The Frankenstein Build: 1996 Tacoma Long Travel/Expo/Trail Rig
- Thread starter Blackdawg
- Start date
Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
We went back to town and ate lunch that started off to Shoshone lake. Which we had heard was "real tough" so we were excited to get to it.
It was very pretty up there. the lower road for about a mile is killer dusty though. Caught us by surprise!
We had met a ranger on patrol at Christina and we had told him we were going to Shoshone. He said it went up to 10,500' at the top of the pass. man did we underestimate that! we were constantly thinking "oh this is the top for sure!"
But nope..it kept going up and up
It was very pretty up there. the lower road for about a mile is killer dusty though. Caught us by surprise!
We had met a ranger on patrol at Christina and we had told him we were going to Shoshone. He said it went up to 10,500' at the top of the pass. man did we underestimate that! we were constantly thinking "oh this is the top for sure!"
But nope..it kept going up and up
Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
Cyclone pass..takes your breath away EVERY time. Seriously.
Due to the overall mildness and the fact we could see the lake we were going to camp at. Jon suggested we wait for the sun set.
I had no objections with this as we both knew it would be stellar. So we waited for a good 2-3 hours for the sunset.
Worth it
Then it was time to haul but to the trail.
Man were we in for a long night...
We decided to switch up the order and i lead down to the lake as i had the working high powered lights.
About 50 yards down into it, we knew we were in for a long ride.
The trail was MUCH MUCH harder. Way more rocks and big ones. It was brutal nonstop pounding. We literally started taking breaks to rest our minds from focusing. Keep in mind we had literally been wheeling for about 8 hours straight at this point.
On one of these rest breaks, Jon said he wanted to check his skids after a pretty hard **********.
**** hit the fan
As some know, the Lower Ball Joints on Tacomas are..well...not great. Jon peaked under and noticed he was missing 2 of the 4 bolts on the passenger side with one of them almost a 1/4'' our and other hand loose. The driver side was missing one and had another about to fall out.
We couldn't believe it.
This lead to an issue. We had three on the driver side, but only two on the passenger.
We needed another bolt, and neither of us had any spares.
However! I had just basically rebuilt an entire tacoma and knew where every M12 bolt on the damn thing was nearly. So we tried a few from the interior. We found a couple but they just would quiet fit.
Randomly Jon checked the Carrier bearing bolts. And we had a match. We used a seat bolt to replace the carrier bearing bolt we robbed and put the carrier bearing bolt in the LBJ.
And we were road worth again!...sorta! Least to get jon out anyways.
But..now...we had a whole other problem..
We had to wheel in the dark..
"oh boo hoo, wheelign in the dark isn't bad"
Come again?
yea...
not the funnest wheeling id ever done. I just remember thinking..."when will it end! We have to be close!"
Seemed to take hours to get down the 2 mile stretch to the lake....and by seemed i mean it literally took us hours.
We pulled up to the lake side finally at around 1am. And instantly went to bed after a 18 hour day on the trails.
I made a vow that night to NEVER be caught in the dark ever again..and the Lighting addiction was born.
Due to the overall mildness and the fact we could see the lake we were going to camp at. Jon suggested we wait for the sun set.
I had no objections with this as we both knew it would be stellar. So we waited for a good 2-3 hours for the sunset.
Worth it
Then it was time to haul but to the trail.
Man were we in for a long night...
We decided to switch up the order and i lead down to the lake as i had the working high powered lights.
About 50 yards down into it, we knew we were in for a long ride.
The trail was MUCH MUCH harder. Way more rocks and big ones. It was brutal nonstop pounding. We literally started taking breaks to rest our minds from focusing. Keep in mind we had literally been wheeling for about 8 hours straight at this point.
On one of these rest breaks, Jon said he wanted to check his skids after a pretty hard **********.
**** hit the fan
As some know, the Lower Ball Joints on Tacomas are..well...not great. Jon peaked under and noticed he was missing 2 of the 4 bolts on the passenger side with one of them almost a 1/4'' our and other hand loose. The driver side was missing one and had another about to fall out.
We couldn't believe it.
This lead to an issue. We had three on the driver side, but only two on the passenger.
We needed another bolt, and neither of us had any spares.
