Montana Tacomas

I am thinking full on studded winter tires. I have never seen ice as bad as it was in Bozeman.

 

Studs help a lot. Just be good about taking off your tires in the spring as you can't restud them. They will wear out fast on dry pavement.

Where did you move from? Not even in the thick of winter yet haha

 

Winter park, CO it doesn’t even compare to the ice up here.

 

That's the problem with studs. Unless you have snow covered/packed roads constantly, or drive on un-plowed roads all winter, you're gonna run down the studs real quick.

If you live someplace where they plow the roads, you're better off going with non-studded siped winter tires.

 

You're not gonna want studded tires unless you're driving on unplowed roads.

 

Yeah more fluffy stuff there and less brutal cold.

Welcome to MT! haha

Yep very true.

Last year even the plowed roads were always coated around here though. Will see when the weather actually starts to pick up what it will be like.

 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a manual Chevy transmission/clutch mechanic in Bozeman or Big Sky?

I have been using studded snow tires on my RWD Taco with 300 lbs of sand in the bed going on four seasons now. I agree that running on packed snow/ice will keep the studs from wearing down, but that is a challenge when the subdivisions are unplowed and the major streets and highways are plowed and driving round trip to Big Sky from Bozeman due to the black ice in shady sections in the canyon. The good news is the thread on the snow tires last longer.

 

If I can chime in... I'm debating on some 255 85 16 Cooper St Maxx!! And struggling, I like my km's and kinda want to wait till the km3 comes out in spring 19. But they suck in snow and will be spendy! We run to Kalispell a couple times a month and roads get sketchy. Any thoughts..
Oh and figured I'd throw old km's on my '84 beater wherler!

 

The beater/wood-hunt truck/wheeler

 

Nice rig!

The maxx is a nice tire. It does really well in all conditions..just doesn't excel anywhere in particular. ON hard pack slick stuff they are okay at best, better than you KMs by a lot though.

Its a good all around tire.

 

Thanks blackdog!! Might bite the bullet on some... I also carry a pair of V bar chains!

 

You cannot... cannot... go wrong with 255/85/16 Cooper ST MAXX. I bombed 75-80mph from Bozeman to Coeur d'Alene on a -20F day on roads with packed snow on them. Confident the whole way there. Then bombed the entire drive back. 14 hour day.

And if you need a 5th for a spare... I have one in my garage. Never been driven on after 2 years.

I had those tires on my truck. Just couldn't afford to get a full set again this time around. And I went with 285's this time. Can definitely tell the difference on ice though! I honestly miss those ST MAXX. I had a shit ton of confidence in them. Icy roads. Rocky roads. Never worried about blowing a tire. They were solid.

 

I've never had clutch work done. But M&W Repair in Bozeman (on Rouse Ave) is a good drivetrain shop in general. Though a LOT of their work is on large trucks (semis, firetrucks, etc).

They helped me fix rear differential problems that another shop couldn't get right.

 

How does that saying go? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, ..."

If you've been a reader of previous trip reports, you may recall one of the craziest trips to date - The De-Tour - which occurred almost exactly one year ago (but that just finished writing up and posting). That trip was a great one for many reasons, but it had gone nothing like we'd expected - snowing or raining every day - eventually forcing us to abandon our Tour of Montana and Wyoming for what we hoped were clearer skies, in Utah.

...where it also rained on us.

Even so, it wasn't long before we started talking about "next year." And before long, "next year" was now...

​

Read all of chapter 1, and get ready for a trip even more awesome than the last!
The Re-Tour (Aug 2018) - Day 1, We Head East​

read it now: The Re-Tour (Aug 2018) - Day 1, We Head East


.​

 

Agreed! They also have a very good electric shop for alternators and starter problems. I have done some clutches in past, but now my fingers no workey so good anymore in our unheated garage. My thing is mostly car and deep cycle batteries and keeping my family's collection of Toyotas power toys, appliances and PCs working. Many thanks for your reply.

 

Just did my oil change. Checked other fluids.... discovered this...





Bone dry brake fluid reservoir!!!

 

Was this at Dark Horse!?!?

 

Toyota.

I called them. They claim they never bleed the brake line and simply hung the caliper up while doing work.