I Christened My New Tacoma Because I Am Going Stir-Crazy

"M.T. Blake" (autohabit) 04/27/2020 at 12:55 • Filed to: toyota tacoma, toyota, tacoma, trd, off-road, or, 4wd, crawl control, mud, never clean, detailing, use it, explore more

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Absolutely caked in the fender wells and underneath. I think I hit the puddle with a bit more enthusiasm than I should have...

I’ve decided that my whole family is going stir-crazy . After weeks of going nowhere except work and the store, I went and christened my 1100 mile 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road in a mudhole. My wife then followed me in her minivan?!!!

I’ll admit that I have a problem. This is the first step of many? All the nice cars I have never get used for they’re capable of doing. I have this problem with my E60 M5; I never drive it, it is simply too clean and too nice.

Terrible picture off my Instagram that I posted in my story.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact I was that weird kid that built Legos and never played with them. I’d just look at them and admire. Is this some sort of a personality flaw or sickness? The first signs of the ‘Rona taking me down?!

With these thoughts in mind, I decided to christen my very new and low mile 2020 Tacoma. What better way to go use a truck... than going and using it for what it was made to do! Every Tacoma Off-Road I see on the street seems to be exceptionally clean so I can’t be the only one who doesn’t like a dirty truck?

The Dodge in the background most certainly would have gotten stuck. It almost got stuck in the mud in my yard for god sakes.

Not far from home is a terrible road with a large mud hole. This road is something anyone can theoretically pass with a higher likelihood of causing damage to their vehicle. There are a couple of inclines, sharp rocks, and a two-foot deep mud hole that mostly makes the road impassable.

I took my exceptionally min t and new Tacoma into the mud. God do I hate mud. There is nothing worse than getting stuck in the mud and then having to clean it out of every possible place you would and wouldn’t expect. The mud seems to linger for years after a good mud bath.

Regardless of my neat-freak tendencies, I dove the black on black Tacoma straight into the middle of the mud. I turned around and did it again! Once it’s dirty, it will never be clean again.

On the way back I tested out the Crawl control. It doesn’t sound confident but, it works well. The noises it produces are signatures of the ABS pump firing on and off to control the speed of the truck going downhill.

At home, I got back and took my time washing the mud out of the fender wells that seemed to take forever. After around two hours of slowing cleaning the mud and dirt off, I realized the truck would never be clean again. Fine, now you’ll make me use you!

I’ll also tell you that the next day my wife came home from running errands and was laughing. She said she decided to follow her GPS home and took THE SAME ROAD in her 2017 Toyota Sienna SE. Apparently the mudhole was nearly dry, but regardless I had another car to clean...

I can’t believe she took a lowered minivan down that road. I guess if it has four-wheels it must be four-wheel-drive?!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

TheRealBicycleBuck > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 13:06

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I once had my 2wd truck stuck in a lot less mud than that. The combination of no momentum and both rear wheels being in a low spot with the front end being higher was enough to prevent any form of traction. I didn’t want to tear up the ditch, so humbly accepted rescue from a Jeep.

I’m glad your wife made it through without getting stuck.

M.T. Blake > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/27/2020 at 13:12

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The first thing my buddy said was, “Well luckily your wife has the AWD Sienna”. No, s he doesn’t have AWD. FWD was the only drivetrain available on the SE.

I hate getting stuck in the mud. Good thing you found a Jeep to help out!

Nothing > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 13:32

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One of my favorite off road fun activities was when I went out in the rain/mud in my ‘69 Bronco back east. Rain was from a hurricane, so there was a LOT of mud. The truck was a beater, though, so I barely did more than hose it off most of the time, the mud is probably what kept it together.

In CO, this whole “rock” thing is new to me. I watch other people bash the snot out of their rigs and seemingly enjoy it. Lots of folks here wheel their Tacomas and come home with a new badge of honor after every trip, it seems. I’m not quite ready for rock carnage on the 4Runner.

functionoverfashion > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 13:56

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Now your truck and mine can be friends.

No crawl control though, just 4-low. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 14:36

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Love mud on a shiny black truck.

Well done. 

M.T. Blake > Nothing 04/27/2020 at 14:48

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Having a beater is more fun than something new for reasons like that.

I’ve got a long way to go before we really start playing with this truck. I need to depend on it after all. 

M.T. Blake > functionoverfashion 04/27/2020 at 14:49

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Hah! That’s an awesome truck!

M.T. Blake > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/27/2020 at 14:50

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Next time I’ll make it look better (worse?).

