The AzTacoma Connection

INTRODUCTION

AzTacoma — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:22:00 GMT

Who is AzTacoma and what's up with this place?

To learn a little more about me click on the "About" link on the right. Otherwise, let's get to the point of this humble nook of mine. Basically, I'm looking to journal my truck and thoughts in relation to Arizona wheeling... however random and unimportant! As totally exciting as that sounds (and I know it does), I do hope you can come away with a sliver of something useful or interesting out of the AzTacoma Connection.

My general attitude is simple: I use 4x4 to enjoy the environment, not using the environment to enjoy 4x4. I seldom go out solely to 4-wheel (although going out purely to off-road is better than nothing!). Normally I'm trying to get somewhere particular to explore like an old mine, ghosttown, natural feature, or find a place to hunt, fish, hike or camp. Two-tracks in the middle of nowhere are my favorites roads.

A final thought: Let's not go off the trails, litter, and generally be A-holes while traveling offroad. Doing so is not only bad karma, it also brings anger upon wheelers and generally makes people want to close off the amazing backcountry that we love to vehicles.

ARIZONA + TACOMA = GOOD TIMES

AzTacoma — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:21:00 GMT

"Let's See What's Down The Road" -AzTacoma

[Last update 1-1-09] I added the Cherry trip AND Snow Run trip... and updated my "upcoming" list. Previosuly added the Humbug / Columbia trip.

TRIP LOG: If you want additional info on these trails, or argue about my ratings, or anything else along those lines, make a comment below or email using the contact link. The first number is trail difficulty (standard Az 1-5 scale), and the second number is scenic-point of interest-historical value (1-5 scale, 5 being the best)

WEST

Saddle Mountain Loop (2.0 / 1.5)

Hassayampa/Jackrabbit Wash (2.0 / 1.5)

North Belmonts (2.0 / 2.0)

East Salome Hills (2.0 / 2.5)

Morristown Loop (2.0 / 3.0)

Sonoran Desert Nat. Mon. (1.5 / 2.0)

KOFA Wildlife Refuge [5 trails] (3.0 / 4.5)

Alamo Lake Backside (2.0 / 4.0)

Copperopolis (2.5 / 3.0)

Dripping Springs (2.5 / 3.5)

Stanton to Hassayampa (2.0 / 3.0)

Buckeye Hills (2.0 / 2.0)

Bill Williams Crossing (2.5 / 4.0)

Tip Top and Gillette (1.5 / 3.5)

Powers Butte (1.5 / 2.5)

West Castle Hot Springs Loop (2.5 / 3.0)

White Tanks [ Update ](3.5+ / 1.5)

Turkey Creek (3.5 / 2.5)

Harquahala Peak [ Update ] (2.0 / 3.0)

Big Horn Mines (2.0 / 2.5)

Agua Caliente Rd (1.0 / 3.0)

Butterfield Pass (2.0 / 3.0)

Humbug / Columbia 12-08 (2.5 / 3.5)

EAST

Devil's Canyon (3.5 / 3.0)

Apache Trail (1.0 / 4.0)

Four Peaks (2.5 / 2.5)

Sunflower Mine (3.0 / 3.0)

Martinez Cabin (3.5 / 4.0)

Montana Mountain (2.0 / 2.0)

Box Canyon / Mineral Mountain Rd (2.5 / 3.0)

Coke Ovens (3.5 / 4.0)

NORTH

Rim Road (1.0 / 3.0)

Black Canyon Rd (1.5 / 3.0)

White Mountains (1.5 / 2.5)

Backway to Long Lake (2.0 / 2.0)

Greasy Spoon (2.5 / 2.5)

Soldiers Pass (3.0 / 4.0)

Chavez Mountain Pass (1.5 / 2.5)

Senator Highway (1.0 / 2.5)

Sycamore Point (1.0 / 3.5)

Jerome via Perkinsville (1.0 / 3.0)

Backway to Crown King (3.5 / 3.5)

Broken Arrow (3.0 / 4.5)

Schnebly Hill (2.0 / 3.0)

Fossil Creek [ Update ] (2.0 / 3.0)

Cinder Hills OHV (2.5 / 3.0)

Point Sublime (1.5 / 5.0)

Toroweap (2.5 / 5.0)

Whitmore Wash (2.5 / 5.0)

Hack Canyon (2.0 / 3.0)

DeSoto Trail (3.5 / 3.5)

West Payson Loop (2.0 / 2.0)

Monument Valley 07-08 (1.5 / 4.5)

