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BigMike's 2016 Tacoma Trip & Trail Log
BigMike's 2016 Tacoma Trip & Trail Log
Hello Yotatech!! I've decided to share my Trip & Trail Logs here because the 3rd gen Tacoma section is too quiet and needs some more action! I do have a build thread over on the Marlin board but don't want to manage duplicates of that. I have already posted some of my Tacoma's pictures to this forum but now it's time to get a proper Trip thread started! Mods: I thought about posting this to the Trip-Trail Reports section but figured I'd post here instead to help get some 3rd gen Tacoma activity going. So without further ado, welcome to the Four Wheel'n and Trip Log to my 2016 3rd gen Tacoma TRD Sport AC 6MT! I've been wheel'n the new Tacoma for a year and a half and now that I've begun tackling bigger trails I've realized a separate Trip Report thread is long overdue! This truck's build thread may be found on our MC forum here: https://www.marlincrawler.com/bm2 The main reason to start this thread is that trip reports have begun exceeding 50 pictures per event which is cluttering up my build thread. Because I'm only just now creating this Trip thread 21-months after my build thread, there will be duplicate info here until I get caught up to the build thread (which is currently at July 2017). Trip #, Date, Description. Click each image-group to view each trip. 2016 Trip 1: April 18-24: Picked up from Texas after waiting 261 days http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip001.jpg Trip 2: April 26: Tacoma meets Hilux! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip002.jpg Trip 3: April 30: Toyota Land Cruiser Association (TLCA) Bakersfield Land Cruiser Rally (booth event #1) http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip003.jpg Trip 4: May 3-8: TLCA Cruise Moab (http://cruisemoab.com) -- Chicken Corners & Booth Event #2 http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip004.jpg Trip 5: June 3: First Bald Mtn Day Run http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip005.jpg Trip 6: Dec 3: Valley Children's Hospital Toy Drive http://board.marlincrawler.com/image.../trip006.1.jpg 2017 Trip 7: May 4: TLCA Cruise Moab (http://cruisemoab.com) -- Fins & Things & Booth Event #3 http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip006.jpg Trip 8: May 5: TLCA Cruise Moab (http://cruisemoab.com) -- Flat Iron Mesa http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip007.jpg Trip 9: June 24: 31st Annual Moonlight Madness -- Bald Mountain Trail http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip008.jpg Trip 10: July 14: 29th Annual TLCA Rubithon (http://rubithon.com) -- Rubicon Trail http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...ex/trip009.jpg |
reserved
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Trip #1 - Getting the truck! (April 18-24, 2016)
To kick off the thread here is a map of my Journey to purchase this elusive truck http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/001.jpg Excellent in-flight reading material http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/002.jpg After waiting 261 days for 8 dealerships to produce this truck, it truly was love at first sight! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/003.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/004.jpg Only 3 miles old! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/005.jpg Marlin, Texas! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/006.jpg |
Outside the San Antonio Toyota Factory where the truck was built only eleven days prior!
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/007.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/008.jpg |
After traveling about 5,500 total miles I arrived safely back home!
