More vehicle woes. <sigh>

[dennishoddy]

I’ve spent literal hours figuring out what I’d tell a Toyota R&D exec if I ever somehow ran into one. A SRW 1 ton and a 1 1/2 ton, also optioned with SRW with a setup similar to Buckstops conversions for 4500 & 5500 trucks, with a a 10 speed and 4.30 gearing with manual locking diffs, engine brake, and two engine options - gas and diesel, both inline 6s and make the gas a turbo as well. Onboard factory air with rear bags and enough cfm to run air tools off of the extra hookup. Factory available engine driven hydraulic utility flat bed with dump and bale arm options. And the list goes on.
I plan on eventually breaking down and learning how to build my own version of this on an 04-09 Ford 5500 chassis with a 12 valve dropped in.

That would be a heck of a vehicle. you've thought it out well!
The current Tundras are really built to be 3/4 ton in the shafts and drive gear but the suspension is what limits them. Dead nuts reliable with a great proven engine but it is what it is. A 1/2 ton rating.

 

[Roy14]

That would be a heck of a vehicle. you've thought it out well!
The current Tundras are really built to be 3/4 ton in the shafts and drive gear but the suspension is what limits them. Dead nuts reliable with a great proven engine but it is what it is. A 1/2 ton rating.

They’re definitely stout, and much more reliable, but when I compared the difference in their axle diameter and frame/suspension I ended up staying with a true “HD” truck.

 

[trekrok]

If the dummy's would build a 3/4 ton, they would probably lead the market.

I've never understood why they don't have one. When you look at the components they are built with, I doubt it would take an extreme effort to get them into 3/4 ton range. They've already got the gas mileage for it, lol.

 

[trekrok]

Something else Toyota could do that I think would sell like crazy here, is the version of the Land Cruisers they sell in overseas markets - the tough, not overcomplicated, non luxurious SUV. I think it would sell many multiples of the number of 'our' Land Cruisers, which are great vehicles, but are $90k super cushy trucks aimed at doctors.

 

[MacFromOK]

Onboard factory air with rear bags and enough cfm to run air tools off of the extra hookup.

I put a York style (2 cyl) AC compressor on my old '76 F-250, and mounted truck air tanks on the frame. CFM isn't high (< 10?), but I set the cutoff switch at 165 psi, and the system works great for running an impact.

One cold, icy morning I got a call from one of my farm customers, saying a grain hauler's truck wouldn't start. It was a Mack with an air-starter, and he'd left it sitting overnight (lol, apparently with an air leak).

I pulled a plug out of the starter tank and screwed in a quick coupler, then hooked it to my air hose, raised my engine to a fast idle (it also has a cable throttle) and we all piled in my pickup to get warm.

We visited for a couple minutes, and the truck owner wanted to know if my air tank had enough capacity to fill his starter tank. I told him given enough time, I could air up the Goodyear blimp. There's a compressor under the hood...

 

[PanhandleGlocker]

dont drive across Royal Gorge it ain't worth it.

you can’t drive across the Royal Gorge anyways.

 

[264killer]

I did

 

[MacFromOK]

you can’t drive across the Royal Gorge anyways.

We went with some friends back in the '90s, and I believe it was still an option then (with a toll charge). But there wasn't much on the other side, so we just walked across.

 

[264killer]

I just did a u turn on the other side in 1976.

 

[Glocktogo]

Yup. I think renting this vehicle has certainly been an eye opener for me. I honestly doubt I'll be buying a new Tahoe like this for ME... I'd probably prefer to keep mine and get something nicer for my WIFE, since we're likely going to give her Escape to my son when he turns 16.

She probably won't want something that big, though. For one, it likely won't fit in our garage, and she doesn't like driving really big vehicles.

So... I dunno. We can get buy with a 'mid-size' SUV on trips and such, but it isn't nearly as comfortable. We travel heavy, I guess you'd say. lol. And having room for this infernal dog we picked up a couple years ago really makes it tighter - she's gotta have room to lay down and stretch out on a long trip.

Anyways, not gonna do anything about it today, or this week, or whatever.

Yesterday, rafting on the Rio Grande was awesome.

Today, it's 4x4s from Red River up to Goose Lake in the mountains. I can't wait.


I really needed this trip to recharge my batteries. We like going to the beach and to visit my wife's family, but just wearing a mask in the stores irritates me these days, having to wear one of those face diapers on an airplane for hours isn't something I want to think about - not to mention the "6-foot" Nazis while you're standing in lines so you can crowd in like sardines on planes or other transportation. Screw that.

This has been a good trip so far, and we've got 5 more days till we head home on Saturday. W00T!


Oh, and BTW, standing on the bridge over the Rio Grande Gorge made me physically sick - I felt like I was going to throw up for hours afterwards.... I dunno about this whole Royal Gorge thing, now. <sigh>

You owe it to yourself to take a look at these:

These look intriguing to me....

(1) 2022 Kia Carnival review // Van or SUV? Have a look... - Bing video

(1) 2021 Kia Telluride Review: Kia's Golden Goose | CarGurus - Bing video

I have several friends with the Telluride, and they really like them! And, you really can't beat the pricing on them!.

We bought my wife a Telluride SX-Prestige two years ago and can't say enough good about it. We traded her '16 Lexus IS-300 F Sport AWD in on it and the Telluride is nicer in every way. I looked at a bunch of SUV's and none of them could match the Telluride. I was cross-shopping $60K+ rigs directly against the $47K Telluride and it wasn't just beating them for the money, it flat out beat them period.

The only one that came close was the Ford Explorer ST. It had much better power, better brakes , and a nicer infotainment unit, but everything else was a disappointment by comparison, not to mention it was $15K more. The only SUV I liked better in every way, was the Lincoln Aviator Black Label, and it was $84K.

The one knock I have on the Telluride is the power, which honestly isn't bad for a around town and long road trips. It just doesn't match my ZR2 for towing our boat. If they ever offer the Telluride with the 3.3LTT from the Stinger GT, I'll be trading the ZR2 in for one.