Unobtainum

[nickw]

I know of various mines who have trialed other vehicles including several Fords (which are readily available in Oz). They all go back to Toyotas.
Some of those cattle station Toyotas are over 20 years old and still working. There was a late model Nissan Patrol "town car", but that was not considered to be a "working" vehicle.
It is always good to check out the "dump" in these places. Often called "The blue supermarket" and very well organised so if you need a spare part, you know exactly where to look. It also gives a good back ground on what works and what doesn't.
These are pics of "The blue supermarket" of that cattle station.
View attachment 870641View attachment 870642View attachment 870643View attachment 870644

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Lots of reasons - none of the LC's are street legal in the states so they couldn't drive outside on any surface streets. Regardless - go look at big ranches, zero LC's, they use what they can get worked on and what is easy to get parts for which is not a LC that was never sold here in the states. I'm a big advocate of Toyota LC's in general, I had a FJ40 for years, but they are a PITA to find parts for, OEM parts are all but dried up. But here in the US if you need to carry / tow big loads, the LC70's just are not cut out for that kind of work. Some of those cruisers harken back to the 70/80's where we had HD 1-T 4x4 with straight 6 gas and diesel engines with 4-5 speed manuals transmissions, 100% analog and mechanical, I'd argue every bit as reliable and had much more capacity than the LC70s...limited by their size without question:

 

[MikeIndiaKiloEcho]

Lots of guys like the Rams in Aus too - they have a clear payload advantage and can handle much larger tires due to their clearance and bigger/stronger axles over a 70:


People go all over the world with Unimogs, I think a Ram 3500, single cab is somewhere between a Mog and a LC70.

What LC70's have going for them is reliability and parts supply in much of the EU, Australia, Africa and S America.

I don't think Domestic trucks are built better, but as you point out define what you need "Capability" wise and check that compared to vehicles available, if you need 37" tires and a 2000 kg payload capacity, you can cross a 70 series off your list and there is not reason to step up to a Mog that is 2-3x the price of a Ram.

ok, so new 70 series trucks are radius arm and coil front, leaf rears which is exactly the same layout as a 2500 or 3500 from Ford or Dodge.
Speaking of suspension. No, my dear friend, a stock 2500 or 3500 can not take 37" tires. Even the vehicle you show in that video is lifted, has a body kit and wheel flares. I can only imagine it has a big brake kit as well. So after adding 10-15k to a 65k (or more) truck... sure you have a "Capable" vehicle. Which means... straight comparison... yeah, you can do that to a 70 series as well.
Now as a whole other point here. No one except the guys pushing domestics are saying a 2000kg payload is "capable". Who the hell is putting 4400lbs in the back of their truck, EVERY DAY? while TOURING and CAMPING? Do you have a solid gold porta potty? (Maybe you do if you have a AEM Prospector Ram 3500, hell, I dunno.) Maybe if your adding a camper body, but if you are overlanding a camper body and doing heavier offroad driving, the heaviest rigs are 4500 and 5500 based and they have even BIGGER suspension upgrades including air suspension (not airbags), uppgraded steering packages, Specifc super single wheels, extremely heavy duty tires, and more coming out to totals nearing stock Unimog costs. Which brings us to....
Unimogs are not even related to either of these, completely different class, completely different purposes, speed rating, etc. A unimog is more related to Hino or Isuzu Straight truck Class 5 or something like that. Though, obviously off road based.

AAAAAANNNNND again, this apples and oranges. Something no one has countered. This is all in a LandCruiser sub forum, dedicated to LandCruisers, in a thread about a LandCruiser. Whether you have point based on Fact, say the payload rating, in the context of the conversation, you're still wrong. Because the conversation isnt about that, its about how a guy wishes we had the option to get a 70 series.
A ford 450 could float on a cloud, dispense choclate covered strawberries and Belgian beer, while rolling on 44" tires and crush the rubicon. If it aint your dream truck, it aint as good as your dream truck.

So considering the context, a domestic is just a turd in this punchbowl.
If I jumped on an old PowerWagon forum where some guy showed a picture of an Legacy Power Wagons crewcab with a 12valve cummins in it, and I went off on how small and nimble and efficient a First Gen 4wd US market Toyota pickup is, that would be a turd in their punchbowl. Because its the wrong points about the wrong vehicle, in the wrong thread on the wrong subforum.

Different strokes for different folks and what not.

