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Yea it's more durable for sure, but you could argue there'a also also more to go wrong than in a minitruck. And also that for 99% of situations the Cruiser is bigger and heavier than it really needs to be. Most agree the Cruisers are better for remote expeditions and/or heavy rock crawling as...

Yeah it seems like they're mainly suited to serious rock crawling or remote expeditions. In other applications on and off road, the solid axles and big, heavy structure seem to become a detriment.

Yeah down here they tend to either be suburban creampuffs or totally trashed backwoods beaters. The former command a premium, but I see why after dealing with the infamous frame rot issue in my old Maryland Tacoma. Apparently the frame was coated while still in good condition, being from...

You mean the Land Cruiser?

Yes, I think a sticking caliper might be my main issue, although the worn bushings and TREs can't be helping. He said that truck was regeared for the 33s. For now I've kept the Cruiser as he the guy backed out of the trade since the J80 wasn't enough of a show car for his tastes. I may end up...

Try Land Cruisers Direct. Spain seems like a good source for a LHD diesel LC. Generally not as sketchily maintained as the South American trucks, and not as much rust as further north.

I wonder why he never mentions the 80 series in the video. There's still plenty of them on the market, so it seems like it'd be worth sharing some thoughts on the earlier models, especially since the J80 is often though of as the last "true" Land Cruiser.

Yeah but Toyota positions the 4runner as the Jeep's competition. Nowadays you can spend almost as much on a new TRD Pro as you would on a Land Cruiser.

Yea but the Tacoma frames are paper thin and the quality of the steel is inferior. It would take a lot actually compromise the structure of a J80 or newer LC frame.

I thought that was in the newer ones with AFM

I’d say the drivetrains probably have similar reliability if we’re talking same era. Idk about interiors, electronics etc tho

Yeah but the Cruisers aren’t as much of a pig to drive off road as full size pickups from the same era. I guess Toyota can only make a profit on the luxury models with the chicken tax. Either that or they think all Americans are bougie soccer moms.

How’d they sell so many base models in Australia then? You hardly see any top of the line models down there.

First gen Tacoma frames are fully boxed except for behind the leaf springs in the rear. They’re notorious for rotting from the inside out. The steel in those is also known to be poor quality, so that’s definitely a contributing factor as well. That’s one big advantage of Land Cruisers: the...

That’s a pretty funny loophole they found with the Brat. I don’t remember seeing extra seats on the early Toyota single cab pickups though.. Anyway, I was thinking base model wagons with cloth, no sun roof, manual option etc., not necessarily the 70 series utes. It seems like here in the US we...

Fair enough. I’m not saying the new Tundra is a bad vehicle, Im just not sure I’d call it the North American 300 series, which AFAIK is retaining the “golden ratio” 112” wheelbase, which it’s had since the 80 series.

The specs say 145-165”, and I assume most will opt for the double cab. And I though an extra cab Taco was long at 122”! Oh well, seems like everyone wants a bloated school bus nowadays.

With a 165” wheelbase it’ll probably need 40” tires to clear any sort of serious off road obstacle. There goes the fuel economy.

I never understood why Toyota ever offered the “luxury” petrol automatic version in the US. I genuinely think there would’ve been a big market for the more utilitarian models. Look at Australia, they sold tens of thousands over there, all over the continent! The Big 3 sell heaps of base models...

Well anyway my main dilemma is whether to put several thousand into baselining the 80, or cut my losses now and put that into the cherry Tacoma. I reckon maybe I should take the Cruiser off road at least once though in case it completely blows me away or something.. my old single cab Tacoma...