MCObray's 2002 Toyota Tacoma DC TRD

[rickashay]

Rig is looking great dude!

Hope your having a good summer. I was down there in August last year and have been trying to convince my wife that we should go back again sometime before the new year. Love the PNW.

 

[MCObray]

Rig is looking great dude!

Hope your having a good summer. I was down there in August last year and have been trying to convince my wife that we should go back again sometime before the new year. Love the PNW.

Thanks man!

Summer has been great, but almost too busy to get out and enjoy it! That'll certainly be changed next week as we hit the road for the weekend to do a lil' exploring. If you ever swing on down to the PNW, just holler... My wife and I are planning a northern US / Canada trip in the Spring, so perhaps we will be in your neck of the woods here shortly.

On another note, love what you are doing to your Tundra + documentation.

 

[MCObray]

Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance... maintenance . Thanks again Brian @ Camelback Toyota for getting me squared away. I ordered these Monday and they arrived today, Friday. New LBJs will be going in next prior to taking off for the weekend in the Tacoma.
OEM Ball Joints + Hardware by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

[MCObray]

It was a great weekend to get out and about. Our trek started Friday PM, by heading towards Central Oregon. We ended up posting camp about about 40 miles south of Bend in the wilderness of the Deschutes National Forest:
CVT Mt. Shasta RTT. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Campfire. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Temps were comfortable and the sky was light up with many stars from the little-to-none light population in the surrounding areas... don't get that in the city! We awoke the next morning and fired up some breakfast sandwiches with appetite for adventure. A small trek from our camp spot was Fall River, which was crystal clear water:
Fall River, OR. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Our destination was on the agenda for the day, so we hopped on HWY 97 and continue south for a few hours leading us to one of the 7 Wonders of Oregon.
This was my second time at Crater Lake... breath taking! If you are remotely anywhere in the area make it a point to see this place for its beauty. Some of the smoke seen seeping in the background was due to the Bybee Fire which started the day before arriving:
Crater Lake, OR. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Heading out, we pointed our Tacoma towards Diamond Lake for an evening of R&R. We had a great view of Mt. Thielsen in the back drop:
Diamond Lake, OR. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
Sunday morning marked the beginning of the 4 hour return trip home, but i'll relish in the memories of the trip for sometime:
1st Gen Tacoma / 2nd Gen Tacoma. by Mason Obray, on Flickr

My Tacoma performed great and ended up logging 22.4 MPGs (hand calculated) on the way back home. The worries of the LBJs giving way on a bumpy NF road faded away with a new freshly installed pair coming last week. I'm really liking the simplicity of my Tacoma in stock form and plan to run it this way for sometime to come. My next immediate plans in the coming months will be taking care of more preventative maintenance items such as Fuel Filter, Transmission Cooler, etc.

Planning for the next trip starts now!

 

[MCObray]

Well, I had enough of worrying about when I would encounter a puncture / flat tire on the P265/70/16 Michelin AT2s. They have been a great road tire with light off-road use, but the wife and I have been planning more and more weekend trips across the state. I don't want to put us in the situation of being more liable to lose a tire, so I decided it was best to bump it to a LT rated tire. After much deliberation and doing a few hours of research, I decided on the flavor of LT235/85/16 tires. So far, so good... I have had great luck with BFG All Terrains so I certainly wanted to stick with this brand, but did have doubts as they do not offer a C rated 235/85 or 265/75 tire. The hell with it, lets roll the dice!
New tires! by Mason Obray, on Flickr
I have been impressed with the minimal differences between my tire then, and my tire now. I commuted about 25 miles a day and it happens to be mostly interstate; not phased by the ride quality or noise. I'll definitely be keeping these!

Next trip planned is for Labor Day weekend out to Painted Hills / John Day area. My wife and I have found some points of interest and am now trying to determine route(s)... Can't wait to get out again!

 

[MCObray]

Killed a Monday AM in the Oregon Coast Range... didn't suck!
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD. by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD. by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

[BajaSurfRig]

MCOBray sweet looking rig! Good luck in your craiglist hunting up in the PNW:sombrero:

 

[MCObray]

MCOBray sweet looking rig! Good luck in your craiglist hunting up in the PNW:sombrero:

Thanks man, appreciate the comment. I search every other day locally... good deals will always turn up, just got to be patient for 'em!

 

[vonguido]

I had no idea you got rid of the Ford and moved back into a Yota! Glad to see you are back at it, I have been following your builds ever since the I stumbled upon your XJ build and been hooked since. Your attention to detail is second to none. I will be patiently waiting for updates, hopefully you keep this rig for a long time to come(or get into another XJ) :smiley_drive:

 

[MCObray]

I had no idea you got rid of the Ford and moved back into a Yota! Glad to see you are back at it, I have been following your builds ever since the I stumbled upon your XJ build and been hooked since. Your attention to detail is second to none. I will be patiently waiting for updates, hopefully you keep this rig for a long time to come(or get into another XJ) :smiley_drive:

Yep! I actually miss that big ol'e truck at times. Mechanically, that thing was dialed and ready to run for however long... If I didn't live in an apartment, I would've kept it no doubt. Parking that suck took 5 minutes in the tiny spaces.

Thanks, I actually almost bought my old XJ back a few months ago when the current owner was selling it... again, didn't have any room to put it because of the apartment ordeal.

 

[MCObray]

I'm starting to set aside at least one Monday a month to adventure. Living in the PDX area allows for many different landscapes that are obtainable within 1 hour of drive time. Today, I set my sights on Buxton Mountain in the Oregon Coast Range. After getting dumped on yesterday with rain (1"+), the clouds parted and the sunshine ensued.
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr
2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD by Mason Obray, on Flickr

 

[MCObray]

Ordered up a Transmission Cooler (B&M 70264) from Advance Auto Parts. I signed up for their newsletter and got sent a 40% off coupon for $100 purchase. I was a few bones short of $100 total, so I added tools to eclipse the mark in order to cash in on the savings. For others who are looking for ample savings, I would suggest going this route as the Transmission Cooler only ended up costing me $57.73!

 

[hansolex]

Loving your DC, man. You're making me want to ditch my split 3-spokes and fine a set of those 5-stars. More importantly, you're making me want to start hitting the forest roads near my place. Got the truck a few days ago but it's been parked at the airport while I'm on a work trip. Probably driven it less than an hour so far ... I'll rectify that soon!

 

[austintaco]

I think the 5 spoke 4runner/tundra wheel is one of the simplest yet good looking wheels Toyota has made. I have them on my Tacoma and 84 4runner. Nice truck, man. Jealous of the great exploring spots you have up there.

 

[rickashay]

Great pics as usual dude! Tacoma is looking great too. Love them wheels.