 

[MikeIndiaKiloEcho]

Lots of reasons - none of the LC's are street legal in the states so they couldn't drive outside on any surface streets. Regardless - go look at big ranches, zero LC's, they use what they can get worked on and what is easy to get parts for which is not a LC that was never sold here in the states. I'm a big advocate of Toyota LC's in general, I had a FJ40 for years, but they are a PITA to find parts for, OEM parts are all but dried up. But here in the US if you need to carry / tow big loads, the LC70's just are not cut out for that kind of work. Some of those cruisers harken back to the 70/80's where we had HD 1-T 4x4 with straight 6 gas and diesel engines with 4-5 speed manuals transmissions, 100% analog and mechanical, I'd argue every bit as reliable and had much more capacity than the LC70s...limited by their size without question:

View attachment 870706

OOOOOOOOOOOOkay
So first off, Any vehicle from before Febuary 2000 is legal on US surface streets. Just has to pass inspection. Some areas you need to pass emissions too.

Parts? If you want explicitly stock parts, sure they are going to be hard to find in the states. Depending on how you are looking,
The 2F and 3F engines, as well as the 2h and 12h, were used in forklifts all over the country, as well as all of the world. Not to mention all of the FJ40s Fj60s and some of the Fj80s that are here in the states. This being said. Parts availability is based on whats sold. More domestics are sold because of the Chicken Tax and there are Four domestic manufacturers to Toyotas one. Even with that being the case, with all of the engine changes, all of the engine options. all of the computers, everything... The local O'reilys isnt garaunteed to have the Axle seal, or oil pan gasket for your 2005 Chevy Colorado (if it still survives) or a GMC Sierra 3500 from 2011 because they dont share all of the same parts with the Chevy 3500 Silverado from the same year. LET US NOT TALK ABOUT DODGE TRUCKS AND RUST. I highly doubt anything on a Mopar Truck from anything before 2015 can be removed let alone serviced. THe only thing worthwhile on a 25-3500 Mopar truck is the Engine and drive train Because it was made by Cummins, Dana, and New Venture gear.
Then there is the whole Australia and rest of the world thing when it comes to parts. Since this is an Expedition and overlanding forum, if my 3f blows a gasket in Guatemala, Im sure I can find that Locally. Will you find it for your 21 Hemi?

Now, "Some of those cruisers harken back to the 70/80's where we had HD 1-T 4x4 with straight 6 gas and diesel engines with 4-5 speed manuals transmissions, 100% analog and mechanical, I'd argue every bit as reliable and had much more capacity than the LC70s...limited by their size without question"
I dont even know what point you are trying to make. Does that make them Bad? Or Good? Are you talking about LandCruisers? or Amercian Pickup trucks?
Because most of our arguments are: They are 1ton, straight axle, 4wd, Which you are arguing is a good thing.... Right?

And again, you still havent confronted the whole turd in the punchbowl thing.

 

[nickw]

ok, so new 70 series trucks are radius arm and coil front, leaf rears which is exactly the same layout as a 2500 or 3500 from Ford or Dodge.
Speaking of suspension. No, my dear friend, a stock 2500 or 3500 can not take 37" tires. Even the vehicle you show in that video is lifted, has a body kit and wheel flares. I can only imagine it has a big brake kit as well. So after adding 10-15k to a 65k (or more) truck... sure you have a "Capable" vehicle. Which means... straight comparison... yeah, you can do that to a 70 series as well.
Now as a whole other point here. No one except the guys pushing domestics are saying a 2000kg payload is "capable". Who the hell is putting 4400lbs in the back of their truck, EVERY DAY? while TOURING and CAMPING? Do you have a solid gold porta potty? (Maybe you do if you have a AEM Prospector Ram 3500, hell, I dunno.) Maybe if your adding a camper body, but if you are overlanding a camper body and doing heavier offroad driving, the heaviest rigs are 4500 and 5500 based and they have even BIGGER suspension upgrades including air suspension (not airbags), uppgraded steering packages, Specifc super single wheels, extremely heavy duty tires, and more coming out to totals nearing stock Unimog costs. Which brings us to....
Unimogs are not even related to either of these, completely different class, completely different purposes, speed rating, etc. A unimog is more related to Hino or Isuzu Straight truck Class 5 or something like that. Though, obviously off road based.

