The Grey Mouser: Reboot
- Thread starter Haggis
- Start date
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
If you do go with the swingout option, get the split gate. The single swing out makes trailers (and opening the topper) a hassle.
So what’s been going on with Tanner, the hipster taco…minor fiddling mostly.
Fiddling to date…
* About right from the start of owning this a 67 Designs Tacorail was mounted up to hold the phone. It works okay and does the job.
*About the same time some interior compartment dividers were added. Glove box and console that is. We had done so in the Mouser prior and it helped control the clutter. I like the front opening center console on the 3rd gen way better the the side opening one on the 2nd gens.
*Right before winter a set of General Grabber ATxs in stock size flavor were mounted up to do away the the poor performance of the Goodyear Kevlar Wranglers the truck came with. Wanted to try a new to me tire and so far they’re working pretty good. Crawled up and down the hill at the farm during hunting season through the mud and snow quite handily and are doing good on the snowy commute to work each morning. Time will tell.
*Today I swapped out the stock chrome grill for a TRD Pro style one. Just couldn’t take the bling, open mouth look of the stock piece anymore. Besides can you own a 3rd gen without running a Pro grille…Youtube and Instagram say no.
Before…
After…
We are waiting on actually getting to use the Mouser’s new camping set-up before ordering or adding new things to that. I did order a new head unit for it though, getting kind of use to Apple Car play and all the widgets the other two rides have and want to upgrade the system.
Fiddling to date…
* About right from the start of owning this a 67 Designs Tacorail was mounted up to hold the phone. It works okay and does the job.
*About the same time some interior compartment dividers were added. Glove box and console that is. We had done so in the Mouser prior and it helped control the clutter. I like the front opening center console on the 3rd gen way better the the side opening one on the 2nd gens.
*Right before winter a set of General Grabber ATxs in stock size flavor were mounted up to do away the the poor performance of the Goodyear Kevlar Wranglers the truck came with. Wanted to try a new to me tire and so far they’re working pretty good. Crawled up and down the hill at the farm during hunting season through the mud and snow quite handily and are doing good on the snowy commute to work each morning. Time will tell.
*Today I swapped out the stock chrome grill for a TRD Pro style one. Just couldn’t take the bling, open mouth look of the stock piece anymore. Besides can you own a 3rd gen without running a Pro grille…Youtube and Instagram say no.
Before…
After…
We are waiting on actually getting to use the Mouser’s new camping set-up before ordering or adding new things to that. I did order a new head unit for it though, getting kind of use to Apple Car play and all the widgets the other two rides have and want to upgrade the system.
OEM Pro grill or something else?
Out and about our local National Forest haunts this weekend and the Mouser was the pack mule and travel accommodations. Hiked some great hikes in the Allegheny (11 miles the first day; 8 the second), poked some fires and soaked up the first real warmth of the year 2022 here abouts.
Because of the other two vehicles in the family fleet, I’ve gotten kinda use to Apple Car Play. And since the Mouser has a very generic factory radio without that feature I decided to swap it out for something else.
In it’s vacated place I stuck in a Sony XXV-AX7000 unit. Not the fanciest but it has everything I wanted. Added a PAC factory steering wheel controls integration unit so everything works like factory. The back up camera not only works when the truck is put in reverse but I can switch to it on at anytime. The sound quality is better despite the limitations of the stock speakers. Not ready to go down that rabbit hole yet as this isn’t my cruise machine lol.
In it’s vacated place I stuck in a Sony XXV-AX7000 unit. Not the fanciest but it has everything I wanted. Added a PAC factory steering wheel controls integration unit so everything works like factory. The back up camera not only works when the truck is put in reverse but I can switch to it on at anytime. The sound quality is better despite the limitations of the stock speakers. Not ready to go down that rabbit hole yet as this isn’t my cruise machine lol.
Spent the first part of the Independence weekend over east in the Moshannon State Forest here in Pennsylvania. We hiked a portion of the 72 mile Quehanna Trail (we did a 12 mile section hike) and than found a great campsite in the State Forest just south of the Quehanna Wilderness area. We hiked, lazed around in hammocks, got to see some snakes with percussion instruments on their tails, got about run over by a herd of baby turkeys, and genuinely had a great time. Heres some pics of the Mouser enjoying his weekend.
Had a quick getaway out into the Allegheny National Forest east of the Kinzua Reservoir this past weekend. It was a perfect summer weekend…low humidity, cooler temps and no bugs.
Drove some two tracks, hiked along the banks of the low water level Reservoir, almost stepped on a big ass rattler hidden in the grass, hiked a portion of the Tracey Ridge trail, found an isolated campsite way back in the woods,cooked up some Taco salad, had a gaggle of coyotes running through camp during the night and generally had a good time.
Drove some two tracks, hiked along the banks of the low water level Reservoir, almost stepped on a big ass rattler hidden in the grass, hiked a portion of the Tracey Ridge trail, found an isolated campsite way back in the woods,cooked up some Taco salad, had a gaggle of coyotes running through camp during the night and generally had a good time.
The 3rd weekend in September found the Mouser rolling south towards West Virginia. In the darkened gloom of early morning his odometer rolled over the 100,000 mile mark.
