The Online Toyota World

[dontdo_that]

I have always wondered where all of the 4th gen 4Runners/5th gen Tacomas and FJ Cruiser owners were hanging out at. To me, it has always seemed that the 3rd gen discussion areas were more vibrant than the newer vehicle discussion areas. I attributed this to the fact that the vehicles were still new and its not in everyones best interest to cut in to an expensive, shiny new mall-crawler thats still under factory warranty! Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of sick 4th gen 4Runners and 5 Gen Tacomas running around, but I wondered where they were all discussing? T4R (Toyota-4Runner.org) doesn't have a 4th gen discussion area yet, and even UY is pretty dead most of the time compared to the 3rd gen discussion.

Today Mark (expatoz) sent me a PM about a website called Toyota120.com. If you haven't figured it out yet, or didn't know that the 4G 4Runners, 5G Tacos, and FJ Cruisers are based off of Toyota's "120" platform, Toyota120.com is a site that is dedicated to these newer vehicles along with international versions of the Prado, Hilux/Surf and the Lexus GX. I spent some time moseying around on that site and realized that it was where a large number of the modded up 4G 4Runners were hanging out at and discovered the abundance of information on newer Toyota trucks/suvs. Now I'm not posting this to deter anyone from using UY, because I think UY has a great staff and a very close knit community. Toyota120.com is a site that I have been trying to discover for a long time now and I couldn't help but wonder - how else would I have ever discovered it if Mark hadn't told me about it?

I BELIEVE UY was born from Yotatech.com as a result of events that I will not explore here. I've been with YT for years but never posted much (I just searched all the time after Bob bitched at me for not searching enough ;)). Now I post here on UY first because all of the names that I am familiar with are now posting UY in their YT sigs! Nonetheless, the creation of UY bummed me out a little bit because I knew that the Toyota community as a whole was splitting up a little bit, even if it was for the best, to create a "better" environment for enthusiasts.

I know this has seemed like a blog/rant and I apologize, but the point I am trying to make is that the online toyota community is becoming very disperse and its only going to get worse with time. There is an enormous wealth of information online, but its very scattered across many sites. TTORA, T4R, Tundrasolutions, Yotatech, Pirate4x4, UY, ToyotaTruckworld, 4x4wire, and Toyota120 just to name a few. I understand that many people are members on all or most of these sites, but I can't help but wonder the effects of having so many websites which almost encourages our community as whole to become divided. Honestly, all automotive enthusiast forums have the same problem, but I'm surprised that there isn't more of an emphasis on a universal site that unifies our community as a whole. Do you think such a site would be beneficial? Do you think that information is too scattered?

Staff members, please feel free to move this post to the appropriate forum. It wasn't necessarily a suggestion, but its not really vehicle related so I didn't know where to put it.

[Bob98SR5]

Ned,

I bitched at you that much about searching? If yes, you probably deserved it! :hillbill: haha, j/k, dude.

Seriously, your observation is nothing that others have not noticed too---and it is spot on. For whatever reason, the 3rd gen 4runner community has been very active since the old Vmag days...then to YT...and then some of us 3rd gen experts came here. But so too did Lance who really pioneered alot of the early 4runner suspension combinations, and then there's Cheese and Robinhood who are both experts at 2nd gens.

Alot of these vehicles share platforms so they are applicable to other vehicles that share the platform. But that said, and for whatever reason, 4runners (regardless of gens) and owners seem to be the most active.

I think the adage that "You can't be all things to all people" applies in the online forum too. It seems to me that this is not really unique to Toyta trucks and SUVs either.

Now do I think that its a possibility that all toyota truck/suv owners could congregate into one website? Hmmm, if history is an indicator of future results (haha, sound like a stock broker), i think the answer is no. for whatever reason, its easier to be a speciality site than it is to cover many different makes. Would it be beneficial? definitely yes, there would definitely be more pros than cons in my mind.

bob

[Good Times]

Each community has a purpose and a place of its own. The sites you have mentioned were created to fit the specialized markets for each vehicle platform. Most all sites have evolved in this nature as seen by many other manufacturer forums available on the internet.

We formed UltimateYota as a place to provide a global convergence of Toyota enthusiasts to share their love of nature, the outdoors and exploration. This does not limit to any one vehicle type/classification as it also includes the minivans, sedans, coupes, and even hatchbacks. As we build this community, we hope to see these areas become more active.

