The Tatanka (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter CruiserReady
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- Thread starter
- #22
Shortly after returning from Utah, we were already headed out to Overland Expo and then to the Rebelle Rally. While in Flagstaff, we ran Broken Arrow which was a pretty fun trail, I got a few photos, but they are on the desktop at home and I'm on the road for the next 7 months. The Rebelle was a blast as usual. Tatanka was rock solid and gave us no problems. Additional prep from the previous trips was minimal and mainly just loading necessary equipment into the back. I also mounted our tablet to the dash with some velcro like I saw on someone else's 200 at Expo (thanks to whoever you were!) which worked great. The rig sustained some minor front bumper damage in the dunes, but I'm not too concerned as a Dissent bumper is one of the upcoming items on the list. Our Icon 2.0s have been leaking for the last few months and now that the rally is over, we have the down time to get them sent out and rebuilt. If they hold up, great, if not we will likely change them out for some Kings.
RET2
SILVER Star
How low did you go on pressure in the sand?
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- #24
15 psi (at 5:30am), as the day warmed up, I think they were at about 18 by mid afternoon.
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- #25
Wow. I really let this thread fall off. I'm going to attempt to update it a bit. Generally speaking up until the last couple weeks, the build hasn't really changed. I've had to get the Icon 2.5's rebuilt once to twice per year. I'll get into what had changed in the coming posts.
Following Rebelle 2021, we were on the road for work and then out of the country until summer of 2022. We took the cruiser out for 25 days for archery elk. One night, I hit a deer at about 20mph and cracked the front bumper cover and busted out a headlight housing. We opted to get two new headlights because the old ones were getting hazy from the sun, but at the price of 800 per housing, we opted to go with a steel bumper that would also protect the headlights from future hits. I don't like the way the ARB one looks because the lines don't follow the car very well, so I went with a TJM. It was a pain in the ass to install, but after two years, it's been a good piece. Luckily, it hasn't been tested against anything.
Here are some pics from the 2022 elk hunt.
After elk season, we took Tatanka out for late season deer. It was the first time having it out in the snow and in temps below 0f. The driving portion was uneventful, which was exactly what I want out of it.
Following Rebelle 2021, we were on the road for work and then out of the country until summer of 2022. We took the cruiser out for 25 days for archery elk. One night, I hit a deer at about 20mph and cracked the front bumper cover and busted out a headlight housing. We opted to get two new headlights because the old ones were getting hazy from the sun, but at the price of 800 per housing, we opted to go with a steel bumper that would also protect the headlights from future hits. I don't like the way the ARB one looks because the lines don't follow the car very well, so I went with a TJM. It was a pain in the ass to install, but after two years, it's been a good piece. Luckily, it hasn't been tested against anything.
Here are some pics from the 2022 elk hunt.
After elk season, we took Tatanka out for late season deer. It was the first time having it out in the snow and in temps below 0f. The driving portion was uneventful, which was exactly what I want out of it.
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i am more envious of your job that keeps you on road for 7 months and out of country than your truck
- Thread starter
- #27
Quick throwback to some photos from Rebelle 22
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- #28
Batch 2 from Rebelle 22
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- #29
I got the TJM installed just before heading out to support our friends that were racing Rage At The River. Here's Tatanka's new face. The thing that's been an issue since installing the TJM bumper is that the check valve for the headlight sprayers doesn't seem to work right so it always seeps washer fluid on the passenger side only.
We took my brother in-law out wheeling for his first time. I let him drive the whole trail with me spotting and he did great.
The we were away for work again with our next adventure being Rebelle Rally 23 followed by a Thanksgiving trip to Sedona with my other brother in-law and his family. They had never been out doing this kind of stuff before so I borrowed my friend's GX (aka the Milf Busy) and we took them through Broken Arrow. My wife drove the cruiser and I drove the GX.
We took my brother in-law out wheeling for his first time. I let him drive the whole trail with me spotting and he did great.
The we were away for work again with our next adventure being Rebelle Rally 23 followed by a Thanksgiving trip to Sedona with my other brother in-law and his family. They had never been out doing this kind of stuff before so I borrowed my friend's GX (aka the Milf Busy) and we took them through Broken Arrow. My wife drove the cruiser and I drove the GX.
- Thread starter
- #30
Spoken like a true LX guy
What if I told you my job was as an inspector for commercial sewage and septic systems that are leaking and creating biohazards and requires me to go down inside of them. Would you still be envious?
- Thread starter
- #31
Here's some Rebelle 23 photos
Yea sir I would be ….Spoken like a true LX guy
What if I told you my job was as an inspector for commercial sewage and septic systems that are leaking and creating biohazards and requires me to go down inside of them. Would you still be envious?
Great thread. Incredible photos throughout. Bad ass truck. Seems your on-board professional auto photographer is contributing to these photos.
