Driving a Tacoma around the world

Round the world · Oct 15, 2020

Tiny's Taco said: ↑

If you get to Yellowstone, go up through Grand Tetons NP. Moose Wilson Road north from the Tetons Village is worth the drive, especially with your truck. Check the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve (https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/lsr.htm). Trails and easy hikes, and a nice pull off at the north end. We saw moose and bears a few times at this spot. It's about an hour drive to the south entrance of Yellowstone from there. One note, the road will close in November for the winter.
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Thanks for the tips. We'll definitely check it out

Honda2Toyota · Oct 15, 2020

Yeah, I second the clay bar idea - that stuff is amazing when it comes to removing stuff ingrained in a surface. Used it several time on painted surfaces prior to applying vinyls and the like; works amazingly well.

Round the world · Oct 15, 2020

Honda2Toyota said: ↑

Yeah, I second the clay bar idea - that stuff is amazing when it comes to removing stuff ingrained in a surface. Used it several time on painted surfaces prior to applying vinyls and the like; works amazingly well.
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i think I have an unused one...somewhere in our 42’ long stuffed storage unit. Alright I’m inspired to redo it

Honda2Toyota · Oct 15, 2020

Round the world[OP] said: ↑

i think I have an unused one...somewhere in our 42’ long stuffed storage unit. Alright I’m inspired to redo it
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Yeah, really does work wonders. I'm sure you're familiar with the process, but the more quick detailer/soapy water/equivalent you can throw on there while barring it, the better off you'll be.

RushT · Oct 17, 2020

Round the world[OP] said: ↑

I continue with completing stuff on the truck. I had to figure out a storage spot for the mosquito netting which when rolled is 5” by 50”. Moving it in and out every time we packed up was a pain so I had this idea:

The netting slides into two 6” pieces of 6” plastic pipe attached to the camper overhang with an upside down ubolt hanger drilled through with 9” bolts. The head of the bolt is only 1/4” off of the truck roof; hopefully things won’t flex that much!

Next project was adding a plexiglass faring in the front of the camper over hang.

I’m hoping it will improve gas mileage, reduce wind noise, and keep bugs off of the near-inaccessible camper front wall. It’s clear 1/4” plexiglass hanging in the gap between the camper and the top of the taco. Bending it was easy using a propane torch and some hep from a friend.

Only 4 more mods on the list to go.
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Hey there. How heavy is that mosquito net? You could put some webbing straps with snaps on the underside of the camper where you have it now and just snap it into place. No worries about the hard mounting hardware.

MTgirl · Oct 19, 2020

If you guys haven't made your way through Yellowstone and MT yet you may want to rethink your route - or pick up some extra long underoos on the way here... Forecast is calling for below zero temps this weekend, highs in the 20's.

Round the world · Oct 19, 2020

RushT said: ↑

Hey there. How heavy is that mosquito net? You could put some webbing straps with snaps on the underside of the camper where you have it now and just snap it into place. No worries about the hard mounting hardware.
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The mosquito netting weighs approximately 10 pounds because there’s four aluminum bars. The challenge is that the head of the bolt is only 1/2” from the Tacoma roof and slightly hits it when off-roading.

You have made me think about it more and I think I’ve discovered a simple solution thanks to you!

So I’m thinking of continuing to use the 6” plastic pipe but remove the metal bracket and mount this to the underside of the overhang with this:

Then I’ll use 2” Velcro to hold on the plastic pipe and bingo! No more hitting of the roof!

Thanks @RushT !!!

Round the world · Oct 19, 2020

MTgirl said: ↑

If you guys haven't made your way through Yellowstone and MT yet you may want to rethink your route - or pick up some extra long underoos on the way here... Forecast is calling for below zero temps this weekend, highs in the 20's.
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Oh man! We just noticed that. Tomorrow we’re headed to Badlands NP for a few days and are planning on working west to Yellowstone via Wind Cave NP, Mt Rushmore, and Devils Tower. Probably be there in a week or so. Starting to wonder how to keep our water system from freezing.

Happy to meet up! After a week there we’ll be ready to thaw out in UT

RushT · Oct 19, 2020

Round the world[OP] said: ↑

The mosquito netting weighs approximately 10 pounds because there’s four aluminum bars. The challenge is that the head of the bolt is only 1/2” from the Tacoma roof and slightly hits it when off-roading.

You have made me think about it more and I think I’ve discovered a simple solution thanks to you!

So I’m thinking of continuing to use the 6” plastic pipe but remove the metal bracket and mount this to the underside of the overhang with this:

Then I’ll use 2” Velcro to hold on the plastic pipe and bingo! No more hitting of the roof!

Thanks @RushT !!!
Click to expand...

Yep, a strap system came to mind too, but I figured you’d be off in the right directions once an alternative was considered.

MTgirl · Oct 20, 2020

Round the world[OP] said: ↑

Oh man! We just noticed that. Tomorrow we’re headed to Badlands NP for a few days and are planning on working west to Yellowstone via Wind Cave NP, Mt Rushmore, and Devils Tower. Probably be there in a week or so. Starting to wonder how to keep our water system from freezing.

