NICE rig 6-String, nice and simple, but OH so capable for so many perposes... Nothing better then a Toyota IMO, They're just SO hard to beat when it comes to 4wd's
Toyotas are KING the world over for simple reasons: They LAST a long time and the can handle (or be built to handle) ANYTHING any comparably sized 4wd can. Hell, they're tougher then most domestic 1-tons eh
I'm more of an older GEN "Mini-truck" lover, but I gotta say, I LOVE those Tacoma's, (ALOT better looking truck then the NEW-Gen Taco's IMO... No that new Taco's are "ugly" but...)that seems to have been the END of a true "small" 4wd from Toyota. Teh New Taco's are dam near the size of what passed as a Full-size years ago. I espescialy like the Quad-Cabs, but your X-cab looks great too eh
... Keep up the good work and keep us posted on further additions. I for one am right htere with you in terms of getting a back bumper sorted BEFORE you get a Front bar. THe rear-end of Toyota's hang out there so they take a beating on the trail, AND given the extremely MINIMAL ammount of brain-power that's demonstrated by the average N.American driver, the back bumper san sure save you LOTS of headaches if someone ever decides to fall asleep @ the wheel and rear-end you. I've got a Marlin Crawler rear bumper and I'd wager to say it's saved my behind enough to have completely payed for itself (not to mention COMPLETELY obliterating a Honduh Accord driven by a person who hardly spoke english let alone know how to drive in snow
I felt SO bad for the guy cause my truck was COMPLETELY unscathed and I had RUINED his hood, front valance/bumper and actually broke the intake manifold as my truck rode up the length of his hood and smashed the windshield... I thought he'd mayb e messed up my rear axle, but NOPE, the OME springs let the truck flex up - and luckily I saw him coming and pushed the clutch in so my wheels just turned and kind-of "rolled" up onto his smashed bumper - and rode up his bumper... Like I said, I FELT REAL bad for dude and I didn't file a claim nor did I go to the hospital despite the fact that I had just had Neck/Spinal surgery and he hit me pretty dam hard. I just felt BAD for teh guy and frankly he was gonna have some repercussions for bad driving legal maters aside... I'm not one to call the cops for ANYTHING cause all they do is make a mess and criminals out of people. AND, I'm POSITIVE that being the was hispanic and this was NW portland he'd be treated like a criminal and thrown to the wolves... I could live with a sore neck, I couldn't live with MYSELF if I knew I'd gotten him in worse trouble then totaling his car) . Anyway, blathering aside, I think a Rear bumper is a great lpace to start. Next would be sliders cause frankly if there's one weak spot on Toyotas, it's their rocker-panels and the fact that a good "BUMP" on one can mean you're not getting out of the truck or your're not going to get your door closed
As for the 255/85's, DO IT. Don't let ANYONE talk you into going with a tire wider then 10.5 unless you drive in sand or mud ONLY(I know someone said that they were SO happy NOT getting the Skinny tires, but I'm sure that if they had gone to the 10.50's they too would see how much better they are)... EDIT: I'll skip the long convo on why Skinny tires are better for most situations, it's been discussed and tested adnauseam so if you look around you'll find the reasoning behind it. I CAN say however that ever since living in Australia and using NDT Ag. tires on all of our Land Cruisers I was completely sold. I run 33x10.50 BFG AT's and I switched from 33X12.50... the difference is night and day and my on trail performance has improved ten-fold. As for looks, and this is completely subjective, Tall skinny's just LOOK better. Wide 33's just look like a Mall-poser to me
again, that's juust my opinion, but most folks who spent alot of seat time in different rigs and on different tires will agree
255/85 is like the "Official" Expo-Portal size too. You do know that TOYOTA stands for
Take
Off
Yer
Overly wide
Tires
Ya
A**Hat or something like that eh
at l;east that's MY fav
Some good ones in that size are:
-Maxxis Bighorn MT's (GREAT tire that's more agressive then a full MT, but more then a typical AT)
-BFG AT KO's (AMAZING, you've got the exact tread patern on your current tires (TW Wardens right???) and they really are the Benchmark for AT's IMO... THey're AMAZING in snow, PLus they wear like IRON, and the Sidewalls are a tough as you can get out of a Radial AT... PROVEN by my own experiences. They alos do PRETTY well for a non AT in the goopy stuff. Will they clean out like a Good MT... NO, but for a tire that you can drive to and from the trail and then go 4wheeling on they're in a class of tehir own. They're the BEST AT's around IMO)
NOTE:Not sure that they have a Metric size, but going to a 15" rim will widen your tire choices and the NON-metric tires, unless marked LT, will have a better load capacity.
