Okay everyone, I know you've all got stories about that life altering experience when something happened, and suddenly something inside of you changed, and you knew you had to have a Toyota... kind of like when the Grinch's heart suddenly started to grow and blew out its box. I want to hear about it!

Mine happened about 7 years ago, when a friend and I were out driving his 3rd gen Camero in a blizzard, and the car blew off the road and landed in a 2 foot snow bank. During the course of digging ourselves out, at least 5 other cars took up residency as our neighbors in this particular mound of hideous white crap. Then something incredible happened... a second gen 4runner came along and... no he didn't pull everyone out and save the day like I know you want to hear. No, what happened is even more spectacular than that. He also blew off the road, only the wind pushed him about 40 feet down the hill and deeper into the snow.
The pilot never got out of his rig... he just put it in 4WD, and over the course of 5 minutes rocked and rolled a few times back and forth, then in an angry roar of 4 cylinder fury, drove his ass right out of there and into the sunset (well it was night but you get the point). That's when I decided I needed a Toyota for myself. True story folks.. now let's hear yours!

well in oct of 1988 my dad got a gold 4runner v6 with a stick trans and 3 days later he picked my brother and i up and we went to rubicon i was 7 than so when i was learning to drive a stick at 18 i used the 4runner to learn than when i was 21 dad said it was time i bought my own so i bought a 1 month newer 884runner and been happy ever since

As soon as I saw this '94 for sale. It was love at first drive. Then after I bought it I took it on a few trails that my buddies had been taunting about and she passed with flying colors... That's when I knew without a doubt I had converted from a chevy man to a full blown toyotaholic.

I was 8 years old and met a man who was building a rock crawler, remember this was 17 years ago, and he was using an '85 toyota running no fenders, no doors, no bed and a small cage over the rear axle using quarter elip. rear suspension.. coolest thing I ever saw..

Excellent stories so far. Worth noting I was a Chevy guy too until I had my awakening. First was an '83 Silverado 2WD shortbed 350, second ws a 2000 longbed Silverado LS. I'd never go back

My wife and I have had to share a car for just under 10 years now. I grew up in a small town where, when I was bored, I'd go cruising around the woods in an 84 Bronco II. That motor blew 10 years ago and ever since it has been one car for us. Couldn't afford 2 and just dealt with it. We have two boys, 5 and 9 months, and it's getting a little more difficult to share a car. 3 years ago I rode in my buddy's 83 yota with a lift and big tires. It wasn't the smoothest truck, but after bouncing around in that after 1 day I knew I just had to find an old yota. 1 year later, found my truck, bought it for $500, towed it home with a blown motor and comensed my first engine swap. Now, I can take my son out in the woods and hunting just like I did when I was younger and my wife can use the car whenever she wants. Don't know how we made it all those years with one car.

had a ford 'exploder' sport trac... nuff said

my dad had a 3rd xcab 4wd yota when i was about 8ish, never paid much attention to it, then my first car was a cavalier. started noticin yotas and i was hooked. sold my 04 cavalier in 06 with 60k and bought my rusty beat up 95 yota. bought a 98 Cummins june 09, sold the yota with a blown HG oct 09, sold the Cummins december 09, bought my 85 yota jan 10, bough tmy 95 back the next week. The American way

There were always 1st and 2nd gen 4Runners and trucks parked at the good fishing spots. I liked the ground clearance and the reputation for reliability etc when I was younger, and then after putting a rock into the oil pan of the VW van my parents owned, I decided I needed a truck, and I set out in search of a 4Runner. That was actually my second Toyota, I had a white 2wd 1987 Toyota pickup "1-tonne" before that and it was used for landscaping in my grade 11 year summer. It was a tough truck, and it looked like the trucks in National Geographic stories about far away places, that solidified it for em.

I now own a 1987 Landcruiser diesel.

funny enough, the sport track is considered one of the most capable off road vehicles with IFS.... in full trim of coarse.. \

Im a chevy guy at hart and will defend that to the end. I just like toyota for their infinitely better off-road performance. plus their pure, raw durability..
I may have a chevy tattoo on my arm but I have a toyota in my driveway..

Well I have always loved Toyota and BMW, but my dad didn't. He has an old friend that he grew up with that comes from money all ways got what he wanted and shortly there after tore it up. My dad told me in the early 80's that his friend got a Toyota Pickup and said that if his friend couldn't tear it up or break it is when he realized that he should get one. Right now my dad has a 95 Land Cruiser, 85 Pickup, and a 83 at the house. Needless to say I don't think he is going back to Ford an time soon.

my buddy had an 85 pickup we used to tare up on his farm, even though the truck was rotted out and nver ran right it would go anywhere, we used to take it hrough his swamp an all that, but one day we were riding up to his "77 feild" ( wich is his feild that runs along infamous route 77) and he didnt relize his dad cut harrowed it about an hour erlier, we ran into it at about 20 mph and the truck just SUNK i went to open the door and it only opened about an inch, the i relized there it was, the exteremely soft ground was right there, the truck sunk so deep the ground was pretty much up to the headlights (lol it really was) then out of the corner of my eye i noticed he kicked into 4hi, truck pulled out of it like it was no problem (and we were riding on balded out street style p225 75 15's). shortly thereafter the truck was crashed into a tree wich brings me to chapter two

i was lying in bed one night half awake when i had a vision of myself taking the beat up toyota and riding around with a wooden haywagon style flat bed (the truck was just sitting behind the barn at the time and they were trying to get rid of it since it dindnt run right after hitting the tree)the next day i asked him how much he wanted to sell it for.400.00, i asked his dad who said i can have it for free since they wer trying to get rid of it cuz they didnt need it anymore and it didnt run right. it didnt take much for me to get it runnung right and ive always been an american truck guy but ive never gotten my yota stuck...even with those balded out street style p225 75 15 tires that are still on it.

sorry for being so long and thank you for reading my story of my finely manufactured peice of second generation toyota pickup history !!

I knew I needed a Toyota after owning a VW Vanagon Syncro for a couple years and having it break down every week and costing me an arm and a leg to fix each time!!

That said, the Syncro was a sick beast offroad with the factory difflocks and the looks I got from dudes in their jacked up trucks stuck in the mud as I blasted through the same spots with ease made it almost worth the trouble lol.