Happy to meet up! After a week there we’ll be ready to thaw out in UT
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You guys may want to drain/winterize the tanks. Going to be hard enough keeping them from freezing overnight let alone while you're driving down the road and the wind is chilling things off with no heater running.

Also, Yellowstone roads close for the season at 8AM on Monday 11/2. Only the North road between Gardiner and Cooke City will be open beyond that time. And if the weather keeps up the South road between Yelly and Grand Teton could close at any time - if it snows too much and the plow crews cant keep up they may just give up and close it.

robssol · Oct 20, 2020

Round the world[OP] said: ↑

So normally posts are generally where someone has successfully completed a mod and is proud to announce it to the world. These two that I have completed have been what i would describe the results as mixed...

I decided that installing paint protection film over all four doors would help the paint from inevitable scratches brushy roads. While at the same time i also wanted to install security film on the door windows. The idea being that it dramatically increases the break in time.
So here’s my advice:

- do no more than one panel at a time (ie: do only the lower part of the door, save the upper part around the windows for another piece
- the curved sections along the corners of the doors are the worst.
- its super important to wash it really, really well and then strip off any wax with dishwashing soap
- Cut the sheets about an inch wider/longer, you will trim/tuck/fold it later
- there’s a backing layer that gets peeled off, spray with a slightly soapy water solution as you peel the backing. Spraying the water allows the PPF to be separated if it sticks to itself
- Spray the solution all over the cleaned panel, then put the PPF on, spray the water on the outside of the PPF as well
- take your time, start smoothing with the blue card in the middle and slowly work your way out
- the idea is to squeegee out all of the air bubbles but realize that you're not going to be perfect...
- It can be peeled off and started over or you can stretch it
- on corners the hair dryer will slightly shrink it but overheating it will mess it up...
- on the bottoms of doors leave it about an eighth of an inch too long and wrap it underneath or between the gap in the panels
- use the hair dryer to activate the glue along the edge where you’re trying to fold it over
- use a towel to dry up the water along the edge
- be careful along your fender edges as dirt accumulated in the fenders will wick up under the wrap
- the bubbles that you missed can be pricked with a pin to let the water/air out and then can be smoothed down, mostly...

Notice all the bubbles, they’re the enemy!
Overall, i gave myself a C+. Each lower door panel took about an hour. The good news is that it should do the job. But i still see folds underneath the door handles

Security Film
In theory applying this should have been easier as this material was 3X the thickness, 4 mils. It actually had stiffness to it. Also i only applied it to flat windows. While applying was indeed much easier the outcome was worse. No matter how may times i washed the window with a clean microfiber cloth. This is what the darkened rear windows looked like:

The darkened rear windows showed it the worst. But even the driver and passenger front windows look like its slightly cloudy or dirty. So far I’ve left them on but may peel it off. I give myself a D on this mod
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You can poke a pin hole in the middle of the air bubbles and squeegee out the air. The pin hole will disappear.

Round the world · Oct 21, 2020

robssol said: ↑

You can poke a pin hole in the middle of the air bubbles and squeegee out the air. The pin hole will disappear.
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yeah I tried that with success with some of them on my last panel but I’m seems like that has to be done in the first day or so.

Round the world · Oct 22, 2020

Weather took a bit of a turn for the worse, freezing rain and wind made some interesting ice formations on the truck

The Baja Design S2 is frozen over with a crooked icicle!

Probably not the best day to be exploring the super slippery clay of Badlands National Park

Fargo Taco · Oct 22, 2020

Round the world[OP] said: ↑

Weather took a bit of a turn for the worse, freezing rain and wind made some interesting ice formations on the truck
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That's the same cell that's going through Fargo right now. Any issues with your water freezing? Hope not!

Round the world · Oct 22, 2020

Not yet! We are giving our furnace a workout though. The temp has been around 28-35 degrees mostly. The real test is this weekend where the lows are supposed to hoovering just above zero

The external hose going to our underbody gray water tank did freeze

Round the world · Oct 22, 2020

Oh yeah forgot yesterday's foot slop photo

MTgirl · Oct 22, 2020

Round the world[OP] said: ↑

Oh yeah forgot yesterday's foot slop photo

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you will NEVER get that mud out of your shoes. I have a pair of shoes that I wore down there and in Roosevelt NP. Cant get rid of it.

Round the world · Nov 9, 2020

Tiny's Taco said: ↑

If you get to Yellowstone, go up through Grand Tetons NP. Moose Wilson Road north from the Tetons Village is worth the drive, especially with your truck. Check the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve (https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/lsr.htm). Trails and easy hikes, and a nice pull off at the north end. We saw moose and bears a few times at this spot. It's about an hour drive to the south entrance of Yellowstone from there. One note, the road will close in November for the winter.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation. We got there just before it closed and found our first moose after looking for a week!

Tiny's Taco · Nov 9, 2020

Round the world[OP] said: ↑

Thanks for the recommendation. We got there just before it closed and found our first moose after looking for a week!

Click to expand...

Very cool! Glad it worked out for you! Hope to get back there again.

gaprider0 · Nov 10, 2020

Trying to talk my wife into a round the world adventure or at least to Patagonia and back

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