AAAAAANNNNND again, this apples and oranges. Something no one has countered. This is all in a LandCruiser sub forum, dedicated to LandCruisers, in a thread about a LandCruiser. Whether you have point based on Fact, say the payload rating, in the context of the conversation, you're still wrong. Because the conversation isnt about that, its about how a guy wishes we had the option to get a 70 series.
A ford 450 could float on a cloud, dispense choclate covered strawberries and Belgian beer, while rolling on 44" tires and crush the rubicon. If it aint your dream truck, it aint as good as your dream truck.

So considering the context, a domestic is just a turd in this punchbowl.
If I jumped on an old PowerWagon forum where some guy showed a picture of an Legacy Power Wagons crewcab with a 12valve cummins in it, and I went off on how small and nimble and efficient a First Gen 4wd US market Toyota pickup is, that would be a turd in their punchbowl. Because its the wrong points about the wrong vehicle, in the wrong thread on the wrong subforum.

Different strokes for different folks and what not.

JC you write a lot and are going in a bunch of different directions....but it's easy to upgrade a Ram / Ford for big tires and not expensive, you can almost fit them stock. The point was to modify a 2500/3500 rig to fit big tires + haul a big load it's a piece of cake the platform can handle it...maybe sim to going from 32's to 35's on a LC70.

What you can't do is practically increase GVWR, there are some workarounds, but in the US it's not practical, so you are stuck with what you have.

Go re-read my original post - I'm a bigger LC Fanboy than you trust me....OP said "why can't we have this"....I said, "how is it different than a HD domestic with a similar setup"? You are reading into this whole discussion more than you should.

 

[nickw]

OOOOOOOOOOOOkay
So first off, Any vehicle from before Febuary 2000 is legal on US surface streets. Just has to pass inspection. Some areas you need to pass emissions too.

Parts? If you want explicitly stock parts, sure they are going to be hard to find in the states. Depending on how you are looking,
The 2F and 3F engines, as well as the 2h and 12h, were used in forklifts all over the country, as well as all of the world. Not to mention all of the FJ40s Fj60s and some of the Fj80s that are here in the states. This being said. Parts availability is based on whats sold. More domestics are sold because of the Chicken Tax and there are Four domestic manufacturers to Toyotas one. Even with that being the case, with all of the engine changes, all of the engine options. all of the computers, everything... The local O'reilys isnt garaunteed to have the Axle seal, or oil pan gasket for your 2005 Chevy Colorado (if it still survives) or a GMC Sierra 3500 from 2011 because they dont share all of the same parts with the Chevy 3500 Silverado from the same year. LET US NOT TALK ABOUT DODGE TRUCKS AND RUST. I highly doubt anything on a Mopar Truck from anything before 2015 can be removed let alone serviced. THe only thing worthwhile on a 25-3500 Mopar truck is the Engine and drive train Because it was made by Cummins, Dana, and New Venture gear.
Then there is the whole Australia and rest of the world thing when it comes to parts. Since this is an Expedition and overlanding forum, if my 3f blows a gasket in Guatemala, Im sure I can find that Locally. Will you find it for your 21 Hemi?

Now, "Some of those cruisers harken back to the 70/80's where we had HD 1-T 4x4 with straight 6 gas and diesel engines with 4-5 speed manuals transmissions, 100% analog and mechanical, I'd argue every bit as reliable and had much more capacity than the LC70s...limited by their size without question"
I dont even know what point you are trying to make. Does that make them Bad? Or Good? Are you talking about LandCruisers? or Amercian Pickup trucks?
Because most of our arguments are: They are 1ton, straight axle, 4wd, Which you are arguing is a good thing.... Right?

And again, you still havent confronted the whole turd in the punchbowl thing.

LOL - ok, so the mines should go buy old beat up cruisers from the 2000's? We are talking new rigs - it's been beaten to death on here and IH8Mud, you can't get new cruisers street legal outside of a few workarounds if newer than 25 yrs.

Again - I was talking domestically, FJ40/FJ60/FJ80 parts in the USA have mostly dried up at this point....many threads on many forums.

I wasn't responding to you when I made that post - go re-read the post, it's pretty self explanatory.