As for the lack of tech available on the newer vehicles... I am partly to blame as I've definitely strayed from the standard modifications available on the 4th gen 4runner. Most all of my recent modifications have been all fabricated which is beyond what an average owner/user is willing to do and therefore my tech now belongs in the "fabrication" section and not in the "4th gen 4runner/5th gen taco/fjc" section. When I was very active early on building my 4runner, most all of my tech would have been in the appropriate section. I did compile a faq/wiki for the basic modifications available for the current models and hope that that'll be a good stepping stone for anyone interesting in modding their newer vehicles.

I hope that over time members will begin to contribute to all areas of the community (not just vehicle tech but also outdoor tech).

:)

Just in case anyone missed what our missiong statement is....



Our goal is to provide a world class community where Toyota enthusiasts can share their love of nature, the outdoors and exploration. We believe the environment and responsible motorized recreation can happily co-exist. A close knit community that brings together technical expertise, helpful mentoring, camaraderie and fun is the heart of this portal to the outdoors.

[slosurfer]

I understand that many people are members on all or most of these sites, but I can't help but wonder the effects of having so many websites which almost encourages our community as whole to become divided


I understand what you are saying. I think you would be surprised at how "undivided" it is (yes, sometimes there are very public fights between boards, but usually that involves just a few key players, but the general membership isn't really involved). For example, the Pismo 4runner Jamboree had people show up who only post exclusively on YT, TTORA, Marlin, Pirate, toy120, ih8mud, UY, etc... it didn't matter where they chose to search for info when it came down to getting out and having some fun. An even better example is the Pismo SNT which brings many more clubs together.

[dontdo_that]

thanks for the responses guys. First off, Bob you only got on my case once, but I saw you get on other peoples' cases who were frequently beating topics to death so I figured I had better start searching more! Haha it was a good lesson to learn.

Lance was definately the first, and actually only, 4th gen pioneer that I came to realize and I think I bug him too much since there is no one else on AIM I can readily talk to! And I don't think you are to blame for your modifications Lance because you have shared so much other useful information with the community and I'm sure everyone is damn grateful for it. Before browsing on Toyota120, Lance was the only guy I was aware of who had done so much to his truck and then I discovered that there were a fair number of 4th gens with 4"+ lift and 35s running around.

I really like the UY mission statement and its emphasis on the outdoors. I have began to check out the outdoor forums a little more on here as opposed to just tech stuff. Overall I have definitely learned that there are specific sites that cater to specific communities! I guess I will just continue to search on all of em :-P

Unfortunately I haven't gotten any opportunities to do any runs with UY or YT people, but I'm glad you bring that to my attention Chris. It must be fun to meet people from other boards!

I just considered creating a page that had a list of all the different toyota 4x4 community sites just to help spread word since I had an extra site I could make on my hosting service, but I really actually don't have a ton of time lol. Thats why I wanted to know if others felt the same way as me, or felt that such a site would be really that beneficial.

[EWAYota]

What I've noticed over time is in most cases, the forums are like stepping stones. When I started looking for a good forum, Toyotanation was the first that I joined. It had basic knowledge on mostly just routine and small mods. After a few months I discovered YT. There I was learning about SAS's and what was needed for larger tires and engine modifications. From there, I found Pirate. Can't get any more hard core than that. My mouth dropped the first time I browsed that site.

I'm also on WATTORA, Timbercrawler and Expiditionportal, as 2 provide local wheelers and one provides yet another section of off-road life that intrigues me with a deeper information base.

Stepping stones and branches, thats all it is. I think if it were all joined together, into one, you'd still have seperates. If I was just starting off and found Pirate first off, I'd be scared to death to ask anything in the chance of getting my ass chewed off. And I could only imagine if I had the knowledge that some do, how tiring it would be to listen to the same "newb" questions day in and day out.

[Ric]

What I've noticed over time is in most cases, the forums are like stepping stones. When I started looking for a good forum, Toyotanation was the first that I joined. It had basic knowledge on mostly just routine and small mods. After a few months I discovered YT. There I was learning about SAS's and what was needed for larger tires and engine modifications. From there, I found Pirate. Can't get any more hard core than that. My mouth dropped the first time I browsed that site.

I'm also on WATTORA, Timbercrawler and Expiditionportal, as 2 provide local wheelers and one provides yet another section of off-road life that intrigues me with a deeper information base.

Stepping stones and branches, thats all it is. I think if it were all joined together, into one, you'd still have seperates. If I was just starting off and found Pirate first off, I'd be scared to death to ask anything in the chance of getting my ass chewed off. And I could only imagine if I had the knowledge that some do, how tiring it would be to listen to the same "newb" questions day in and day out.

X2, well said...
and also, sometime personalities just dont jive, lol