4Runner Stalking, er...um, SPOTTING with Charlie™ (5th Gen Edition)

I swear I've seen more vehicles decorated for Christmas this year than any year prior; I've been seeing wreaths on the fronts of vehicles for as long as I can remember, but I've lost count of the number of well-decorated vehicle (lights, etc) that I've seen in the Philly burbs this year! If you look closely you'll see that, in addition to the obligatory wreath on the front, this TRD PRO has colored lights on the roof rack!


December 24th, 2021:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

The overwhelming majority of vehicles with decorations on them (always a wreath on the front, sometimes lights) seem to be pickup trucks, both foreign and domestic brands; The only vehicles I've seen come anywhere near my Tacoma in terms of decorations are Jeep Wrangler JKs. I saw a late model Subaru with lights on the Thule rack, and a late model SUV (either a Ford Edge or an Acura MDX, I forget). Last year, I met a guy who had Christmas lights on the back bumper of his 2008 Toyota Matrix; I guarantee you that few people put the effort into their vehicles that I put into my truck at Halloween though!

 

And yes, it is 100% illegal in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to drive around with Christmas lights on your vehicle; I've done some research, and it is illegal in pretty much every other state (and the other three commonwealths) as well.

Whether or not you get pulled over depends on what kind of a mood the cops are in. I have been decorating my truck to some degree every year since 2011 (with only a wreath in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017); I did lights around the rear window in 2011 and 2012, and then put them around the whole bed starting in 2018 (in addition to a wreath). In 2019, I went to the roof and stopped just shy of the windshield. In 2020, we were in the midst of a pandemic and I went nuts...

My reasoning was that people needed some cheering up at the end of what had been an undoubtedly shitty year, so I decorated my truck literally from front to back and drove all over Southeastern Pennsylvania; I lost count of how many times I stopped so someone could take a picture...

The Christmas truck was a hit, and I went a bit crazier this year!

 

Anyway, the police around here are cool; I've been decorating my truck in some way every Christmas for the last decade and I have yet to get pulled over for the Christmas lights...

In fact, if anything, the local cops think it's the coolest thing in the world; Last year, I actually asked the police where I live (Warrington Township) if the Christmas lights were legal. This one cop chuckled and said "No, but you're good."

This year, a New Hope cop pulled up alongside me and complimented me on the lights without saying one word about them being illegal.

I've driven the truck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which is under the jurisdiction of the State Police, without an issue; I've also driven the truck in probably four different counties in Pennsylvania, plus parts of Philadelphia, with nothing but positive responses. I think it is safe to say as long as the person decorating their vehicle doesn't go overboard with the decorations or drive like a jackass, the police will look the other way!

 

December 26th, 2021:

Warminster, Pennsylvania

 

January 20th, 2022:

Warminster, Pennsylvania

 

February 4th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

2017 TRD PRO with only 20K miles!


February 7th, 2022:

Lansdale, Pennsylvania

 

One of only two new T4Rs at Thompson Toyota as of February 2022, and it's a TRD PRO in one of my favorite colors! I was just talking to a guy who paid $48K for a white 2017 TRD PRO with insanely low miles (20K as of this post) before vehicle prices went into the stratosphere, and he said the dealer he bought it from was offering him more for it than he paid to buy it back, so if one were able to get this brand new one at sticker or a couple grand above sticker, that wouldn't be the worst dealer in the world...


February 9th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

This one was not for sale, but I liked the way it looked, so I took pictures anyway...


February 9th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

Obscenely high, rage-inducing prices on used vehicles are just a fact of life at this point, but I figured I'd share with you some of these used T4Rs that I found at Thompson Toyota...

This is a 2014 SR5 (And a fairly basic one at that); Over 116K miles on it and they want almost $26K!


February 9th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

This fairly loaded 2020 SR5 had just under 30K miles and was on the CPO lot; It has leather seats and a sunroof, so I'm assuming that unlike the silver 2014 above, it's an SR5 Premium...


February 9th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

2017 SR5 Premium with almost 118K miles; Yours for $30K!


February 9th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

Here is the second new T4R that Thompson had in stock (Emphasis on had; It was spoken for)...

This is a "base model" (No sunroof or leather seats) 2022 SR5, with a sticker price of over $40K!


February 9th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

February 11th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

February 11th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

February 12th, 2022:

Warminster, Pennsylvania

 

Appears to be an older one (2010-2014?) based on the wheels...


February 17th, 2022:

Warrington, Pennsylvania

 

February 20th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

2015 T4R; Unknown trim...


February 20th, 2022:

Hatfield, Pennsylvania

 

Not in bad shape and not particularly high miles for the age, but jeez, that price!


February 20th, 2022:

Glenside, Pennsylvania

 

Located at Sloane Toyota in Glenside, Pennsylvania; This is one of three dealerships I explore fairly often, and to date, Sloane seems to have the most obscene prices on used vehicles...

 

It has leather seats and a sunroof, which would indicate SR5 Premium as opposed to mere SR5...

 

2019 TRD PRO in Voodoo Blue!


February 21st, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

2021 SR5


February 28th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

2018 TRD Off-Road


March 3rd, 2022:

Warminster, Pennsylvania

 

March 5th, 2022:

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania

 

2011 SR5


March 11th, 2022:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania