New Guy From Stonington, CT

Hello from Chris in Stonington, CT. Just took delivery today of our first truck, a 2012 Tacoma Access Cab 2.7L 4X4 SR5. It replaces a 1998 Volvo V70XC which we drove for the last seven years. It was in great shape at 220K miles (115K of it ours) but it either burned or broke a valve last week, resulting in no compression on one cylinder and a wicked bad lumpy idle. Decided it was time to move on to something else (actually my wife Diane threatened to set the Volvo on fire if I put any more money into repairs on it). We have been planning on eventually replacing the XC with a small truck because we do a lot of light hauling with a utility trailer on landscaping and home improvement projects. Was originally going to get a used Ford Ranger, but its tough to find them up here in New England without a lot of frame and undercarriage rust. Several friends and co-workers have Tacoma trucks, and they are very happy with them, so we decided to go with one. Also considered a Nissan Frontier, but their big V6 seemed a bit thirsty, and they do not offer a 4X4 with their 4 cylinder engine. One big factor in deciding to go Tacoma was the composite bed design, especially after seeing several Rangers with only about 40K miles that had horrible bed and fender rust out.

I have been active in ham radio for over 45 years. My call sign is AJ1G. I did a lot of mobile operating from the Volvo (you can see pictures of the setup on my QRZ.com page), and am looking forward to getting on the air soon from the Tacoma. Would be interested in hearing from any other Tacoma hams, especially about getting power wiring into the cab from the battery, and mobile antenna mounting ideas. I've been looking at the adjustable rail mounted tie-downs on the truck and I think they have a lot of potential for use a a mounting base for a lightweight whip such as the HF Hamstick antennas.

I have been active on several Volvo forums over the years, mainly on XC70.com, and sometimes on Matthew's Volvo Site. Also a member of the feoa.net Ford Escort Forum ( We have a 94 LX 5 speed that we bought new and is now closing in on 200K miles). Looking forward to being a part of the Tacoma forum!