LandCruiser
New member
My first Toyota and vehicle was an old, rusted 60 series Land Cruiser. It was a hand me down from my father on my 15th birthday, with no less than 200k miles on the broken odometer.
When I look at the dent and bulge in the side of the plastic bumper of my TE where a dog ran head first into it after chasing an errant tennis ball (dog was OK, BTW) I remember two events of my 60 series ownership.
One was hitting a patch of black ice south of Denver. The FJ60, although a beast in the snow, couldn't find traction when all 4 tires hit the ice and the entire thing hopped a curb like a primer gray torpedo and took out a fire hidrant. Sheared it completely off. I got out into the rainy spray of water, expecting devastation, instead I saw that there was a 3/4" dent on the front quarter panel, the signal light was cracked (bulb still worked) and the front bumper was bent back about 1-2" on the left.
Another when on a highway trip a motorist behind me became incredibly offended that 65 was about the top speed of an off road tank on 37" tires and 8mpg on a good day. The angry little man ran up to my window at the next offramp and when I refused to get out of my rig to discuss matters of little importance, he started to kick the driver's door with enough ferocity to break his foot. I had some scuff marks on the paint, but otherwise the door was (not surprisingly) undented.
Fast forward to today where every surface that may make contact with obstacles (both God and man made) is plastic, soft sheetmetal, lightweight... the hood wobbles at highway speed. A retarded lab is enough to do serious damage to the front bumper. Off road armor is no longer an option, it's a necessity because giving another fellow wheeler a friendly tap to help him clear a particularly nasty obstacle doesn't result in a scratch or dent on your chrome bumper, but thousands of dollars of damage to your plastic aero bumper, which is also integrated into your bodywork, so bumper damage translates to body damage.
I have never been too careful driving off road, you will damage your truck if you do so, but with every new generation of "rugged" SUVs, I feel like damage that would be shrugged off by the trucks of old, will leave modern ones crippled in a sad puddle of their own fluids.
When I look at the dent and bulge in the side of the plastic bumper of my TE where a dog ran head first into it after chasing an errant tennis ball (dog was OK, BTW) I remember two events of my 60 series ownership.
One was hitting a patch of black ice south of Denver. The FJ60, although a beast in the snow, couldn't find traction when all 4 tires hit the ice and the entire thing hopped a curb like a primer gray torpedo and took out a fire hidrant. Sheared it completely off. I got out into the rainy spray of water, expecting devastation, instead I saw that there was a 3/4" dent on the front quarter panel, the signal light was cracked (bulb still worked) and the front bumper was bent back about 1-2" on the left.
Another when on a highway trip a motorist behind me became incredibly offended that 65 was about the top speed of an off road tank on 37" tires and 8mpg on a good day. The angry little man ran up to my window at the next offramp and when I refused to get out of my rig to discuss matters of little importance, he started to kick the driver's door with enough ferocity to break his foot. I had some scuff marks on the paint, but otherwise the door was (not surprisingly) undented.
Fast forward to today where every surface that may make contact with obstacles (both God and man made) is plastic, soft sheetmetal, lightweight... the hood wobbles at highway speed. A retarded lab is enough to do serious damage to the front bumper. Off road armor is no longer an option, it's a necessity because giving another fellow wheeler a friendly tap to help him clear a particularly nasty obstacle doesn't result in a scratch or dent on your chrome bumper, but thousands of dollars of damage to your plastic aero bumper, which is also integrated into your bodywork, so bumper damage translates to body damage.
I have never been too careful driving off road, you will damage your truck if you do so, but with every new generation of "rugged" SUVs, I feel like damage that would be shrugged off by the trucks of old, will leave modern ones crippled in a sad puddle of their own fluids.
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