Just realized how much my old Land Cruiser build missed the point

I was talking to a guy at a gas station in Flagstaff last week about his clean 80 Series. He said he built it for a specific trip to the Maze District, and every single part had a job to do. I spent years just bolting on cool stuff I saw in magazines, never really going anywhere tough. It made me think my whole build was more about looks than use. Anyone else start a project without a clear goal and regret it later?

3 comments

3 Comments

verafoster16d ago

Oh man, I totally get that. I did the same thing with my old 4Runner. I mean, I had all the shiny gear but I was just doing forest roads. It felt silly after a while. So I sold it and started over with a totally blank truck. I made a list of the actual trips I wanted to do first, then bought parts for those. It's way less cool looking now, but it actually works for me.

kimg5716d ago

Flagstaff gas station wisdom is a special kind of pressure. People build for the Maze, but most of us just drive to work or hit a local trail. If your truck makes you happy when you look at it, that’s a valid point too. Not every build needs to survive a zombie movie. My buddy’s got a clean truck with all the bolt-ons and we still have a blast camping.

rosel5013d ago

That's a solid take on the whole overlanding scene. I read a blog post once that said the same thing, about building for your real life instead of a fantasy. It's like what verafoster said, a simple truck that does what you need is way better than a show truck that never leaves town.