Hi Guys,

I am a new bie who joined the forum, i already have been doing the rounds of Toyota Dealership. My first love was FJ Cruiser, since they have pulled the plug on the beast, i am choosing 4runner for better comfort trims(Read 2nd Row Seat) being offered and something more apt for highway cruising.

I want to do decent amount of off-roading trails hikes, river crossings and other back country trails. I like the options which Limited Edition provides like dual climate zone, heated,ventilated seats along with all time 4wd and the bulgy look lit up with the chrome inserts. But it lacks the HAC, DAC, Terrain select and crawl control which Trail offers.

My question is if i choose to buy limited edition will that be something which will hinder the kind of offroading i can do. Or is that sometihng which can be covered by having bigger tyres to improve approach and departure angles. does the crawl control and terrain select very much required for offroading. If not i would be happy to stick with limited edition swap its rims with 17's and BFG's making it offroad capable or may be stick billsteins to improve the clearance.

But if Trail's Crawl control and terrain select is very much required for offroading then i would stick to Trail. I might loose the bells and whistles but will be able to do for th exact reason i am buying 4 runner that is to hit the dirt. If i needed a eye candy and a couch i would have chosen something else. Money is not an issue, but the functionality is.

So look upto you guys to share your thoughts, me being the new kid on the block.

My '10 LE has DAC, where did you read that LE's dont have DAC?

The one thing that makes the Trail Edition more capable than the Limited off the lot is the rear locker. You'll still want to buy better tires for the TE, you just won't need to buy new wheels as well. You can make an LE as capable as a TE, it will just cost you some more time and money.

TE Prem wont have :

dual zone ac/heat
vented and heated seats, only heated seats.
3rd row option
smart key system
full time 4wd w/ center diff
x-reas suspension
20" rims

those are the only major difference between TE and LE.

each model is suited for each target audience. TE for the off roaders. LE for the once in a blue moon off roaders / or the mall queens.

converting a LE into a TE or average/above average off roading will cost more than a TE or SR5 conversion cause you will be removing stuff you paid for in the cost.

serious mods will probably go the SR5 route to save the most since you wont be removing all that fancy stuff you paid in the cost of the TE/LE such as kdss,x-reas.

Full Time 4WD is what ultimately lead me to the Limited. I go up to Tahoe a lot in the winter time and the full time 4WD was very important to me. You have to decide whats more important to you.

So far I have had no need for a rear locker. I just put mine in 4LO and turn on A-TRAC and I am good to go off-road (so far). The only really annoying thing is the lower front air dam and the rocker covers which give up quite a bit of clearance. Which of course are the same on the SR5 and Limited. So far I have removed my front air dam, and when I get sliders I will remove the rocker covers.

Same here... However I haven't done any "rock crawling" but been able to get through most terrains.

There are some large stones, stumps, and other obstacles on the trails I frequent that make me nervous which is the only reason why I am getting sliders. So far I have done well with avoiding these and my rockers have taken no damage. I would like the piece of mind though, cause its the one you dont see that always gets you.

Living here in the north where it snows, fulltime 4WD is more important to me than a rear locker. Your priorities may be different.

Agreed, +1 for sliders.
Add lockers and you are good to go.

After having a vehicle with the smart key, I don't think I could ever go to a vehicle without one. My 2012 LE has hac, and dac.

Thanks guys for your inputs, I am bending over to TE Premium, since it makes more sense rather than paying up front for LE and then striping it down.

The other question i am left with is since TE has part time 4WD, does that mean lets say i move out of parking lot full of snow/ice i will put on 4X4 and then just before getting onto the clean paved road i m expected to halt the vehicle dis engage 4X4 and then ride. If yes that is a bit tedious because i will keep on changing the modes depending upon the surface.

I can take that in my spring, but would have made more sense for toyota to have a 4 X 4 option on TE too. One which can be changed on the fly.

You do not have to stop the vehicle or put it in neutral to disengage 4Hi with the P/T system in the Trail and SR5. Just disengage the transfer case lever when your foot is off the gas. Same to put it into 4Hi. 4Low is different, but you won't need that on the road 98% of the time.

Full-time 4WD is nice, but I've managed 30-70 days/season in Tahoe with part-time for the last decade and a half--without destroying the drivetrain. It's a mild inconvenience at best, in my opinion and experience. We have two Subarus in my family, plus all my friends have them, so I know what it's like to have full-time too.

Throw some good winter tires on your 4Runner and you won't have to worry about full-time 4wd or having to keep shifting into 4hi. We already have snow on the ground up here and I haven't put it in 4hi once yet. On Sunday I passed a Subaru Outback going up a hill because he was spinning his wheels. Doesn't matter how many wheels are turning if your tires can't get traction...

You passed him and didn't offer to help?!