Where Have You Off-Roaded Today? 3rd Gen

A little late to post this as this happened October of last year but some light trails in Ocala National Forest with a stop at Hopkins Prairie. Good for figuring out how she handles and testing what super-cool not-super-necessary equipment and gear I absolutely definitely need to get. Great time, great views, and just dirty enough.

 

I forgot to post this the other day - a sign near the entrance to the Squamish River forest service road... I know, very childish, but made me laugh out loud.

 

Went pretty deep in the desert. Happy Halloween weekend.

 

Goofing around on some old mine tailings…..

Snow adds a new dimension to the trails!

 

Looks like you’re getting quite a bit of tire contact on the springs. What size tire are you running?

 

285/75-16 0bs wheel and a 1.25” spacer
First time in the dirt since linked. Haven’t installed bump stops yet. Look like I’m going to have to

 

Have a set of 315 75 16 to go on next…looks like I have a few things to figure out

 

North Padre Island. Clump of seaweed followed me out of there.

 

Great pics - Stupid question - I had to google North Padre Island, it's in Texas? I also see a maple leaf on your truck - are you a Canadian in Texas?

 

The lads and I did a quick trip up the Mamquam service road near Squamish. The trail is much smoother than the Squamish River service road, but has more elevation changes. However, hardly any places/clearings off the road to enjoy a picnic near the river.

It was clear and beautiful this morning, but cold (-2 Celsius). But we had a fire

Edit: It was inevitable, but the truck received its first pinstripes today. We headed down a side trail, lots of fun ditches to traverse but it was tight and a bit painful to hear the twigs/branches scrape against the brand new paint... But this was why I bought the truck for - it was not meant to be a garage queen.

 

Yup, I am a Canadian living in Texas. I gotta represent somehow!

 

Went to check out the wildfire effects from the West Kelowna fires this summer. Pretty depressing. Tens of thousands of acres just fully wiped out where no trees are untouched. Those areas not coming back for at least 20 years, the fire went so deep into the soil. With increasing drought every year here, large trees will no longer grow in that soil there. Just shrubs and grass will take their place. Deep ash in the forest, and thousands of tree holes where the fire burned 100% of the tree deep into the ground leaving just a big hole. No pics of the fire area here.

On the way home, I pass about 50 of the westside mountain goats, and they are all feeding on something inside the burnt out foundation ruins of someones home. That will not end well, as there are so many poisons left in a burned out home.

Get past the fire perimeter and things are normal. A nice day there and even got in a hike. Five weeks ago I could not even stand for a few days as my lower back was so bad, but it is improving now. I was a bit nuts to do such a steep hike, but I got away with it. First pic is the truck on the FSR at bottom of the cliffs. Then 3 pics showing the hike up and view from the clifftop. Great viewpoint. Other pics are 10km further up the road to a different mountain to a nice spot to make coffee and have lunch.

Oh, I have my Nokian Hakkapellitta LT3 snow tires on now. They are load D snow tires, but man they suck so badly offroad. They will be good for early winter offroading in the mountain snow. No traction on gravel or washboard, just flying all over the road. Sure shows the difference between a snow tire, and my Goodrich KO2s which stick to those same roads like glue.

 

Gorgeous pics. I'm glad you had a chance to get out there, and your back survived.

I had not thought about the difference between a dedicated snow tire versus an all terrain tire. I'll see how my stock Wrangler AT's do with any snow in the Lower Mainland during my first winter with the truck.

 

Vancouver winters are so unpredictable. I drove there for 40 years. Driving from Coquitlam to Richmond for many years. Coquitlam bad conditions if it snowed heavily, but Richmond not much snow most years.

What many drivers never learn if they only drive their own city, state, or area is that no two snowfall regions are alike.

Drive in cold conditions, say below -10c then the snow is very sticky as the humidity is low and not as much slick ice. The moisture gets sucked out of the snow.

Drive in a coastal area like Vancouver, and at -3 to zero with high humidity, and the roads become skating rinks as the traffic mats it down.

The humidity is the deciding factor. I have seen many drivers from Alberta and BC interior fly off the road or into accidents when they try driving in Vancouver as they are not familiar with that level of slick ice or wet snow. Pretty funny to watch actually.

I drove my old Firebird in Calgary one winter on packed highway snow for 3 months, without spinning a tire. Rear wheel drive muscle car, no snow tires, and no problem. In Vancouver, with snow tires and weight in the back I could not drive it at all on snow. I mean not a bit, totally useless.

We have all seen the videos. Cars slowly sliding backward down hills, brakes on and no amount of snow tire tread or 4x4 saving your ass in those conditions. Other dry climates and you can motor up the same type of hills with no issues.

Having experience helps big time, but the deciding factor is really humidity. How wet or dry that snow is dictates how well you can get around.

Generally speaking, your tires will be “ok” but not great in snow or ice. Put 300-400 pounds of sand bags in the rear if you get any decent amount of snow, or bad ice conditions. I put 350 pounds in mine, and without that it really sucks even with good snow tires for Kelowna winters. I have had other Tacomas with no snow tires, or no weight in the back, stuck on hills as I go around and pass them by. We often get permanent skating rinks for long stretches. The Tacoma not like my old full size Ford 4x4 pickups that were beasts in any type of snow.

Our smaller and lighter Tacomas with the long but narrow wheel base, are not as good as a full size pickup, or even most AWD suv’s. My wifes AWD RAV4 is better in city snow than my Tacoma. However, the Rav4 does not fare that well in deep snow where the Tacoma does better.

 

Agree 100%. I went to school and worked in Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton) for 11 years. The winter conditions are TOTALLY different - I love that compacted perma-frost snow, had similar traction to concrete if you had proper snow tires (which most people did - it was the responsible thing to do).

Returning to Vancouver reminded how awful the snow here, like you said, due to the humidity. Yes, lots of idiots here don't have proper winter tires, but it wouldn't necessarily have saved them in the morning ice rink.

Thanks for the advice re: weight in the back of the truck - something to consider. Maybe a Diamondback Cover will help add some weight back there

 

Yes well said. Done municipal snow removal for years. The conditions can change rapidly on the coast. The worst is when after a sustained deep freeze with clear skies. Warm front moves in and the temp quickly ramps up to zero and it becomes a nightmare after a foot of snow has dropped and becomes compacted. When it first snows here and the temp is well below zero it’s not bad. But @ppat4 is right. Humidity and the dew point is such a big factor.

My arrogant, boisterous Uncle from Alberta used to always scoff and mock us west coasters floundering around when snow would hit. Big difference with dry powdery now.

 

Last weekend I headed out to Breckenridge with some buddies to enjoy the first snowfall of the season @hondarubiconowner

 

The wife and I went up to Sedona for a quick weekend trip. Hit up Outlaw trail today. Nice trail with a couple of fun ledge obstacles. Looking forward to Diamondback Gulch or Cliffhanger tomorrow. Trying to stay off the super busy trails this trip.