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-texas/015.jpg |
Trip #2 - Tacoma meets Hilux (April 26, 2016)
Location: Millerton Lake, CA The next week I introduced the Tacoma to my 1981 511:1 Triple Transfer Case Hilux Rock Crawler and took the two to a local lake for a quick photo shoot. Nothing too special to discuss. It was neat having my two trucks together. The Tacoma got a good look at what it's near future is gonna be like :D http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/001.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/002.jpg Basic specs for my 1981 shortbed Hilux are: Purchased and built back in 2004 (build thread) World's first 2.7-liter 3RZ-FE Tacoma 4cyl swap into a 1st gen Hilux Marlin Crawler W56-A-HD manual transmission Marlin Crawler Heavy Duty Clutch Kit Marlin Crawler Triple Ultimate (MC08 + MC08-R10 w/4.70C) 6-speed Transfer Case System --511:1 Final Drive ratio featuring 30-forward gears & 6-reverse gears Marlin Crawler 5" USA-made Betts Leaf Springs F&R Marlin Crawler USA DOM-steel full body armor 66.5" Front Diamond Axle (64.5" + 1" wheel spacers) with FJ80 High Pinion 5.29:1 + Toyota E-Locker Original Longfield 27-spline Chromoly Axles (not the 2014 and newer junk Chinese-made Longfields) 63" 1st gen Tacoma rear axle (60" + 1.5" wheel spacers) with 5.29:1 + Toyota E-Locker 37" x 12.5" x 15" Interco IROK tires on 15" x 8" Allied Beadlocks Truck makes 20 MPG @ 70 MPH and since I've owned it, it has never been trailered: I drive it to-and-from every trail http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/003.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/004.jpg |
Sweet pic
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/005.jpg Found a ditch for some flex action http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/006.jpg Comparison http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/007.gif Little hill climb on 7th day of ownership http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/008.jpg And lastly I topped off both gas tanks (20 gal for Hilux, 21.1 gal for Tacoma) and weighed them back-to-back Fully-built 1981 1st gen Hilux Rock Crawler: 3,780 pounds 100% Bone-stock 6cyl AccessCab manual transmission 3rd gen Tacoma: 4,420 lbs Wow! The Tacoma is only just a baby boy and is already more than a quarter ton heavier than a fully built Rock Crawling elder haha http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/009.jpg And that's it for when the Tacoma met the Hilux! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-hilux/010.jpg |
Trip #3 - TLCA's Bakersfield Land Cruiser Rally (April 30, 2016)
Next trip was having my Tacoma at our booth to support the introduction of our newest "TacoBox" Dual Case Crawl Box for 1995 and newer Tacoma/4Runner/FJ Cruiser/Tundra/Sequoia/T100! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-rally/001.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-rally/002.jpg Here's the Tacoma with only our second time seeing family friend Kay Spector after the passing of her beloved and iconic Land Cruiser industry husband http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-rally/003.jpg |
Trip #4 - Moab! (May 3-8, 2016): The Tacoma does it's first trail
Event: TLCA Cruise Moab (http://cruisemoab.com) Approximate miles driven: 1,750 Trail name: Chicken Corners Location: Moab, Utah This trip was discussed on pages 7 and 8 of my build thread, so I'll copy much from that here. Traveling alongside the most wheeled Toyota truck in the entire world! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60503/001a.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60503/002a.jpg Arrived to Land Cruiser heaven! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60503/003a.jpg |
From main camp I headed south-west and finally made it to the trail. The guide book wasn't kidding: It was easy. A Subaru could make it through most of it. Nevertheless it provided some good fun and good pictures :D
My first time airing down! Having these fancy tire pressure sensors will be interesting once beadlocks go on http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60503/004a.jpg There were many by-passes that looked like this... http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60503/005a.jpg ...so of course I had to try them all. :D http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/006.jpg Already dragging the rear tow hitch LOL http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/007.jpg Backing down I incurred my first "trail damage" http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/008.jpg So off came the front valance! Goooooood riddance http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/009.jpg |
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Following the Colorado River
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/013.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/014.jpg Didn't even find large enough ledges to break traction. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/015.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/016.jpg |
I can see this sat nav is going to be much fun
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/017.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/018.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/019.jpg Got the tires to chirp a little here http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/020.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/021.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/022.jpg |
Mike - Thanks for sharing the pics, awesome to see this Tacoma from the beginning. I was just listening to the Trucks and Trails podcast with your dad, and I've heard about half of your interview. So cool to hear both your take and Marlin's take on the history of the company and the truck. Awesome that your dad has this great story about how he got the red truck and now we are seeing your own story about the white Taco. Sorry if I'm jacking your thread here, but I'm delighted to be seeing you post this stuff here on YT, I tend to read this site more, but of course shop at marlincrawler.com!
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http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/023.jpg
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/024.jpg Nice vistas out here- http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/026.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/027.jpg Sharp drop-off to the left http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/028.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/029.jpg |
Random pic from the driver's seat. The fake hood scoop takes up precious viewing real estate.
