For the first 200,000 miles our 4Runner has primarily been a daily driver... even after a lift 20k miles ago, dual battery, lighting, fridge, and other mods it has been our adventure truck / road trip truck which would still see some times in a working parking lot.

We recently bought our 3rd vehical and our tune regarding the 4Runner is starting to change... and its starting to become more of a toy (and a money pit).

We spending most of our time in CA BLM and deserts when we have leisure time.

We worry less about breaking something or having down-time if something happens to the truck. I try to work on it myself and treat it as more of a hobby item.

Our aftermarket decisions have started to drift from our original vision...

I started to realize I am treating my rig as a toy more than a tool... just curious as to what your 4Runner is to you.

Part of my concern is that I am at a point where you have to start spending "real money" for mods (like long travel done right, gearing, lockers), and am not sure if the 4Runner is really the best or smartest platform to do it on.

For example... I have OE style bolt on suspension... and even on the higher end of that spectrum it can only do so much.

I start looking at performance mods like 2+ or 3.5+ long travel with a secondary bypass shock, and even engine mods (v6 here) or swap +supercharger...

Its not difficult to find yourself looking at a potential of 20-30k of additional spending from this point forward. If I start buying mods at this level I am almost having to commit to the platform. I dont expect my 200k motor to last forever, but if I have 10-15k in custom suspension + gearing and lockers on it already, its hard not to considering fixing the motor vs dumping, parting out, and moving on.

A part of me feels that before going too far down this rabbit hole, I should consider alternate options such as a sand rail, UTV / Side x Side, / another road legal platform that has more potential for making power...

So for those who own a 4Runner, how do you use it, would you keep it as a pure toy if you had the option, or would you move onto something else?

I really think the 4Runner, 4th gen V8 especially, is one of the most well-rounded street-legal platforms for any purpose. It can do it all from long road trips expedition style camping to rock crawling or dune-jumping to daily driver grocery getter largely due to its reliability and aftermarket support. (We all already know this of course)

Right now its my only vehicle but I haven't treated it that way considering I'm a busy college student wheeling on the weekends without a ton of extra cash laying around to easily fix broken parts from the trail.

I'll be graduating soon which has made me think about "what comes next" with my truck. My conclusion is to build my truck expedition style adventure camping machine that can take on a few trails similiar to what I've been doing already. I don't want to beat this thing up on the trails (but I also don't want to be towed over every rock). If I have the urge for total trail domination I would likely buy a classic Toyota solid axle vehicle or side by side and trailer it to the wheeling spots in Colorado, Moab, or even local spots that are 4hrs away. My 4Runner would be "base camp" while I beat up on a vehicle that is hardly street legal anyway.

As far as all the mod money accruing. You don't need long travel, supercharger, lockers, or 35s. You can drive over insanely gnarly stuff with aftermarket shocks, 33s, and maybe a rear locker. The other $15k is mainly for the enthusiast "cool factor" IMO. Sure there are some that actually "need" these $ items for the things they put their truck through. Not to bash, but most of it can be tackled fine with experience and no urge to take the hardcore route through the rock garden or fly 80mph through the desert. You don't need long travel, lockers, etc to have a good time and enjoy America's scenery with your 4Runner.

My rambling 2 cents worth...

Technically my 4runner is my daily driver, but all of my vehicles are "toys" to me. The runner is just the most practical of the group. With a few mods, it certainly feels special to drive, and I think it's something you can be proud of. Toyota trucks have such a great legacy, you're bound to get compliments and comments if you have a nice one. These things hold their value extremely well, so as long as yours isn't rotting out I'd say it's worth investing in. If it works and you love it, spend money on it!

I would take the consideration of how will you feel if it is gone ? If you keep it and do nothing, it doesn't cost much....seems to me the experience of an open buggy is very different from riding in a full vehicle, do you need a change ? You can always use your toy to tow your other toy.

I struggle with this too sometimes. My 4Runner is my only 4 wheeled vehicle so I must keep it streetable. The places I have gone and plan on going to explore are far away which with my limited vacation days dictates all interstate there and back for the most time out there. Could I go all out with long travel, 35's, RTT, bumpers, the whole shebang? Sure but it wouldn't fit in my garage, would cost me a ton for something I don't use 75% of the time, kill fuel economy (not that I bought this to sip fuel), and ultimately be a waste. Another thing that helps keep the 4Runner mild is I also have 2 wheeled toys to quench my extreme offroad needs, which the 4Runner is great to tow and camp out of during those events, don't even need a lift or any fancy mods to do that.

Now if I was using my 4Runner as a dedicated trail toy, or advertising for my livelihood like many of the growing number of "overland" teams and outfitters out there then it might make sense. Since you have other DD's and this could be your toy only, if you plan on keeping it forever, whatever the cost, then go all out!

