1. Welcome to Tundras.com!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tundra discussion topics
    • Transfer over your build thread from a different forum to this one
    • Communicate privately with other Tundra owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

Baja: sand, dog hair, and tecate.

Discussion in 'Trip Reports' started by Brewster, Dec 30, 2020.

  1. Dec 30, 2020 at 1:44 PM
    #1
    Brewster

    Brewster [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2019
    Member:
    #39362
    Messages:
    29
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    G
    Vehicle:
    2006 AC Tundra
    This seems to be something that might be better fit for an ExPo post, but I know you guys would enjoy seeing a 1st gen in her natural habitat.

    My girlfriend and I were planning on going to Baja in the spring of 2020, just prior to the world melting down. We opted to stay in Montana and do trips to the SW desert instead, placated by the understanding that we may be able to make this trip happen in the winter. Due to Covid, her grad program had the entire month of December off, which worked for my job as well. So we went!

    Here are a few pics:

    Airbags, so needed with old leafs. Hopefully I’ll throw on a new set of leafs this spring, but a helper spring and airbags were honestly perfect for the trip:
    832F79E5-BC85-4922-AD93-14D34B84F73C.jpg

    Tossed on an awning, which was later ripped off by a super windy night south of Loreto, MX:
    77031DF1-09E1-47B0-9B65-3905A10B568E.jpg

    Stayed on the Mojave road for a couple nights. We dropped the tires to 20psi front and rear, and it felt like a rally truck (in my mind ha):CBA71D95-85DB-4A0C-A0A7-784CD12245B8.jpg

    Went through Isidro/Joshua Tree where we met up with some friends. Hate to say it, but that area is TRASHED. Most roads were so full of trash that the landscape seemed eclipsed. Insanely sad. We rallied up a different wash each night, and found them to be far cleaner:
    7D5268E9-701E-4700-8BA1-1409BBCE5AA7.jpg

    Finally, Baja! Not gonna lie, this place is the most phenomenal spot on earth. Kindest people, incredible food, distinct natural beauty, and perfect waves. We stayed here for a few nights:
    00ED1D3A-681E-43D4-B96F-DF729BD56B8D.jpg
    E641E947-9AC8-4D30-B249-D48BCBA4E2B2.jpg

    This was how it went for the whole trip. Find a place to sleep/surf, surf, eat tacos, drink tecate with friends, sleep, coffee, repeat.

    We dropped down to 20psi every time we hit dirt, and my diy oba got a workout getting us back to pavement pressure. One note on that - I used a regular ol starter solenoid in my engine bay to turn on the compressor, which was a mistake. Halfway through the trip, continuous use killed the solenoid, which was solved by shunting power to it just when we were airing up. I now have a continuous use solenoid waiting at home to swap in, lesson learned.

    We got stuck in some heavy mud one day finding our way to a beach, but got out with a shit ton of shoveling and some knockoff maxtrax. Another note - just buy the real ones, don’t bother with the rest. All these so called ‘tests’ of all the knockoff traction boards show that you can get out with them, but they neglect long term use. Turns out, ours weren’t UV stable in the least, and baked to the point that they cracked while getting out. To be fair, I’ve used them for about a year, maybe once a month. I handed them off to a couple who we winched out while we were north bound at the end of our month.

    (Hopefully I can figure out how to upload videos).

    As expected, the truck ran amazing, and my only frustration is my own fault. I wanted to get a couple coats of paint on the frame before it experienced salt for the first real time, but ran out of hours. When I got back to the states, I went to town on the frame with rust reformer, after a full bath and a good abrasive pad rubdown. Salt’s no joke. Perfectly black frame before heading down, small areas of surface rust and weld rust after. Scary stuff.

    A few random pictures, why not?