 

[2025 deleted member]

Lots of reasons - none of the LC's are street legal in the states so they couldn't drive outside on any surface streets. Regardless - go look at big ranches, zero LC's, they use what they can get worked on and what is easy to get parts for which is not a LC that was never sold here in the states. I'm a big advocate of Toyota LC's in general, I had a FJ40 for years, but they are a PITA to find parts for, OEM parts are all but dried up. But here in the US if you need to carry / tow big loads, the LC70's just are not cut out for that kind of work. Some of those cruisers harken back to the 70/80's where we had HD 1-T 4x4 with straight 6 gas and diesel engines with 4-5 speed manuals transmissions, 100% analog and mechanical, I'd argue every bit as reliable and had much more capacity than the LC70s...limited by their size without question:

View attachment 870706

Talk about unobtanium. Trucks like that are going for a fortune on BaT.

 

[nickw]

Talk about unobtanium. Trucks like that are going for a fortune on BaT.

I know it's absolutely wild the prices, the first gen Dodges seem to be driving a lot of that. With that said did you see the FZJ75 on the top of the page for sale? It's local to me, 353,000 km, almost $100k!

1999 Toyota Land Cruiser Troopy FZJ75 :: Featured Classified - Expedition Portal

Cue today’s 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser Troopy FZJ75, which has recently been restored and showcases a plethora of top tier upgrades.

expeditionportal.com

I don't get any of it - but locally, 90% of the high end cruisers (seems to be a lot of 70's around here) are driven by younger dudes, sub 40.

 

[tacollie]

I know it's absolutely wild the prices, the first gen Dodges seem to be driving a lot of that. With that said did you see the FZJ75 on the top of the page for sale? It's local to me, 353,000 km, almost $100k!

1999 Toyota Land Cruiser Troopy FZJ75 :: Featured Classified - Expedition Portal

Cue today’s 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser Troopy FZJ75, which has recently been restored and showcases a plethora of top tier upgrades.

expeditionportal.com

I don't get any of it - but locally, 90% of the high end cruisers (seems to be a lot of 70's around here) are driven by younger dudes, sub 40.

I'm a Toyota fanboy. I've owned 14 Toyotas. 3 of them LCs. I currently have 2 Toyotas and a Lexus in the driveway. $100k I'm going to buy an Ineos Quartermaster over a 25 year old 70 series. It'll be better on and off-road than a 70. For $100k I'll take the risk on a new vehicle with a warranty over a 25 year old LC.

 

[MikeIndiaKiloEcho]

JC you write a lot and are going in a bunch of different directions....but it's easy to upgrade a Ram / Ford for big tires and not expensive, you can almost fit them stock. The point was to modify a 2500/3500 rig to fit big tires + haul a big load it's a piece of cake the platform can handle it...maybe sim to going from 32's to 35's on a LC70.

What you can't do is practically increase GVWR, there are some workarounds, but in the US it's not practical, so you are stuck with what you have.

Go re-read my original post - I'm a bigger LC Fanboy than you trust me....OP said "why can't we have this"....I said, "how is it different than a HD domestic with a similar setup"? You are reading into this whole discussion more than you should.

I go in many directions because I'm addressing many posts at the same time.

Again, considering the context of the conversation, the context of the thread, and the forum, If your comment was; "Have you considered a 300z?" it would has the same weight and value.

Im not nitpicking on Fanboy status. Thats all well and good.

What I have been trying to make apparent is this. Because this is a specific thread about LandCruiser love. Every extremely valid point you make has a very simple and equally valid flipside argument for the Cruiser. i.e. Payload vs Size and access. This isnt because one on the same level its because your arguing favorites. Its debate.
You are correct on certain things. But that doesnt mean any other preference for any other reason is wrong. This isnt a debate thread. Its a fanboy thread, so any point in opposition is basically pissing in the wind.

 

[MikeIndiaKiloEcho]

LOL - ok, so the mines should go buy old beat up cruisers from the 2000's? We are talking new rigs - it's been beaten to death on here and IH8Mud, you can't get new cruisers street legal outside of a few workarounds if newer than 25 yrs.

Again - I was talking domestically, FJ40/FJ60/FJ80 parts in the USA have mostly dried up at this point....many threads on many forums.

I wasn't responding to you when I made that post - go re-read the post, it's pretty self explanatory.

Again my friend, you are missing the forest for the trees.

Im not arguing that US mines should buy old cruisers. You were saying just because of payload every heavy duty venue only buys Domestic 1 tons.
My point was that simply is not true. Because of that, very durable vehicles are available in very many formats. People choose them for very different reasons.

All of those reasons are debatable because of the context of the situation they would choose to use them in.

There is no one stop solution to everything. A domestic 1ton has pros and cons just like everything else. A 1ton rated 70 series would have pros and cons as well.