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/030.jpg Finally got the Taco dirty http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/031.jpg Back at camp the Tacoma was in it's second trade show booth in only 2 weeks of ownership http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/032.jpg The Taco photo bombing a busy pic of Marlin explaining the new TacoBox http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/033.jpg The drive back west was a bit slippery http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/034.jpg Maintenance Required only after owning the truck for two weeks? Something must be wrong :D And that's it for the Tacoma's first Moab trip! Averaging nearly 325 miles per day for half a month http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160503/035.jpg |
Originally Posted by coryc85
(Post 52388412)
Mike - Thanks for sharing the pics, awesome to see this Tacoma from the beginning. I was just listening to the Trucks and Trails podcast with your dad, and I've heard about half of your interview. So cool to hear both your take and Marlin's take on the history of the company and the truck. Awesome that your dad has this great story about how he got the red truck and now we are seeing your own story about the white Taco. Sorry if I'm jacking your thread here, but I'm delighted to be seeing you post this stuff here on YT, I tend to read this site more, but of course shop at marlincrawler.com!
I am excited to finally be sharing my Tacoma here on YT! I've thought about having a YT build thread.....but I don't think I would have enough time to maintain it. This trip report thread will be updated less frequently :D The Tacoma has been very, very exciting for me as I've never wheeled a Tacoma yet alone own and do so with a brand-spank'n-new truck! I've got a lot of updates to get online so I'm making a strong push to get these threads updated so I can resume sharing all the new work I've been up to :) Regards, BigMike ps. I forgot to include Trip #2 above so I moved a bunch of posts down two replies which is why your reply seems as if it has moved up two spots ;) |
Trip #5 - Bald Mountain (June 3, 2016)
Trail name: Bald Mountain Location: Shaver Lake, Central California This trip was discussed from reply #229 of my build thread, so I'll copy much from that here. A few weeks after Moab I slipped away and did a quick run up to our local Bald Mountain trail with "TURBO" Tim. Bald Mtn is a proper trail that provides a great overview of our popular High Sierra Nevada wheel'n: Large exposed granite, tight tree squeezes, steep and sharp climbs and descents, loose rocky sections, and a few high speed sections. It is our only trail (out of a twelve trail network) that is traditionally open year-round and also the only trail without any lakes. One caveat with this trail is that it lacks gatekeepers from either entrance and all major obstacles may be bypassed. For these reasons it is common to find vehicles that we don't normally see on other trails, such as Bronco-IIs, Blazers, Rangers, Frontiers, and so on. It also means we see a few Tacomas with lightbars, smoked tail lights, and much chrome so it's a good place to do some proving of the new Tacoma :D Here I am next to our newly updated Trail Condition Bulletin Board (Google Street view of location): http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/001a.jpg Bald Mtn trail head http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/002a.jpg Stopped to air down http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/003a.jpg I'm love'n this live tire pressure monitor. "The future" http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/004a.jpg |
Starting out strong with some mad flex
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/005a.jpg Our beautiful central California granite http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/006a.jpg The visibility out of this thing is horrendous http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/007a.jpg My first trail glamor shot! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/008a.jpg Made it up a descent crossed-up section without the "Auto-LSD" engaging but with a lottttttt of clutch slipping. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/009a.jpg |
At this point I had encountered my first two annoying characteristic of the new Tacoma.
Old School Rock Crawler's Off-road Impressions I
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http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...60603/010a.jpg
I've always wanted an XtraCab, aka Access Cab. The stock ground clearance is pretty sad... http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/011.jpg ...especially the horrendous design of the exhaust crossover. What was Toyota thinking here? The exhaust pipe is lower than the cross-member. It will, at least however, not be in the way of our Dual Case products which is nice but definitely I'll have to improve this. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/012.jpg At the base of Hollywood Hill http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/013.jpg Up the approach to Hollywood Hill http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/014.jpg High-centered again http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/015.jpg |
I took the cheater-line off to the left
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/016.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/017.jpg It gets steeper and steeper http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/018.jpg Shot from the cab http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/019.jpg |
Old School Rock Crawler's Off-road Impressions II
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Stopped on the upper side of Hollywood Hill
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/020.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/021.jpg Fun for everyone except the clutch :D http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/022.jpg |
Old School Rock Crawler's Off-road Impressions III
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Great weather for some wheel'n!
