How much "abuse" is too much?

[MDarius]

I have a mechanic friend, and some friends that fancy themselves mechanics. I get chatting about places I've taken my Land Cruiser, or I show them a picture like the one on this post, and they start talking about how bad that messes up a vehicle, how the frame is bent now and it bends every time you flex and twist the truck off-road.

I know there is some flex built in. We see a fan kicked into the radiator when someone hits the gas when bouldering, or a pinched exhaust, etc. At what point does it go from acceptable trail damage/use and it turns into you've-actually-harmed-the-truck?

For me, I'm ok to fix a radiator, replace an engine mount, etc. But when it comes to frame straightening I feel like it's gone too far. I want to wheel it, but I don't want to kill it. My son has already killed one, I'd like to keep this one going and double the odo mileage at least.

 

[120mm]

Tons and tons of Landcruisers have never been wheeled, and died of more mundane things. Rust and lack of maintenance come to mind.

It's a friggin' machine, not a place of worship. Made to be used up.

Better to burn than to rust, I say!

 

[jonheld]

I've beaten the crap out of my 91 for 25 years. Gimme a break.
Maybe they should only drive in a straight line so they don't overuse the differentials.

 

[Hornd]

Your talking like you have pink panties, unmatched socks, and Birks on!
If you dated a Super Model would you just look at her all day?
Mud washes off the tires and the suspension is made to be flexed or it Atrophies.
If you bring this talk up again your going to bed early!

 

[MDarius]

This is what I'm thinking, based on what I've seen on this forum I'm pretty mild. Maybe they are used to lesser vehicles. Everybody brags and boasts about how their favorite model is better than yours. I kind of think they believe that's what's happening when I'm talking about "What I did on the weekend". I don't know. I've had one say, "Yeah! I see fools doing that all the time. Just screws up their rigs forever. Idiots." Then I know what they think of me at least.

I do know that I could have taken better care of my '95. When it got wrecked I was at the point where I felt like the cost of making it nice was greater than just getting a new one, so it wasn't such a bad thing to get the upgraded version. Now that I have the upgraded version I'd like to keep it that way. AKA: NOT a piece of crap.

 

[MDarius]

Your talking like you have pink panties, unmatched socks, and Birks on!
If you dated a Super Model would you just look at her all day?
Mud washes off the tires and the suspension is made to be flexed or it Atrophies.
If you bring this talk up again your going to bed early!

Well, I DID get the Lexus....

 

[Jay-]

I actually dont go "wheeling" My FJ40 will be a garage queen with perfect paint.
Iv had my 80 for over 20 years now. Its been in 15 USA states and 8 Latin American countries.
FJ80, the best car iv ever owned!

 

[toyotaaddict83]

@MDarius If you want to see what these Land Cruiser are capable of, granted they are not 80s, check out the All4adventure guys on youtube. Watch what they put their 200 series through, you wont feel so bad about a little bit of flex here and there.

 

[jamesurq]

 

[SmokingRocks]

If its a jeep grand cherokee then yea they have a point. Flexing a unibody like that repeatedly and it will eventually have the rigidity of a bag of potato chips.

Not the case with the LC80. Your friends don't know what they are talking about.

 

[Box Rocket]

Ask them what 4WD vehicles they typically work on. My guess is they have never done much work on a Land Cruiser with its boxed frame. There are enough guys on here that are pushing these trucks to their limits and others that push them hard enough that if frames bending were an issue you'd be hearing about it all over the place with pics of frame cracks and drivetrain/steering issues resulting from bent frames.

I've been up that road above the B more times than I can even count (grew up in Bountiful). There is very little up there that will really do much to your truck unless you're jumping it.

 

[SmokingRocks]

even jumping it hasn't killed mine

Of course I haven't gone balls deep like this guy

 

[MDarius]

Yeah, not so much worried about the B. That was just to break in the lockers. Hole in the rock at 50 MPH got me some ridicule, and just this kind of flex with only 2 wheels on the ground.

With just 4WD the truck limited my stupidity somewhat. With lockers I figure I'm going to have to self regulate at some point. That's what I'm looking for, what is that point? Time to join Wasatch Cruisers on some club runs I suppose.

 

[izzyandsue]

even jumping it hasn't killed mine
Of course I haven't gone balls deep like this guy

AND that is why you should never buy a former rental truck!

 

[MDarius]

AND that is why you should never buy a former rental truck!

Nothing wheels as well as a rental!

 

[Box Rocket]

Yeah, not so much worried about the B. That was just to break in the lockers. Hole in the rock at 50 MPH got me some ridicule, and just this kind of flex with only 2 wheels on the ground.

With just 4WD the truck limited my stupidity somewhat. With lockers I figure I'm going to have to self regulate at some point. That's what I'm looking for, what is that point? Time to join Wasatch Cruisers on some club runs I suppose.

Well if it makes you feel any better, I've had both of my 80s twisted up on two wheels quite a few times over the years without issue. I really think it's nearly impossible to bend the frames on these through typical offroad use, even rock crawling. It normally will require some kind of very hard impact to cause the frame to bend.

 

[landtoy80]

I have wheeled with a load in the back down a steep trail with lots of ruts and side lean. Every load resulted in almost sliding into the same tree. Did this for about 4 cords. If anything was going to damage the frame (i did bend the tailgate) I would think weight and ruts would do it. No damage that I know of. That pinion pine was very wet and heavy. When I got to the pavement I could hardly steer as the front end was very light and even lighter going over dips.
.

 

[MDarius]

Holy schnikies! That's a lot of weight. Alright. I'm good. Is this the rig you have nearly 500k miles on?

 

[landtoy80]

Yes.
I have pulled uhaul trailers over Vail and Eisenhower Pass many times I bet overweight (lots of ammo and steel stuff). The cargo area, and pass side seat were filled to the roof. I even put stuff on the tongue of trailer (bikes and stuff). I had to put all my chains and tire chains on front bumper so I could steer. 1st and 2nd gear red line all the way up and over passes.

Note the dual winches on my ARB.

 

[SmokingRocks]

bahaha thats so cool yet also terrifying! I bet people got out of your way fast when you were coming down the hill!