Neither cancel each other out.

 

[MikeIndiaKiloEcho]

JC you write a lot and are going in a bunch of different directions....but it's easy to upgrade a Ram / Ford for big tires and not expensive, you can almost fit them stock. The point was to modify a 2500/3500 rig to fit big tires + haul a big load it's a piece of cake the platform can handle it...maybe sim to going from 32's to 35's on a LC70.

What you can't do is practically increase GVWR, there are some workarounds, but in the US it's not practical, so you are stuck with what you have.

Go re-read my original post - I'm a bigger LC Fanboy than you trust me....OP said "why can't we have this"....I said, "how is it different than a HD domestic with a similar setup"? You are reading into this whole discussion more than you should.

Im going to continue with these comment only to further show that the nature of the flipside of every argument.
No you cant lift a new domestic 1ton to 37s cheap and easy. They have radius arm fronts . They come stock rolling on 31" tires. To lift the required ammount to fit the axles you'd loose wheelbase and caster angle. You'd need radius arm adjustment if not new longer arms, Caster adjustment most likely beyond modified spacers. https://www.carlisuspension.com/pro...-f350-4x4-gas-3-0″-systems/leveling-system-3/
This is the entry for Carli, and its 2,000 for the parts. The reccomended upgrades over this which are things like steering upgrades, longer radius arms, stronger shackles, etc, would take this over 5,000 easily.
Their reccomended package, which is in no way necessary, because its all of their bling, is over 10,000 dollars.

THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE WHEELS AND TIRES.

I'll be more than fair and not even think about labor rates. So alllllll of this means. Same ammount of money can be spent on a Cruiser to do a similar thing.

Now granted, any dipshit with a sawzall and the ability to install a block kit could lift a leaf spring 1ton, or just cut big enough holes for the tires.
But then you are just ignoring all of the complaints you have about leaf spring 70 series trucks.
So those conceptual arguments are effectively cancel each other out. Both trucks of that era are effectively the same.

Again its all just pissing in the wind. One argument just equals the other.

Think of it this way. This guy said I LIKE OPTION A.
You and a few other people said BUT OPTION B IS EQUAL OR BETTER THAN A.
Fine.
He still likes Option A. As do I. So..... it is what it is.

 

[tacollie]

Im going to continue with these comment only to further show that the nature of the flipside of every argument.
No you cant lift a new domestic 1ton to 37s cheap and easy. They have radius arm fronts . They come stock rolling on 31" tires. To lift the required ammount to fit the axles you'd loose wheelbase and caster angle. You'd need radius arm adjustment if not new longer arms, Caster adjustment most likely beyond modified spacers. https://www.carlisuspension.com/product/ford/f250-f350/3-0-suspension-systems/2023-ford-f250-f350-4x4-gas-3-0″-systems/leveling-system-3/
This is the entry for Carli, and its 2,000 for the parts. The reccomended upgrades over this which are things like steering upgrades, longer radius arms, stronger shackles, etc, would take this over 5,000 easily.
Their reccomended package, which is in no way necessary, because its all of their bling, is over 10,000 dollars.

THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE WHEELS AND TIRES.

I'll be more than fair and not even think about labor rates. So alllllll of this means. Same ammount of money can be spent on a Cruiser to do a similar thing.

Now granted, any dipshit with a sawzall and the ability to install a block kit could lift a leaf spring 1ton, or just cut big enough holes for the tires.
But then you are just ignoring all of the complaints you have about leaf spring 70 series trucks.
So those conceptual arguments are effectively cancel each other out. Both trucks of that era are effectively the same.

Again its all just pissing in the wind. One argument just equals the other.

Think of it this way. This guy said I LIKE OPTION A.
You and a few other people said BUT OPTION B IS EQUAL OR BETTER THAN A.
Fine.
He still likes Option A. As do I. So..... it is what it is.

This is just wrong. My F250 came with tires that were 33.5" from the factory. A 37x12.5r18 will fit without modifying the truck. You are limited on tire choices because the rims are 8" wide but there are options. Deflated a 37 will fit under the truck in the spare location.

To the original post I like '70 series. They are enthusiast vehicles in the US. Like my F-250 they ride like a covered wagon and they aren't great off-road. Like my F-250 they're designed to carry loads. I considered importing one before I bought my F-250. We want to be able to comfortably to do 80 on the highway with AC blowing cold with a 3000lbs load so the f-250 won. It's big and heavy off-road but as long as it fits it does surprisingly well. Since we're never going to go farther than Mexico or Canada the F-250 actually makes more sense.