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/024.jpg Elevation here is about 6,500 feet. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/025.jpg Continuing up towards Bald Mountain http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/026.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/027.jpg Finally at the top! Elevation 7,838 ft. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/028.jpg Overlooking Shaver Lake, CA http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/029.jpg |
Misc pics from the Top
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/030.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/031.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/032.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/033.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/034.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/035.jpg |
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/036.jpg
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/037.jpg The northern end of the trail is pretty dang easy and we skipped all the optional stuff the stock Taco couldn't do and bugged out. One last pic after airing back up and ready to return home. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...160603/038.jpg |
We took some misc videos which I turned into a quick & dirty compilation with no music. It's nothing special. I remember my first time wheeling my 1981 Hilux (took it up Claw Hammer) and being crazy nervous to not even get a single scratch. I was overly cautious here too haha Hope you enjoy!
At the 4:03 min mark I wanted to try out the truck's "Auto LSD" feature so I got the Taco intentionally crossed-up and learned a very bad thing about the Auto-LSD. I discussed this in a rather long rant at reply reply #238 of my build thread. To sum it up here, Toyota's system requires the driver to apply increasingly large amounts of throttle the moment forward momentum is lost which is precisely the direct OPPOSITE of what you should ever do. Therefore, Toyota's Auto LSD system is teaching the next generation of off-roaders a horrible habit that adds stress to and increases the chance of breaking parts and damaging the environment (I.E. the same bad things that a Marlin Crawler TacoBox remedies). And that was it for my first time with the Taco at Bald Mtn! The rest of 2016 At this point I have to share the sad news that before I knew it the summer had taken off and got away from me. Looking back it's understandable how this happened as Toyota promised and then shorted me 7 months of ownership & build progress before the wheeling season got going. In addition, after the Bald Mountain trip my wife and I celebrated our 10 yr anniversary in Hawaii, we returned to southern Japan to visit relatives for the first time since the largest earthquake disaster in recorded Kyuushuu history, I upgraded the entire content management system (backend) of our Marlin Crawler website (replacing the prior system that had been in use for 8 years), restructured both our sales and warehouse crews, and my wife and I started the process of purchasing our first house. For the remainder of the year Marlin Crawler sponsored and attended 40 additional 4WD events, Forest Service CPR/chainsaw classes/trail work parties, and led three Adopt-A-Highway clean-ups (HWY168/CenCal). Members of 11 different 4WD clubs, it's no secret as to how serious we consider community involvement and it takes time to get things setup/prepared. This is a core, fundamental difference that separates Marlin Crawler from other companies in that when Marlin invented Rock Crawling it was first a hobby that then grew into a company; Supporting the community is where our heart is. Combined with the new Tacoma, 2016 was one of my most productive years. Other than the Moab trip I posted earlier, I only went to one other event: Our 15th annual Marlin Crawler Round-Up at the Rubicon... in my 1981 Hilux... where we eclipsed the $100,000 dollar mark in total donations to the Rubicon Trail. I went from a "3rd Gen Tacoma forum pro-lurcher" to a complete off-line ghost. But at least I made our Round-Up, which since 2004 my Hilux has never missed. After I got home I remember telling the truck how this will be her last Rubicon trip for a while. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...tacoma/374.jpg I actually almost missed this one because I didn't get my internal/company work done until Saturday morning the day of the event. I drove my Hilux straight up to Rubicon, wheeled in solo, made it to the Springs Campground in time to oversee the dinner & raffle, and returned home the next day. Six-hundred highway miles and the Rubicon Trail in about 40 hours total! Check out this 35-year old Toyota Rock Crawler with 19 times more torque than a 2016 V10 Dodge Viper at full throttle and still get'n it done overloaded up Cadillac Hill in the partial wet. :D "I Love What You Do For Me, Marlin Crawler!" ;) http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...tacoma/375.jpg edit: Trip #6 - Valley Children's Hospital Toy Drive (Dec 3, 2016) Hey guys!! I completely forgot about the 2016 Children's Toy Drive!! About five years ago, two of our customers got together to invite 4WD club members from various clubs in the area to get together and donate toys to the Valley Children's Hospital, the largest Children's Hospital this side of the Mississippi. It has since turned into a big event drawing close to 200 people from 4WD Clubs up and down the Central California Valley, a stretch of nearly 300 miles. The event was covered by a local TV network as well as picked up in multiple valley Newspapers. Most of my pictures were of the actual event itself, which can be viewed on our website here https://www.marlincrawler.com/galler...rens-toy-drive, but here come a few pics of the Taco participating! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/001.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/002.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/003.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/004.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/005.jpg |
edit: Here come the remainder of my missing Toy Drive photos!
