What a great yota truck
- Thread starter ywen
- Start date
SOAZ
Tim and Kelsey get lost..
I love it. Really makes you realize that all of the offroad bling is worthless for all but 1% of the trails. :smiley_drive
I am guilty of this)It's all about a reliable truck that you make comfortable to suit your needs. :elkgrin:
I love it. Really makes you realize that all of the offroad bling is worthless for all but 1% of the trails. :smiley_drive
It's all about a reliable truck that you make comfortable to suit your needs. :elkgrin:
I agree.. no interest in rock crawling.. just high enough ground clearance for mining roads..
SOAZ
Tim and Kelsey get lost..
For sure. Pack a mountain bike and/or some hiking boots and you can see the rest of the trails out there. :bike_rider:
RMP&O
Expedition Leader
ya never know till you try.....
"not interested in rock crawling" is said often on this forum. That is all good but understand rock crawling is not really any different than doing mild trails in a fairly stock truck. It is all about driver skill, the line and so forth. Simply because it doesn't bolt on your truck doesn't mean it is all that much differnt. A mod is a mod no matter if it is bolt on or custom fabricated.
Without rock crawling offroading would still be the same as it was in the 80s. Rock crawling and buggies has brought the world of off-roading a long long ways.
different strokes for different folks!
SOAZ
Tim and Kelsey get lost..
ya never know till you try.....
"not interested in rock crawling" is said often on this forum. That is all good but understand rock crawling is not really any different than doing mild trails in a fairly stock truck. It is all about driver skill, the line and so forth. Simply because it doesn't bolt on your truck doesn't mean it is all that much differnt. A mod is a mod no matter if it is bolt on or custom fabricated.
Without rock crawling offroading would still be the same as it was in the 80s. Rock crawling and buggies has brought the world of off-roading a long long ways.
different strokes for different folks!
Didn't say I haven't rock crawled in the past or wasn't interested in it still. Just cool to see someone who didn't worry about all the accessories and just explored for many years. I see too many people that wait and wait until their truck is "built" to go and see the world. No need to wait.
In my opinion, most of the rock crawling technology comes from desert racing. Our desert racing technology comes from in part innovation and in part stolen ideas and dampener technology from rally racing. But that's just me.
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
I had a similar truck story, though mine is less than 1/3 as long.
In July 1999, I was still in school and needed basic transportation. My only requirement was AC (I'd never owned a vehicle with AC before, even when I lived in North Carolina for 6 years, and I figured at the age of 37, I'd earned it.)
I ended up buying a brand new Ford Ranger pickup. Extended cab, 3.0l V6, 5 speed transmission, 2WD.
One of the great things about a 2wd truck is that they're stone-axe simple. They're reliable because there's just not a lot of things on them that can break. No power windows, door locks, no auto tranny, no transfer case. Just engine-transmission-rear axle.
I drove that truck all over Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, even down into Arizona and New Mexico, in addition to Colorado. 93,000 miles in less than 4 years and not a lick of trouble the whole time.
It was actually one of the best "road trip" vehicles I've ever owned.
Even though I like my 4runner, there's a lot of times when I miss having a simple, basic truck. I've even thought about getting a 2wd pickup next year when my office moves out to the 'burbs and I have to start commuting to work. Save gas and also save wear-and-tear on the 4runner.
I'd also love to take a solo cross-country trip in a little truck like that. Put a decent stereo in it, put a simple sleeping platform in the back. "Stealth camp" in city parks or Wal Mart parking lots and you'd never need a motel except for the occasional shower. Get one with a 4 cyl/5 speed combo and it will get you nearly 30mpg if you drive it gently.
You could cover a lot of ground in one of those!
In July 1999, I was still in school and needed basic transportation. My only requirement was AC (I'd never owned a vehicle with AC before, even when I lived in North Carolina for 6 years, and I figured at the age of 37, I'd earned it.)
I ended up buying a brand new Ford Ranger pickup. Extended cab, 3.0l V6, 5 speed transmission, 2WD.
One of the great things about a 2wd truck is that they're stone-axe simple. They're reliable because there's just not a lot of things on them that can break. No power windows, door locks, no auto tranny, no transfer case. Just engine-transmission-rear axle.
I drove that truck all over Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, even down into Arizona and New Mexico, in addition to Colorado. 93,000 miles in less than 4 years and not a lick of trouble the whole time.
It was actually one of the best "road trip" vehicles I've ever owned.
Even though I like my 4runner, there's a lot of times when I miss having a simple, basic truck. I've even thought about getting a 2wd pickup next year when my office moves out to the 'burbs and I have to start commuting to work. Save gas and also save wear-and-tear on the 4runner.
I'd also love to take a solo cross-country trip in a little truck like that. Put a decent stereo in it, put a simple sleeping platform in the back. "Stealth camp" in city parks or Wal Mart parking lots and you'd never need a motel except for the occasional shower. Get one with a 4 cyl/5 speed combo and it will get you nearly 30mpg if you drive it gently.
You could cover a lot of ground in one of those!
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different strokes for different folks!
YEP! you can say that again!
TRUIZ
Observer
I am no expert when it comes to expo, but from what I have seen on this forum mainly, is a lot of people dropping tons of cash on their rigs which are super cool but most just go on "camping trips" not expeditions. I totally agree that you don't need the most bad *** rig to go see some cool stuff.
