Over the years I have owned and built quite a few platforms including a 4Runner, Tacoma, FJ Cruiser, Gladiator, LX570, and a Land Cruiser 200 Series, along with significant seat time in Wranglers and other builds along the way.
Somewhere during that journey I realized my biggest influence did not actually come from U.S. builds.
During trips to Australia, I had the opportunity to wheel a GU Patrol and a 105 Series Land Cruiser, and also spend time around the 70 Series trucks, especially the 76 and 79 Series, seeing how they are actually used for touring and remote travel. One of the things that stuck with me most was simply seeing 70 Series trucks everywhere, even sitting in dirt parking lots or job sites, just being used as normal working vehicles.
That experience really reshaped how I evaluate off road platforms.
Those vehicles are not built around trends or specs. They are built around distance, durability, simplicity, and carrying real weight in environments where reliability genuinely matters.
Since then my builds have focused more on
• balanced capability
• load management and suspension setup
• range and recovery
• vehicles that invite real use rather than limit it
When the Grenadier appeared, it immediately felt familiar. It reminded me of a combination of those Patrol and Land Cruiser philosophies finally showing up in a modern vehicle available in the U.S.
Now owning and wheeling both a Grenadier wagon and a Quartermaster, it honestly feels like a blend of the GU Patrol and the 70 and 105 Series mindset. Solid axles, mechanical honesty, and a vehicle built with the expectation that owners will actually go use it.
It is not trying to be everything. Just a very solid tool for the job.
