Originally Posted by Cold Iron
My first hunting rig, well that had 4 wheel drive, bought ~1980 with my first reenlistment bonus. 1977 FJ55 Iron Pig.

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Current Taco although she is getting long in the tooth she still gots it and gets 'er done

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First thing did was ripped out the bench seat and made a platform for the dog and store recovery gear and guns.

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Rock sliders are set at zero degrees to help prevent damage from lateral slides on icy trails, not pivoting off rocks.

Up until I hit 60 the dog and I would often sleep in the back while hunting.

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Not anymore, bones don't care for it and I don't either. I get a cabin for a month or more. And got tired of beating up the truck. And myself in it. Couple of years ago went with a Polaris Northstar Ranger and built a dog box for the back.

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Best hunting rig have ever owned, should have done it sooner. Taco is now a tow vehicle. Will replace it in a couple of years with something along the lines of my first 4x4 thinking a Lexus GX or 4Runner. Will likely be my last vehicle ever.

Interesting abut ripping out the bench seat. I was thinking Chevy Colorado about a year and a half ago when I went truck shopping. Where I live, the Chevy and Toyota stores are side by side and under the same management. The reason I initially thought Colorado was because there were leftover 2018's at pretty deep discounts. Told the saleslady that I was basically looking for a pretty bare bones truck as a hunting vehicle. Turns out Chevy doesn't offer any Colorados like that. She then said they had a brand new bare bones Tacoma "work truck" I could buy cheaper than the least expensive 2018 Colorado. Drove it. Liked it a lot. Not getting those little jump seats in my extended cab Tacoma--which I didn't want anyhow--saved me $2500. And it is bare bones. About the only thing I miss are intermittent windshield wipers. I didn't know they even made vehicles without those. I'd jokingly asked her if I could get crank windows--which I had on the bare bones Ford Ranger I traded. Those aren't available. My Toyota doesn't have keyless entry. Although that doesn't bother me, there's no key slot on the outside of the passenger door. Other than that, I'm pleased with my choice--and I don't miss any of the other options it doesn't have.