    Ollie dog watching the world go by:
    A6187C85-CEB0-4236-9136-CE5DEB587706.jpg

    Our good friends did it in a spanking new Chevy 3500 with a hard sided camper. Just about double our weight, but pros and cons to each. Where I could bomb roads and drift corners, he lumbered down. When I was fighting my two 70lb+ dogs and little girlfriend for covers, he and his lady were cozied up with their big dog. No right way, no wrong way.
    63B1BA00-B61E-4278-A854-A9FF2709F77A.jpg

    About to settle down with a 6er of tecate and watch the sunset:
    54725B47-2B00-4617-BD5D-EC84BCDC420B.jpg

    Some uh oh moments:A4C8F6ED-3F6B-4049-A58B-A3F94F2B5FD8.jpg
    A34BEB85-7096-4EA4-A7D1-A74DDFB2CB79.jpg

    Driving through low tide to get to some hot springs (regrettable, but also the paramount rule for the enjoyment of vehicles - tools not jewels.)
    BFB39CB6-F6BB-4364-BF0E-21BE5A061B1E.jpg
     
  2. Dec 30, 2020 at 2:19 PM
    #2
    Arringtonpalmer

    Arringtonpalmer New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2020
    Member:
    #53095
    Messages:
    98
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Sam
    Vehicle:
    2004 Limited Double Cab
    ARE High Cap, Rhino Awning, Century Cap, ARB Bumper
    This is a phenomenal post. Truck looks great, trip looks great! Thanks for sharing!
     
  3. Dec 30, 2020 at 2:27 PM
    #3
    SC_TRD

    SC_TRD Big BASTRD 4x4 Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2019
    Member:
    #31909
    Messages:
    1,208
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Colin
    Round Rock, Tx
    Vehicle:
    2012 CrewMax & 2008 Sequoia
    Nice write-up! Looks like a legit trip! I think I need to find myself down to Baja in 2021
     
    GodlessPro and Brewster[OP] like this.
  4. Dec 30, 2020 at 2:28 PM
    #4
    ultraman29

    ultraman29 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2020
    Member:
    #53918
    Messages:
    65
    Gender:
    Male
    Katy Tx
    Vehicle:
    2021 White TRD sports
    While in no way I can so this with my 3 kids and work and other circumstance I am glad that I read this post. It made me feel the excitement of this adventure, that might be the closest I can get in experiencing it. Thank you for the short story!
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2020
    Wallygator and Brewster[OP] like this.
  5. Dec 30, 2020 at 2:51 PM
    #5
    SC_TRD

    SC_TRD Big BASTRD 4x4 Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2019
    Member:
    #31909
    Messages:
    1,208
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Colin
    Round Rock, Tx
    Vehicle:
    2012 CrewMax & 2008 Sequoia
    Hahaha right there with you man. 3 kids ain’t no joke!
     
    Wallygator and Brewster[OP] like this.
  6. Dec 30, 2020 at 2:55 PM
    #6
    Blueknights75

    Blueknights75 040 IS THE FASTEST

    Joined:
    May 13, 2018
    Member:
    #15276
    Messages:
    4,431
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ron
    Clayton, NC
    Vehicle:
    18’ TRD CM leveled with 295/70 Ridge Grapplers
    Bad ass!!
     
    Wallygator and Brewster[OP] like this.
  7. Dec 30, 2020 at 3:47 PM
    #7
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2014
    Member:
    #378
    Messages:
    40,012
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Matt
    Aurora CO
    Vehicle:
    2022 Nissan Frontier SV 4X4
    TuwaPro rack, Z1 Offroad stuff, NISMO suspension stuff, FlowmasterFX Extreme exhaust, AIS, OVS, J&L can, other goodies on the way
    Excellent trip pics!
     
    Brewster[OP] likes this.
  8. Dec 30, 2020 at 4:26 PM
    #8
    Baja Fundra

    Baja Fundra New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2020
    Member:
    #42157
    Messages:
    76
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2020 Quicksand Tundra TRD Offroad
    Great post! Makes me really miss my 1st gen
     
    Brewster[OP] likes this.
  9. Dec 30, 2020 at 5:46 PM
    #9
    UTAHRTK

    UTAHRTK New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
    Member:
    #11881
    Messages:
    579
    Gender:
    Male
    SOCAL
    Vehicle:
    2017 MGM Tundra TRD CM
    Dirty Deeds 8" standard exhaust, 6112/5160, MR 701's, TOYO R/T Trails 285/75/17
    Thats badass!
     
