What is a 3/4 ton pickup?

jefe 4x4 wrote:
Geewiz,
Good to see your stats. Toys keep getting better and better in the GVWR department.
Back in the day, we drove Toyota Land Cruisers: an 1966 FJ40 ragtop w/factory pto winch about 90K miles. Bad brakes, bad carb, no PS or PB. No low gears. 3:1 1st gear/2:1 t.case. 4.10's. The saving grace was the 5000 pound rated rear end way before Dana 44'a and Dana 60's were common in jeep type rigs. I think in the full-size LC's now they are still using a variant on that axle, patterned after the legendary Ford 9" with that all important extra pinion bearing and banjo pig.
The second was a 1970 FJ55. We now had two kids and this was our dream 4x4 RV. It had a Chevy 307 V8, Hone OD, Power loc rr. diff/4.10's, 11-15 True Tracs, 3" spring lift, Warn 8K winch, we added PS, PB. 53 Gallon gas tank, ConFer Toyota spec all metal Jeep trailer that held 4 gas cans and was water proof and airtight. We also added a 'tent-boot' built by a sail maker that snapped on the hole left by lowering the tailgate. Looked like the back end of a stage coach! We could sleep 2 consenting adults and two wee ones in there with a modicum of comfort.We owned this one 14 years and 160K miles. Great machine. Their rust preventative in that era was not good. By 1980 the body was rusting out badly.
I'm glad to see Toyota is still at it.
While I'm here, I might as well tell my 'Toyota', that's "Mister Toyota-san" to you story. 1969 was my first year playing bass trombone in the L.A. Phil and we were on a 3 week concert tour of Japan. The 'band' got to Nagoya and the bus from the airport passed a huge sprawling complex that was the Toyota plant. When we got to the hotel, I asked the consierge to call Toyota and see if I could get an appointment to talk to the head man about my thoughts on their 3-on-the-tree transmission and 2:1 t. case used in Land Cruisers. Hell, i was 24 yrs old and had nothing to lose. By some miracle, the consierge set me up with a meeting the next day, at the plant. When I got there i was escorted into a holding room with tiny kimono clad ladies offering me tea and rice cookies. Some time passed and I was escorted in to see the HEAD MAN at Toyota. I think at that time it WAS Mr. Toyota! In his huge office, there were assistants bubbling around and one was an interpreter. I gulped, and put forth my complaint about not low enough gears and they really needed a H.D. four speed for the L.C. Everyone was very polite and bowed constantly (i got into that too) and in a few minutes it was over. I felt pretty sheepish when i took a cab back to the hotel thinking they must have thought i was crazy American. There was no chance any of that discussion was going to amount to anything. I knew that. However, a couple years after that, the land cruisers were starting to be equipped with 4 speeds with a 4:1, 1st gear and lower t. case gearing. Did i have anything to do with that? Who knows. Probably not, but it's a fun story.
regards, as always, jefe

Excellent story, jefe. I would like to think YOU made those changes happen.
Toyota asked me for feedback after I bought my Tundra. I told them they needed to put on extendable towing mirrors and make the clock visible in daylight when the headlights are on. I have no idea if these things have been made available.