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[Toledo FJ]

I don't know how I feel about all of this. There is no doubt that many of us who go mod crazy don't NEED 90% of the crap we stick on our rigs. I think depending on mods to get you up the trail is silly, and won't do much to help you. Of course things like armor, suspension, tires....the basics can and do help compensate for driver error, but there are also tradeoffs. All the extra weight from armor, bumpers, winches, gear, etc... can actually present ADDED challenges to the driver. Now if you screw up and fall off a large rock or something, you'll be happy that you have skids and beefed up control arms, but better driving skills might have kept you from falling off in the first place.

Do I need all of the mods I've thrown on my rig for my usual driving needs? Absolutely not. Do I love all those unnecessary mods? Hell yes! I wanted to build up my rig so as to be able to handle any situation I may find myself in, and to make it a fun on road driver as it is my DD. Where I wheel currently in michigan, I really don't need most of my mods, and the extra weight is a handicap in the deep sand and mud I often play in. But I want to be able to jump in my truck and drive to Montana, or Moab, or Cali and get out on terrain that may be totally unavailable in my normal wheeling areas.

I'm not gonna lie, I also enjoy my mods for the attention they get. I like when little kid runs up to me at the gas station and freaks out about how sweet my rig is and asks his mom if he can sit in it for a min. Or when other offroaders or car buffs approach me to ask about various mods etc. It gives me a chance to talk about a vehicle I LOVE, and I've made a few good friends so far working on our rigs together.

I agree that if you are gonna mod, you want to have a plan. I admit I was ignorant to that fact in the beginning and I ended up replacing some mods that I should have researched better, Removing some all together, and finding that I needed more mods to install the mods sitting in my garage. It was a good learning experience, though it did cost a few G's for that education.

Anyhow... i'm rambling. Mod, don't mod....its all good. Driving skill is number one, but it sure helps the learning curve to have a little protection for all the screw ups you'll encounter on your way to better skills. I learn a little more every time I wheel, and have a blast doing it!