Building an expedition-worthy 06 Tacoma

[ArchaeoTaco]

The supertop looks good. Do you notice any road noise as a result?

I haven't noticed any noise at all, although the tires are loud as hell and would drown out anything short of a sonic boom

 

[ArchaeoTaco]

First Sponsor

Time to head back in the field.

I've got some great projects lined up for the spring/summer/fall. If anyone in the area wants to meet up for camping/wheeling around these projects, let me know.

Independence Mountain, Colorado (continuing work from last year):

Yarmony Mountain, Colorado (continuing work from last year):

Trout Creek, Colorado (continuing work from last year):

Paonia, Colorado:

Wish me luck!

 

[ArchaeoTaco]

oops, double post

 

[Ridgewalker]

Wish you wouldn't be showing off some of my favorite places in CO! Just kidding, but I do like both Independence Mtn and Trout Crk.
Your '05 is looking good!

 

[asteffes]

Could you post the part number of that Kobalt toolbox? I cannot find one on Lowe's website, nor in the local Lowe's store. They have plenty for full-sized trucks and an over-the-rail box for compact trucks, but I don't see that particular box.

 

[ArchaeoTaco]

Back from the field

Hi all,

Just checking-in after a busy last few weeks. I just got back from an expedition on the western slope last week. We had some great weather, and the scenery was great!

I was very pleased with the performance of my Tacoma. It got us through several steep, rocky, narrow trails, saving us hours of hiking time.

The amount of mountain scrub was outrageous, though, and my rig did suffer several scratches. I had them buffed out when I returned, but it nearly killed me to see my new truck with front-to-rear scratches :Wow1:

All in all it was a great time!

Some pictures:

 

[ArchaeoTaco]

More pictures:

Loaded down with gear for 4 people.

Surveying.

 

[ArchaeoTaco]

Additions

As you can see from the photos, I got a cargo basket to store extra gear (sure came in handy on this trip), and I added a few things to the back. I don't have a great photo, but this one shows the jerry can (attached to the tailgate), and a fire extinguisher, attached with a quickfist. I got several varieties of quick fists a couple of months back, and I've been having fun with them. They are also used to hold the shovel and axe on the roof rack, and I have the small ones on the inside lid of the toolbox for trowels.

 

[bigreen505]

Wow, great trips. I would love to join you sometime -- promise to stay out of the way! :arabia:

How are the tires?

 

[Bergger]

Cool pics and the truck is looking good. How did you secure the jerry can to your tailgate? Looking at your photos makes me want to get out. My last trip was canned due to that big snow storm we got and I'm dying to get up to the mountains. My next chance is Labor Day week. What elevation were you at? The peaks in the background don't appear to have near the snow pack of the eastern slope.

 

[ArchaeoTaco]

Wow, great trips. I would love to join you sometime -- promise to stay out of the way! :arabia:

How are the tires?

I'm always looking for part-time techs. How are you with identifying stone tools? Seriously, shoot me a PM

I'm loving the tires. There were a few wet, slimy spots with a steep canyon drop a few feet away, and the truck didn't slide once.

 

[ArchaeoTaco]

Cool pics and the truck is looking good. How did you secure the jerry can to your tailgate? Looking at your photos makes me want to get out. My last trip was canned due to that big snow storm we got and I'm dying to get up to the mountains. My next chance is Labor Day week. What elevation were you at? The peaks in the background don't appear to have near the snow pack of the eastern slope.

We should definitely head out together, although I'll be out of town Labor Day weekend. Give me a shout, though, next time you want to go wheeling.

We were only at 7,500 ft (just outside of Paonia), and the mountains in the background go up to 11,000 ft. Definitely less snowpack there.

I got a Blitz jerry can, and it came with a base attachment with holes to strap the can in. I used self-tapping screws to drill the base into my tailgate. Here's a better photo of the bed, which also shows the extinguisher and open toolbox with light and trowel quickfists:

 

[p1michaud]

Fun trip

The amount of mountain scrub was outrageous, though, and my rig did suffer several scratches. I had them buffed out when I returned, but it nearly killed me to see my new truck with front-to-rear scratches :Wow1:

Looks like you had a fun trip, too bad about the scratches. I have to say, once you get a few scratches you don't mind as much. The first ones really made me cringe as they made their way along the sheetmetal of the truck...

Cheers :beer:,
P

 

[ArchaeoTaco]

Looks like you had a fun trip, too bad about the scratches. I have to say, once you get a few scratches you don't mind as much. The first ones really made me cringe as they made their way along the sheetmetal of the truck...

Cheers :beer:,
P

Ha, that sound has haunted me for the past few days. After climbing one particularly brutal trail, I spent two hours with a saw clearing the way back down. :violent-smiley-031:

The scrub brush was particularly bad here though. This project was for a forest fire fuels reduction that the BLM is performing. For the past hundred years, fires have been put out when they started, so the whole place is overgrown with scrub. It's just a tenderbox waiting for a spark. I hope they get their mulchers out there before it goes up in flames.

 

[crawler#976]

Brush pinstripping is a badge of wheelin' honor...







...or so I've tried to tell my wife - I scratched her '05 up pretty good a few weeks ago.



Great pics! Looks like all your improvements are paying off.

Mark