam, Netherlands by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Düsseldorf, Germany by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Düsseldorf, Germany by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Antwerp, Belgium by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Antwerp, Belgium by Mason Obray, on Flickr
The Tacoma has been treating me well and just got new factory Rotors & Brake pads as preventative maintenance. Shoutout to Camelback Toyota for getting me squared away! I'll be getting the coolant flushed here soon, as well as changing the oil in prep for a few upcoming trips to Central Oregon. For now, I can't get enough of this view after being confined to one bedroom apartments .
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

All is been good this summer... Spending loads of days out on the boat as well getting accustomed to homeownership. The truck had a hiccup back a few weeks, which ended up being a Misfire CE code. The spark plugs, wires, and coil boots were all replaced which took care of the issues luckily. The truck is running so much smoother and has a slight increase in power which is welcomed. The best part of it was what I thought was a slipping transmission ended up being a case of misfiring cylinder when under load at lower RPM... Winning!

In prep of my best buds Bachelor party next weekend, in Eastern Oregon, I went ahead and did a few more preventative maintenance items such as Coolant Flush with OEM Toyota Red, Oil Change, and also cleaned the MAF sensor for kicks. The truck is definitely in tip-top shape and almost feels like i'm driving a new-to-me vehicle. I'll have loads of pics as we plan on hunkering down Painted Hills, Ochoco National Forest, as well as the Cascades... Going to be a great time and really the first time this summer I'll be putting the truck to go use. For now, the obligatory poser:
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

Labor Day was well spent in Eastern Oregon... Ochoco National Forest and the John Day River does not disappoint!
Ochoco National Forest by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Mitchell, Oregon by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
John Day River, OR. by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

Logged 2 years with the Tacoma... Think that's the longest i've ever owned a vehicle!
2002 Toyota Tacoma by Mason Obray, on Flickr