Did anyone get a 4runner but previously was driving a RAM truck?

What are the comfort differences? Do you feel crowded?
Lack of acceleration bother you? Do you plain miss having a truck or do the joys of owning the SUV override that?
I am having 2nd thoughts about the TRDPro 4Runner I have on order. Almost feel it is a younger person's vehicle, although not sure what that even means.

i didnt have a RAM but i did have a Tundra, and the only thing i miss, is throwing stuff in the bed and not worrying about if it was dirty. but then again i have only had my 4runner 3 weeks. but i feel like i have more room on the inside, and is generally more comfortable than even when my tundra was new

Thanks.
I have owned several toyota trucks in the past, mostly Tacoma and a first model 4runner. But have driven larger trucks for last several years. Tried a Tacoma in 2013 but it was a piece of crap that lasted only one month before I traded it off; it was nothing like the 1993 one I still have with close to 300K miles.

I didn't own one... but while the 4th gen was in the shop from smacking a log; I was unfortunately saddled with a RAM 1500 as a rental for a couple weeks. Could not be happier to ditch that thing and get back into my 4th gen, can see why people are running themselves over with Chrysler's brilliant idea for a shifter...

That being said, I do like the idea of having a truck sometimes.

Had one as a rental. That rotary knob for the transmission shifter was the worst thing in the history of cars.

Totally different vehicles, not to state the obvious. I love full size pick ups for what they are but wouldn't want to daily drive one, that's mainly because I love the open cabin feeling of SUV's and the easy access to gear they provide. A drivers physique could easily change that though.

I drove both a mid 90's Ram 2500 with the 8 liter V10 and later 90's Dakota V8 in high school, ranch vehicles my family let me use while I was learning to drive. They were great vehicles and I was grateful to be able to use them, but when the time came to get my own I opted for an SUV, just fits my needs better. I actually find SUV's more roomy than pickups, I guess the depth of the rear cargo area overrides the width of fullsize pickup cabins in my mind.I briefly got into a 2016 Tacoma and sold it within a few months to get back into a 4Runner.

If it's any consolation I see plenty of older generation folks driving 4Runner's. If the image thing is bothering you perhaps look at the Lexus offerings or a 200 series Land Cruiser, the price point on those and general aesthetics tends to limit/turn off the younger crowd. Super comfy vehicles. I'm just not sure I'd ever get back into a pickup unless I was in-need of something to haul cargo or farm equipment. That's coming from someone in California though, I know in other regions the taste or status of pickups can be different, again purely aesthetics. I'm also of the camp that believes one is defined by what they do, not what they own.

Lastly, to ease your mind I'd consider the the fact that you're about to get into a vehicle with one of the highest reselling values, particularly the TRD Pro. I'm not sure what year your Ram is, or what/if you have payments on it, but with the incentives the big 3 American truck manufacturers have if you were that dissatisfied I doubt you'd be out much to switch back to a pickup.

i still have a 2015 Ram 1500 Rebel
I now also have a 2017 4Runner TRD Pro

They are 2 totally different vehicles.

Ram 1500 has.. more seating space. more power, more comfort. More technology. Love the air suspension on the Ram.

4Runner.. is a better daily driver for me. Better MPG. Both are getting a good amount of mods slowly. 4runner has a awesome aftermarket for parts.

I use ram for weekend trips etc. My Leadfoot gives me.. 11mpg.

Haven't bought one myself but i do have a lot of experience with them.

In laws all have one. Theyre all 2013 tradesman trims with the now extinct 4.7 v8.

In those particular cases theyre pretty stout for the most part but pretty anemic. The crew cab is better than the extended cab or whatever they call it. The bigger cab is much more useful than the smaller version especially if you take passengers.

Prior to purchasing our 4Runner we did look into Rams. Ultimately my wife wants a 2500 cummins in laramie trim. Cant say i blame her. We seriously considered a 1500 hemi with a well optioned big horn package and while it was an extremely nice truck, we just didnt want to swing the 43k tag at this time.

What we liked was the heated seats and steering wheel, back up camera, navigation and radio interface, and the remote start. The hemi was very quick and seemed to get decent economy for a truck. The rotory dial for the transmission was hard to get used to. I kept reaching for the column shifter that wasnt there. Ride was also comfortable and steering felt more car like than truck.

A 4Runner was also on the list of new vehicles we want. Ultimately we bought the 4Runner if only for the cheaper price point at this time. Is it less power than the hemi? Yes. But it has enough to do what is needed of it.

Is it comfortable? Yes. Not as plus as the ram, but certainly not far off.

Does it have all the features of the ram? In our case no. We got an sr5 with navigation. I will be adding heated seats and remote start somewhere down the line. I will do the seats myself. I am unsure at this time if i would attempt remote start myself.

The 4Runner handles more like a 4x4 truck than a car, but steering still feels good and not at all like a vague truck feeling.

Will we get a ram? Eventually yes. But we wont be trading the 4Runner for it.

