Taco Jack's Trip Log and Build Thread

Introducing: Taco Jack
LR4A5108 by Zach Youngberg, on Flickr

And this is what I do

DSC00227 by Zach Youngberg, on Flickr

I've decided to get a thread going to share trips with friends and document Jack's build progression when things actually start to happen. A little background on myself and the truck; I'm a student at the University of Nevada, Reno and my very generous parents got me this truck. I'm a videographer and photographer as well, and helped film the King of the Hammers movie along with a lot of Ultra 4 stuff. Basically, this truck gets me where I need to go for filming projects and adventures with my buddies. It will be a rather moderate build but I'm hoping it will take me to some pretty rad places.

As of now, the only real additions I've made to the truck are a CVT Mount Shasta roof top tent that I got for a steal on Craigslist in Tahoe and some TRD wheels I found here in Reno (sold)

Wish List:
-Old Man Emu Coilovers
-Prinsu Design Skids
-Relentless Fab Front Bumper
-Relentless Fab DIY Sliders
-Liberty Walk Ferrari 458




Also, if you want to checkout some of my other work, follow me on Instagram @zach_youngberg

 

Here's some photos from the trips I've been on so far here in the Northern Nevada area along with Northern California.

Heading up to Frenchmen's Lake in Northern California



Hanging out at the fire lookout right outside of Reno on the California Border



Went and camped at Tamarack Lakes in Northern California. It was probably one of the better trips we've been on so far. My buddy Lucas and I both drove our Taco's in on the trail. It was very moderate and pretty short, I'd say a mile and a half to 2 miles if I remember correctly. Our buddy rode his dirt bike in at dusk and met up with us at camp. I don't have many photos from camp but the morning we woke up, we climbed up to one of the mountains right outside of camp and were pleasantly greeted by this epic view as we topped out. Obviously, we had to drop down and go for a dip in that lake. The closest one in view is the Young American Lake, with Upper and Lower Sardine lakes following behind.



This star photo was shot at Upper Tamarack Lake where we camped



The other night, (11/02/2015) we got a good bit of snow up in the hills outside of Reno and the surrounding areas (obviously Tahoe etc.) My buddy called me up and we headed up Peavine. It was a blast finally getting to play in some snow and right as I was heading back down we got into some good powder to play in. BUT my friend slid off into a ditch and decided it was best to head back down the mountain.



Here's a lot angle, we had some more than decent winds blowing making the drive that much more fun.



Finally, here's a quick shot of me and my lady friend on a camping trip to a personal favorite camp site at a lake just south of South Lake Tahoe.

 

Your thread is awesome great pictures man!

 

Man I miss Donner area. Great shots! Really jealous

 

Thanks! I really appreciate it

Thank you! I absolutely love it up here.

 

Today my buddies and I got in the trucks and headed west from Reno towards Verdi Peak to hopefully find some snow to play in. We ended up with a good bit of ice but found a few inches of fresh stuff to play in a little.

I got some 265/75/16 Duratracs put on the truck over Thanksgiving break and I couldn't be happier with them so far. I went ahead and had them put the factory wheels back on as well, the TRD ones just didn't look too great in my opinion. The tires worked incredibly well in the snow as expected and aren't too loud on the highway either.

Here's a few photos from the quick trip:

 

Sweet truck, loved visiting reno area when my brothers lived there.


Also: liberty walk 458...... gross

 

Today my buddies and I headed up past Georgetown on Wentworth Springs Road. Theres a decent amount of snow up there, but only a few inches of fresh stuff for us to cut through. It was definitely a good time, and we stopped at Stumpy Meadows Reservoir on our way up. My dad used to take me camping here all the time when I was little, and I hadn't been up to the area since the King Fire here in California. It was pretty crazy seeing everything that got torched, but with that it'll bring new growth. I can remember when it used to just be a dirt road leading up Wentworth and eventually taking you to Loon Lake. Things sure have changed!

After the lake we stopped at Uncle Toms Cabin. This place sure was cool to walk in to. The fire was hot and they were getting their delivery of beer as we pulled in. I can only imagine the stories this place could tell. We hung around there for a little and some of the guys stapled some dollar bills up on the ceiling to leave their mark. The man at the bar also gave us the low down on how far we could probably make it towards Loon, always good to get some info from the locals on the snow.

My buddy and roommate up in Reno finally got himself an LX450 and this was his first trip with it doing any sort of wheeling. Needless to say, he was pretty stoked on it! We made it pretty far up Wentworth and could definitely have gone a lot further, however our buddy that brought his Dodge 2500 ended up getting stuck on a hill and lost reverse. So, the recovery began. To start off, the LX450 got stuck and had to get a quick yank backwards. Then, it got stuck again and sunk into the deep stuff on the side of the road. We dug out the snow from underneath the rig and eventually got him out. Then we finally got the Dodge out. As we were getting the two of them out, there weather quickly rolled in and the snow was dumping pretty hard on us, so it was time to head back.

Here's a photo dump from the day.

Looking out over Stumpy Meadows Reservoir



Uncle Toms Cabin



Brett leaving his mark



I led for the first portion of the trail, as you can see there was just a little bit of snow. Still a good time though!



