Official Tennessee Thread

Hu hu hu hu... automatics

 

Hence, the reason I never use Atrac.

 

Last call before the scrap yard

 

If free, I may take ‘em. Where in East Tennessee are you?

 

Not free because scrap value but $50 and they're yours. Knoxvegas

 

My friend was having battery problems, so I brought my multimeter and jump pack over.

Resting voltage was at 12.4 or so, enough to start a car. We tried to start it, and got nothing, just the rapid clicking. Then we jumped it (when running it was 14.3ish volts) and drove to the store. They tested it with their little diagnostic tool. It said the voltage was good, it had 550 CCA, and the alternator was fine.

I thought okay, he must have left a light on or something. So it just needed to be charged back up from driving. I left my jump pack with him anyways just in case.

He had to use it to get to work and then again to go home. So I came back over and checked voltage again. 12.5 resting. Okay that's good, but weird.

"Turn your headlights on.."

Immediately the voltage dropped to sub 10 range after 30-60 seconds. Turning the lights back off, the resting voltage went back up to about 12.2. Not so good. Tried to start it, no start. Stuck it on the charger, and it said it was done after 5 minutes. Obviously there was a surface charge but it couldn't handle any kind of load. We tried to start it again, but it required jumping. The battery was likely stratified.

Went back to Advance. The battery had a 1/17 sticker on it and was within warranty (barely). So when he got there I told him to turn his lights on for a minute and then we'll go in the store.

Again, they come out and test the battery. Less than 10 volts to the battery. No start (obviously).

Here's what's really stupid. They put the battery on a CHARGER, and then read the voltage. "Your battery is good", they said. I'm going to assume they didn't put any kind of load on it at all. According to this "test", the battery was not eligible for a replacement.

It took a manager override to get the new battery, because their stupid "test" said the battery was "good". It is obvious to me that Advance has their tests conducted in such a way that the battery is not properly checked for good or poor health, instead just slapping it onto a trickle charger and reading the surface voltage, and not applying any kind of load to it whatsoever. When I turn on the headlights for a good battery, usually the voltage drops and settles to 11.8 or so under that load, then when headlights shut off it will go back up to 12.5. This battery was dropping well below that and not recovering.

Anyways, don't get a battery from Advance unless you're cool with the manager. Their tests are really biased.

 

TLDR: buy a Duralast Gold or an Odyssey

 

Very interesting. I have heard that with similar circumstances, putting the battery on a high amp charger will de-calcify the cells somewhat and help restore the battery. Been a while since I looked into it, so my terminology may be off. Not sure if it's worth it though in your buddy's case.

 

Just scrap them. Thanks though

 

I read that shaking it or tipping it on its side will help redistribute the acid concentration properly but I didn't try it since it was still under warranty

 

Hello totmacher and everyone from TN *waves*

Thanks man! It's my first Tacoma, a work in progress, and a lot of fun! First time here; Quite the extensive thread you fellas have going on!

I'd love to make it out to TN sometime. Marlin has driven his World Famous 1980 Crawler Truck from central California to the Great Smokey Mountains three times when the truck used to be carbureted and back when they were open and TLCA held annual GSMTR/Tellico events.

Not sure if these FB images will load here, but here are a couple TN pics from 1997 when the truck had a Crawl Ratio of *only* 1,047:1...



One of my favorite stories about Marlin is one of his trips out to Tennessee. Somewhere I believe while passing through Texas his truck began smoking. His low oil pressure lamp came on so he killed the engine & pulled over. This was probably when his truck still had the 2-liter 20R engine. He added oil from his recovery gear and fired it up to instantly realize he had lost a cylinder. It took him 3 or 4 qts of oil to make it to the next highway exit where he found an auto garage who was able to overnight a piston. The next day he worked on cars at the garage until the mail was delivered in order to "earn" a stall for him to quickly replace the piston and be on his way. When Marlin was finished with everything, get this, the shop owner said he has never seen such a great mechanic and he offered Marlin a job! haha Classic Marlin story! And he still made it to GSMTR on time!!



He is still wheeling this same truck today




As for my new Tacoma, it has a loooooooooong way to go to ever be as cool as the above Crawler Truck, but she is well on her way with a Triple Marlin Crawler Transfer Case system resulting in 56 gears and a 580:1 Crawl Ratio, or over 13 times slower than stock.

If we assume only 15 lb-ft of torque at idle, then this Tacoma develops over 10 times more torque than a brand new 6.7-liter Ram 3500HD Cummins Turbo Diesel at full throttle and full boost....and yet I haven't even touched the throttle Of course we are exchanging velocity for torque and in this case the truck is only moving at 8.6 HPM (that's Hours per Mile).

