Over the past four years my Tacoma has taken me many places and served me well, from exploring the backwoods of NY, VT and NH to camping on the beaches of MD and VA. Over that time the stock suspension on my SR5 double-cab took a beating and by mid-2014 after nearly 60,000 miles, the front shocks were shot and the rears were even worse, with one of the struts no longer … [Read more...]
Grudge Match: 2016 Colorado vs. 2016 Tacoma
We're just months away from the 2016 model year trucks being on the road and the compact pickup lineup hasn't been this exciting since cargo shorts were in style (which was never...). This is obviously thanks to the highly anticipated launch of the 2016 Toyota Tacoma and the new-in-2015 Chevrolet Colorado (now with a diesel option!) So if you've got upwards of $40 grand … [Read more...]
Adventures of the Craigslist Canoe
Is there really any better way to beat the heat than to be in an air conditioned building out on the water? When my girlfriend said we should get a canoe to do some river trips, who was I to say no? That all sounded good in concept, but neither of us really knew the first thing about canoes or operating them, other than that standing up in one isn't a great idea. We needed … [Read more...]
Choosing the Right Team
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln Before I head out on a long trip into the woods, I make sure to thoroughly check out the truck, inspect my equipment, and pack everything short of a SnapOn tool chest (I mean who knows when you'll have to do a trail side engine swap). Yet it wasn't until I'd had a few … [Read more...]
Exploring Forgotten Roads
For the past few months I've been reading every map and local guide book covering the Mid-Atlantic that I could get my hands on. My goal was to find long forgotten or rarely traveled roads that were a reasonable distance from DC. Here's the first part of my new "Exploring Forgotten Roads" series. Our first attempt at exploring a forgotten road would take us to Tucker … [Read more...]
