For many years I was very into offroading, I was even president of your area Toyota 4x4 Club (Yankee Toys) of a couple of years.

I had a series of older trucks, bought and sold for $3-$4k. A couple of 4runners, a Range Rover classic, and 3 different Land Cruiser (FJ62, FJ55 &FZJ80).

All except the 80 were close to stock and I wheeled every one of them.

About 6 years ago, when I left my job to freelance full time, I pulled back from the hobby, bought the stock, 2005 4runner, and settled in for the long haul. Without 2 full time incomes I thought it was a bit frivolous to keep a 3rd car that I was constantly wanting (and sometimes needing) to put money into.

After my near-death experience this winter I've decided life is too short to not do something you love. My 4R is 12 years old and has 175k miles on it, no reason to treat it like a museum piece, so I'm intending to get back into the woods this summer.

Truck is all stock, right down to the tired (but not leaky) XREAS. I've got a set of General Grabber at2's on it.

I'd like to do sliders, and replace the suspension with a low-lift OME kit but that's not happening right away.

Anyone else wheeling a stock 4th gen? How do you like it? Assuming this isn't a grossly redundant thread, or the wrong forum, let's talk about that.

The kind of stuff I'd expect to run are NH & VT's "Class 6" or "unimproved" roads, no major rock crawling or mud bogging.

I'm in the almost exact same boat, had a 3rd gen that I enjoyed working on and wheeling. Have left my 2005 just about stock other than electrical stuff, CB, navigation, intake, etc. but it's now over 150k miles and am ready to get back in the mud.

I've done a few light trails on a farm, the lockers and 4WD and great but I bang the skid plates (hopefully the skid plates...) pretty easy on a rocky trail down to river. I would suggest the VSC/TRAC off mod - my main complaint with the 4th gen was those electrical nannies, made me miss the much more simple 3rd gen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBzlLqB-j-g

My first major move will be replacing XREAS all around as well for somewhere around 2-3" lift, and BFG T/A KO 2's. I was about to get some Daystar spacers but I just figure might as well replace tired shocks (and probably springs too I guess).

I wheeled mine stock when I first got it. When I got off the trail the running boards were bent up enough to stop the doors from opening so I think sliders are the first you should consider.

I wheeled with sliders and skids, stock everything else at first. just armor up everything you can so its less to worry about. at that point you will start to feel the weight of the armor a bit and want to upgrade the suspension, get the best you can afford to do. Get the tires you like and your pretty much set to go in most places.

Thanks gang! I definitely think sliders are a must, as well as beefy underbody skid plates. I need to redo the suspension anyway so a slight lift makes $ense.

the running boards..

I drive my 4Runner a lot for work, so I can't really afford to have a lifted truck with monster tires, the gas costs would kill me. I've also got a kid in private school who plays very high level volleyball, so I have very little money.

I went with Bilstein 5100 + FJ springs and just ordered a set of White Knuckle Off Road sliders. With the 5100's and springs (about $600 total) I've been able to do trails that I never thought I could. The sliders will be another $600 and I figure I'll be good for what I want to do. I have a ton of camping gear, so I just throw that in the back of the truck and go. The only other thing I may add is an awning, so I'm keeping an eye out in the Classifieds.

The 4Runner platform is really good. I have no interest in rock crawling or gnarly trails, just to be able to get to good camping spots and carry my dirt bike on the back when I want.

Where is this?

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I can't give you exact locations but grab a Gazateer and you'll find these un-maintained roads all over the state. More and more get closed every year though, and it's been a while since I've been "in the game" so I'll be hooking up with a couple of local clubs for runs so that I make sure to keep it legal.

Did that a while back, I really want to do sliders first, I think that will be a big damage-minimizer.

My 4runner just went from daily driver to 3rd vehicle so now I get to play a little more. My first step has been to rip out the cargo "shelf" in the back and build a kind of organizer/platform. It holds a pair of heavy duty rubbermaid totes and a bunch of other junk. One is full of tools and recovery gear, the other some camping items for those "in case I get stuck really badly" moments.

