Well I drank the Toyota Kool Aide and it was good. Picked up a 2004 4runner v8 4wd. Our family is really loving this thing. Thanks DK for the advice.
Udo, you too. Im going to upgrade the suspension as soon as I recover from putting a new 125 gallon fuel tank in the boat...
So our first trip was to the Anza Borrego Mud Caves. Easy trip in a 4runner in total stock form if you dont miss the turn. We end up in the Carrizo
marsh and turned around at the Carrizo impact area. The sand was deep, silty, and overgrown but even with stock tires and street air pressure the
4runner went right through.
A few Borrego pinstripes to break her in.
Here is the right hand turn off of S2
As your driving up the wash, watch for the Canyon Sin Nombre sign on the left, and the Arroyo Tapiado sign will be just behind you on the right.
Lots of slot canyons to hike up
and of course the caves
This is one of the skylights in a cave that was 1000 feet long and very dark.
On the way home I decided to see how close we could get to a Wind Turbine. I would say we got pretty close. The sound the blades made was incredible.
I cant wait to explore Baja in the 4runner. The F350 Crew Cab will stay home this year, we will be traveling lighter.
The wife had a great time, and said isnt that what we bought it for, to explore? its going to get scratched up. I told her, "Im glad we are on the
same page
Mud caves and Arroyo Tapiado is a fun drive... take it to the top and go to the Diablo Drop Off, through Broken Shaft Gulch and out Split Mountain.
Our last time through was going the opposite direction, with a group of SoCal Tacoma owners... a few were 2WD, and only one needed me to pull him up
the drop off.
Does your 4Runner have A-TRAC? If so, press it next time you go into Low Range... turns the Toyota into a tank and lets you climb up or through
anything! Like having automatic locking differentials on the front and back.
After much research, I felt I needed more suspension travel and more ground clearance. So I chose Icon extended coilovers and Total Chaos upper
control arms {UCA}.
When you crank up the coilovers to get more clearance, you loose caster when you try to align the front end. The new UCA allows you to get
everything back to factory specs, among other check marks in the Pro vs Con column.
If you dont get the caster right, you have bad tire wear and the truck will "wander" down the road. I didnt want that driving down Mex1. The Icon
Coilovers are valved for my 4runner as is the spring rate in the rear.
We were really happy flying over the woops, it seemed the faster we went the smoother it was {to a certain extent}. I know its nowhere near a true
offroad high speed desert machine. Im not much of a rock crawler type, but its good to have in my bag of tricks.
The cost installed was just under the price of a new Canon 5D Mark III. That was a tough decision to make....
Wonderful report Frank. Going up the Diablo Dropoff is even more fun.
. specially if you are pulling another truck up it! LOL Toyotas are amazing, right?
Originally posted by Frank
Yes David, Im totally sold.
That is me pulling a 2WD Tacoma out of a sand stuck, then up the Diablo Dropoff (after he made the lower dropoff up, then got stuck backing up to make
a run at the upper dropoff. A Jeep club had passed us while I was hooking him up with my tow strap, ans shook their heads that I could use my stock
truck to pull up the white 2WD one. They watched as I showed them what a 4WD Off Road Toyota Tacoma can do, rear locker and A-TRAC ON!
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law
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