Wisconsin Tacomas and bad financial advice

For sure! I always have some basic tools in the truck for whatever comes up. When I know I'll be a little more detached from civilization or wheeling I pack the big boy tools I have.

Recovery gear is something I need to learn more about too and know what I need on the trails. I've never really gone alone on anything more serious than level 3 at Tigerton. I'm usually with you guys and your winches and expertise. My recovery gear now consists of a tow strap, a shovel and a couple traction boards.

I'll get there. Unfortunately I have more time for farting around on the web at work than I do at home lately. And that ain't much time.

 

Get one of these. You’ll either get it loose or break it off

https://www.tekton.com/3-4-inch-drive-x-40-inch-breaker-bar-sbh00340

here’s the socket

https://www.tekton.com/3-4-inch-drive-x-35-mm-6-point-socket-shd32135

 

Get the book from the master. I was in a couple of his sessions at overland expo and the guy knows his stuff and more importantly how to do it safely. He’s got a couple other books too

The Total Approach of Getting Unstuck Off Road: 4WD Self-Recovery & Vehicle-Assisted Recovery (Off-Road & Overland Adventure InfoBooks) https://a.co/d/37JB2nW

 

Ordered! Thanks for the suggestion.

 

@CygnusX191 if you’re offloading any of those sleeves I may be interested as well. Slide into my DMs with those shiny Taco parts.

 

Regarding the sleeves, those are my stock of warfab sleeves.

So with the first run I ordered two sets for a total of four. USPS did their best and three of them showed up. With a hole in the package or the fourth one clearly fell out. So I messaged warfab with pictures and they said hey. We'll take care of you. And I told them I mean I would buy another one. It's not a big deal and they said no we'll take care of you.

Well the second batch they cut them slightly shorter so they would fit a wide variety of FJ cruisers and Land cruisers etc. So they sent me four more.

Then USPS showed up with the last one. From the first batch.

Why haven't I installed them on my trucks yet? Well.....

Unfortunately the extras are already spoken for, one side is going on a 2010 Taco limo and the other set is going on at 2019 Pro 4X Frontier.

But I will say this, they are pure beef. Well I don't foresee actually needing them since I don't do high speed stuff at the same time, having that added protection is added piece of mind. That being said, with all the wheeling I do with my clowns who meet up at Windrock twice a year plus the events we do here in STL, I've only ever seen one person mess up a tie rod and he was in a 2000 shitbox doing shit ox things

 

Wait, what did you say there??? I think we all learned a valuable lesson in Moab: a spare diff is also a necessity and thank goodness for spare tires! I guess I'm just a nobody... (Just for the record I wasn't doing "shitbox things" either.)

Edit: I wasn't doing them because I never got the chance...

 

We lost our muscle monkey... he ran off to AZ. I have had a 6' pipe on (not Tacoma's but...) cv nuts before and bent the pipe. Just saying, I am probably not strong enough. Have two sockets (35 and 36) plus a ginormous breaker bar. Wish I could afford that red brand impact but poor life choices happened... Luckily I know how to cook and have camping gear!

 

My experience is you will never be able to have everything covered. Shit happens. I have spent most of my life in the wilds alone, and I have had some VERY unfortunate things happen/let go in very distant/remote places. Strange things too. Used to be I didn't carry much beyond a winch. Now I have a 4x4 recovery and parts store on the rig-life changed and now I take a wonderful wife person along. She has a sporting disposition but tends to frown on high milage hikes out and such. I imagine I can still get myself F#cked, but I try not to. Hard though... Research the most common things to break on the rig and go from there. Even easy trails can cause a headache to occur... trust me.

 

If I remember correctly, you got a free spare tire out of that trip. Thank goodness for Wade.

So are you saying,,if you had a chance, you would of done "Shit Box " things

 

They'll fit a 4runner I reckon. We got a few of them in here

 

Without a doubt!

 

Hey all! Does anybody know of a good upholsterer in the SE/central Wisconsin area who has worked on a Tacoma? I’ve contacted quite a few but most lose interest the minute they find out it’s a 20 year old truck with a bench seat.

Thanks for any help!

 

Agree, very impressed with all the folks here with in-depth technical knowledge.

 

I learned everything I know about recoveries by watching U-Tube vids. Mostly Matts' Off-Road recovery. His early vids show how to rig some complicated set-ups. There are vids that are dedicated to recovery. They were very helpful, too. The knowledge I gained from the 'net got me out of a jam my first time in Moab. (We still had to spend the night in the bush. Brrr!!)

I was.

 

Another consideration other than the recovery gear, spare parts and tools is take a blanket or sleeping bag with you, too. After spending the night on that trail in Moab, I do. It was a bit chilly. We did get some sleep, but it wasn't comfortable. A blanket would have made the night so much nicer.

 

Matts isn’t a great source for proper ways to do things.. I’d highly encourage reading this about an incident that happened out in Arizona with people using things they’ve learned from Matt.

Newsletter #42
https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/ff...2023_March_Newsletter 2.pdf?ver=1702589788598

Rest of the newsletters are here
https://discoveroffroading.com/newsletter-archives


If you want some videos, I’d recommend some of these:
Expedition overland
4xoverland
Patriot campers / patriot games
Ronny Dahl

 

Interesting that this book is listed for the same price at bookfinder.com in used acceptable condition as it is new. Ordered a new one, thanks @Shellshock !

 

If going into a remote area for an extended period of time, its always a good idea to have a way to keep warm, water and a way to purify water, extra food, and a way to communicate if you don't have cell service.

I still heavily use my garmin inreach (just got the messenger a while back). Being able to let people know where you are, if you’ve run into issues or even ask a question is hugely valuable.