Photo_Nerd
Active member
- First Name
- Calvin
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2024
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 72
- Location
- Fullerton, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Tacoma TRD Offroad
- Thread starter
- #1
So my old Ford Ranger, which I proudly drove for 13 years, suddenly took a nose dive just over a couple weeks ago. I had always wanted a Tacoma, but didn’t think I’d be getting one so soon. But within a couple of days of my old truck dying, I got her sold and became the proud owner of a brand new TRD Offroad.
I’d like to start off by saying that I am absolutely in love with this new truck! Coming from basic bumpy rides (lifted Jeep CJ7 to an old Ford Ranger), this Tacoma feels like a spacecraft to me.
Obviously, we all know Tacomas have a legendary reputation. And I bought the vehicle with that in mind. I already knew I wanted one. So of course, I didn’t bother to research it enough to even learn that it’s a new generation of Tacoma. I decided to google stuff about it in my spare time. Suddenly, it felt like I was smashed in the face with horror stories about the 4th gen Tacoma. Between Youtube and Googled articles, it seemed like everyone had something negative to say about it, and the comments seemed to support all the negativity. It painted this brutal picture of Toyota being some sell-out, poor quality company.
Anyways, I found myself having second thoughts about my shiny new truck. I was getting a serious case of buyers remorse over a vehicle that hasn’t given me any issues or even gotten a chance to prove her worth to me yet. But the one thing I was sensing was, of course, the sensationalist aspect of all of these sources of negativity. I consider myself a pretty level-headed guy. So when I saw the video of that shock top hat failure, and rewound to where he was hitting holes at 60 mph with it, I put my logic to work. People these days have impossible expectations. If you build a million-mile truck, people will say it’s sluggish and outdated. If you build a race truck, people will say it won’t last long enough or the gas mileage sucks. You put a 2.4L turbo into it for better gas mileage, and people are worried about it exploding. You put a few nice offroad specs into it, and suddenly a wave of inexperienced offroaders will come out with videos of carnage as they’re expecting a stock truck to be capable of racing the Baja 1000. The advice that rings in my head is my dad telling high school me to “not use your daily driver like a toy.”
The Tacoma’s reputation was built by normal people using the trucks in normal ways. No part on a vehicle is indestructable. Offroading will ALWAYS run the risk of damage, no matter how tricked out your rig is.
With all of this in mind, I stumbled upon this forum. And I’m seeing some genuine level-headedness around here. So I decided to join so I can be around like-minded people, and not drowning in clickbait BS. I suspect this truck will last me many glorious years of reliable use if I look after it.
I’d like to start off by saying that I am absolutely in love with this new truck! Coming from basic bumpy rides (lifted Jeep CJ7 to an old Ford Ranger), this Tacoma feels like a spacecraft to me.
Obviously, we all know Tacomas have a legendary reputation. And I bought the vehicle with that in mind. I already knew I wanted one. So of course, I didn’t bother to research it enough to even learn that it’s a new generation of Tacoma. I decided to google stuff about it in my spare time. Suddenly, it felt like I was smashed in the face with horror stories about the 4th gen Tacoma. Between Youtube and Googled articles, it seemed like everyone had something negative to say about it, and the comments seemed to support all the negativity. It painted this brutal picture of Toyota being some sell-out, poor quality company.
Anyways, I found myself having second thoughts about my shiny new truck. I was getting a serious case of buyers remorse over a vehicle that hasn’t given me any issues or even gotten a chance to prove her worth to me yet. But the one thing I was sensing was, of course, the sensationalist aspect of all of these sources of negativity. I consider myself a pretty level-headed guy. So when I saw the video of that shock top hat failure, and rewound to where he was hitting holes at 60 mph with it, I put my logic to work. People these days have impossible expectations. If you build a million-mile truck, people will say it’s sluggish and outdated. If you build a race truck, people will say it won’t last long enough or the gas mileage sucks. You put a 2.4L turbo into it for better gas mileage, and people are worried about it exploding. You put a few nice offroad specs into it, and suddenly a wave of inexperienced offroaders will come out with videos of carnage as they’re expecting a stock truck to be capable of racing the Baja 1000. The advice that rings in my head is my dad telling high school me to “not use your daily driver like a toy.”
The Tacoma’s reputation was built by normal people using the trucks in normal ways. No part on a vehicle is indestructable. Offroading will ALWAYS run the risk of damage, no matter how tricked out your rig is.
With all of this in mind, I stumbled upon this forum. And I’m seeing some genuine level-headedness around here. So I decided to join so I can be around like-minded people, and not drowning in clickbait BS. I suspect this truck will last me many glorious years of reliable use if I look after it.
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