I get the allure of a 70 series but in the end of the day it's just a tool.

Als, the grass is always greener. My brother lives in New Zealand and when I visit him he took me by one of his buddy shop that's a Toyota diesel mechanic. He couldn't wrap his head around why I think a '70 series is cool when I have the option of buying a truck with a thousand foot pounds of torque 🤣

 

[nickw]

Again my friend, you are missing the forest for the trees.

Im not arguing that US mines should buy old cruisers. You were saying just because of payload every heavy duty venue only buys Domestic 1 tons.
My point was that simply is not true. Because of that, very durable vehicles are available in very many formats. People choose them for very different reasons.

All of those reasons are debatable because of the context of the situation they would choose to use them in.

There is no one stop solution to everything. A domestic 1ton has pros and cons just like everything else. A 1ton rated 70 series would have pros and cons as well.

Neither cancel each other out.

I'm not going to address all the random stuff you are saying - the original post, page one, post #1 "Longing for what we can’t have. At least here in the USA...."

I followed that up by saying how is a domestic rig lacking "having that"? Nothing you've said in your multiple diatribes has changed my mind.

As @tacollie points out, these are tools, you input the data you need (capacity, range, size limitations, etc) out pops the truck you need. Cross reference that with parts availability, durability, relaibility, etc. and pick what works. My opinion is a domestic rig meets the needs MUCH better than a LC70 and ticks that box for the OP?

 

[nickw]

This is just wrong. My F250 came with tires that were 33.5" from the factory. A 37x12.5r18 will fit without modifying the truck. You are limited on tire choices because the rims are 8" wide but there are options. Deflated a 37 will fit under the truck in the spare location.

To the original post I like '70 series. They are enthusiast vehicles in the US. Like my F-250 they ride like a covered wagon and they aren't great off-road. Like my F-250 they're designed to carry loads. I considered importing one before I bought my F-250. We want to be able to comfortably to do 80 on the highway with AC blowing cold with a 3000lbs load so the f-250 won. It's big and heavy off-road but as long as it fits it does surprisingly well. Since we're never going to go farther than Mexico or Canada the F-250 actually makes more sense.

I get the allure of a 70 series but in the end of the day it's just a tool.

Als, the grass is always greener. My brother lives in New Zealand and when I visit him he took me by one of his buddy shop that's a Toyota diesel mechanic. He couldn't wrap his head around why I think a '70 series is cool when I have the option of buying a truck with a thousand foot pounds of torque 🤣

I spent some time in Aus - they loved Raptors when I was there, if you had money, it seemed like that was what you bought and not a LC70....

 

[MikeIndiaKiloEcho]

This is just wrong. My F250 came with tires that were 33.5" from the factory. A 37x12.5r18 will fit without modifying the truck. You are limited on tire choices because the rims are 8" wide but there are options. Deflated a 37 will fit under the truck in the spare location.

To the original post I like '70 series. They are enthusiast vehicles in the US. Like my F-250 they ride like a covered wagon and they aren't great off-road. Like my F-250 they're designed to carry loads. I considered importing one before I bought my F-250. We want to be able to comfortably to do 80 on the highway with AC blowing cold with a 3000lbs load so the f-250 won. It's big and heavy off-road but as long as it fits it does surprisingly well. Since we're never going to go farther than Mexico or Canada the F-250 actually makes more sense.

I get the allure of a 70 series but in the end of the day it's just a tool.

Als, the grass is always greener. My brother lives in New Zealand and when I visit him he took me by one of his buddy shop that's a Toyota diesel mechanic. He couldn't wrap his head around why I think a '70 series is cool when I have the option of buying a truck with a thousand foot pounds of torque 🤣

For the diesel mechanic. 1000ftlb is cool, ya might want to fit it somewhere though. ********, Id love a Unimog. Cant park it anywhere though. Where I am many off road parks have limited access to nothing wider than SxS's or in some cases Jeeps. An F350 or an F450 aint gonna fit. 1000 of torque be dammned.

For the suspension, Im going to defer to the engineers at Carli over you. Ya can't just stick taller springs and shocks in there and call it a day.

And sure, your points of wanting to roll on US Highways with a load while blowing cold AC is completely valid!
Not in the context of a conversation that is about lusting after a completely different vehicle for completely different reasons.