Help me understand this trend

First let me say im not bashing anyone, buy what you want and do what you want to it. I am just having trouble understanding the train of thought.


I see a fair amount of 3rd gen taco's but every single one I have seen that has a lift is a TRD sport.
To me a truck has a lift to make it a more capable off road vehicle.
If you are trying to make a vehicle more capable off road then why not go with the TRD off road model that has a locking rear diff and crawl control?

is it because of the color match fenders and hood scoop, or maybe just what the dealer had on hand?
But I see the same trend on youtube and online as well.

 

My last truck was a sport, and loved it. I didn't do technical enough off roading to need a rear locker, and I preferred the way the sport looked with all the color matched goodies and hood scoop. It was still 4x4, so a lift and tires were still justifiable to enhance performance off road. Just like everything else in life, there are different levels of the same thing to achieve what one person desires. Other's who have a trailer queen on 44" tires that runs on propane might say "Why bother spending money on changing a DD? Why not buy a tow rig, and have a dedicated trail toy?" Different strokes for different folks is all.

 

I personally went with the sport because i liked the look better (I ordered mine), but around my area sports are mostly all the dealers have. I also wanted a manual trans which would have made me unable to get crawl control if I would have gotten the OR.

On here your going to get the answer that both trucks are very capable off road and there will be very few ppl that are going to actually need the locker ever. I did a lift and tires on my sport for looks and a bit more height, I bashed my factory skid plate up after 2 weeks of having the truck just driving on a logging road. It was just a little too low for the mild trails around me.

 

While this is why many do it... My guess is that the majority of the lifted trucks you see never go off road, period. It's all for looks.

 

Some people will add a Locker like the ARB air locker.

 

Most people lift for looks.
Most people will never need a locker.

As for me, there were no TRDOR in DCLB config when I bought my truck. LB was a must. I'll eventually add lockers

 

I went with sport because I like the color match and hood scoop. Plus, I wanted manual. Manual off road you lose crawl control and multi terrain select anyway, so I figured worse case I could just add an air locker later and enjoy the color match parts with scoop. I could be wrong, but I beleive the locker only engages in 4low anyway, so for what I do, I would rarely be in 4low. I'll just add an air locker later and only be missing A-Trac which isn't all that bad.

 

This, some of use our trucks to carry stuff and need the additional space. Lockers are easy to install.

 

two words: hood skewp

 

You plan on chiming in and having a discussion OP? I see you down there watching. Or are you just trying to stir the pot

 

Sport, 4x4, DCSB, 6MT, BBP.........I like your style

 

Around my neck of the woods, Sports are all you see. I went down to Branson Missouri a few months ago, and all I saw were Off Road models.

I don't do any off roading, so I didn't need all that, and I don't like black fender flares. Additionally I really wanted a long bed and the only MT long beds available were AC Sports.

I would submit that 90% of people who install lifts are not intending to do any serious off roading. They do it because they like how it looks.

 

Like most people said... 99% of people will probably never use the rear locking dif or crawl control. All dependent on the type of offroading you do and where you live. Here in FL I just need 4x4. The 'off road' extras are a way to make money. Most of my friends that do hard offroading have a separate vehicle that they don't mind tearing up.

But while were at it... do you think Chevy, Ford, Nissan, and other Yota, etc. etc. owners don't lift their truck because they don't have a special 'off road' edition?

 

I'll never understand why people buy 3rd Gens...

 

In Canada we can only get the long bed in Sport. I will use the extra bed space 10x more often than I will use a rear locker. Also, IMO the sport looks better. The amount of time that actually need a locker in 90% of the driving situations (even in Canadian winters, including hunting and fishing trips) is miniscule - especially if you are careful with your driving. None-the-less, the lift will still provide additional clearance in uneven terrain. You do not require a locker to benefit from a lift.

 

I just got an off road and put a skewp on. Best of both worlds

 

You also got to remember that some people get more motivated in stages of acquiring things. Me for instance...had a 1st gen that was taking a shit on me due to a dumbass friend install gone wrong over time. I shopped around and the prospect of a fresh looking second gen that was a Baja seemed to make my life complete. Knowing that my first gen was decently modded, I had hoped the Baja might savor my itch for a while...

4 years later the bug hits after causing a boo boo with having to replace my taillights to fix the drivers side. At first it was "ok, I will do a little, but I need to keep it chill." Eventually I get king coils and start living the good life...now I have LT up front. LT has always been a dream with my first gen, but never expected it to come this soon.

Point is, Im sure many had the initial dream of being a Tacoma owner. Over time, with friends and this forum, you might realize you want your truck to be more? A few mods here, a few more there...damn maybe I should of gotten that Off road? Eh, I can install a locker if needed...hell when you start to really mod these things, you realize how barely adequate the OEM stuff is in relation to what the aftermarket parts can offer.

Lastly, depending on the end game of your build, it may not matter what your taco started out at...now I HAZ SKEWP!!!

 

I like the color match look, just couldn't stomach the look of those black fender flares. Plus my off roading mainly consists of dirt roads at the hunting lease so I would probably never use the locker or crawl control

 

Why reduce over-hood view, so critical when climbing steep grades off-roading, by having a fake scoop?
So much of Toyota is the real deal, that they have a fake hood scoop has always been sad (to me). However, their U.S. marketing department sure knew how to gain sales with the fake scoop, by evidence of this thread's replies! I even saw an Off Road TRD stickered Taco with a Sport hood. I had to ask him which it was. It was the Off Road (for the locker) and he put the hood on, for the scoop look. Wow!

 

All depends on what you are comfortable with...I only know of a few guys who got rid of their hood scoops. This was mainly due to glare from the sun on their commutes to work. I recently got a scoop on mine and yes it does hinder a little, but in the big picture of steep shit I cant see much anyway. Whats another inch or two of visibility lost when it wont help much anyway on tech climbs? Granted many of the guys I wheel with have scoops to begin with so maybe it just comes with the territory?