This could get me into a toyota

[Stan H]

Too bad making a deal with the Devil for my soul was not a real thing because I would consider it for that.

The Devil would have to give up his first before I sit in another Toyota. Hate Hate Hate Hate Toyotas .. to each their own though

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[Hootbro]

The Devil would have to give up his first before I sit in another Toyota. Hate Hate Hate Hate Toyotas .. to each their own though

I will let him know your feelings on the subject if it comes up.

 

[Slipshodman]

I dunno why any of you might consider getting a jeep knock off lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Land_Cruiser

 

[BourbonRunner]

Everyone always clamors they want cheap and simple and easy.

Then bitch about not having all 4 windows autotouch down, no remote start, THAT'S A STRIPPER MODEL.

All I'm saying is if I have to spend $60K on a truck to get the mix of options I want and its gets packaged with a whole shitload of other stuff I don't really need... it had better be fully loaded with all the gizmos and doodads.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

They have to fill all of the jihadist orders before they start exporting that thing to the US.

It’s got zero to do with that usage. USA design and crash standards are why Toyota don’t import it.

There are some loop holes here for commercial vehicles. It does not have alot of upper body strength. It’s quite top heavy and unstable with sharp direction changes. …when they roll over it’s generally very ugly.

Ie thank your design and crash standards for JT’s epic upper body strength and intelligent crash structures in the chassis. Life saving stuff.

People tend to lament those high design and crash standards. Until it goes wrong. I say bravo. AU has a lot of catching up to do with USA for vehicle safety design.

The 70 series model is alive bc of the fleet demand of the AU mining industry. Particularly the big players BHP & Rio.

So much so that when those big fleet buyers change their safety standards periodically, Toyota changes the model accordingly to suit the new mining company standards.

This is what they look like after a few years on site with a few trips a day through plant water that is used in the site wash bays.

It’s why Toyota don’t put a lot of undercoat on them. Or paint. None the less the vehicle will put up with continual abuse and not say die.

It’s an indispensable tool for the extreme conditions in that industry. And no other vehicle does it quite like it.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

I will never understand how anyone taller than 5'6" would ever want a single cab. I'm 6'1" and drove a manual '94 Ranger single-cab long-bed for a bunch of years. Never enough room in the cab for anything, I couldn't get the seat to go back far enough for any real comfort and nothing more than a set of jumper cables fit behind the seats. The long bed was nice but that was its only appeal. The biggest reason for me to get a Gladiator over a wrangler is the 4 doors and truck bed. Otherwise I'd have a Wrangler and a beater Silverado extended cab.

 

[Sweetums]

I dunno why any of you might consider getting a jeep knock off lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Land_Cruiser

The Willys MB also inspired the Land Rover in the UK, captured MBs were used by the Germans during WWII in places the Kubelwagon couldn't easily go. Sure, the MB was the OG offroader, but let's not take away from what the Land Cruiser became - which is a legend in it's own right.

 

[biodiesel]

I will never understand how anyone taller than 5'6" would ever want a single cab. I'm 6'1" and drove a manual '94 Ranger single-cab long-bed for a bunch of years. Never enough room in the cab for anything, I couldn't get the seat to go back far enough for any real comfort and nothing more than a set of jumper cables fit behind the seats.

As far as the seats go, they should provide the same leg room whether it's a regular cab, quad cab, extended cab, or crew cab. Most likely, the seat in your regular cab Ranger would have been the same in the other models, but I could be wrong. I know that you don't lose leg room if you buy a regular cab in a modern truck. Here's a regular cab Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. As you can see, the cab is big enough to accommodate plenty of seat adjustment. There's even a storage compartment behind the seat.

I'm 6'1" and mostly legs (shorter torso) and the Jeep Gladiator is super tight for me. My knee often touches the 4WD shifter.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

As far as the seats go, they should provide the same leg room whether it's a regular cab, quad cab, extended cab, or crew cab. Most likely, the seat in your regular cab Ranger would have been the same in the other models, but I could be wrong. I know that you don't lose leg room if you buy a regular cab in a modern truck. Here's a regular cab Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. As you can see, the cab is big enough to accommodate plenty of seat adjustment. There's even a storage compartment behind the seat.

I'm 6'1" and mostly legs (shorter torso) and the Jeep Gladiator is super tight for me. My knee often touches the 4WD shifter.

My biggest complaint was just how upright it forced me to sit. I'm not one of those ghetto lean type of driver but I don't like sitting straight up and down. I also hate having to choose between having a passenger or my gear bag in the cab with me.

Gladiator is a touch tight for me as well, I'm contemplating the Desert Does it seat modifications. But the good news is that there's room behind me to do that. The Ranger would have been a no go.

 

[biodiesel]

My biggest complaint was just how upright it forced me to sit.