However! I had just basically rebuilt an entire tacoma and knew where every M12 bolt on the damn thing was nearly. So we tried a few from the interior. We found a couple but they just would quiet fit.
Randomly Jon checked the Carrier bearing bolts. And we had a match. We used a seat bolt to replace the carrier bearing bolt we robbed and put the carrier bearing bolt in the LBJ.
And we were road worth again!...sorta! Least to get jon out anyways.
But..now...we had a whole other problem..
We had to wheel in the dark..
"oh boo hoo, wheelign in the dark isn't bad"
Come again?
yea...
not the funnest wheeling id ever done. I just remember thinking..."when will it end! We have to be close!"
Seemed to take hours to get down the 2 mile stretch to the lake....and by seemed i mean it literally took us hours.
We pulled up to the lake side finally at around 1am. And instantly went to bed after a 18 hour day on the trails.
I made a vow that night to NEVER be caught in the dark ever again..and the Lighting addiction was born.
Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
Needless to say i slept good. But it was cold! woke up pretty early and man. What a pretty place.
Alas..we had to return to the real world..and started back up what we had come down in the dark. It was much better to be able to see most things this go around. We had a good time
Alas..we had to return to the real world..and started back up what we had come down in the dark. It was much better to be able to see most things this go around. We had a good time
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Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
Then we found a big rock on the way down and we flexed our rigs out. I was very happy with the rear springs i just built. And Jons 35s cleared!
And we continued downward to the bottom
IT was a great trip. LOTS of wheeling. And i was tired after it. But!
Frankenstein didn't die
and never had a problem. Which was good as my next trip was a week long...
Dark Shark
adventurer
:wavey::wavey:
Scott B.
SE Expedition Society
I'll say "Hi".
I enjoy reading your stories and seeing your pictures. Your positive outlook is very refreshing.
Last fall, I made my first trip to Wyoming - we spent 2 weeks in the SW corner of the state. Beautiful - can't wait to go back. Seeing your pictures remind me of my trip. I am jealous of the country you have in your backyard.
Please continue with your story/adventure.
I enjoy reading your stories and seeing your pictures. Your positive outlook is very refreshing.
Last fall, I made my first trip to Wyoming - we spent 2 weeks in the SW corner of the state. Beautiful - can't wait to go back. Seeing your pictures remind me of my trip. I am jealous of the country you have in your backyard.
Please continue with your story/adventure.
Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
I'll say "Hi".
I enjoy reading your stories and seeing your pictures. Your positive outlook is very refreshing.
Last fall, I made my first trip to Wyoming - we spent 2 weeks in the SW corner of the state. Beautiful - can't wait to go back. Seeing your pictures remind me of my trip. I am jealous of the country you have in your backyard.
Please continue with your story/adventure.
Thanks for posting!
I have not spent a ton of time down in that part of this state. Hoping to change that this year actually. Some very cool and diverse areas around. I love it.
Hope you make it back one day!
Glad your enjoying it so far.
Adventurous
Explorer
It's nice to see the condensed version posted here instead of trolling through the 400+ pages on Tacomaworld. It's also cool to see the trials and tribulations of your build and wheeling experiences along the way. I keep coming back hoping for more.
Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
Yea..the build on TW is..well...very well visited..ha
I have gone through it though and in the OP is links to everything. But it is not the same as having it all together. I mean to get to this point on TW you'd be at page 60-70 I think lol
Been one hell of an adventure!
Shradicalwyo
Adventurer
Fellow Wyoming-ite here! It's good to see this build through all the steps, and it's crazy how much ******** that truck has been through!
If you're ever up near Jackson, let me know, I've got a mainly stock Tundra but that'll change this summer.
Also southeast WY has some great trails as well, I grew up in Laramie and covering every sort of ground around there.
If you're ever up near Jackson, let me know, I've got a mainly stock Tundra but that'll change this summer.
Also southeast WY has some great trails as well, I grew up in Laramie and covering every sort of ground around there.
Blackdawg
Dr. Frankenstein
Oh sweet!!
Hello hello! I'm up in powell. Not gonna lie I kinda avoid Jackson...haha. Too many people...no too many tourists. Haha
I have a couple buddies at Laramie and they have some nice stuff down there for sure.
Frank has been through..a lot. Again. Still not quiet half way through even haha lots more ********! Haha