It's easier with a long-bed truck. The shortbox on my truck means sleeping in the back isn't possible without some sort of tent setup and the tailgate down.
Although, to be honest, most of my expenditures have been "Well, that broke, guess I need something stronger." or "Okay, I got stuck for 3 hours because of this, needs an upgrade."
7wt
Expedition Leader
That story parallels the last two trucks I have owned. My 1997 Chevy S10 had 230K on the clock when I sold it for $1200. It looked as good as it did when it drove off the showroom floor. That truck has carried me all over Texas and Florida. Too many camping trips to count, to many nights spent in it's open bed. The regular cab was tight but cozy and the little 4 cylinder had modest power but enough to get me where I pointed it. I loved that truck and sometimes I wish I could have it back but I sold it to an immigrant painter that needed a reliable work truck so I know it lives on.
My current steed is a 2003 Tacoma and the weird thing is I have owned it longer and have seen more places than the S10 could ever dream but it has less miles. I try to figure it out from time to time but can't. It has taken me countless time to Florida, all over Texas, Colorado, California and up to New England where it currently lives. I have done more maintenance on it than I did with the S10 but I am also a lot harder on it and since it's four wheel drive, it needs more. It also doesn't look as good now as the S10 did when I sold it mostly because the desert pin stripping and the trees that have kissed it in New England (I backed into a tree in VT that still has it's mark left in my bed). I love this truck more than I could have ever loved the S10 though and one day I will have the dent repaired and repaint the whole thing. Yes, I will do that out of respect for my truck and where it has taken me. I have managed to fight off the blingy mods, keeping the changes to what I really need. A better suspension that is a reasonable hight, better tires, and enough recovery gear to choke a horse. Apart from that it is stock and while sometimes I want black bumpers and dingleberries hanging from it, most times I think how cool it will be in ten years to have one of the few clean looking first gen Tacomas on the road, chrome and all. I still get compliments on it almost daily and I could be mistaken but my truck seems to run better after them. For the last seven years it has been on the most grueling expedition of all, life.
My current steed is a 2003 Tacoma and the weird thing is I have owned it longer and have seen more places than the S10 could ever dream but it has less miles. I try to figure it out from time to time but can't. It has taken me countless time to Florida, all over Texas, Colorado, California and up to New England where it currently lives. I have done more maintenance on it than I did with the S10 but I am also a lot harder on it and since it's four wheel drive, it needs more. It also doesn't look as good now as the S10 did when I sold it mostly because the desert pin stripping and the trees that have kissed it in New England (I backed into a tree in VT that still has it's mark left in my bed). I love this truck more than I could have ever loved the S10 though and one day I will have the dent repaired and repaint the whole thing. Yes, I will do that out of respect for my truck and where it has taken me. I have managed to fight off the blingy mods, keeping the changes to what I really need. A better suspension that is a reasonable hight, better tires, and enough recovery gear to choke a horse. Apart from that it is stock and while sometimes I want black bumpers and dingleberries hanging from it, most times I think how cool it will be in ten years to have one of the few clean looking first gen Tacomas on the road, chrome and all. I still get compliments on it almost daily and I could be mistaken but my truck seems to run better after them. For the last seven years it has been on the most grueling expedition of all, life.
rynosurf
Adventurer
Makes me miss my 1989 22re. It was a 2wd with a body lift 31" tires and a shell. It got me all over Baja, cross country twice, through tons of snow and it never let me down. I sold it for a Wrangler (worst mistake ever). The Wrangler is long gone because it was not reliable, I still see my old truck driving around!
Flagster
Expedition Leader
Great to see these stories...very inspiring...especially when most of our lives now are spent facebooking/twittering/posting pics of our "rigs" (no offense to anyone...I have)...too much of a "look what I... have/can do/did/bought/etc... mentality
On a more positive note...
I love the pic of the "retro" fast food/soda cans...brings back good memories of doritos...mmm...
On a more positive note...
I love the pic of the "retro" fast food/soda cans...brings back good memories of doritos...mmm...
RMP&O
Expedition Leader
Hey I enjoy all types of off-roading. I have a big gnarley expensive rock crawler. It is fun but doesn't get used enough since to go rock crawling is a drive for me. When the truck sits for months I often think, damn I got a lot of cahs tied up in this truck and it sits a lot. Then I take it out and forget all that, huge smiles on my face and I remember how much fun it is to drive my rock crawler.
My Taco is very mild. I don't wheel it much because I don't want to beat it up. But it is fun to take it off-road too.
And I do also enjoy seeing somebody who just gets in a stock truck and uses it! In fact that is what a lot of my website is about. Putting old trucks back on the road to use them....
I just hear it often on Expo, rock crawling is not for me, I don't like it, it sure beats the crap out of your truck. That is all good but again, it is not a lot different than taking a stocker through some hard lines.
My Taco is very mild. I don't wheel it much because I don't want to beat it up. But it is fun to take it off-road too.
And I do also enjoy seeing somebody who just gets in a stock truck and uses it! In fact that is what a lot of my website is about. Putting old trucks back on the road to use them....
I just hear it often on Expo, rock crawling is not for me, I don't like it, it sure beats the crap out of your truck. That is all good but again, it is not a lot different than taking a stocker through some hard lines.