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/006.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/007.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/008.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/009.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-drive/010.jpg |
Trip #7 - Fins & Things (May 4, 2017)
Now the world's first Dual Case'd 2016+ Tacoma! https://www.marlincrawler.com/sites/...ofile-left.jpg Event: Cruise Moab Trail name: Fins & Things - Rating: 4/10 Location: Moab, UT Special note 1: First trip for the new Marlin Crawler Dual Case setup! (28-speeds, 235:1 Crawl Ratio) Special note 2: ARB Air Lockers installed F&R but not plumbed in yet. Truck is still open-open. Cruise Moab is the largest annual Toyota-based Moab event, gathering over 200 in attendance, and is hosted by the Rising Sun 4WD Club. We have attended off-and-on since it's inception 20 yrs ago. It is an official TLCA event that is incredibly well ran by the Rising Sun 4WD Club of Colorado. If you've been wanting to run trails at Moab with extremely friendly and knowledgeable group of Toyota gearheads, then this is the event to attend. This trip was discussed from reply #336 of my build thread, so I'll copy much from that here. Knowing that my truck is still open-open with no (working) lockers, I signed up for some easier trails I've never done before. First day we did Fins & Things which has a difficulty rating by the Rising Sun 4WD club as a 4 out of 10. The first pic comes from about 6 hours into the road trip, stopping for lunch in Vegas http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/001.jpg Brand new Marlin Crawler TacoBox Dual Case Unit looking great! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/002.jpg Arrived safely back in Moab! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/003.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/004.jpg |
Morning Driver's meeting
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/005.jpg Now on 33s I aired down to 12 psi. Before I got beadlocks under my Hilux, I had 35" tires and around 7 psi it would begin burping air out the bead. Knowing the Tacoma is both heavier and has a smaller tire profile with 17" wheels, I figured I'd try 12 and see how it works from there. The day has officially begun! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/006.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/007.jpg This lil climb was fun because Marlin got into a wheelbase hole and struggled. It took him a while to finally get up it and then when I came along, beings I am a good twenty-inches longer, I walked right up this... http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/008.jpg ...and on the very first obstacle my very first time using the Marlin Crawler Dual Case TacoBox I performed my very first Walking The Crawler! It was awesome. Sure, 235:1 is not as impressive as my Hilux's 511:1 nor anywhere nearly as impressive as The Crawler Truck's 1,148:1, it was still cool to see. I got out of the truck during the steep section but only have this pic from Marlin's camera....which for some reason has a weird hue filter enabled (sorry in advance for the strange colors) The truck climbed up the ledge on it's own in gear with no throttle input and no engine stalling. Keep in mind, with the Marlin Crawler TacoBox, the Tacoma now has around 2,350 foot-pounds of torque.....at an 800 RPM engine idle! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/009.jpg Oh man what a night and day difference having the Marlin Crawler installed!! This truck has 1,000% been transformed and the same with my confidence level -- I feel like I could go anywhere, traction limiting. The invincible feeling you get from the Marlin Crawler. Man oh man how long has it been since I've felt this way. This is so awesome to be building a new truck!! |
Fins & Things has a few nice steep climbs. Moab slickrock traction combined with the Marlin Crawler meant that my Auto LSD was not used at all the entire day. I never got stuck and never had the LSD system kick in. The few times I lost forward progress were simply remedied by finessing the truck with the Marlin Crawler and letting the tires work and find traction. Honestly Moab is an amazing place to showcase just how much a difference the Marlin Crawler can make to a truck.
