Toyota Tacoma

[MX793]

Tailgate up nets better gas mileage.

Rednecks don't care about fuel mileage.

[MX793]

BTW how hard is it to get motorcycle up into truck???

(I'm jealous of both)

Depends on what kind of ramp you have and how heavy the bike is.  Dirtbikes are generally pretty easy.  Depending on how good your balance is, you can ride it up the ramp.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Do you even bro?

[giant_mtb]

BTW how hard is it to get motorcycle up into truck???

(I'm jealous of both)

Not very. I have a 6ish foot folding ramp and a step stool.

By myself, process is:

Setup ramp
Step stool next to ramp
Bike in neutral, get a little headstart, and push
Once dirtbike is on ramp with the front wheel into the bed, brake
Get on stool, continue pushing, step up into bed, keep pushing, complete


From setting up the ramp to strapping down dirtbike and closing the tailgate up, it's no more than 5 minutes.

[giant_mtb]

Depends on what kind of ramp you have and how heavy the bike is.  Dirtbikes are generally pretty easy.  Depending on how good your balance is, you can ride it up the ramp.

Haven't ridden up yet. My balance is there I'm sure, but I wanted to get reallllly used to it before attempting. First gear is super short so it wouldn't be a problem.

But pushing is just less risky and still pretty easy. The bike weighs about 260 pounds. The most difficult part when doing it alone is just getting yourself from the ground into the bed to get it all the way in without a chance to set the bike down or anything. But once you get used to the rhythm it's a piece of cake.

[Raza]

You're a redneck because you're a yooper. No city slicker could survive up there.

I could not, that's for sure.

[280Z Turbo]

Funny part is, I'm pretty non redneck by Yooper standards. I do and enjoy Yooper things and live happily in a place city slickers think is somehow crazy, but I'm not a logger, never shot a tirdy point buck, don't own a gun, I'm not dirty all the time, etc etc.  For cripes sake I drove a brand new A4. Not horribly redneck.

Looks like the nearest Audi dealer is in Petoskey...and it looks like a shitty Audi dealer at that.

[giant_mtb]

Looks like the nearest Audi dealer is in Petoskey...and it looks like a shitty Audi dealer at that.

Yeah, I got mine in Grand Rapids and had all the services done there (my brother lived there at the time so I just made fun weekend trips out of it).  There's a VW dealership down in Iron Mountain I believe that naturally also services Audis.  My mom asked me if I'd want to drive it (her Q5) down there for an oil change and I was like fuuuuuck no and did it myself.

[giant_mtb]

Is an idler pulley something I can easily change myself?  Pretty sure that's where the start up whine and general sounds-like-a-grinding-bearing-when-warm noise is coming from.

[Eye of the Tiger]

yeah

[giant_mtb]

Cool. I need to do that now because it's super annoying.

[280Z Turbo]

Nah you just spray a little WD-40 on the bearing and sometimes it goes away

[giant_mtb]

So, like, belt dressing will fix it?

[SVT_Power]

Funny part is, I'm pretty non redneck by Yooper standards. I do and enjoy Yooper things and live happily in a place city slickers think is somehow crazy, but I'm not a logger, never shot a tirdy point buck, don't own a gun, I'm not dirty all the time, etc etc.  For cripes sake I drove a brand new A4. Not horribly redneck.

You didn't particularly strike me as redneck 

[giant_mtb]

Will I need any special rental tools or anything?  I've never dealt with anything serpentine related before, but there's a parts store within walking distance if I get stuck somewhere.

[giant_mtb]

You didn't particularly strike me as redneck 

It takes a Canadian to provide that a Yooper isn't all that redneck.

[Rupert]

Canadian rednecks are the best.

[giant_mtb]

Canadian rednecks are the best.

I love watching Trailer Park Boys because it's extremely relatable and thusly hilarious. The accents...weed...it's awesome.

[Cookie Monster]

Will I need any special rental tools or anything?  I've never dealt with anything serpentine related before, but there's a parts store within walking distance if I get stuck somewhere.

I don't think so... should just be a matter of removing the tensioner and slipping the belt off. On the Miata you just use a 17 mm socket on the tensioner pulley and crank the socket till the pulley moves out of the way and slip the belt off. I'll be doing it in a couple weeks hopefully.

[CaminoRacer]

Belt dressing on the belt, silicone lube on the bearing/inner spinny bits.

[68_427]

BTW how hard is it to get motorcycle up into truck???

(I'm jealous of both)

If you have ramps not hard, especially a small dirt bike.  Don't have ramps?  Have a friend.

[Soup DeVille]

Will I need any special rental tools or anything?  I've never dealt with anything serpentine related before, but there's a parts store within walking distance if I get stuck somewhere.

Not quite sure how the tensioner works on those, but in general, no: although there are serpentine belt tools and they can be handy- they're also around $20, so generally not worth renting.

[giant_mtb]

If you have ramps not hard, especially a small dirt bike.  Don't have ramps?  Have a friend.

When I bought the thing, the guy basically told me I'd never be able to load/unload it myself. I was like uhhhhhhhh okay lolz.

[giant_mtb]

Starting off with a new belt to see if that solves it. I dunno what the allowable cracks per inch or whatever metric is for a belt, but I'm guessing this was a good idea.

[giant_mtb]

Of the three idler pulleys, one feels great, one has a little wobble but still runs pretty smooth, and one has a decent amount of play and noise. All other pulleys seem good. Fuck, those idler pulleys are like $50-60 apiece.

I'm guessing that the new belt will take care of the squeal and I'll put in a new pulley soon as well now that I realize how easy it is.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yes, that is too many cracks, especially when they are all lined up like that.

Which reminds me... Element belt is about as good looking. I keep forgetting about it.

[Cookie Monster]

I'm going to be putting a belt from a Ford Focus on my car in a few weeks.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I'm going to be putting a belt from a Ford Focus on my car in a few weeks.

Maybe you should just get a Focus, cut off the roof, bolt it back on, and do a RWD conversion?

[giant_mtb]

I'm going to be putting a belt from a Ford Focus on my car in a few weeks.

Are Foci known for their fantastic belts?

[giant_mtb]

Confirmed. Fresh belt nixed the squeal.