Pyeatt Draw 09-08 (3.5 / 3.5)

Haigler/Rim 10-08 (2.0 / 3.0)

Snow Run 12-08 (3.0 / 3.0)

Cherry 12-08 (3.0 / 3.5)

SOUTH

Chiricahua Loop (2.5 / 4.0)

Carr Canyon (1.5 / 2.5)

Sierrita Mountains [ Update ] (2.0 / 2.0)

Garden Canyon (2.0 / 3.0)

Harshaw Rd (2.0 / 4.0)

Border Rd (1.5 / 3.5)

Ironwood National Monument 09-08 (1.5 / 3.5)

Chivo Falls / Chimney Rock 11-08 (3.5 / 3.5)

OUTSIDE ARIZONA

San Juan Mountains 07-08 (3.0 / 5.0)

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Current Status 11-30-08: (160,000 miles)

The Taco is running fine, with new front shocks. It's only being driven about once a week.

PS. NEVER go to Lee Myles Tansmissions!

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Upcoming:

December: 1 night exploration near Kingman;

January (MLK weekend)- 2 night White Mountains trip*

February- 1 night Devil's Highway run

March- 1 night exploration to secret ruins "near" Prescott**

April- 1 night exploration to cool POI's near Flagstaff***

May- Day trip to???

Summer "Mega-Trip": White Mountains or southeast Utah

* Main event to include ice fishing with side trips through notable backcountry and a few interesting points of interest

** Participants will be asked to not disclose location

*** A chance to see some rare sights few know about

UPGRADES AND MODS: 2000 TACOMA X-CAB TRD SR5 4X4

AzTacoma — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:20:00 GMT

[ Lastest Update: 07-02-08 ]

I have beat the crap out of this truck. From blistering 130° runs to below zero excursions, from sea level to 13,000+ feet, from hauling heavy loads and pulling serious trailers, and all the water, mud, sand, bumps, bangs, scrapes, and dents of gnarly trails and bouncy romps, this truck has seen it all.

I'm not overly concerned with extreme, highly technical 4-wheeling. It's cool, but I'm more into adventure travel and therefore slowly building the Taco up for more expeditionary use with the goal of having capable 4x4 but still retaining the long-haul drivability and comfort. In other words, I'd rather have an auxilery fuel tank and 12 volt freezer than a solid front axle and super low gears. All I need is a little more time and a lot more money!

But I have done a few things so far... might not be much, but it's a start (and it's gotten the job done). So here's the rundown:

Exterior:

Factory TRD rear e-locker

2.5 suspension lift (spacer/shackle)

Deckplate air intake mod

Front bumper corner trim

Turn signal relocation mod

Hitch receiver w/ custom bumper plug

Onboard MF1050 air compressor

BFG 32x11.5 All Terrains

Exhaust clip

Rock Sliders

Interior:

Full time power mod

Garmin eTrex Vista GPS w/ dash mount

Uniden Pro 510x CB

Fire extinguisher w/ custom mount

Homemade emergency kit

Next upgrade: ?????

Also on the list: custom engine hood light; hoot struts; seat covers; inclinometer; Optima red top; diff breather extension

Hopefully someday: Armored rear bumper with swing out tire carrier; auxilary fuel tank; 12 volt freezer; 2nd battery; snorkel

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The "deckplate" modification uses a boat deckplate to allow more air into the airbox... sort of a poor man's intake. The deckplate screws in just in case you don't want the feature (deep water crossings, etc). I guess the only thing to be careful about is to use sensor-safe silicone sealant. So what have I noticed since the mod? A barely throatier sound at 2500+ RPM and maybe a 5 hp gain. Seems to have slightly more kick while accelerating. Could just be my overactive (ie. wishful) thinking. No change in mileage.

Drilled a perimeter of holes and cut it out... then smoothed out the cut somewhat

Installed the deckplate and reinstalled the airbox

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BFGoodrich 32x11.5 All-Terrains. I bought these from Tirerack.com for cheap. I prefer to do this this myself since I can really clean the wheels down, etc. WalMart balanced them for $20. I had BFG 31x10.5s several times before and loved them, so why not get the slightly larger? There was a very slight rub on the upper control arms because the tire is wide. I put 1/4" spacers and it seems to have fixed that. I really want 33"s but I'm pretty sure I'll rub on turns while wheeling... I really need another 1/2" of lift :(

The old tires make their final trip... and the weird cousin goes to town

Taking off the well worn oldies and then BAM! New sexy kicks...

