Back in the (Toyota) Cult

[Diver43]

That made me laugh for real

[Wambli Ska]

Looking good and I like your objective assessment. The great thing about the metal rock sliders is that it makes it virtually inposssible for most vehicles to dent your vehicle in tight parking lots

The rock sliders on my last Tacoma paid for themselves within 24 hours. I installed them on Sunday afternoon, and on Monday morning a gust of wind caught some poor lady's car door in the parking lot and it SLAMMED into my truck. Big gouge out of her door, and a small nicking of the powder coat on my rock sliders. Paid for itself right there.

Until someone with a bigger rig decides to park next to you. My bride is great at finding places to collect a ding. 360 degree cameras making parking a breeze? No need to take advantage of that feature!

My Expedition has Raptor style boards but a lifted 3/4 ton can still swing a door into it...

True, but that substantially narrows the number of rigs that can damage mine with a door slam. And I live in a city where old, crappy uninsured cars with owners that don't care are endemic. And the guys that own $80,000+ trucks tend to be careful for their own sake.

In any case, with a leveling kit and 34" tires I'm bigger (taller?) than most vehicles in most parking lots. I'll probably go to a 3" lift after my warranty period so that will make for even a bigger difference and by then even most of the "big" trucks won't be an issue anymore. Most cars and even SUV and CX doors have my rock crawlers halfway up on their doors, so my Jeep has become our go-to car for shopping and such unless we're going to places that we know have generous parking spaces so we can keep my wife's CX-70 as nice as possible. She LOVES her car!

As an added benefit the rock crawlers also push a lot of low vegetation out of the way and in the desert there is a lot of dry HARD wood stuff that will score the sides of your vehicle. I'm not striving to keep my Jeep pristine but if unnecessary damage can be avoided while adding functionality I'm all in.

[shotgunshooter3]

As someone who used to spend a significant amount of time off road, my priority for mods are as follows:

Better Tires
Rock Sliders
Underbody armor
Nothing else really matters.

[Wambli Ska]

As someone who used to spend a significant amount of time off road, my priority for mods are as follows:

Better Tires
Rock Sliders
Underbody armor
Nothing else really matters.

Agreed! Traction/tire toughness (which better tires give you) is absolutely No 1 priority off-road. Most 4WD truck type vehicles will give you the clearance you need for most normal (mild) off-road needs until you start getting into the sexier stuff. Then YES, armoring the vehicle becomes essential!

You always need to pay attention to the bits under the carriage which is where things like underbody armor and the rock sliders come in handy. There are a lot of 4WD vehicles out there that have good tires from the factory but it always amazes me how much low hanging stuff is under the axels and unprotected. probably because the manufacturers do not expect folks to really use them off-road.

And when picking the side sliders it is REALLY important that if you're looking for a unit with steps (yes my wife is short) you don't end up with something that cuts into your clearance. I see a lot of units out there that rob the vehicle of 4-6" of clearance and that is somewhat counterproductive. Mine have a cab length metal platform for my vertically challenged spouse and granddaughter to step on but yet the platform is even with the side of the body so I lose nothing.

[Wambli Ska]

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[CPJ 2.0]

Saw the Toyota I’d like to have today.

[Wambli Ska]

Interesting, I've never seen one of those...

A buddy a long time ago bought a F250 Superduty with a diesel for cheap because the body was basically trash but the frame and drivetrain were fine. He then bough an E-250 Van with a shot engine/transmission which apparently back then shared the F-250 frame and married the two into a heavy duty 4WD diesel powered van. That thing was a beast!!!

[CPJ 2.0]

Zoom in. It’s a right hand drive! Just noticed this. I’ve never seen one either. Which tracks….since we drive on the correct side of the road.

[shotgunshooter3]

I'll probably go to a 3" lift after my warranty period

WHO ARE YOU, and what did you do with Enzo?

[Wambli Ska]

I'll probably go to a 3" lift after my warranty period

WHO ARE YOU, and what did you do with Enzo?

I'm getting into more interesting "stuff" as my level of comfort grows... If I do I'll do a professional install of a really good lift kit. IF I do it.

[Wambli Ska]

OOOOORRRRRRRR, I might sell this one and get a Mojave and start with THAT...

[shotgunshooter3]

OOOOORRRRRRRR, I might sell this one and get a Mojave and start with THAT...

There's the Enzo we all know...

[Wambli Ska]

I have brief moments of sanity and control…. But they pass if I just breathe deep

[CPJ 2.0]

OOOOORRRRRRRR, I might sell this one and get a Mojave and start with THAT...

Well you’re probably due your third oil change. May as well trade it off.

[Wambli Ska]

OOOOORRRRRRRR, I might sell this one and get a Mojave and start with THAT...

Well you’re probably due your third oil change. May as well trade it off.

You actually make sense!!!

All jokes aside I’ve grown quite fond of this one…

[Wambli Ska]

BTW this is finally making its way out of the closet and it’s a product of the Automaker’s internal and industrywide meetings that have been going on for a long time.

GM has just announced that they will be dumping Google Car and Apple Car Play support from their vehicles. Look for many other car manufacturers to come out of the closet with the same announcement soon. Tesla today leads the way with a self contained technical ecosystem in their cars and has been wildly successful with it. My experience with their system is very positive and what I know is coming down the line is even better.

[Orchidman]

Saw the Toyota I’d like to have today.

Do you want petrol or diesel?

https://autotrader.co.nz/used-cars-for- ... ce/1165033

https://www.hopmans.co.nz/vehicle/2021- ... /16591?s=1

Heck, you can even buy kits to convert a 2wd Toyota van to 4wd......But Tariffs!

[CPJ 2.0]

Ewwww. Those are ugky.