Taking a windy route through PA, Maryland and than West Virginny 6 hours later I was rolling up through Smoke Hole Canyon towards Jess Judy Group Campground which sits next to the Potomac River.
This weekend would be a Taco Run, a chance to meet up with friends not seen in awhile. Much bsing would be had during a laid back weekend with @Gallowbraid, @Greg, and @Andy. @Scott B. was unable to make it and he was missed. You might recognize some of these Tacomers…
Not many photos were taken as documenting a grand trip wasn’t the purpose here. We did do a small tour and made a run up to Dolly Sods…
And a trip to Spruce Knob, the highest point in WV….
But mostly we just hung out..
Plans changed when a major storm was blowing in Sunday afternoon as we decided to blow out early to avoid it. Leaving around 11:30 I was making my way north through the mountains and got caught in a monsoon. Two trees came down on the roads in front of me and walnuts were being hurled from the trees like shot from a catapult. It was raining so hard I could barely see but I didn’t want to stop under the tree canopy. Than it switched to blue skies like someone threw a switch. The rest of the way home I would pass through multiple heavy storms but nothing like that first one.
Twas a good time with some quality people. When your ready to roll again I’m ready gentleman.
Taking a windy route through PA, Maryland and than West Virginny 6 hours later I was rolling up through Smoke Hole Canyon towards Jess Judy Group Campground which sits next to the Potomac River.
This weekend would be a Taco Run, a chance to meet up with friends not seen in awhile. Much bsing would be had during a laid back weekend with @Gallowbraid, @Greg, and @Andy. @Scott B. was unable to make it and he was missed. You might recognize some of these Tacomers…
Not many photos were taken as documenting a grand trip wasn’t the purpose here. We did do a small tour and made a run up to Dolly Sods…
And a trip to Spruce Knob, the highest point in WV….
But mostly we just hung out..
Plans changed when a major storm was blowing in Sunday afternoon as we decided to blow out early to avoid it. Leaving around 11:30 I was making my way north through the mountains and got caught in a monsoon. Two trees came down on the roads in front of me and walnuts were being hurled from the trees like shot from a catapult. It was raining so hard I could barely see but I didn’t want to stop under the tree canopy. Than it switched to blue skies like someone threw a switch. The rest of the way home I would pass through multiple heavy storms but nothing like that first one.
Twas a good time with some quality people. When your ready to roll again I’m ready gentleman.
This past weekend the fall foliage was at its peak so we decided to go spend some time out in it. The Mouser was all ready to go so we hopped on up in and passed north through the ANF and into the southern tier of New York. Lots of maples and birches up that way so we figured the scenery would be ripe. We ended up doing a loop running counter clockwise and in doing so our leaf peeping trip became a rock tour.
First stop was Rock City near Olean.
Next on the tour was Little Rock City, about 25 mito the west…
Than a bit south into Allegany State Forest to see Thunder Rocks…
…and the Bear Caves formations.
As afternoon set in we headed back south into Pennsylvania and ran along Kinzua admiring the colors of the hillsides.
Twas a good day.
First stop was Rock City near Olean.
Next on the tour was Little Rock City, about 25 mito the west…
Than a bit south into Allegany State Forest to see Thunder Rocks…
…and the Bear Caves formations.
As afternoon set in we headed back south into Pennsylvania and ran along Kinzua admiring the colors of the hillsides.
Twas a good day.
With a big trip out west planned for later in the year there’s a few things I want to do with the Mouser.
*Do a complete rear seat delete keeping the fridge where it’s at and adding storage on the passenger side.
*Rebuild the 20 gal water tank box into something more useful.
*Add some skid plates.
The last I sourced during the holiday sales and ended up ordering the whole suite of RCI skids in aluminum flavor for weight savings. Also got them in black for a stealthier look.
Now it’s a wait until the cement floor in the garage is drier and warmer.
*Do a complete rear seat delete keeping the fridge where it’s at and adding storage on the passenger side.
*Rebuild the 20 gal water tank box into something more useful.
*Add some skid plates.
The last I sourced during the holiday sales and ended up ordering the whole suite of RCI skids in aluminum flavor for weight savings. Also got them in black for a stealthier look.
Now it’s a wait until the cement floor in the garage is drier and warmer.
Scott B.
Adventurist
Out west you say?
Heading Utah way for a 2 weeker. Right now we are researching areas to go concentrating on areas outside the big National Parks. Looking like the South Eastern portion of the State right now. No way we can see it all so we want to do a deep delve and not spend all of our time on the road.
What a beautiful February day today. The sky was blue, the temps in the 50s and I felt like tinkering with trucks.
After getting the Mouser woke up from cyrosleep from within the leanto I mounted up a phone holder the wife bought me this past Christmas. It’s an aluminum unit from Offroam that is mountable to either vent by the radio. Mounts easily, doesn’t interfere with the vent that much and is pretty damn solid. I like it.
Hopefully that groundhog lied and this nice weather will hold so I can work on more truck tinkering.
After getting the Mouser woke up from cyrosleep from within the leanto I mounted up a phone holder the wife bought me this past Christmas. It’s an aluminum unit from Offroam that is mountable to either vent by the radio. Mounts easily, doesn’t interfere with the vent that much and is pretty damn solid. I like it.
Hopefully that groundhog lied and this nice weather will hold so I can work on more truck tinkering.