I sold my Tacoma TRD Tacoma 4x4 6 months ago and I miss having an expedition vehicle to go camping in, hitting the trails, exploring, etc.

Since my Tacoma had a factory rear locker and it was a very capable truck. I want my next rig to have a locker as well. Hence me picking the 2009 4runner trail edition which comes with a factory rear locker. I know these are hard to come across.

Since the 2009 TE is hard to come by I was thinking about picking up a 2008ish V8 4x4 and putting a ARB locker on it. But this will cost me about $1800 to put in an aftermarket locker. I rather have an oem locker without messing with compressors, etc.

I do not tow so I really do not need the V8, but seems like this V8 is more reliable than the V6 so that is my only motivation on getting one.

What do you guys think?

When I get this vehicle I will most likely mod it with arb/shrockworks bumper, mild lift, gobi low profile roof rack, etc.

I guess no one has any feedback on the 2009 TE? Guess its rare even on here..

Are they all the same price?

Yes they are relatively the same price. Some of the limited V8's are higher but I do not want leather so the limited is out. I like the sport V8's cloth but I have no desire for XREAS and I can simply take the system out.

But I really do want a locker since my Tacoma had one.

More interested in your M3 Sedan.
Dream Car there with the manual...

Also, wait for the TE. Would hold value better I would imagine.

Tough Call.... time for wheel and deal!

TE's are like the sasquatch or the Lock Nes Monster (sp?) some say they are out there, but I have never seen one....!!

Did your Taco have ATRAC? IMO ATRAC is extremely capable in these rigs. I've gone everywhere with no locker that the local Taco guys are going. I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't mind not having one!

If I was in your boat, I'd just buy a 5th gen. TE...

Probably will never find a 09 TE. I've seen ONE in person and someone on this board just bought a white one here in Omaha...

Okay, well maybe they're not that rare because I saw both of them in Omaha -- HA Omaha, the lease likely spot you'd ever use a TE...

Just install an ARB air locker.

Gonna have to regear with bigger tires anyways. Perfect opportunity.

Took me a year to find my TE back in '10 but there are usually 1 or 2 for sale at any given time on the interwebz, usually the dealer doesn't even know what it is and 90% of the time they are listed as SR5's or SE's. The locker is awesome but the even more awesome thing about the TE's is the ATRAC off the FJ, talk about beast mode. Regular T4r's have ATRAC but the TE's is extremely aggressive, basically like a front locker. Deep sand is a breeze. While its true the V8 is one of the best motors Toyota has ever made, the V6 is shared across T4r's, Taco's and FJ's, all of which are legendary leaders in their classes. Also waterproof seats are great for the beach or after a workout, no cloth to worry about. I kinda like having a sleeper 4x4 because almost no one knows about the 4th gen TE and no other vehicle I know of combines the reliability, comfort, and performance of the 4th gen TE. 5th gen TE's are sweet but I didn't buy one for a number of reasons I wont go into here. Bottom line is if you can find a 4th gen TE for a decent price (that they are rare doesn't change the fact that its basically an SR5) I say get it.

I agree that lots of the TE's aren't listed at TE's. I usually search autotrader by year and 4x4 and go through all the ads.

I agree with you the TE model is sweet especially with ATRAC and the rear locker. I definitely want one and willing to wait and travel to get one. I'm looking for a silver one or the darker grey color.

I contemplated on getting a 5th gen TE but I just can't take the plunge either. It looks good in my opinion but kind of too big for some of the trails I go on. Many people complained about quality issues in them also. It's also easier to wheel and get a used truck dirty than a brand new $40k truck.

What don't you like about the 5th gen TE? Curious to hear your opinion on it.

Best car sites I've found are cars.com and yahoo.com (autos). I used the advanced search, 2009 4runner 4x4 or 4wd, any distance, sorted by price highest to lowest. Cars.com and yahoo usually have more pictures so you can tell if its a TE or not and you can search nationwide which is how I found mine. I don't really want to bash the 5th gen TE because I think its a great truck and Im stoked to see Toyota embracing what I think is this vehicles core essence, namely a reliable, daily driver that is also a beast off road. Most of the issues with the new gen have already been mentioned in other threads so I sent you a PM detailing my opinions on the pros and cons between the two and why I went with the 09. Good luck in your search.

I agree get a ARB locker, I put mine in years back and it was well worth the cost.

I think it's easier and cheaper to find a 08-09 T4R 4wd anyway.

There's one on autotrader.com. Only 54k miles and Shadow Mica too. But it's in Minnesota.

I own a 2006 V6 2wd SR5 today, bought primarily out of necessity about a year back and not because I shopped around for "the one I wanted".

I'm now interested in finding one for use on and offroad and also for towing just slightly north of the V6 5000 lb limit, so I am leaning heavily towards a 2009 V8 4x4 model. I noticed that the Trail Edition was offered in 2009 and some searching led me to this thread. Sounds like I can expect to be hunting for a while before I find one.. Does a V8 TE even exist, or is TE only V6?

A few commenters suggested that dealers often list it as just an SR5 and that they had to shop by looking at pictures to find a Trail Edition. The TE added the rear locker and A-TRAC, so I assume there would be buttons for controlling these features. Given many pictures are not high quality, knowing where these buttons are located would help me spot them easily in online photos - anyone have a picture of one to share? Or are there other obvious internal or external markings that distinguish the 2009 TE from other models?