I was looking at the spec sheet for approach and departure angles on the 5th gen. I've heard a few people say the trail matches the FJ and always thought how could that be.

The advertised specs for the 4runner are.
Approach
33 degrees - Trail
25 degrees – SR5 V6 (w/ appearance package), Limited

Departure
26 degrees - Trail
24 degrees – SR5 V6 (w/ appearance package), Limited

My understanding of these measurement is to draw a line on the ground across on the center of the tire contact patch, from that point on the ground run a line up to the lowest leading or trailing edge. to come up with the angle.



I get that the trail has a different front bumper and that would account for the improved approach, but on the rear the hitch is the lowest trailing point, so how does the trail end up with 2 degrees more departure. I'm pretty sure the frame and hitch are the same.

Same tire size, same ground clearance stock. In fact the trail has a .5" wider rim so should be a tad lower. Do they take angled (not straight on) approaches and departures into account in their advertised specs? There I can see the rear trail bumper making a difference.

Just curious how they come up with the advertised numbers.

I want to gain a bit more departure in the rear, but can't lose the utility of my hitch. Wondering what departure gains the CBI and others provide and what happens to the hitch position.

Approach and departure lines should be tangent to the tire OD to the lowest front or rear portion of bumper. The SR5 and LE go below the hitch a bit if I remember correctly. Yes, hitch is lowest part but you can drag a hitch with minimal damage. Width of rim does not matter. The easiest way to improve angles is to get larger diameter tires.

It is due to plastic bumber skirt extendin below hitch on SR5 (see pic):

But the hitch is the most trailing edge and will drag the most. If you cheat and don't consider the the hitch itself, then the bumper cover difference (between older sr5 and trail) could make a 2* difference. Also on an angled departure the trail and 2014+ sr5 bumper give more clearance, but my understanding of the actual measurement is that only a straight on line is considered.

It's just a number and does not mean all that much in the real world, but it would be nice to know how modified rigs compare.

Tanget to the tire makes more sense. I should have realized that.

Width of rim would matter with the same tire size as it will decrease effective diameter. It is minimal, but could make a difference as would tire pressure....

Yes, larger tires or a lift of the suspension or both. Another way is to raise the bumpers and shorten them. The 4Runners have long rear overhangs and bumpers. The FJ Cruiser is shorter at the rear end and has less cargo capacity inside as a result. The front bumper is low too. By changing the bumpers to steel, off-road aftermarket bumpers you can dramatically lift the bumper overhang, reduce or eliminate the front fenders dropping in front of the front wheels and slightly shorten the back bumper overhang. These bumpers dramatically alter the look of the car. They do provide recovery point shackles front and rear and a place to mount a winch, two important things a stock T4R lacks. ¿I am not sure what the aftermarket rear bumpers do with a trailer hitch?
Doesn't the Trail Edition have a 1" lift over the SR5 and the Limited? I thought I read that in the spec's. The rocker panels have less body trim and are thereby higher.
Another important measurement is the break-over angle, the angle of contact between wheels. Anyone care to comment on the body overhangs?
Dave

The 2010-2013 sr5s and LEs had more trim hanging down compared to the trail, but I think they made the SR5s pretty much match the trail in 2014. Also the CA edition sr5 was the same as the trail from 2010 on.

Most people who run sliders on older sr5s and LEs remove the rocker panel or go to trail or shockworks trim, but the front and rear bumpers still have more plastic down low. It's not really a big deal since you probably want to eventually go with plate bumpers anyway at some point. I'm just curious how the angles measure out with the different bumpers, lifts, tires..... It seems like Toyota plays with the numbers a bit for the spec sheet and don't consider the hitch.

They do put out suspect numbers in the spec sheets. They list the overall height of all models at 71.5", but that proves to be way low. They list the Limited wheel as 20 X 7.5, and that is wrong. And you might get the impression from the spec sheet that the Limited has no transfer case.