Yet can you believe as impressive as this sounds Marlin's same 1980 pickup that he bought in '83 and still wheels today has had as high a final drive ratio as 2,158:1 Truly insane truck!

The Tacoma does benefit from a few custom mods that we are working on hopefully to be soon produced as Marlin Crawler products

Here it is in Texas earlier this year



Can you believe I'm averaging around 20 MPG with these 40s?! I love the new 3.5L



Here is a demo from before the TX trip right after I switched from Duals to Triple:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYWyJoV2o6U

EDIT: Added a second video demoing compression braking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrPERJ6qx8g

These new Tacomas are crazy big (larger than a T100 and same size as 1st gen Tundra!) but the challenge they bring has been a lot of fun and very educational!

Regards,
BigMike
Instagram: @SlowestTacoma

 

@tacotim448 you got something you wanna tell everybody?

 

Didn't know you were on Tacomaworld haha, welcome to the TN thread. GSMTR is still hosted at Windrock every year AFAIK
Side note: no skids on the 3rd gen in that Texas pic?

 

Thanks! This is good to know! Do you know how the wheeling is? Might have to plan a trip.

Good eyes sir! Skids are only needed if you bounce, which doesn't occur when the TacoBox (Dual Marlin Crawler for 1995+ trucks) is engaged

I do plan to build them eventually but I highly, highly dislike all skids on the market. They are horrible because they decrease ground clearance and break-over angle. I already have multiple good ideas of how to make a proper Rock Crawling skid, but it is such a low priority to me that I don't even have it on any of my planned mods through 2020

Perhaps also I enjoy not having skids or big light bars or ditch lights because everyone and their sister runs them. Nothing against people doing this, just so far I haven't found a need for bolt-on accessory stuff yet.

My avatar reminded me of a no-contact, no-skid-needed example to share. That was gnarly:



Sure, 40s provide clearance, but compared to older Toyota Hilux (minitrucks) the ground clearance on these Tacomas is h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e, and on 40s I have less ground clearance than my 1981 Rock Crawler on 37s. Look at this comparison against the Crawler Truck, for example, when the Tacoma was on 37s:



Compared to my '81, which is the same overall height, this equates to a 9" difference under the frame at the door handles. Yes, the Tacoma has NINE INCHES less ground clearance with my '81 with the same size tires...

I've tried to climb Soup Bowl at the Rubicon twice now, on 37" and 40", and both times I was denied due to ground clearance. Yet my '81 Hilux on 37s will walk right up it, turn around, and do it again on a different line all without contact...

Here is what my '81 looks like, also Marlin Crawler Triple Case. Crawl Ratio is 511:1



Also no skids As you can see this is a habit of mine



I mention this to illustrate why for me personally I cannot afford for the Tacoma to give up even 1/2" of ground clearance with skids. They would only make the truck less capable. I think the bottom line is that these Tacomas are just too huge! Please bring back the simple Minitruck, Toyota!

Regards,
BigMike

 

Windrock is great! Been a couple times this year and it has some of the best variety of trails that I've seen. I'd say it's worth a trip for the scale alone as it's one of the largest offroad parks in the states. (FYI: if you go, its mandatory to eat at Hibachi Pizza in town)
Also, Adventure Offroad Park is only a couple hours from Windrock. If you come this way, I'd reccomend trying out both parks while you're here. AOP can be a real challenge.
My old Tacoma at Windrock:



I definitely agree with you on not really needing skids on a Solid Axle rig. Axles saves the oil pan and that's the main concern. Also for wheeling out west I would agree you can be fine without them on an IFS truck as long as you're mindful of where everything is at and take it slow.
Only thing I'd say is me, personally, I won't wheel an IFS rig on hard trails on the east coast without a front skid. Reason being that out here things are always wet or a little muddy at least and therefore slick; you don't always get to pick exactly where your truck moves. Also a lot more crawling over fields of medium sized boulders it seems like. It's easy to slide off and have one shoved into the bottom of your truck. Just depends what obstacles you're trying to do, some people are fine with stock or no skids of course. Just personally I like to run them on IFS.

And amen on the mini trucks haha

 

Smoke and mirrors....smoke and mirrors.

 

Better be

 

Windrock can be as hard or easy as you want. With multiple line choices and bypasses you can make it a great trip. If it's wet though you might as well forget the crawl box as you will need lots of wheel speed. All in all it is a great park and I would suggest driving up to Harlan ky and riding black mountain while you are on the east coast.

 

It would be great to watch @BigMike tackle a park like AOP or Harlan in the rain LOL!

Duals engaged here... Definitely bounceing.

 

LBL Spring 2019?