The 4Runner is a good high quality suv without being too large. It has really good features and is a very capable offroad vehicle.

If you see yourself running trails or having a need for something along the lines of a 4runner then you cant go wrong.

If you see yourself needing to tow or use the bed of a truck with any frequency then you should just get the truck.

In my line of work as a tow truck operator I see a lot of vehicles broken down for various reasons. I have only towed a 4runner 3 times, once was a 94 that needed a clutch, once was a 98 that had a no start condition, and the last was a 97 that needed an alternator. In every case they all had over 200k and as high as 297k on them. I do not count vehicles involved in collision into these figures.

I have towed a couple rams in various sizes and trims. Several 1500s with hemis for misfires, 2 3500 cummins - 1 with dead batteries, another for not being able to shift out of park (column shift).

I dont get chevys or gmc trucks for mechanical failure but they are also more expensive.

I get a ton of Fords. Many with electrical failure or suspension failure. Several have had no start or misfire issues. These have all been 2013 and newer models.

Go drive both and see which one you really like more. Afterall of you're spending that kind of money you should be happy with your purchase for many years to come.

American vs Japanese.. cannot compare the two.. the Ram was good back in the days.. reliability wise? I see more older generation 4runner surviving.. 1 of 10 older rams.. says a lot don't it?


Sent from my iPhone

markie671 said:

American vs Japanese.. cannot compare the two.. the Ram was good back in the days.. reliability wise? I see more older generation 4runner surviving.. 1 of 10 older rams.. says a lot don't it?


Sent from my iPhone

Click to expand...

True, I see as a lot of 2nd gen rams on the road, about as many as 3/4th gen nowadays.

I had a 2012 Single Cab Ram with the Hemi. I never had any problems with the truck, it was great. I towed a few things with it (a 26' enclosed trailer, empty, was probably the largest/heaviest.) and it never really complained. That being said, I know I never really pushed it to the limits or abused it, it was mainly a daily driver for me. It was bigger and faster, and in some aspects (towing mostly) way more capable than a 4Runner.

Some had mentioned poor full economy, I think I probably averaged similar to my 4Runner (I've had the 4Runner less than a week, so not exactly a thorough test).

I got rid of it for a few reasons. Mostly, I should have got a crew cab. At the time I bought it, I wanted 4WD and a V8, and cheap. While its really great to automatically eliminate yourself from driving your group of friends around, not having a secure area for your stuff its a pain. And full size trucks are just big. As capable as they are, a new Ram Crew Cab would not fit in my garage. Although we'll move in a year, I just don't really want something taking up that much space in my garage even if it technically fits.

I've had a few things since then, sedans (WRX, Fusion Sport) - what brought me to looking at 4Runners was frame based, size, and minimal depreciation. Something you won't get with a Ram. Buy used, they ran a dirt cheap lease deal for so long trying to be a sales volume leader that the market is flooded with them. You can get a barely used well equipped 1500 for $27K.

While I can't knock a (used) Ram purchase. I just don't have the need to mess with something that large right now. I'm 6'3" and 220lbs, and I fit in the 4runner just fine, more than fine actually. There's enough space in the middle seat for me too. The enclosed area will be great for the dogs that are coming next month. Not sure on how you feel the 4Runner TRD Pro is a "young persons car" - I somewhat feel the opposite in that, its probably the more pragmatic choice. I have a TRD-Off Road, which you might consider, but one can hardly argue with the cool factor, and the resale value on top of the already great 4Runner resale value probably means that if you decide it was a terrible mistake, your $ lost will probably be minimal.

Btw, Young people cannot even afford 4Runners.. They would rather get a second hand Hyundai Genesis or Civic.. This is more of a Daddy SUV/Grocery Getter/Snowboarding/Biking/Kayaking/ETC type of premium ride.

I think I might be able to help. I've had 5 Ram trucks in a row, the last 3 being diesels, all 2500 or 3500's. I sold my 3500 dually to buy a 4Runner. While I sometimes miss having a truck around, I don't regret it a bit. I simply went and purchased a utility trailer to take up for not having a full size truck anymore. To parrot a few earlier comments, you can't really compare the two. Two totally different beasts. But I knew it and expected it going in. Its a small V6, not a diesel like I'm used to. However, it does everything I need it to do. To me its comfortable and I still enjoy driving it. I go through vehicles like water and normally get bored after a year. I'm past that point with my 4Runner and I'm still building it up like I want and enjoying it. I even bought a SoCal Teardrop to tow behind it to do more exploring with, like I wouldn't be able to do with a full size truck. Parking is something you'll notice right away. Way easier than trying to park my dually. That was like pulling a ship into port sometimes. I still may end up with another Dodge dually, but that will be at a point later when I can afford to keep both as at this point I have no desire to stop enjoying the 4Runner.

