first post ever...'08 tacoma

tcpott

New member
aloha expo!...my name is tom and i live in the mountains behind santa barbara, ca with my girlfriend and two dogs...we are saying goodbye to our beloved '86 vw westy and saying hello to an '08 dbl-cab tacoma with the new four-wheel-camper "finch" in the bed!...we're no rock-crawlers but want a more-than-capable expedition-friendly rig to carry us to those glorious remote wilderness sanctuarys that this stretch of continent is full of!...i've been immersed in the portal for the last few weeks since i came upon it, and am so impressed, not only by the experience and knowledge in this community, but by the generosity and good spirit in which it is shared.....much appreciation and thanks to all who have put their energy in the mix!...
a special thank-you to the following for all the education, good vibes, and vehicular inspiration (hope you're listening): expeditionswest, bajataco, tacodoc, kcowyo, mark & brooke stephens, overlandhadley, flyingwil, schattenjager, willman, asteffes, archaeotaco, streakerfreak, cell4soul, tacozona, maxama10...you folks have been my community within the community....very happy to be at last conversing and not just eavesdropping!
so let's kick it off with a smoldering inquiry regarding suspension!: we're going with dr coilovers up front with an arb bull-bar and bfg 265/75/16 at's (a modest lift to support the new load, a conservative tire-size for highway friendliness and because i don't want to stress the cv shafts, drop the diff, or re-gear)...going with a fresh deaver pack in the rear (talking with them on the phone today about a 12-leaf)...all geared up with camper and dogs and fuel and h20 and we're up in the 1500lb payload neighborhood...tacoma can handle this, yes? (going to go for the rear frame re-inforcement too)...problem lies when i want to leave the camper at home and just cruise around town with the snugtop & lumber-rack weighing in at 250lbs....will the 12-pack be stupidly stiff then?...will i sacrifice too much articulation when off-road w/out the fwc?...perhaps a lighter spring-pack with air bags?...but aren't airbags prone to wiggle and break?...where is the happy balance my friends!?....great to be onboard!...and still figuring out this posting thing so please forgive any rough edges...cheers
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Welcome! I bet you will miss that westy!!
Nice choice in new vehicles!!
:jump: :ylsmoke:
 

tcpott

New member
thanks for the welcome!...yeh, i think jenny will miss it most...she loves tricking-out the interior and is kind of lamenting having to pop-up and start new every time we make camp...but i think we both wanted something a little more reliable and off-road-friendly...
 
:jumping: COOL:jumping:
When I first came here I was inspired by what ExpeditionsWest, TacoDoc, Willman, and Cell4Soul did to there trucks. It's too bad Cell4Soul is having to sell his. That is one bullet proof Tacoma.

Anyways Welcome! I would like to see some pics of your new rig and do you have any pics of the old Westy for us?

Great choice in coilovers, tires, and rear springs. Although, I can't answer your question about the 12 pack. Some one here knows.
 
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SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
tcpott said:
thanks for the welcome!...yeh, i think jenny will miss it most...she loves tricking-out the interior and is kind of lamenting having to pop-up and start new every time we make camp...but i think we both wanted something a little more reliable and off-road-friendly...

I know what you mean. I'd never give up my 4runner for one, but I've been researching taking a pop top from a westy or similar and putting it on the runner. :jump: :peepwall:
 

Schattenjager

Expedition Leader
Howdy!

Welcome to ExPo! Very glad to that you have 'made the plunge' and introduced yourself. I can see right away by the list of those you garner admiration for that you are a fellow of great perception and good taste. You are going to fit right in!
:rolleyes:

Pics of dogs, rigs, and folks (in that order!) are always welcome here!

:beer:
 

dlbrunner

Adventurer
you made a good move. I sold a toyota for a 76 westy, toured the west coast for 3 months. gained comfort, lost reliability/capability

The lady was happy in the westy, but I was bummed, no 4wd.

do your thing, and let us check out your trips!

:peepwall:
 
Schattenjager said:
Welcome to ExPo! Very glad to that you have 'made the plunge' and introduced yourself. I can see right away by the list of those you garner admiration for that you are a fellow of great perception and good taste. You are going to fit right in!
:rolleyes:

Pics of dogs, rigs, and folks (in that order!) are always welcome here!

:beer:

Yes, post up pics of your dogs. Here is a thread made just for that http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3535&highlight=dogs

That would make Jenn (Oceangirl) very happy.
 

kcowyo

ExPo Original
Welcome to the Portal Tom - :beer:

So do you have your new Finch in FWC's order bank? I think that model is going to do very well for them.

Looking forward to seeing and reading more about your set-up.

:campfire:
 

tcpott

New member
that's a good thought, kcowyo...i'll call stan at fwc and see what the wait-list is on the finch (might be a couple of months)...we're currently in process of selling the westy, so we could be ready to purchase the tacoma any time now...i've got a solid idea of the first wave of modifications (dr coilovers, arb bull-bar, skid-plates, sliders, deaver leaf-pack, wheeler's steelies, bfg 265/75/16 at's)...this will get us to a place where we can happily carry that finch over some rough terrain (rear bumper comes soon after)...this is the stage where i'm working on getting some lingering questions answered (i may shoot you a pm just to ask about your suspension experiences with the fwc)...i'd like to have good clarity on each element of the above package so i can just pull the trigger when the time comes (plus, it's just fun learning and creating our perfect rig....i've spent so many hours on so many toyota sites, my girlfriend is now referring to this as "truck-porn"...and when i look at her bleary-eyed after a marathon session on the portal she calls this "tacomatose")...so anyway that is where we're at...i look forward to posting pics of all the manifested stuff but until then here's a few just for entertainment...and thanks for the input taco chaser...i'm trepidatious about the amount of lift, and it may be more than we need, but i'll sure take a close look at it...cheers, mates
 

tcpott

New member
hmmmmmm...no pics yet...trying to figure out how to change the jpg file size so the expo will take 'em...we'll get back to ya
 

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