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- #34
Well dang dude. I won't tell you what I actually do then because it would definitely make it worse. I hope that in the near future, you find a way to fullfil your dreams as it comes to travel.
- Thread starter
- #35
Glad you enjoyed it. I wish I did a little more "building" to talk about, but this thing has been so good that I really haven't had to do much. And yes, my passenger princesstographer is indeed contributing.
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- Thread starter
- #36
December of '23, we drove up to Portland for my sister's graduation, so of course we took a short detour to explore some dunes.
- Thread starter
- #37
Somehow, our oil cap vibrated off and fell into the radiator fan. A blade broke off and several others cracked while out in the mountains in Utah in the summer of '24. It was several days until I was able to identify the issue, so who knows how much dust got into the crank case. We had to continue on to Denver, so I had the oil changed at the nearest dealer where I also bought a new 710 cap (iykyk). I then changed the oil again once I got home to NV, so hopefully most of the dirt was filtered out and removed and there will be no longer term issues.
We are currently at 185k miles, so we've put 65k on it since we got it. Probably a solid 10k mi have been off road. Maybe more.
An issue I've had for a while is with my Prinsu rack. I bought the one with a cut out for a light bar, but still haven't gotten around to installing one. The front crossbar vibrates horribly above 30mph. My quick fix was to stuff a piece of foam between the bar and sunroof to dampen it, but it's been driving me crazy for 4 years and 63k mi so I finally got around to fabbing up a block off plate/wind deflector for the light bar cut out. If ordering a rack, I would highly recommend not getting the light bar cut out unless you know you're immediately mounting a bar in it.
Before
After
We also used Tatanka to bring home another Toyota.
We are currently at 185k miles, so we've put 65k on it since we got it. Probably a solid 10k mi have been off road. Maybe more.
An issue I've had for a while is with my Prinsu rack. I bought the one with a cut out for a light bar, but still haven't gotten around to installing one. The front crossbar vibrates horribly above 30mph. My quick fix was to stuff a piece of foam between the bar and sunroof to dampen it, but it's been driving me crazy for 4 years and 63k mi so I finally got around to fabbing up a block off plate/wind deflector for the light bar cut out. If ordering a rack, I would highly recommend not getting the light bar cut out unless you know you're immediately mounting a bar in it.
Before
After
We also used Tatanka to bring home another Toyota.
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- Thread starter
- #38
Now we're pretty well caught up to the present. When we bought Tatanka, it already had non-resi Icon 2.5s on it. Those shocks have been... adequate. Ish. The ride quality generally feels comfortable but boaty on the street, but they are somewhat floaty off road at higher speeds and with bigger impacts. They also don't do well over washboard. The ride isn't terrible, but the tires tend to skip around and you have to fight the wheel to keep it going where you want. They also leak after every Rebelle and every KOH, so I've been having to have them rebuilt twice per year.
I got tired of that, so I talked to our friends over at Total Chaos and we decided to step up to King 3.0 IBPs which we paired with TC's lower control arms as well.
The other day, I decided I wanted to get some video footage of the Icons going through a short section of desert so I could compare how it looks and feels on the new shocks. I got a nice run in at about 21mph which felt comfortable, so I decided I wanted to get closer to the limit of the Icons where things would get a little out of shape. I bumped the speed to 25-26 hoping for a little more drama. I found the drama. I found way more drama than I wanted. I went over a small whoop that was followed by a small dip, but instead of the tires hitting the ground, the skid plate found it first. Thankfully we were filming it because it looked awesome.
Initial impact:
The truck landed and then hit the next whoop and got launched pretty good. The subsequent landing was actually quite soft.
Luckily the skid plate did it's job and I haven't found any other damage. This was straight...
Stay tuned for a comparison between the Icon 2.5s and King 3.0s after Hammers is over.
I got tired of that, so I talked to our friends over at Total Chaos and we decided to step up to King 3.0 IBPs which we paired with TC's lower control arms as well.
The other day, I decided I wanted to get some video footage of the Icons going through a short section of desert so I could compare how it looks and feels on the new shocks. I got a nice run in at about 21mph which felt comfortable, so I decided I wanted to get closer to the limit of the Icons where things would get a little out of shape. I bumped the speed to 25-26 hoping for a little more drama. I found the drama. I found way more drama than I wanted. I went over a small whoop that was followed by a small dip, but instead of the tires hitting the ground, the skid plate found it first. Thankfully we were filming it because it looked awesome.
Initial impact:
The truck landed and then hit the next whoop and got launched pretty good. The subsequent landing was actually quite soft.
Luckily the skid plate did it's job and I haven't found any other damage. This was straight...
Stay tuned for a comparison between the Icon 2.5s and King 3.0s after Hammers is over.
Where did you (plan to) put your deer harvest?
@CruiserReady I suggest the hood. On top of the solar charger thing that @sleeoffroad offers. A true testament to its build quality.