The increased amount of traction and control from the Marlin Crawler is simply incredible http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/010.jpg Just idle on up. No gas, no clutch slipping. Point and shoot easy. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/011.jpg Very happy I got rid of that fake hood scoop http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/012.jpg Thanks to the Marlin Crawler, my engine compression braking has been amplified by a factor of nearly 5 so I never have to touch my brakes no matter how steep or how large the drop-off is. Just focus on driving and let the low gearing hold the truck back naturally and calmly. http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/013.jpg Cool pic from a Land Cruiser customer http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/014.jpg |
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/015.jpg
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/016.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/017.jpg First time Rock Crawling and the 2GR-FKS Ok guys! By this time we were a couple hours into the trail and I had a firm opinion on the new 3.5-liter engine and Rock Crawling. I am extremely pleased to report that this engine is the best, low-RPM lugging engine I've ever experienced. I can get the truck moving so slow and steady at approximately 250 RPM and it not only won't stall but it doesn't even shake -- it is entirely smooth at sub-400 RPM engine speeds for as long as needed. I was most impressed by this. All I have to do is take a slightly steeper line and not give any gas and let the weight of the truck load the engine down for a continuous & steady low engine speed. This is the control I've been preaching about when you install a Marlin Crawler. For comparison my Hilux's 2.7-liter 3RZ-FE can lug down to and sustain about 350-400 RPM before it gives up the ghost, but at this RPM it is shaking and rattling quite badly. The new 3.5 V6 is extremely impressive. A 6-cyl engine has a power stroke 30 fewer degrees of crankshaft rotation compared to a 4-cyl, but no doubt progress in modern engine's Noise Vibration Harshness (Wiki:NVH) is really shining here with the modern 2GR. |
Few pics from Marlin's camera (with the messed up hue)
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/018.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/019.jpg Edit: Forgot to mention this is me playing around in Photoshop on a potential new windshield sticker ;) http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/020.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/021.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/022.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/023.jpg |
First time ever wheel'n with All Terrains and I was impressed. They hook up very well here in Moab. I thought they were grabbing better than Marlin's IROKs, which are probably better suited for lose rocky terrain.
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/024.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/025.jpg Stopping for lunch http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/026.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/027.jpg Back on the trail! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/028.jpg Cool pic with the Toyota legend himself! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/029.jpg |
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/030.jpg
With the front suspension loaded it seems the axle could have been designed forward a bit. No wonder these trucks have tire to body mount interference issues... http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/031.jpg Got my very first low oil pressure warning light! Too cool! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/032.jpg And that was it for the Tacoma's first time now as a 235:1 bona fied Rock Crawler! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...things/033.jpg |
Later that night the Tacoma enjoyed it's third time in a Marlin Crawler booth. It was way awesome now having the only Dual Case 2016+ Tacoma in the world right in our booth!
http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-booth/001.jpg Feeling better and better for the future of this Tacoma http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...-booth/002.jpg And that was it for the Tacoma's first day of it's second time back at Moab! |
Trip #8 - Flat Iron Mesa (May 5, 2017)
Event: Cruise Moab Trail name: Flat Iron Mesa - Rating: 5/10 Location: Moab, UT Special note: ARB Air Lockers installed F&R but not plumbed in yet. Truck is still open-open. This trip was discussed from reply #344 of my build thread, so I'll copy much from that here. The next day we ran Flat Iron Mesa. Like the day before the trail was new to me so I was eager to check it out. After gaining a lot of confidence from the Marlin Crawler TacoBox, I was eager for something more difficult. Rising Club rates this trail as slightly more difficult at a 5/10 rating. Amazing weather, amazing turnout, gonna be another amazing day out wheel'n! http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...n-mesa/001.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...n-mesa/002.jpg The trail started out pretty mellow http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...n-mesa/003.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...n-mesa/004.jpg Nice views here and there http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...n-mesa/005.jpg http://board.marlincrawler.com/image...n-mesa/006.jpg |
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