dorton
#rockcreekoverland
In the later part of 2015, while doing some camping and wheeling with a good friend, a plan for a trip was born.
With the trip, came the necessity of more room than my 2007 FJ Cruiser(named Scully) had to offer. It did great for local runs, and weekend trips,
but my 63qt fridge ate up almost all the rear cargo room. Then also with the roof top tent, we were limited on roof space for storage
There was also the option of my 1st gen 4runner(Smurf), but I've sorta retired it from the LONG trips, as it having 350k miles, and
being 30+ years young makes it quite a journey just to drive 6k miles to and from the West, let alone the 2 weeks of off roading we do
while there. I've also recently yanked the 22RE from it, and have acquired a 5VZ, and automatic trans to be swapped in it. So that would add
a heavy amount to get done, and tested before heading out on the kind of trip we're talking.
Next I started considering off road trailers, both building and purchasing. I may still eventually do one, but currently, that's not the route I want to go.
This brought me back to vehicle choice. The Tundra is an awesome platform, but just too massive for East Coast trails. Our family already has a 5th
gen 4runner Trail, so can't justify another one of those. So, it left me with one choice that I believe for us is the perfect fit. I place an order for a
2016 Tacoma Double Cab TRD Off Road in Inferno, and an automatic trans back in April.
It left the factory on 4/25/16, and I took ownership on 5/2/16.
My wife has always named her vehicles, so I have started naming mine as well. I wanted a name that would work with the orange, but discarded
the usual orange-ish names having to do with carrots, pumpkins etc. For some reason (i'm weird) I always think of orangutans when I think of orange.
So, I decided to go with a name related to that thought. Pongo is a scientific name for orangutan. I was like wow, that fits it well. A big orange monkey
that's inquisitive, and enjoys being in the woods.
I drove it from work(the dealership) to home, then back to work 1 time before the factory suspension was removed for Old Man Emu,
coils/leaves and OME struts/shocks, TRD Pro 4Runner wheels, and Cooper STT Pro Tires in 285/70r17 (x5) were installed.
I work for a Toyota Dealer in about the middle of NC, and had a work related school in Orlando, so since we're also an ARB dealer, I figured
I'd stop by and catch up with some of the fine folks at their Jacksonville FL distribution center on my way south. Of course I had to take a photo with their
very tricked out 2016 Tacoma.
I had struggled over what I wanted to enclose the bed. I considered a fiberglass top, and decided to go with a Softopper, and an All Pro Off Road
Pack Rack to go over it. The rack will be needed to hold the ARB Simpson III tent I'll be installing later. The Softopper came in quickly, and installed
easily. I've been very pleased with the purchase thus far.
We have only been able to take it wheeling in the mountains on NC a couple times, but as expected it has performed very well.
I'll be adding more posts over the next few days, getting it caught up to it's current status, but as a teaser:
With the trip, came the necessity of more room than my 2007 FJ Cruiser(named Scully) had to offer. It did great for local runs, and weekend trips,
but my 63qt fridge ate up almost all the rear cargo room. Then also with the roof top tent, we were limited on roof space for storage
There was also the option of my 1st gen 4runner(Smurf), but I've sorta retired it from the LONG trips, as it having 350k miles, and
being 30+ years young makes it quite a journey just to drive 6k miles to and from the West, let alone the 2 weeks of off roading we do
while there. I've also recently yanked the 22RE from it, and have acquired a 5VZ, and automatic trans to be swapped in it. So that would add
a heavy amount to get done, and tested before heading out on the kind of trip we're talking.
Next I started considering off road trailers, both building and purchasing. I may still eventually do one, but currently, that's not the route I want to go.
This brought me back to vehicle choice. The Tundra is an awesome platform, but just too massive for East Coast trails. Our family already has a 5th
gen 4runner Trail, so can't justify another one of those. So, it left me with one choice that I believe for us is the perfect fit. I place an order for a
2016 Tacoma Double Cab TRD Off Road in Inferno, and an automatic trans back in April.
It left the factory on 4/25/16, and I took ownership on 5/2/16.
My wife has always named her vehicles, so I have started naming mine as well. I wanted a name that would work with the orange, but discarded
the usual orange-ish names having to do with carrots, pumpkins etc. For some reason (i'm weird) I always think of orangutans when I think of orange.
So, I decided to go with a name related to that thought. Pongo is a scientific name for orangutan. I was like wow, that fits it well. A big orange monkey
that's inquisitive, and enjoys being in the woods.
I drove it from work(the dealership) to home, then back to work 1 time before the factory suspension was removed for Old Man Emu,
coils/leaves and OME struts/shocks, TRD Pro 4Runner wheels, and Cooper STT Pro Tires in 285/70r17 (x5) were installed.
I work for a Toyota Dealer in about the middle of NC, and had a work related school in Orlando, so since we're also an ARB dealer, I figured
I'd stop by and catch up with some of the fine folks at their Jacksonville FL distribution center on my way south. Of course I had to take a photo with their
very tricked out 2016 Tacoma.
I had struggled over what I wanted to enclose the bed. I considered a fiberglass top, and decided to go with a Softopper, and an All Pro Off Road
Pack Rack to go over it. The rack will be needed to hold the ARB Simpson III tent I'll be installing later. The Softopper came in quickly, and installed
easily. I've been very pleased with the purchase thus far.
We have only been able to take it wheeling in the mountains on NC a couple times, but as expected it has performed very well.
I'll be adding more posts over the next few days, getting it caught up to it's current status, but as a teaser:
