1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

True, and not at all surprising given the alliance of the fledgling US and France during The Revolution. Honest question: do you know if those French influences are as prevalent in British English? I would ask about Canadian English, but we all know that there is a heavy French influence there.

 

How big is the stuff you haul, and does it have to have off road ability? Snow ability? Need more deets on the uses/needs.

 

If my 2000 Tundra was a loss, I likely would not replace it as it is now a 3rd vehicle. If it was my daily I would still probably lean towards an updated platform. I cannot bear to actively part with it though. My son has been driving it for winter instead of his mustang and we even discussed him taking it full time. He, and everyone else in the family knows it will never be sold.

 

I think it's universally English, the English we speak today came here on boats with people who spoke British English. I've read going back 1-2 centuries and beyond with British English, you'll find royalty that actually still spoke it. If memory serves, it was a hoity-toity thing to know French back then, the elite spoke it when they didn't want commoners to understand what you were talking about, and this was still the case with our forefathers back in the late 1700s. If you're into this kind of stuff, there's some fun takes on the etymology of "Pardon my French" if you've never looked into it which touch on historical relationships of French with English speakers.

I have an anecdote I can share about Canadian French: I work for a Swiss company headquartered on the French speaking side of Switzerland. When we've hire Quebecois in the past, I'd often hear our Swiss-French guys complain about trying to understand the French-Canadians when they speak French in meetings. Never the case with French-French speakers about our French-Swiss guys or vice-versa. Maybe a proximity thing for those? Similar to the friends I had in SoCal who learned Spanish in Mexico, complaining about Spanish speakers from Spain. Or American English speakers complaining about trying to understand someone from Leeds, for exmaple. Then everyone I work with here in GA with a heavy southern drawl I've gone with to the Swiss offices, the hotel and restaurant staff always prefer talking to them vs. me or others with less accent, they find it easier to understand for some reason? Super weird.

 

That's kinda cool. I'm not surprised about Spanish in Mexico and Spain being different. Spain Spanish is fairly different from my understanding, but even in Spain there are a few different varieties.

 

I've put good thought into this. If it was right this second, I would be open to another first gen. I would be just as open to a 3rd gen 4Runner, 4th gen 4Runner, or the LX/GX470 though.

If it was later in life, I would consider another route altogether. A diesel 2500 towing a long travel VW bug or GM/Toyota platform off-road truck.

 

Big things are bulk compost/manure, mulch, and sometimes rock. Things you wouldn't carry in an SUV, at least I wouldn't put them in my wife's Highlander. And I don't live places with regular snow but do find us off-road regularly.

I don't pay anyone to do things I can do myself - electrical, plumbing, appliance repair, drywall and other construction, yard labor, etc. I also keep an active vegetable garden so our kids get a sample of what I grew up with, tending my grandparents rows, shelling peas for "fun", tilling, etc. You focus on school and learn how to survive out in the world at my house. Those things require a truck for the most part.

I also won't pay places like Home Depot $100 for a day's truck rental to haul stuff. Tried that a few years back, it doesn't work for me but it's better than insurance and maintenance on keeping a "beater" truck laying around. Worse yet, I'm stuck in the city for at least another 10yrs, so no unregistered, uninsured farm truck option possible here.

 

Interesting enough, Spain also has a special language with no known root.

 

About the steering stops @alb1k and @empty_lord
I suppose the same is true for any long travel kit. I don't think any of them have a steering stop and plenty of people running them have wheeled without issue. Might not be as bad as we think, hopefully.

About the disclaimers from Solo, yeah they're lawyered up. When I picked up a set of brake lines from them I had to sign a waiver that read pretty identical to what was described.

 

How heavy is the stuff you haul? If the payload doesn't have to be huge and you were to consider something new, I'd say look at the Frontier. It's a really simple design, stays small like the 1GT, and should be able to match it for most performance stand points. If you didn't offroad much I would say the Honda Ridgeline might be a good option, or the Ford Maverick if what you hauled wasn't physically large. Actual off-roading might be more than the unibody mini trucks can do, but if it's just rough roads and some trails they are still viable.

Languages be some weird stuff.

 

That's ultimately what the "Only for offroad use" BS is for on everything, even on headlight bulbs these days. 90%+ people will use those parts primarily on paved roads. Even if an accident were to happen as a result of them, should someone try to sue the manufacturer claiming their part was at fault, "Nope, the driver wasn't offroad, so they clearly used the product in a manner inconsistent with its clearly stated purpose!"

The question is, and where I think most lawyers would go in that case, is to review their social media, advertising, and other outlets to see whether or not any of it suggests it could be used on-road because pictures depict it on-road, videos show something driving on-road with that part, etc. Trying to prove there's something suggestive which could influence a consumer to think it was safe to use that way.

 

Tons of the disclaimers that people have to sign don't actually hold up in court, though. It's no guarantee, but if it can spook people into not even fighting it, then the people with the disclaimer are happy. It's just like idiot dealerships saying "That'll void your warranty!" It's a scare tactic, and people fall for it.

 

This!! Ram 2500 Cummins and a nice cab over camper towing a rzr.

 

I'd replace it with an e36m3 and then a cheap 4wd for offroad/shenanigans/occasional truck stuff. Like buy something rusty and build it from the frame up cheap.
Think 3gT4R or YJ.

 

"Word"

Payload isn't relevant for me. I wanted something the size of a Tacoma or Frontier, with a V8 since fuel economy is similar to V6 with trucks, 4WD, and light-ish towing capability to pull a car, boat, or small camper behind. I also prefered Toyota, that's coming from a former hardcore GM guy and VW fan. Toyota, with the 1st gen Tundra, was literally the only option to check all the boxes.

My reality is, I don't want to drive any of the short-bus sized trucks on the road today just to get a V8, it's BS that's the only option available. I understand some people need trucks to be 50% larger than my Tundra, but the vast majority I see out on the road are pavement queens driven by d-bags who don't use their truck for "real" work, or are trying to mimick or project an image by slapping things like Punisher skulls and no quarter flags on it.

There are a few brands of car I won't own, ever nor again. Nissan/Infinity is high on that list. Ford. Kia. Dodge. Nothing Honda makes with a bed on it. Nothing GM makes with a plastic dashboard. I'm open to just about anything else. But still, nothing I found checks off the boxed above except what this subforum is dedicated to. If I were to tow heavy, I'd buy a Dodge diesel or Ford diesel.

 

I see what you did there.

 

This is true. Absolute BS, but it's regulation. It's got very little to do with consumer wants/needs, and everything to do with the way things like MPGs are regulated. Can't say much more without getting into hammer territory, but they way they come up with some of the regs is absolute horseshit. The mini trucks of your (Dakota, Ranger, etc.) died because of their wheelbases. Too small to have that low EPA estimate.

Overlords of MPGs

 

Suzuki Samurai most likely. I spotted one for $4k that would be fun. Top comes off, doors come off, front windshield folds down, its a steal. With insurance money from the truck I'd have it modified to hell right away, then I would miss my truck.

I don't like thinking of things like that. I've had my truck for a third of my life, it's become a part of me.

 

If I could buy an MT 3rd gen Tacoma RC off the lot, I'd have done it. I missed the boat in 2014 when that option went away. I was not paying attention at that time.
If I could buy a v8 Tundra RC off the lot I would too, missed that boat as well.
Seriously considered F150 RC but the wife said no and I didn't push it. It wouldn't have been nearly as interesting of a vehicle but it could have been decent.

Crew cab diesel dually 2500 could be nice too, good enough to tow the bro in law's 6 horse with a goose in the bed but still semi almost reasonable for driving around. Still, dually really makes parking more of a PIA, I have a narrow driveway and a busy street. We need a new house before I can add / expand on vehicles.

 

I bought my truck at 41 years of age.
I'll have to own it for another 19 years to have owned it 1/3 of my life.

 

I've got several friends that have some variation of this setup with Rzrs or built trucks that get trailered and it all looks like so much fun when you can afford it. A few of them are underwater on loans or not thinking about the future though. Interestingly, some of them say they're jealous of my truck and the types of things I do with it.

 

I think the poly bushings will be interesting. We've probably all read about poly bushing conversions on stock LCAs. Definitely not a move toward a plusher ride...that's in my rear view anyway.

 

If my life were a pie chart, realizing how big of a slice the time I've spent owning this truck is pretty wild. Aside from family members its hard to think of much else that has been a constant in my life. I suppose it has become a sort of anchor. It's amusing thinking what my life was like when I got it versus now.

 

As long as they are greased up they should be okay. I've had poly bushings in my upper arms forever, it shouldn't be a huge difference for ride. Squeaks may drive you nuts if they happen.

 

This is ultimately what drove me into the LS swaps, or at least retrofitting GenIII SBC into misc smaller vehicles. You'll find my account with same name (tick ` and all) on LS1tech. Not sure if that's also @chrisb 's allure towards it also. There are other GenIII retrofitters on here, too. It's the only other way to get something smaller with a bed and V8 these days.

That's ultimately what I'm probably going to end up doing if my Tundra ever dies. Get some other pickup with decent suspension options, that's emissions exempt in year, still has soem decent safety features, and just retrofit the damn thing.

Good mpg too. I guess that modifies my answer, actually.

If gas prices stay sub-$3.50/gal I could see myself in a J100 or maybe the right J80. But if gas prices stayed higher than $4/gal for more than a few years, I'd seriously consider a RAV4, or maybe an older Samurai, Sidekick or similar 4cyl gas saver.

 

Same here. I've only owned it for 8 years, but I've been around it's whole existence before I took possession. It's crazy thinking about when I was much younger and leaving the dealership lot in the passenger seat. A piece of me would be gone if something happened to this truck.

 

Yup. I definitely wouldn't buy another big truck or v8. Maybe a 90s Toyota with the 22r or something, but I've wanted a Suzuki for a while now.

 

I'm always looking out for something cool to work on but can also at least carry some stuff, at minimum fit a good sound system. 1st gen Taco has been on that list for a while, but while I know it sounds stupid, the 1st and especially 2nd gen RAV4 has really been climbing on that list at the same rate as gas prices...

 

A small SUV that could haul a little dump trailer, or boxed utility trailer might work.

 

Shove a gen 3 5.3 into that small SUV and you can drag pretty much whatever you want, wherever you want.

Yes, packaging, power, and efficiency are why I put an LM4 in my last BMW. Couldn't beat the value with a stick. Even after I spent all the money on oil control, valve train, custom cam, LS6 intake, long tubes....