Isn't that what 85% of people with 4runner's & Tacoma's do everyday? Adding bumpers, skids, roof racks, lighting, lifts, wheels, and tires just the achieve a certain look.

We're all guilty of it in one way or another.

Mike

If he's not going off road, he's not really reducing the usability of it much...

I mean, I wouldn't do it, but I also wouldn't spend more than 12 seconds smirking about it and muttering something internally about it before moving on with my day.

People do all sorts of shit that has no practical application to their cars. At this point, anything that keeps the hobby of cars/trucks/racing/off-roading alive and generating dollars for companies is a good thing to me, even if I think it's stupid as hell.

Just tell me there's no vortex generators on the back of the roof...

In Hawaii theyre not allow to go bigger than 33" tires. Which is why they have the stretch look.

Me personally; I like the bubble gummy tire look.

But I call that the bro look. Alot of big trucks love that look.
But everyone has their own personal taste. Not my style or my cup of tea but I ain't gonna hate on it.

Bumpers increase approach and departure angles and protect body panels from damage

Skids protect vulnerable mechanical components from damage

Roofracks allow more options for carrying loads or mounting tents

Lighting is pretty self explanatory

Lifts increase dampening ability under heavier loads and wheels allow fitting larger tires

Tires allow better traction in mud or snow or on rocks

All of these things increase usability and address oem shortcomings when enthusiasts decide to use these vehicles offroad.

What does adding a stretched mud tires do? Reduces the air cushion leading to a more harsh ride, reduces towing capacity, and the huge increase in forward facing unsprung weight would absolutely kill the gas mileage. The rub that setup would introduce reduces the manoeuvring ability and turning radius. Finally the height of that thing means you're not comfortably loading anything into the box.

In short, it completely ruins the truck if you plan to do anything besides park it at the mall and take photos for the express purpose of getting new IG followers.

Interesting, I wasn't aware of the 33" restriction. Despite this dude's IG name, he mentioned he actually lives in Las Vegas.

I think the point that's being made is a pretty large number of people do these things and then only drive down gravel roads during the day that you could take a 1990 Camaro down without issue, not that these mods don't make sense when applied appropriately for the situation.

Even if a guy has all the offroad gear and doesn't use it, he would still be increasing the potential usability of the truck. I'd still probably call that guy out for being a poser and wasting his money, but I digress....

I just cannot fathom what possible benefit huge blocky wheels and stretched tires might provide. There simply is no appropriate situation...

I would disagree to an extent.

If you do all that and then never use it, you're simply adding weight, increasing wear, raising maintenance costs, decreasing reliability and fuel economy, etc, etc. All for the 'benefit' of an activity you don't participate in. Again, I dont look down on anyone that wants to do that, but the reality is still there.

It's easy to go round and round on this dance, but there's really no right or wrong way to do it. Also, it keeps these places in business for those people who will use every inch of their kit.

I don't need a lesson in what everything does, and you didn't get my point at all. All of the items you thoughtfully explained above aren't needed by all the people who are buying/installing them. Most are buying/installing to achieve a certain look over function.

People are buying all that crap so they can be called "Overlanders" or be part of the "Overlanding" community. It's catchy, and it sells a lot of product. But, do you really think that someone with a set of Baja Design Squadon Pro amber lights in their bumper, 2 sets of Squadron Pro ditch lights, 1 20" S2 light bar on their bumper, 1 50" S2 light bar on their roof, a couple S1 pods for rear lights, 6 more S1 pods for lights on the side of their roof rack, and rock lights really need that many lights? Short answer is no, no you don't need that much lighting, and I don't care who you are.

Just my .02$ here. We all spend money on things we want or need, and we all have different taste. You should be less concerned about some dude on IG having more followers than you, and ranting about it.

Mike

You're not wrong. Anyone who spends money on a thing that has no purpose, or that they have no intention of using is an idiot.

At least under-used or unused offroad equipment could be used for something in the right hands. In my mind, there is no point to that taco besides generating instagram followers to stroke the owner's vanity.

Just in the past week I’ve seen a 5th gen 4Runner with that same roller skate look on the interstate. Not my rig, not my money, and not my business. Well to me, It is funny to look at though.

I see all different type of mods on the gun forums also. Punisher skulls, stupid engraving, etc. Funny to me but not my money so not my business.

Interesting about that 33 inch tire limitation. I couldn’t google anything about that.

But according to this site some vehicle mods require a Reconstructed Vehicle Permit. It seems this guy’s tire setup is not legal.

FAQs - Reconstructed Vehicle Inspection - current

Snip:
“ What types of modifications require a Reconstructed Vehicle Permit?
The most common modifications that require a Reconstructed Vehicle Permit are:
Lowered vehicles:
Headlight height cannot be lower than 22 inches when measured from the ground to the center of the headlight.
Unrestricted suspension travel of at least 2 inches (front and rear).
There must be ample clearance (full turn to full turn) between the tires and the vehicle's frame, suspension and body.
Tires must meet or exceed manufacturers' GVWR load ratings.
Frame modifications will require pre-approval from DOT (C-Notch)
Lifted vehicles:
Tire treads protruding outside of vehicle body requires fender flares securely mounted.
Rear mud guards must cover width of tire treads, hang down to middle of rims or lower.”

Not concerned in the slightest, and without knowing the background you shouldn't make assumptions about how the convo went. I suffered a personal attack for expressing an opinion in a public forum. This entire post is me reaching out to get an idea of the popularity of this mod. I couldn't care less how many followers this guy has. Literally zero ****s given because my sense of self worth isn't tied to such a frivolous concept.

It's absolutely different stroke for different folks, and if you're entire purpose in modding your vehicle is to achieve a certain look in spite of what it does to the performance or usability of the vehicle, than you're an idiot plan and simple. It doesn't matter to me if it's light bars or stretched tires. If you don't use it, or worse, it has no use at all, then you're an idiot.

This idea what a person can do whatever they want in public and should be safe from criticism or contrary opinion is ridiculous. That's not how the world works, and there is no such thing as a safe space outside the confines of your home. Bullies will always exist, and people will always judge what you do.

Seems to be an accurate statement.

Mike

Let's look at this another way.... Would you still hold the same opinion if you were following this guy on the highway, minding your own buniness, when your windshield is suddenly shattered and your reaction causes you to veer into a concrete boullard and write off your truck because buddy didn't have mud flaps which caused a rock to come off his tires and into your truck. What if your family was with you at the time? Would you still feel this guy was within his rights to do as he wanted to his truck?