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Exhaust Clip: This was a very easy, very fast (5 minute) modification I did because I didn't like how the tailpipe hung out so much. It almost gets in the way of the leaf spring after I put the shackles on and I've hit the tailpipe on rocks in the past. Not anymore

Here's what it looked like before, and then after the cut

This might confuse the emissions folks

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The CB was old, but never used... and FREE! I ended up getting a magnetic Wilson 500 antenna that I put on top the truck through the sliding rear window. I'm not overly excited about this set-up... eventually I want a better antenna mount arrangement. The system is very clear and loud though, with excellent range.

I decided to try and stick it in the open space right below the radio. The 2nd picture shows us testing it before we install it into the dash.

We had to custom fabricate the mount to make it fit into the tight space. It's very rigid. I went ahead at spliced into one of the cig lighters for power.

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The trailer plug kept getting knocked off while off-roading so I tucked it out of the way. Too easy.

Before..............................................................and after

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Signal relocation: I wanted to turn my corner lights into blinkers. This meant removing the old blinker housing and re-wiring it to the corner housing. Then a new dual-filament socket would have to be installed into the corner light housing for the corner light and the blinker light. Why would I do all this? So I can trim my bumper of course! Anyways, I like the result because the new corner blinker is much brighter and you can see it from the side now also.

Here's the before shot with the blinker below the headlight, and then starting the removal process.

Wiring the blinker up to the corner. Then, the new dual filament socket required drilling a larger hole in the housing.

The new socket/bulb goes in with a little silicone sealant. Attach the wires and reinstall the housing... wa-la.

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The bumper trim is the big reason for relocating the blinker. I decided to cut off the corners of the front bumper to create a little more approach height... and to make my truck look a little different. This job only took about an hour. I would use door moulding along the edge, but to me it looks fine as is.

First I did a raw cut and then tucked up a few wires that hung low.

I finished off the rough cut... compare with the first picture of the signal relocation mod.

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This lift was cheap ($225 with shipping) and easy. I'm nowhere close to getting a nice lift system, so this satisfied my desire to get a little bigger tire on and give the truck a slightly better look. This job took about 4 hours.

Once the coilovers were off a solid spacer was installed at the top.

Disconnect the rear of the leaf and place the heavy duty shackle on.

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Air compressor: Being the cheap, err... budget-minded person I am, I decided to get the Masterflow 1050. The duty cycle is plenty adequate for what I have, and I've heard decent reviews from others. $70 later I'm more than happy. A 32x11.5 tire goes from 16psi to 35 in under two and a half minutes.

The strange, proprietary hose/hardware it came with was terrible. I rigged my own universal so I could use my regular gear. I decided to put the compressor in the rear-right section, although I would have to relocate my car alarm horn.

I made a desired template with a thin piece of white plastic and scissors. I traced in onto a piece of aluminum and cut it out, drilled the holes for the compressor, and painted it.

The compressor goes on the base and it all gets installed. Notice the new location of the car alarm horn.

After trimming the bolts from underneath we wired it. The ground goes into an existing screw next to the compressor and the power is wired (black tubing) around to the battery. The power cord has its own 30amp circuit.

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The Rock Sliders I got off Ebay for $140 including shipping! They are Trail Gear 3/4" X .120 round HREW tubing.

First I set it up how I wanted and made measurements

The pre-notched legs were cut to size

Made sure the angle was correct and welded the legs on

I decided to put on little gussets for added strength

Small notches were made for the legs and Eastwood's Encapsulator was brushed on

Then they're welded on... with big fat welds

It's about time!

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<<<<<< more to come >>>>>>

ODDS AND ENDS

AzTacoma — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:19:00 GMT

HERE YOU'LL FIND A RANDOM MISCELLANY OF TOYOTA, OFF-ROAD, AND ARIZONA INFO AND LINKS. ENJOY!

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Can you handle the Tacoma?

Most know the Tacoma is Invincible but did they also know it's Meteor Proof? The Tacoma has done battle with the Lochness Monster so people have to ask if they're Tough Enough for the Tacoma. Those that are become the The "Lawgiver." Once you own a Toyota you'll always be able to tell if It's a trap!

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Good stuff from the British series "Top Gear"

What does it take to kill a Toyota Pickup? OK... Let's try and kill it again

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Anyone who's been in Arizona more than 15 years know just how much the state has grown (unfortunately). But it's been growing a long time! Check out this website... just move the cursor over the picture.

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<<<<<<<< under construction >>>>>>>>>