Rant beginning...
Why do so many people get caught up the label of overlanding, who really cares?
When I bought my truck I remember saying “I’ll never really go off road, I don’t need a Pro or a trail”. Now, I can’t explore (off pavement) enough...
I bought my truck because it looked cool. After I bought it I researched how I wanted it to look, which led me to many great pics of cool trucks with really cool gear. I didn’t care what they did with their trucks they looked cool. And I wanted mine to look cool too - is that so wrong?
After I started “modding” my truck based on internet searches and downloading countless pictures, I found this forum. This great wealth of knowledge and tips, video tutorials, etc. but most of all the community. It was this forum that led me to want to explore, go do things in my truck that I hadn’t done before.
The people who talk down to somebody who wants a truck to look cool is a j-wagon! If I hadn’t wanted my truck to look cool, I would have never found the explorer in me and taken up several additional hobbies.
I have countless friends who have countless exotic super cars. Do I talk trash to them because they don’t SCCA race every weekend? Because they don’t ship their car to Germany to take on the Autobahn? Isn’t that what those cars were meant to do? No, of course not! They love those cars because the community associated with the ownership. Much like me and my 4Runner.
To me that’s exactly the same as down talking someone because they drive their 4Runner to the mall, and may take a dirt road every now and then. Who cares how dressed up it is or isn’t, it’s their truck! And more so, who cares what they label their activity.
So whether you call it overlanding, driving off-road, rock crawling, 4x4’ing, wheelin’, going on vacation, or any other label you want to associate with it - just enjoy it for what it is. Get in your truck, go somewhere new (I wouldn’t recommend Fallujah), and wave at every 4Runner owner you see. Welcome them with open arms into this incredible community. Encourage them to head somewhere new, meet people they’ve never met and do things they’ve never done. That’s what these trucks and communities are about.
Rant over...
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