It was a 1994 Ranger, so that was back in the day when less thought went into interior comfort. I don't think you would experience the same issue on a modern regular cab. Although, more and more automakers are discontinuing the regular cab. Ram didn't make a regular cab in the 5th gen Ram 1500 (2019+ trucks). However, Ram continues to offer the regular cab in the Ram Classic, which is currently in production, at least through 2024.

 

[Hootbro]

I will never understand how anyone taller than 5'6" would ever want a single cab. I'm 6'1" and drove a manual '94 Ranger single-cab long-bed for a bunch of years. Never enough room in the cab for anything, I couldn't get the seat to go back far enough for any real comfort and nothing more than a set of jumper cables fit behind the seats. The long bed was nice but that was its only appeal. The biggest reason for me to get a Gladiator over a wrangler is the 4 doors and truck bed. Otherwise I'd have a Wrangler and a beater Silverado extended cab.

A 94 Ranger was in the compact segment of it's time and not a mid-size. Everything in that segment back then was cramp.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

A 94 Ranger was in the compact segment of it's time and not a mid-size. Everything in that segment back then was cramp.

Fair enough, but the second part of my complaint still stands. You either keep your personal stuff in the cab with you or you have a passenger, you don't really have much of a choice without a bed cover or camper shell. Even with a shell or cover, the stuff still ends up at the front of the bed where you can't reach it without climbing in. I solved it with a bed box however, even those are rarely watertight for long. Hence, the only real options are extended cabs or crew cabs

 

[biodiesel]

Fair enough, but the second part of my complaint still stands. You either keep your personal stuff in the cab with you or you have a passenger, you don't really have much of a choice without a bed cover or camper shell.

A regular cab might not be for you, and that's okay. The benefit of the regular cab is getting a longer 8'-foot bed while keeping the overall truck length in a smaller footprint. The backseat in a quad or crew cab is a lot of wasted space to keep a lunch box. The Ram 1500 regular cab has a storage system (pictured below) behind the seat. As you can see, there's plenty of room for everyday storage.

 

[Ozian]

There's a reason the 70 series Landcruisers are referred to as "farm trucks" or "mining trucks" over here in Australia. Very agricultural out of the box. Clunky, no flex, uncomfortable, bereft of creature comforts (not even power windows), no auto option, underpowered (yes, out of the box the turbo V8 is a slug), horrible on-road driving characteristics. What they are is very reliable and the engines run forever with the proper care.

Did I mention expensive?? A basic 79 series will run you $100k (Aussie dollars) if you can find one that hasn't been marked up by the dealers. All that $$ for what was originally supplied here as a stripped-down work truck for mining operations.

To make them even close to as capable as a Gladiator Rubicon you need to completely swap out ALL the suspension (including ditching the rear leaf springs for a coil spring set up), install a new rear axle to correct the track width (factory rear track is narrower than the front which makes for some "interesting" handling characteristics). That will get you close to a Gladiator in terms of off road capability. Front fenders need a rework to fit anything bigger than 33" tires too.

Then you need to add a proper center console (though I think that latest refresh finally added 2 cup holders), upgrade the seats and figure out some sort of arm rest option for your window-arm.

The engine is also completely undercooked. The Toyota 2.8 turbo diesel 4 cylinder outguns it in every way. So, add in another few thousand to upgrade the turbo, exhaust, intercooler and get a full custom tune. They sound awesome with a good tune and exhaust however.

They have a massive cult following over here, and it's not uncommon for owners to spend in excess of $150k (again, Aussie $$) to make them *nearly* as capable as a Rubicon with a basic 2.5" lift. I've driven them, friends have owned them and I just don't get it. They can work well as a tourer if you are willing to spend another $45k on a proper tray and canopy fit out, but they do not make a good extreme off roader or rock crawler.

Hard pass for me... but I do wish my Gladiator sounded as good as the tuned and uncorked turbo V8.

 

[Bjeepz]

I had a 2009 Tacoma Regular cab 4x4 with an Old Man Emu suspension. I'm pretty much a giant at a whopping 5 foot 8 inches tall haha so it fit me well. I did find myself feeling annoyed about not being able to keep much at all in the cab. It was pretty utilitarian with it's only comfort option being A/C. Manual windows, manual transmission, no cruise, no ability to even tilt the seat for driver comfort! I did like the 6 foot bed with a cap for camping and it had a reasonable wheelbase.

As for the mining industry I worked underground for about 2yrs 25 yrs ago (I feel sooo old typing that!) and we had Toyota's in the mine. I recall asking my father who had worked there for decades why Toyota's as I had no clue about trucks at that time, he told me they just kept running, regardless of the bodies rotting off them. He told me all of the trucks tested underground rotted but the Toyota's kept running.

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