Back in the (Toyota) Cult

[Chiro1989]

Couple of the large animal veterinarians I know run those on their F350’s , they have good luck with them.

[GrapeApe]

Ohh, the joy of youth.

They do look good. Hopefully they'll perform as good as they look

[Wambli Ska]

Outstanding upgrade! And they do look better too

[Diver43]

Good tires, good call

[jbp-ohio]

Why is everyone going to six lug all of a sudden??

[LMLarsen]

Very nice!

[GrapeApe]

The more pressing question is why the 17"+ wheels?? I remember when 13-14" on cars and 15-16" on trucks were the common sizes

[shotgunshooter3]

Why is everyone going to six lug all of a sudden??

I can't speak for other makers, but Toyota has been using a 6-lug wheel pattern on their midsize body-on-frame trucks/SUVs for decades.

The more pressing question is why the 17"+ wheels?? I remember when 13-14" on cars and 15-16" on trucks were the common sizes

In the case of the Taco (and 4Runner), it's to fit larger brake calipers than in previous gens. The 4-Runner, for example, hasn't been able to use 16" rims since 2009 MY.

[Diver43]

Why is everyone going to six lug all of a sudden??

Ford made the change back in the 1960s

[Wambli Ska]

The more pressing question is why the 17"+ wheels?? I remember when 13-14" on cars and 15-16" on trucks were the common sizes

Drums vs. Disks

[GrapeApe]

Drums vs. Disks

The "ability to put larger disks" I can see, but, "because they replaced the rear drums with disks"? Nope, not buying it.

Front brakes provide the majority of breaking. My '07 came with 16" wheels, so why would they need larger brake disks in the rear vs the fronts, that do fit in 16" wheels?

[Diver43]

Drums vs. Disks

The "ability to put larger disks" I can see, but, "because they replaced the rear drums with disks"? Nope, not buying it.

Front brakes provide the majority of breaking. My '07 came with 16" wheels, so why would they need larger brake disks in the rear vs the fronts, that do fit in 16" wheels?

Because 17s and larger are what the Kool kids have

Larger tires absorb more jolts and vibration. 17 inch was the compromise between 15/16 and 18/20 inch wheels

[Wambli Ska]

Drums vs. Disks

The "ability to put larger disks" I can see, but, "because they replaced the rear drums with disks"? Nope, not buying it.

Front brakes provide the majority of breaking. My '07 came with 16" wheels, so why would they need larger brake disks in the rear vs the fronts, that do fit in 16" wheels?

Ok, more detail...

Because larger disks have improved stopping performance so they have become the standard, and if you're doing larger disks in the front and you are switching to disks in the back which everyone is doing (never understood the disk in front with drums in back period of automotive history) it would be stupid in terms of parts logistics and performance to do a different size wheel and disks front and back so if front goes bigger, back goes bigger too.

Also lower sidewalls lead to better lateral performance in tires (turning stability and ability to keep maximum surface on the road during turns at faster speeds) because of less flexing so that also leads designers to larger rims when looking for the fastest route to better handling without having to redesign the whole drive train and suspension. Larger rims and lower sidewalls are the new standard in higher performance vehicles. My wife's CX-70 with the new turbo inline 6 and paddle shifters comes with large rims with low profile tires and that thing handles, as my father in law used to say, "like cat with sneakers" around turns.

And finally with off-road vehicles it just makes it easier to work with the larger tires for better overall performance. When folks put 34"+ tires on old Jeep 15" rims they basically handle like they are running on monster marshmallows and sidewall issues with the tires are a proven problem which I experienced running 33" on my old 2004 Jeep which was a contributing factor to the infamous death wobble and premature wearing of bearings. The new Jeeps are running larger rims and the problems are gone even when you go oversized (within reason).

[breamfisher]

Discs all around allows 4 wheel ABS more easily, which insurance wants along with backup cameras and some other features.

[Wambli Ska]

YEP!!!

[shotgunshooter3]

It turned into a two-beer job, but I got my "factory second" Diamondback Switchback installed. I can't tell what made it a second, and it will definitely keep all but the most motivated sticky fingers away from my snowboards and outdoor gear.

IMG_6543.jpeg (2.56 MiB) Viewed 3929 times

IMG_6544.jpeg (1.68 MiB) Viewed 3929 times

It's no camper shell, but at $4K plus these days for what I would want I can wait, or go without... At 1/3 of the price this will do nicely.

[Chiro1989]

The camper shell has it limits for hauling, you can still haul a refridgerator with your truck

[Wambli Ska]

I need to decide what to do with the back soon. I think I’m doing the Decked system for mine but I don’t have snowboards to carry around.

That looks really nice! I’m sure it’ll do well for your purposes.

[LMLarsen]

Wambli, there’s a guy in this area with a Gladiator, and he’s got a sweet rack setup in the back. He’s got it rigged for overlanding, with gas & water cans, traction sleds, a hilift jack on one side, and a shovel & ax on the opposite side. But the center of the bed is still free & clear for tent, cooler, backpacks, etc.

[jbp-ohio]

It turned into a two-beer job, but I got my "factory second" Diamondback Switchback installed. I can't tell what made it a second, and it will definitely keep all but the most motivated sticky fingers away from my snowboards and outdoor gear.

IMG_6543.jpeg

IMG_6544.jpeg

It's no camper shell, but at $4K plus these days for what I would want I can wait, or go without... At 1/3 of the price this will do nicely.

When you are sure you have it exactly where you want it. Mark it. When I first took mine off I pulled the back piece off and marked where the center was bolted down. I used a scribe to make a mark on my plastic top rail.

Now I can bolt the center piece back in without the other two pieces in place.

Wheel to wheel steps make getting into the front of the bed easy. Even for old fat guys.

Screenshot_20250715_214212_Photos.jpg (1.71 MiB) Viewed 3867 times

[Wambli Ska]

Wambli, there’s a guy in this area with a Gladiator, and he’s got a sweet rack setup in the back. He’s got it rigged for overlanding, with gas & water cans, traction sleds, a hilift jack on one side, and a shovel & ax on the opposite side. But the center of the bed is still free & clear for tent, cooler, backpacks, etc.

That’s the game plan. When I’m done it will be rigged like this:

IMG_4680.jpeg (407.07 KiB) Viewed 3840 times

I’ve been doing more off-roading and camping in the last few months than in the last few years! Wife and dog love it.

Currently this setup works

IMG_6186.jpeg (9.21 MiB) Viewed 3840 times

I’ll wait to finish her until I have my new house so I can set up a pulley system in the garage to take the rack, tent etc. off the Gladiator when not in use. Don’t like the idea of driving everyday with all that stuff on my DD.

[Wambli Ska]

But the Decked System is probably coming before the end of this year. It's just too good of an idea.
https://decked.com

Image 1.jpeg (684.21 KiB) Viewed 3840 times

[LMLarsen]

Very nice! Where do you put the kitchen sink?

[Wambli Ska]

Big blue drawer to the right

[Wambli Ska]

All jokes aside, Every time we go off-road we carry everything we need to make it out there for a few days if needed. The desert is no joke. I’m constantly 15-20+ miles away from folks with no cell signal. Folks here die within a mile off the highway if they don’t know what they are doing.