September 2, 2022. Overall, the Tacoma has been doing great since my last rig review back in March, so I haven't felt any need to write anything about it. Still, there have been a few things worth noting on the last several trips, so let's get down to it. 250…
1 CommentTag: skid plates
TL;DR - While I think that Relentless armor is some of the best out there, the mounting of the skid plates could have been better and is causing me a bit of trouble over the years (because I lightly beat the truck). I've quite enjoyed all of my Relentless armor…
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September 12, 2021. Whereas my previous update was several months in the making, it seems that I've already got several updates regarding the Tacoma after my trip to Canada and a few days in California, so let's get right down to it. Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews Relentless Skid…
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TL;DR - I finally got off my butt and fixed the skid plate. Mostly. For over a year, the center attachment point of my mid-skid has been broken off. It's not a big deal, because I really only run my mid-skid when I feel like I'm going to need it,…
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April 14, 2021 When I started Rig Reviews several years ago, I quickly found that after addressing a few significant items, most trips seemed to go smoothly, with relatively few notable issues - good or bad - cropping up along the way. But, on my last trip to Utah, that…
2 CommentsTL;DR - I replaced the bolts with grade 8 versions, hopefully solving the problem for good. I was not happy to discover that two bolts were "missing" from the rear holes of the front skid plate halfway through my first trail in Utah. I was even less happy when I…
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December 1, 2020. There've been a few tweaks to the truck, and two trips to Death Valley since the last rig review, so it's a good time to take stock of how things are going. First, in case you missed the trips, check out: Retracing Panamint Valley's Nadeau Trail Death…
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October 12, 2020. There's no doubt about it, the truck worked pretty well on the Clear, Colorful, Colorado trip for the entirety of the two weeks. Heck, it even got me there and back on the highway - two 20+ hour drives straight, with a bunch of dirt thrown in-between.…
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TL;DR - The middle two mounts on the mid skid broke off again. I need to come up with a new way to secure the mid-skid at the crossmember. Back when we ran the Whipsaw Trail, I had some issues with the Relentless skids, which I addressed in the Rig…
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First gen Tacoma's don't see much love from the fabricators these days. It's understandable, really - these trucks are getting older and there aren't as many out there as 2nd and 3rd gen Tacoma's. Plus, those of us that own 1st gens are cheap - that's part of why we're…
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August 29, 2020. Well, it's been a while since a rig review - things have been working reasonably well; a nice side effect of constantly evaluating and tweaking the setup of the truck to dial it in. Since last time, we've completed the following trips: Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route Bridge-to-Bridge…
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TL;DR - The mid-skid is now securely fastened to the frame again, nearly a year later! I finally got around to putting a Rivnut in the frame at the rear driver attachment point, so I don't need to worry about the bolt there backing out. This was the last piece to making…
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It's not natural. It's uncomfortable. It's hard. And, I know it's the right thing to do - I want to find a way to cut some weight off of the Tacoma. When I purchased the truck, Toyota listed the curb weight of a 4WD SR5 V6 Xtracab at something right…
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September 30, 2019. It was another whirlwind of trips through August and September, with three more trips and 21 more nights now in the books: The Whipsaw Trail in BC, Canada, a trip with Pops to the California Sierra, and a nearly two-week adventure through Wyoming and Colorado. Of those, the…
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TL;DR - The skid plates are holding up, but the mounting strategy could have been better. For the 3rd time, I'm modifying it. I had some significant trouble with the Relentless skid plates on the last trip to Colorado. I've always had an issue with the bolts in the rearmost…
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It wasn't long ago that Dan (@drr), Mike (@Digiratus), Zane (@Speedytech7) and I got together at Dan's shop to do some work on Mike's steering rack and LCA's. That didn't go exactly as planned, but we all had a great time and when we hear Zane was going to be…
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With summer fast approaching, I decided that it'd be a good time to take a look at the skids - so I could clean up any rust, and repaint them for the season. I'm not sure how necessary that is - I mean, at 3/16" thick, these @relentlessfab plates would…
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Fixing the IFS Skid Mounts January 14, 2018. "That's strange." I thought as the guys at JT's Parts and Accessories took my IFS Front Skid off to replace the gears in my front diff. "I don't remember the guys from @RelentlessFab putting any clips behind the middle bolts. I wonder…
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October 2, 2016. The day before we left for Crater Lake, the mid-skid had arrived - but I didn't have time to paint and install it before we took off. Not a big deal, since the IFS skid covers just as much as both stock plates. But of course, I…
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September 2016. As an astute reader will recall, when the Relentless armor was installed, the skid plates were placed in the back of the truck. Actually, just one was placed in the back, since the second wasn't going to fit my truck - a California model with an extra catalytic…
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