From my perspective here in NE PA, I really don't have much wheeling around me. Most of the woods is owned by mining companies that used to allow public recreation but don't anymore. I plan on keeping mine pretty much stock aside from bumpers, springs and shocks to compensate for the weight, and a winch. I'd really like to get a Polaris RZR or Can-Am Maverick to beat the snot out of.

Saw your avatar and instantly thought it looked like a sweet MR2. Then I saw your signature.

My 08 is my dd, but I'd love to build it up to max capability at the same time. What I think I'll be working towards is a 'convertible daily driver', meaning on Friday after work I can spend an hour or so converting it into the weekend warrior mobile. Switch out the street tires and rims for the super swampers, drop the winch into the bumper, pump up the hydraulic body lift, that sort of thing....

Mine's both - my DD & toy. I hit the trails a lot but have toned down what I do and built it for my needs. After having a well built Land Cruiser I was able to limit my mods specifically for my current needs. While I can't run the difficult trails I did in the past I can still do everything I want to do. Times change along with needs & wants and it's always a good idea to keep that in mind.

Both 4Runners are daily drivers but we do like to mod and wheel them. They are also our tow vehicles and everything else in between. We do get out and use them but there's a difference between using them and abusing them. If you build and wheel with some common sense and practicality, you can have the best of both worlds.

That being said, I'm adding full plate bumpers and winches to both 4runners and probably going up another tire size or two. With that will come re-gears on both. All of this is subject to change for many reasons but that's the idea so far.

Don't buy accessories buy for your needs in 5 years! Buy for your needs now! You can always change things up down the road. I don't understand folks who overestimate their needs and have a glorified mall crawler that never leaves pavement. To each their own.

My 4Runner is my daily driver and ride to the trailhead for hiking. I do not need it to be more than that. For off reading fun I have a RZR 900xp which is a million times more fun playing around in. Good luck with which way you decide to go.

Bill

I agree with a lot of what you said, if anything I have done a lot of it... but considering the age differences and demographic of 4Runner owners is all over the place, its easy to forget or not be able to see another perspective sometimes...

I am probably a bit older than the typically 4Runner owner on this forum, but I literally just spent the last year (after quitting work from a 15 year career) planning trips, vacationing, and adventuring with my 4Runner.

After I stopped working I basically started building up the truck and doing all the work myself...

I lifted the truck, designed my own dual battery setup, tires, bunch of electrical work, ARB fridge, and general maintenance... and took it on a 5000 mile solo road trip all though-out CA and Oregon. Camping along the way and enjoying myself and the truck... pretty wild experience going by yourself for that long (month long trip).

After that was a few more road trip with my fiance, Yellowstone, Bryce, GrandTetons, CA, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming... but in less than a year we have logged over 20k worth of recreation miles both on and off-road.

We feel the road trip / expedition chapter is coming to a close, I am going to start working again, and that means frequent (weekend) local trip out to local deserts...

Even if we continue doing road trips or overland travel... I would prefer to do them in a different truck. The SR5 v6 4Runner I have lacks space, luxury, and its just not all that comfortable to sit in 5-8 hours / day driving. I would end up wanting to do it in something else like a new GX460, Land Cruiser, or even a bigger American SUV like a Yukon Denali.

Yes, the experience from an open buggy is different, and very much to my liking as well as a desert rat.

Even without the 4Runner I would have something to tow with as the 4x4 Silverado was the 3rd vehical we got.

Currently my desert / sand toy is a Raptor 700, but I cant help wanting to drive the 4Runner everywhere too.

Its a lot of gear, but for ATV trips I drive the truck with quad and my lady takes the 4Runner.

RZR900 is a pretty awesome UTV.

My friend has a YXZ1000 and I basically just follow him in the 4Runner though whoops, dunes, and hard pack.

I really push my 4Runner hard in the desert which is why I am on the long travel kick. Last trip I did have some close calls with a pretty bad bottom out in one location. I would love more suspension headroom to increase saftey and performance.

I have some pretty wild go-pro footage carving dunes... need to get that edited and uploaded.

Not sure if that was a general statement or direct towards me... but my runner is far from a mall crawler in terms of how its used... heck I dont even take it to the mall...

If you dont plan ahead how could you use your money wisely? Last thing I want to do is sink 20-30k into a project that keeps going in random direction, only to find that it doesn't really fit my wants/needs after its run its course... and with very little ROI or cost recovery.

Even changing your mind down the road is a very costly venture if you dont exercise fore-though ... moving away from a rig that has been geared, long travel, or caged is basically even more $ than starting fresh at times. Which is the reason for this thread; picking a final application, specializing for it, or just buying a better toy to start with.

If anything I am constantly growing out of its capability after I mod it... The only things that is left is truly moving into high dollar mods and leaving the world of bolt on OE gear.

For where I often use the truck... I could get away with just selling it and buying something that makes a lot more sense for the terrain I drive on BUT I love my 4Runner and want to keep at it, I just feel that its starting to become something pretty specialized.