Knock on wood I haven't needed the recovery gear except to extract some of my friends and coworkers so far. Some chain, a good strap, assorted clevises can help get you out of a bind. I've been meaning to add a really beefy manual cable winch. For the amount I go out I can't see myself dropping a couple of grand on a big beefy front bumper and winch (although I'd love to).

The sliders sound great but I'll need ones with steps. My short wife and two young kids use them to get in/out. I also use them a lot just trying to reach the roof rack to load/unload kayaks and canoes. Any recommendations??

Hey guys,

I recently got my 2005 Limited 4Runner about 1 month ago and bought it to go off-roading. It is bone stock v8 with 176,000 Miles and has XREAS w/RAS and some new A/T tires that came with the truck. I live on Maui and took it to a minor trail the first day I got it. Since buying it I took it through a muddy/rocky trail (no big rocks as I did not hit any skid plates), Drove it on the beach (Got stuck but that was user error since I am new to driving in sand. Eventually got out with a lot of gas and the center locker on.), I took it up to the mountains on a pretty good trail, took it to the beach several times, camped in it with my 2 kids, and have taken it off-road at least 3times a week since buying it and here are my thoughts so far.

1. The front is VERY LOW. On the mountain trail, I could not stay on the tracks as I would scrape on the skid plate and had to ride up on the edges. Annoying as it was a tight trail and got some scratches on my paint from bushes and branches. So I would at least buy a 1 inch spacer for the front to get a little more clearance on a budget. (I ordered a daystar front lift kit off Amazon used for $24 bucks but they shipped me the wrong part so waiting on the right part to come in)

2. Tires is very important. I have some random A/Ts that work well so far in mud, rocks, gravel, sand, and dirt. I do want to upgrade to KO2s but these tires are brand new and work for me so holding off for now.

3. I have not done any crazy rock crawling or anything too crazy so I have not needed rock sliders. I do want them bad as I don't have running boards there and it's exposed but not a priority for me as I have not needed it so far.

4. Seeing as stock our trucks are low, I would definitely recommend getting aftermarket skids plates underneath. That is going to be my first set of armor purchase.

5. Having XERAS and RAS is not ideal for off roading. For one, having RAS makes it more expensive and time consuming to lift up the rear. Having XERAS makes it a tiny bit more work to upgrade the suspension as you have to remove the lines. And replacement parts are expensive. So unless you are towing, I would not go with RAS.

6. Last thoughts are just go out and have fun. Take it stock and see what parts you need as you NEED it. For me, I scraped the front skid plate multiple times on multiple trails, so I need to lift the front up. I also have a leaky XREAS systems and suspension is getting bad, so I will be replacing suspension soon. Future plans, is also buying full skid plate protection as that is my main concern when off roading. Besides that, this truck is VERY CAPABLE for me and where I go here on Maui. You just got to see what works for you.

7. Final thoughts that I just remembered. If you are planning on off-roading, invest in floor mats, seat covers, dash covers, and cargo mats. I went budget with this and got front seat covers from costco fro $25 bucks, Generic SUV HEAVY SUV Rubber Floor mats from Amazon for $30 bucks, and a dash cover from Ebay for $40 bucks. The floor mats I got fit perfectly and fully protect all areas. I think they are motor trend brand on Amazon. It's NOT made to fit the 4runner specifically but a generic fit to fit SUVs. And it works great!

Hope this helps others looking to off road their 4runners. I LOVE mine and can't wait to continue to push it's limit and build it out!


Posted on the Beach


At the beach with my Daughter


Kind of Buried Tires


Front Floor Mats and Seat Covers


Rear Floor Mats


This is how my cargo area looks on the daily.

You got an entire front lift kit for $24??? I assumed they were way more than that and haven't even looked.

I didn't even know this was a thing. Here's to hoping there's some good roads still here in NC. Do you just base the "legality" as to whether there are signs or not?

Hey sorry to confuse you, it was a Used Daystar Front Spacer Kit off Amazon for $24 bucks free prime shipping. Not an entire lift kit. Sorry for the confusion.