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 15:34

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Sounds like a plan.

Now go drive your car, and send it to redline at least twice. 

Nothing > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 15:35

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I’ve gone about as wild with the 4Runner as I’m going to. If I ever get involved in slightly more technical stuff, sliders and skids would be on my list given the  nature of the obstacles here.

M.T. Blake > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/27/2020 at 15:40

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I actually just got back from a drive in the M5. First time it was out in months. Went for a 40 minute drive through the countryside. Such a fun car!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 16:06

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Yes! I went on a several hour drive Saturday before last; hope to do it again this weekend. 

M.T. Blake > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 04/27/2020 at 16:33

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It really helps to go on a good hour long drive through the middle of no where. Never quite thought about doing it before to try and relax. 

LyleLanley > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 16:36

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I am swapping out my TRD Sport For a new 2020 TRD Off Road with MTM this week. I’m going to jump every puddle I see in the month of May.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 17:25

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B ack road therapy is a real thing, for sure.

M.T. Blake > LyleLanley 04/27/2020 at 17:47

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You’ll love the OR over the Sport. The OR has everything the Pro does except for some bolt ons. 

functionoverfashion > M.T. Blake 04/27/2020 at 20:16

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Thanks! I also love your Taco. 1,098 miles is that right? Yeah, time for a mud bath for sure! 

M.T. Blake > functionoverfashion 04/27/2020 at 23:43

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I’ve never had such a low mile and new car before. It felt so wrong. 

50ford500 > M.T. Blake 04/28/2020 at 00:30

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I recently joined the Taco club too and have the same truck just in voodoo blue. I still need to christen it but like you I’m kinda scared because I love it being clean. Just can’t stand seeing all this fun people seem to have wirh them being used for their intended purposes. I did however make extreme use of the bed this weekend hauling logs from a tree I had to cut down at the house  and a trampoline for my gf. Which was a lot more fun than I expected it to be. 

M.T. Blake > 50ford500 04/28/2020 at 01:35

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The voodoo blue is a great color. Good choice!

Just do it. Go get it dirty. You’ll thank me later. Nothing mint lasts forever... unless it’s in a museum.

functionoverfashion > M.T. Blake 04/28/2020 at 08:41

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AND YET SO RIGHT

50ford500 > M.T. Blake 04/28/2020 at 08:42

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Lol thanks! I really like the color and the black on yours looks awesome as well. I guess the first dirty trip is a lot like the first door ding. They sting a bit but after that it’s just “what can I do to have fun” what matters. 

M.T. Blake > functionoverfashion 04/28/2020 at 13:28

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^ Fact. 

M.T. Blake > 50ford500 04/28/2020 at 13:30

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Exactly. I decided to rip the ‘bandaid’ fast instead of driving it until I was bored with it enough to go play with it.

I looked under the hood and saw all the mud I missed... guess what I’m doing today?!

The Ghost of Oppo > M.T. Blake 04/28/2020 at 16:02

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As someone relatively unfamiliar with the segment but looking at Tacos , can you educate me on why everyone seems to prefer to the Off Road to the Sport? I get it has the ‘off road’ features like crawl and what not, but is there some intangible I am missing? 

M.T. Blake > The Ghost of Oppo 04/28/2020 at 19:00

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The sport is more for street driving, it has a ‘sport’ suspension and none of the off-road goodies. The off-road will get you the MTS (terrain selector) and CRAWL control (off road cruise control). Everything on top of a Off-Road to the PRO is just bolt-ons if you get the premium package.

Mine is a Off-Road and Premium Package (climate control, leather, JBL audio , sunroof, probably something else... hitting a brain wall).

The Ghost of Oppo > M.T. Blake 04/28/2020 at 22:50

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How does sporty suspension translate to trucks? Like despite their special  indented uses, which one is better to live with?

M.T. Blake > The Ghost of Oppo 04/29/2020 at 00:06

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I doubt you’d notice much of a difference on the highway. You’d notice the aesthetics - bumpers, wheels, tires, and stance. I doubt if the truck is much more comfortable or more tossable in the corners.

I bought my OR as any electronic do-dads are impossible to swap over to a lesser trim. The bolt on parts are always possible. I’d rather build a truck to my specifications than buy a PRO.

I don’t think you NEED the premium package. At an additional 4-5K it comes down to your desire for a better sound system and leather for the most part.

My thought process was ‘if we’re spending 40k whats another 5k?!’ I intend to keep my truck for the long haul. It will have around 80k miles on it when my 6 year old is able to drive in another 10 years.