    Brewster[OP] likes this.
  10. Dec 30, 2020 at 7:00 PM
    #10
    Siebler

    Siebler Taco Tow Vehicle

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2020
    Member:
    #45601
    Messages:
    279
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    CJ
    Eastern Oregon
    Vehicle:
    01 AC 4x4,07 Sequoia 4x4, 99 Tacoma Long Travel
    Monstaliner, Kings and Camburg UCA, projector retros, DD injectors, homebuilt bumper/ sliders
    The thing I miss most about living in Socal is its proximity to Mexico. Looks like an awesome trip.
     
    Brewster[OP] likes this.
  11. Dec 31, 2020 at 11:47 AM
    #11
    Brewster

    Brewster [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2019
    Member:
    #39362
    Messages:
    29
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    G
    Vehicle:
    2006 AC Tundra
    Thanks fellas.

    It was surprisingly easy/budget friendly, and I felt safer than many places in the US. Don’t believe what seems to be the common narrative surrounding our southern neighbors!

    As for the couple requests for locations and tips, I really don’t have any! It was far more fun to pick a place on a map, try to reverse it to a road I could access, and git er done.
     
    Wallygator likes this.
  12. Dec 31, 2020 at 4:14 PM
    #12
    UTAHRTK

    UTAHRTK New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
    Member:
    #11881
    Messages:
    579
    Gender:
    Male
    SOCAL
    Vehicle:
    2017 MGM Tundra TRD CM
    Dirty Deeds 8" standard exhaust, 6112/5160, MR 701's, TOYO R/T Trails 285/75/17
    Rgr that. Thanks.
     
  13. Dec 31, 2020 at 5:56 PM
    #13
    Wallygator

    Wallygator Well Zippedy Da Do!

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2020
    Member:
    #44761
    Messages:
    2,539
    Great trip! Thanks for sharing it with us
     
  14. Dec 31, 2020 at 6:03 PM
    #14
    TheBeast

    TheBeast The Beach

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Member:
    #3246
    Messages:
    12,518
    Gender:
    Male
    SoCal
    Vehicle:
    2012
    great pictures ! how did the KO2 perform vs some M/T maybe ?
     
  15. Dec 31, 2020 at 10:30 PM
    #15
    Brewster

    Brewster [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2019
    Member:
    #39362
    Messages:
    29
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    G
    Vehicle:
    2006 AC Tundra
    I’ve run the KO2’s for about 4 different sets, and aside from a very funky wearing pattern on one round (so odd, I still think about how bad that was on my 02 Tacoma), I love em.

    Aside from Eastern Montana gumbo, we rarely get mud, so M/T’s would be overkill for 90% of my year. Realistically, I’d feel comfortable doing the same trip with any E rated tire, as long as I could air down. The stuff that got me stuck could have been avoided with even a whisper of forethought, and I would humbly suggest that no tire would have helped in either instance.
     
    Wallygator and TheBeast[QUOTED] like this.
  16. Jan 2, 2021 at 12:48 PM
    #16
    Baller

    Baller New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2018
    Member:
    #17275
    Messages:
    734
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    '05 Tundra SR5 DC
    Not at all. I'd love to see more trip reports like this here, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Thanks for sharing.
     
  17. Jan 2, 2021 at 3:16 PM
    #17
    Baja Fundra

    Baja Fundra New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2020
    Member:
    #42157
    Messages:
    76
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2020 Quicksand Tundra TRD Offroad

    I second this, we need more detailed trip reports like this one
     
  18. Jan 2, 2021 at 4:12 PM
    #18
    TXRailRoadBandit73

    TXRailRoadBandit73 YOTAS,RAILROADER,RÖKnRÖLLN',BEER,MAX/GEMMA

    Joined:
    May 30, 2016
    Member:
    #3487
    Messages:
    50,310
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Adam
    The 956, TEXAS
    None yet
    Great post n pics
     

Products Discussed in

To Top