As seen in Toyota Trails!
Various articles written here have been published in TLCA's Toyota Trails magazine and on their website. After roaming around our site, click on the magazines to visit TLCA.
Tech and Fabrication
Tailgate Storage
By Tony K
Cut open your tailgate! There is a an amazing amount of space available for storage within the tail gate. WagonGear makes a really slick door for this area but I guess I am a little cheap for that.
I used a jig saw to open up the sheet metal, filled it full of spare parts then snapped the carpeted panel over it all. The panel stays in place on it’s own but the toolbox/storage box is right up against it when closed so nothing falls out.
GPS
By Tony K
Getting around and tracking just where you have been is a lot more fun than it used to be. GPS technology has gotten a lot cheaper and it is now practical to put it in your rig. My GPS device of choice is the Garmin 60csx. I like all the features it has available and where I mounted it makes it easy to access with my hand resting on the shifter. Having it mounted up high like this means my eyes don’t have to leave the road.
Setting up Shop
By Tony Konovaloff
Just like your rig, what you do (or plan to do) in your shop will determine just what sort of tools you need. If all you are going to do is the regular maintenance and such all you need is a good set of mechanics tools. But if fabrication or more serious mods are on your list it will help to have a much better equipped shop.
The Ultimate Hitch
By Tony Konovaloff
Ball hitches have some serious flaws when it comes to using them off road. They just don’t have enough room to articulate more than about 7 degrees in each direction. Pintle hitches, while easy to hook up with a proven history of strength and durability have their own problems. Primarily the noise going down the road. I just hate it when a hitch rattles no matter what kind it is.
Double Carden Rebuild
I am in the middle of getting this one finished so please bear with me until I can finish the write up and add photos
By Tony Konovaloff
Don’t be fooled by the factory service manual. The double carden driveshaft from a wagon can be re-built. It went together so it can come apart. Just don’t plan on re-using any of the u-joints as you pretty much have to destroy the grease seals to get them out.