-BFG KM2 MT's (very good tires IMO)
- Toyo OC MT's (alot of folks swear by these tires, but they haven't impressed me all to much... BUT, you may find them totaly to your liking. I can tell you my spare is an Toyo Open Country AT and I will run a plug in my tire before I put the spare on I dislike it that much... But I hear better things about the MT's, just haven't proven themselves to me on firends trucks - could be a bad driver, but I kind of doubt it)
- Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac (not sure if they HAVE a 255/85 or a 33X10.50, but if they do this looks to be a GREAT tire... I really am hoping that they either have them in my size - hell, I'd like to go to a 33X9.50 if they were more available skinny's THAT much better then wide - but they have been getting GREAT reviews and from what I've seen it's a well deserved reputation
I take it from your Handle that you're a Guit. Player too??? What kind of set-up(s) are you playing??? I got myself my dream electric like 5 years ago, it's a 73 Telecaster Deluxe (2 Seth-Lover "Wide-Range PU's comonly mistaken for "Humbuckers" - they're not, but they're simillar - a 3-way switch for various PU combo's - Neck * Neck AND Bridge * and Bridge, and then Volume and Tone controls for each individual PU, PLUS - and this is my favorite part - a STRAT neck :drool: I can't get comfy on a Strat - wierd I know - but the Tele body fits me PERFECT and the strat neck add's some heft and better feeling to the overall package) Basicly it's the guitar I always wanted and NOW... Best part??? IT'S AN ORIGINAL!!!!!!!!!!! AND I found it for 800 bucks in a little old lady's basement... Long story, but I can't belive it STILL to this day. Every time I look at her I just GRIN knowing what I have. I also got myself a DEAN Performer ESQ when they first came out and frankly it's, to me, one of the best acoustics for what it cost me. I've been offered more then I payed for it as recently as 2 months ago cause I guess they made them QUITE a bit cheeper and thus lower quality since the beginning... Mine is AWESOME and it falls to my hand like nothing else. Would I LOVE to have a Taylor or a Martin D28??? Sure, a Santacruz, Tacoma or a Seagull would be nice too, but frankly this thing has worked AMAZINGLY as a gig rig, a carry everywhere jam rig and as a recording rig and it cost me next to nothing for a quality Acoustic. but I digress, I could jabber Guitars all day so I'll stop taking your thread OT and stop the Guitar talk right now
You know how it is though, once you discover the JOY of playing/making music, it takes you over eh.
Again, the truck looks GREAT.
Now I'm just rambling... NICE truck and thank-you for your service mate. And as others have said, good on ya for getting those men home to their family. That is an accomplishment in and of itself. You seem like a really good guy and I'd bet you've got some pretty dam unreal stories to tell too eh. I come from a long line of Military folk (all marines, Granddad was in the first Mar. Exp unit and was on Peleleiu, Guagalcanal and Iwo Jima. I can't belive he ever lived to have my mother and uncles, I am rtuly in awe of what he did back then... truly unreal to me. I chose to protect the home land as a Firefighter/Paramedic and soon as an ER Nurse someday to be an ER Doc... Always thought I missed my calling to be a Marine Sniper though. I just plain WISH I had done it before I got too old for them to want me (I'm a crack-shot and I LOVE to shoot too)... I worked in the ER with a Marine Sniper who served all over the middle east and places not mentioned and his stories, while scarry just make the hair on my arms stand up and like I said, they really make me wish I'd have followed that path long ago in my early youth. Again, thank you for your sacrafice and thank you for getting yourself and your team home safe mate.
Cheers
DAve