The view wasn't half bad where we decided to take one of our many pee breaks along the way.



Here's my roommates new LX450



Also, here's my friend's LJ that he's built up over the past couple of years.



While I was helping dig out the Lexus they snagged my camera and snapped this from inside his Jeep heading down the road.



Here's the sunk LX450. A little bit of shovel work and a quick yank and he was out. Took some figuring out, but its all about learning.

 

Looks like a good trip, we should get a bigger group together once Murray gets his tranny figured out.

 

Last night some buddies and I went and camped in the snow out in Verdi just outside of Reno on the California/Nevada border. We rolled in at night and setup camp and got a fire going just up the road a bit. Things were winding down and the fire was starting to burn out when some random people started showing up around 11 at night. One couple in an old Tahoe and then a family in a suburban with 6 kids and 4 or 5 dogs. The guy in the suburban was telling us about how there were some stars in the sky following him around and about the tunnels on Mars that the military stores stuff Anyways, they all ended up leaving after some weird conversations and we all got to bed.

The next morning we dropped down into the valley behind Verdi Peak to play in the snow for a bit. Once again there wasn't a ton of snow, but I did find one section with a little over a foot of fresh powder to plow through. All in all it was a fun trip, not a ton of photos but here are the ones I did manage to capture.

We found a big open spot at the top of the road, setup and got a fire going. It was a pretty clear night and didn't get quite as cold as we thought it would.



We hung out around the fire for a while and the guys enjoyed a few beers.



Their drink of choice



Here's all the yota's lined up as we dropped down into the valley. The weather seemed like it was rolling in but it held off for a while surprisingly.



That's all I managed to get this trip, I was a little lazy but had plenty of fun cruising around with my buddies.

 

Awesome pictures and looks like a lot of good trails. Quick question. Do you still have the trd beadlock wheels?

 

Thanks! Its a fun place to go and play around. I sold the bead locks actually, I'm always on the look out on craigslist for deals on them so if I do happen to come across a set, I'll let you know.

 

Sounds good! Really like the look of the wheels, just not the price tag they come with. Also have a few questions about your photography, what setting do you shoot on? (Manual, aperture priority??) Your photos just look so clear and detailed. Super impressed.

 

They're definitely not a cheap wheel but there's always deals to be found on Craigslist and other places as well.

As far as photos go I shoot in Manual. I've been shooting for a long time so I'm more than comfortable shooting this way. It can be intimidating but I'm all for diving into the deep end with this kind of thing. For me, I learned a lot quicker by forcing myself to learn. It can be easier to shoot in aperture or shutter priority first and then switching over to manual after you feel that you have a good idea of what kind of settings certain locations need however.

I'm more than happy to try and help out and answer questions the best I can so don't hesitate to ask!

 

I'm pretty stoked to announce that my friends and I have a small partnership with ARB/Old Man Emu and Grizzly Coolers. My lift is on a pallet along with a bumper for my buddies FJ80 and some other goodies We're doing a big two week trip through Utah this summer and will be filming/photographing the whole thing and providing photo's and video for the different companies to use on social media etc. @TheSpeediTurtle @McSaucyWalrus my buddy Brett will all be driving their own trucks on the trip, so we'll have a pretty solid little caravan going everywhere. I'll be putting out a couple videos showing what goes on and the different highlights and low points from the trip. Any feedback on what you all would like to see in the video's would be greatly appreciated!

Also, anyone looking to meet up and wheel a bit feel free to chime in. We don't have any set dates yet, but it will probably be late June/early July. It will be hot as hell but that's what works with all of our school schedules. The plan so far is to head out from Reno to Salt lake, then down to Zion for a few days to hike, do some climbing and take in the scenery. Then from there we'll go to Flagstaff for a few days and to Sedona, and then up to Moab/Canyonlands/ Arches National park. To finish off we'll dip over to Grand Junction Colorado and then back to Salt Lake, then Finally back to Reno. All this is a rough schedule and I'm sure some adjustments will be made. I know we'd like to go to Goblin State Park (I believe thats the name if it) Anyways, it would be awesome to get some feedback from everyone to find out what people would like to see in the videos!

 

If you guys go through Las Vegas or Southern Nevada, I wouldnt mind meeting up and saying hi! Sounds like a pretty rad trip. Interested and excited to see the videos and pictures.

 

Thanks! We'll probably be heading east from Reno but if anything changes I'll definitely let you know. We're always down to meet up with people!

 

I have to give a HUGE shoutout to ARB for getting all the goodies here so quickly! Also, I have to give a big thank you to @RelentlessFab for allowing us to send the freight shipment to his shop and using his forklift to unload the pallet for us. Much Appreciated!

Unfortunately, most of this good stuff is going onto my buddies land cruiser, but I FINALLY GOT MY LIFT and will be installing it tomorrow afternoon with help from my good buddy Jesse Haines After that my friends and I are heading up to Moonrocks to camp out for the night and then its off to the shop to get it aligned as best as it can until I get some upper control arms.

Here's everything we got; 80 Front Bumper, Compressor, Inflation Kits, Lights and my lift along with a few other odds and ends!

 

Great photos man! Keep it up and thanks for sharing.

 

Your bread is stale