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Oregon-bound Chapter 3: Mission Impossible: Oregon's Backcountry Discovery Route May 11-15, 2017. (read Chapter 1: Acquisition and Installation of the CVT, Chapter 2: Exploring Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge) Day 1: Thursday, May 11. Parting ways with Pops and my Uncle, our plan...

Oregon-bound Chapter 2: Exploring Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge May 8-10, 2017. (read Chapter 1: Acquisition and Installation of the CVT) Day 1: Monday, May 8. Acquisition and installation of the CVT successful, we were off for a week of desert and back country exploration - so...

Oregon-bound Chapter 1: Acquisition and Installation of the CVT May 8, 2017. The day is here, and it's a big one. It was over half a year ago that I decided I wanted a CVT, and in that time I'd purchased one and fabricated a bed rack that I hoped would work to hold it behind the cab of the...

Washboard relief - ARB CKMA12 on-board air compressor April 2, 2017. Thousands of miles. How far have I travelled on washboard roads at full tire pressure? Definitely thousands of miles. Probably not ten thousand, but enough that I wish I’d have known how much better life is when you can air...

Bussmann RTMR installation April 2017. Wires everywhere. That’s how it’s starting to feel with the various accessories that I’ve added to the truck. Sure, I tuck them away here, and zip-tie them away there to try to clean things up, but in the end I still have several pair of wires running from...

Rear Diff Breather Mod - Why didn't I do this sooner? March 19, 2017 It seems like just about everyone does this mod sooner or later, and I chose a little later. 17 years a little later. The fact that we have to do this mod at all is a bit unfortunate. Designers at Toyota placed a breather...

Building the Bed Rack (did someone say "new tools"?) December 2016 - February 2017. You may recall that no too long ago I decided to purchase a CVT, and then of course realized that the truck would need a bed rack to attach said CVT. That led to my Millermatic 211 acquisition, and the...

Christmas Tree, Sledding, and Recovery…Oh my! 17 December 2016. (also posted earlier in trip reports) Cutting down our own Christmas Tree has become a tradition in the last five years or so. We've got our favorite place to go (FS-9021 off I-90 by Snoqualmie Pass), our favorite species of tree...

The @mrs.turbodb Mod - Custom Wet Okole Seat Covers November 2016. Most of the time, modifications I make to the truck are firmly in the "meh" camp for @mrs.turbodb. I mean, she appreciates the results, but she'd really be just as happy without them. And, they generally garner at least some...

WABDR Stage 3 - Backroads to Sleeping Lady October 29, 2016. One of our favorite places to get away in Washington is the Sleeping Lady resort in Leavenworth. It's great year-round, with hiking in the summer, snow in the winter, and amazing food (included in the nightly price) all the time...

Camping convenience - Mt. Shasta CVT October 18, 2016. When I purchased the Sportz Truck Tent back in 2012 (see Sportz Truck Tent and Truck Bedzzz), I thought to myself, "Boy, I'm really living large and spending the big bucks now." The tent cost me $189 big ones, and the air mattress was...

Millermatic 211 acquisition October 18, 2016. I am a woodworker. For the last twenty years, metal (stock and shavings), oils, and dirt have been systematically removed from my shops - they can bring no good to wood projects. Metal can dull blades and stain wood as it rusts, oils can soak into...

Winch (and jumper) quick connect October 9, 2016. When the winch was installed, it was obviously wired right up to the battery - this made a lot of sense, since it was easy, allowed us to get it spooled up, and is of course the way Warn recommends installing it. But I wanted something...

Oil change October 2, 2016. And 28 miles later - October 9, 2016. One of the things about starting to use the truck on more trips is that it ends up with a lot more miles. And more miles mean more frequent oil changes. In the past, I've always taken it to the Toyota dealer. I figured, "Why...

More belly protection - installing the mid-skid from Relentless Fab] October 2, 2016. The day before we left for Crater Lake, the mid-skid had arrived - but I didn't have time to paint and install it before we took off. Not a big deal, since the IFS skid covers just as much as both stock...

A volcano. In a lake. On a volcano. September 16-18, 2016. Belly protection on, it was time for some dirt roads. Back from India a Friday morning at 6:30am (again), we packed up the truck and headed to Crater Lake National Park in central Oregon. The idea was to get in some great sites, but...

The last of the armor - belly protection September 2016 As an astute reader will recall, when the Relentless armor was installed, the skid plates were placed in the back of the truck. Actually, just one was placed in the back, since the second wasn't going to fit my truck - a California model...

Finishing the look - Hella's September 2016. When I initially mentioned to Dad that I was going to get a winch and plate bumper, he had two questions for me. How's that going to be for your gas mileage? You gonna get some more lights? Hella's or PIAA's? Little did he know that I'd already...

Where do we park the Truck now? - garage expansion September 3, 2016. Ever since the truck was broken into in the alley, it's place at night has been in the garage. That isn't simple, since the garage was built in 1925, and is only 1" longer than a stock 2000 Toyota Tacoma 4WD. I mean, I did...

Relentless Armor - An excursion from Seattle WA to Sparks NV August 23, 2016. The trip was a long awaited one. But first, some background. The lead up Six months ago (Feb 2016), I'd decided it was finally time to get a winch on my Tacoma - to allow me to get out of jams (if I get in one); to...