Off-road - old vs new

Front and rear lockers in that 80 series?

The last best off-roader Toyota sent to the US was the 97 Land Cruiser, hands down. Solid front axle, full float 9.5 inch rear, front/rear lockers, fully boxed frame, bullet proof engine, transmission, transfer case (manually shifted), full time 4 wheel drive, wheel wells that eat tires. For being a big ass wagon they're pretty easy to wheel too. There's zero chance my Tacoma could do the things I've done in my 80. But then again I'm not planning on wheeling a $40k vehicle either, just the vehicle that was $50k 22 years ago.

 

Yes on the lockers plus added the CDL.

Bulletproof? You just made me choke on my melba toast. Bought mine new in January 1997. Have a 130k miles on it. Kept up with the maintenance and I’m amazed at the amount of things that have gone wrong.

 

You know, you're right....you might as well sell that hunk a junk to me for $500. 130k miles is about all you'll get out of it.

 

Cost, I'm not going to pinstripe a 50,000$ truck. I know lots of guys do it, but I can't make sense of it.

I can go further with a rust bucket.

 

I remember some twenty plus years ago at a CA4WDC event near Barstow Ca in the Lucerne Valley . I was watching a pristine clean looking 1994 Land Rover Camel Trophy edition Rock crawling and climbing a very nasty and steep dry waterfall

This Land rover had dents and deep desert pin stripes all over it . I know those were expensive 4x4's back then

 

Oh, I’ll get more miles out of it, but the truck has had its issues and frankly, they’re not that uncommon. I love the 80 series, but after living with it for 23 years, I realize what it is and what it isn’t. Is it reliable? Mostly. Is it bulletproof? No.

At just under 90k miles the engine wiring harness melted. At 128k miles, I had to replace the head gasket. No it did not overheat and it’s not boosted. We’ve also dealt with sunroof leaks and currently are dealing with a rear arch leak.

My wife had a 2004 t4r with the 4.7. We put 280k miles on that truck before we sold it and it was hands down the most problem free vehicle I’ve ever owned.

I had a 2006 lbz that got traded in with over 265k on the clock....again....literally problem free.

 

Here's my old 1989 Xtra Cab 4x4 pick-up as it was called back then; 3 liter V-6,150 HP, 180 torque with a 5spd manual; Toyota didn't even bother to give it a name. It was bullet proof. Parked in the same driveway 30 years later is my 2017. Wish I could've kept my old rig! Analog vs. digital. In many ways the old technology was much simpler and capable but also inferior in other ways. In a perfect truck world I would still own my old '89 rig in cherry condition.

 

We both have to agree though, with over 270k trouble free miles on both my ‘85 and ‘02 Toyotas, they sure are dependable trucks. I hope my 2017 lasts that long with similar results!

 

And no fricking ash tray!! Where do I put my stash??

 

It will because 2017. The ultimate bestest most reliable and capable Tacoma model year ever as confirmed by JD Power.

 

30 years from now my current truck will be a badass! Right now it's a piece of crap.

 

Great shots, thanks for the post

 

The music was better and people were more attractive

 

30 years from now i'll be dead

 

You're gonna miss out!

 

Someone gets it!

 

Oh man, I've been arguing this point for years. Until/unless auto mfg's incorporate roll cages into domestic vehicles they're just skirting the issue if safety. I'd much prefer a vehicle with a roll cage than one filled with gimmicks & balloons.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY7GBwBP-30

 

Quoted for absolute truth.