Ruissimo’s Ownership Blog – The 2024 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter

[Ruissimo]

1,200 miles in, and the only issue so far is the air conditioning; I don't find it cold enough, so I'll have it looked at when I go in for the first oil change.

Outside of that, the truck has been perfect - and I get nods of approval everywhere I go.

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[Ruissimo]

 

[Ruissimo]

 

[Ruissimo]

 

[Ruissimo]

Sunny day today.

 

[JaKOwNz7]

Whats your average MPG at? Mines been stuck at 13.5 but only been city driving for 150 miles.

 

[Ruissimo]

1,600 miles in, 19.6mpg. Very hilly where I live, and I drive mostly backroads. But I haven’t really been pushing it.

 

[Biggs1975]

1,200 miles in, and the only issue so far is the air conditioning; I don't find it cold enough, so I'll have it looked at when I go in for the first oil change.

Outside of that, the truck has been perfect - and I get nods of approval everywhere I go.

Let us know what you find out, mine also doesn't seem to get as cold as it should.

 

[Ruissimo]

Interestingly, today was in the 70s and I had it set to 72 and it was super cold. When my wife complained about it a week ago, it was 98°. Still…. A/C should be ice cold.

 

[trailhunger]

My TH's A/C worked great in Vegas/across the Mojave desert. 104 outside. Fans were 1 step below max most of that drive /air cooled seats so damn nice. I left the dealership with an Xpel nano ceramic tint on all side windows/ (back window already tinted from factory?), that really helps cut down on heat. Plus, paint albedo is a factor too. darker colored tacos' A/C work harder.

What about your outside humidity vs recirc airflow. Sometimes if it's pulling in humid hot air that could be a factor? IDK if the recirc only pertains to the defroster...

 

[Ruissimo]

What about your outside humidity vs recirc airflow. Sometimes if it's pulling in humid hot air that could be a factor? IDK if the recirc only pertains to the defroster...

Not sure. I did put recirc on at that point and I didn't notice much of a difference. Like I said, it all seems fine now that the temps are lower.

Enjoying absolutely everything else about it though. Especially when random folks came up this weekend and said, "You know, I'm not a truck guy, but damn that's a nice-looking truck" and "I love that truck. That's a great spec."

 

[Ruissimo]

Happy New Year!

I've put 9,100 on the odometer and have been so busy, I haven't checked these boards in what feels like months. Regardless, I'll be posting a couple of updates.

As I said before, I plan on visiting as many National Parks as possible, which isn't as easy when you live on the East coast as compared to the Midwest and West coast of the country. Having said that, my wife thought celebrating my 50th in Hawaii would be fun. So we did that back in December.

No, I didn't bring my truck, though had I done so, I would have fit right in on every island we visited!

I kid you not: 1 out of every 2 cars out there are Toyotas, and it feels like 1 out of every 2 of those are Tacomas. It's INSANE how many Tacos I saw. Most were 2nd Gen, but there were tons of 3rd Gens and 1 Gens out there.

I think I only saw 3 or 4 4th Gens my whole time there, so it looks like they're slowly trickling in. Based on what I saw and my experience in Hawaii... it's probably more due to low demand than supply. These things are expensive to begin with, and I'm sure Hawaii prices are higher than mainland. I saw a LOT of poverty and homelessness out there; it really doesn't surprise me that folks will hang onto tacos for a long time, because who the hell can afford to live in Hawaii these days?

No wonder locals are going on strike and what not.

Regardless, not Toyota related, but here are some pics. I have actual photos of my Taco adventures coming after this one.

Bonus Pics:

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Hawai'i Visit:

We did a cruise around the islands, and visited the following:

1) Oahu (Honolulu City, Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head Volcano Hike)

2) Maui (Road to Hana, Honokalani Black Sand Beach, HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK)

3) Hawai'i Big Island - Hilo (HAWAI'I VOLCANOS NATIONAL PARK)

4) Hawai'i Big Island - Kona (Kalaepa'akai Beach)

5) Kauai (North Coast, Kalamaku Luau)

6) Kauai (Waimea Canyon, Pu'u o Kila Lookout/Nā Pali Coast, Poipu Beach)

7) Oahu (Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, Pearl Harbor)

National Parks Visited This Trip - 2
National Parks Visited in 2024 - 3
NATIONAL PARK OVERALL COUNT - 4

 

[Ruissimo]

2025 National Parks Adventure #1 - The North Loop

I had an opportunity for a client visit in Kansas City, MO, so I decided to make it a road trip. Yes, it's winter, but I own a freaking 4G Tacoma, right?

The main goal of the trip was to meet the client and do some work. The secondary goal was to visit the six parks on my target list, so I made an itinerary and pretty much stuck to it, despite the fact that I hit a major snow storm the second day (from Pontiac, IL to Kansas City, MO) and another one on the way back (drove 1,000 to 1,100 miles on snow and ice-covered roads pretty much from Kansas City to Shenandoah, VA!)

The truck handled FLAWLESSLY.

Other than having to scrape all the ice, salt and mud buildup from the front grille and the front wheel wells every time I fueled up, the truck needed no attention. My smart cruise and parking assist were malfunctioning the majority of the drive because of the snow and ice buildup. When I cleared it at gas stations, the warnings went away. I took it to two car washes (one in Kansas City and one once I hit northern Virginia and the roads weren't covered anymore.) Gotta keep that salt off!

My gas mileage was atrocious on the way from NY to MO; I barely averaged 14mpg. At first I thought it was because I was cruising at 70mph for most of the way there, plus all the altitude changes, especially in the Poconos mountains.

However, I don’t think that was necessarily the case, because I did those same speeds coming back home and averaged about 18mpg in similar stretches of road. I kept checking the altitude changes to make sure they were similar. I think the difference was the outside temperature. It was in the single digits on my way to MO, and in the 30s this afternoon. My particular truck does not like the cold.

Funny thing is when I had it in 4WD in the snow, I averaged almost 26mpg over 800 miles… because I was driving around 35-40mph most of the time. The temps were in the high 20s.

I’m done with long drives for a few months. 10 states and 23+ hours of driving on unplowed roads wiped me out. Here are some pics.

The drive:

Pics:

Parks Visited:

1) Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH

2) Indiana Dunes National Park, IN

3) Gateway Arch National Park, OH

4) Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

5) New River Gorge National Park, WV

6) Shenandoah National Park, VA (plus some great views of the Blue Ridge Mountains)

Bonus pics:

National Parks Visited This Trip - 6
National Parks Visited in 2024 -6
NATIONAL PARK OVERALL COUNT -10

PS: I had visited the Gateway Arch in St. Louis before it changed from a National Monument to a National Park, which is why patches are in that order. It is my personal opinion that it should not be a national park. It feels more like a tourist money grab, as there's very little nature to be preserved in downtown St. Louis. It should have remained a national park. Regardless, it's off the list.

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