Thanks for the posts.
My main thinking is that I can get a top of the line RAM Laramie or Rebel for less money than the TRD pro due to trade-in differences. It kinda hurts that I want the TRDPro more. But it IS for use as a daily driver, and while I do not 4-wheel as much as I used to, it would piss me off greatly to pull off the road or in a pasture and get stuck and I do like driving to out of the way places.
Yes, trade-in of RAMS suck. I have owned 3 and never had the first problem, though.
I am 90 percent sure I will follow through on the TRDPro.

lightway said:

Thanks for the posts.
My main thinking is that I can get a top of the line RAM Laramie or Rebel for less money than the TRD pro due to trade-in differences. It kinda hurts that I want the TRDPro more. But it IS for use as a daily driver, and while I do not 4-wheel as much as I used to, it would piss me off greatly to pull off the road or in a pasture and get stuck and I do like driving to out of the way places.
Yes, trade-in of RAMS suck. I have owned 3 and never had the first problem, though.
I am 90 percent sure I will follow through on the TRDPro.

Click to expand...

I drive my TRDPro more then my ram rebel hah. Rebel is good when i need to go shopping or when i need to pick up freight, But thats about it.

I was dead set on buying a 2016 big horn 1500 from my neighbors dealership since I was having a hell of a time finding a 4runner with the options i wanted local.

But the day I went to buy the truck the 4runner rolled onto the lot. 2014 sr5p, white, under 30k miles, 4wd pretty much everything I wanted except it was preowned. Ended up getting it 3k under KBB with a 100k bumper to bumper warranty. So I couldn't pass it up bought it on the spot.

Things I didn't like about the dodge. Interior felt cheap compared to my dads silverado, motor sounds like its falling apart idling, hate the rotary dial shifter, dodge resale is garbage unless its a cummins, still don"t trust their reliability.

Things I like about the dodge interior cabin space, rear 4 link, power

I've had 2 3rd gen rams both 2wd both with the 4.7 weirdly have a love for these trucks but the motors are garbage both needed motors before 90k both super underpowered. My last one was a 04 and when I rebuilt the motor we did port and polished heads, bigger throttle body, balanced crank, different injectors, tuner, added a shift kit, 4:88 gears, detroit locker it ran great and was getting 18mpg on 35's but I was really needing 4wd after selling our jeep jk.

But end of the day the most I was able to get for a super clean 04 ram was $8000 when 2005 tacomas are selling for over 11k?

I do miss having a truck especially going shooting I hate packing the 4runner with steel targets, shooting bench, gun cases truck I'd just throw everything in the back of the truck and we would sit in the bed and shoot. Also miss not caring about dents or scratches. And being able to haul my dirtbike I use a moto-tote currently and that's sketchy at best especially with a $13k ktm strapped to the back.

Do love the comfort and reliability, the go anywhere ability and the resale of the 4runner.

Every car will have its pluses and minuses the 4runner wont make it thru some of the trails I've taken our jeep thru it wont be as fast as a new truck with a v8 it wont get the gas mileage of a car. But it makes up by being good all around.


I went from these
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To this and couldn't be happier, well maybe if I had a raptor but thats besides the point.
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Felt like posting my experience although my Ram was a 2003 1500 Single cab long bed 5spd 2WD. It was the worst vehicle purchase i ever made. Sometimes i miss the bed like others have stated here. It was no frills i was single living at home at the time. I never had any issues with it. I actually ran into a guy that bought it off my brother after i had gotten rid of it.
Here is a pic of Heidi(RIP)
and Gertrude (Ram)

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

lightway said:

Thanks for the posts.
My main thinking is that I can get a top of the line RAM Laramie or Rebel for less money than the TRD pro due to trade-in differences. It kinda hurts that I want the TRDPro more. But it IS for use as a daily driver, and while I do not 4-wheel as much as I used to, it would piss me off greatly to pull off the road or in a pasture and get stuck and I do like driving to out of the way places.
Yes, trade-in of RAMS suck. I have owned 3 and never had the first problem, though.
I am 90 percent sure I will follow through on the TRDPro.

Click to expand...

If it makes you feel any better, my supervisor has been doing off road recovery for over 20 years. In that time he has never had to pull a 4runner out of anything. Hes seen plenty of them out in the woods and off road on trails but never had to recover one.

Meanwhile we have both pulled multiple other vehicles, rams included, out of the shit.

I've attached a picture of a 2500 4x4 i had to pull out of a ditch because it slid off the road with 4x4 engaged. Many other vehicles, including my tow truck had no issues.

urbancynic said:

If it makes you feel any better, my supervisor has been doing off road recovery for over 20 years. In that time he has never had to pull a 4runner out of anything. Hes seen plenty of them out in the woods and off road on trails but never had to recover one.

Meanwhile we have both pulled multiple other vehicles, rams included, out of the shit.

I've attached a picture of a 2500 4x4 i had to pull out of a ditch because it slid off the road with 4x4 engaged. Many other vehicles, including my tow truck had no issues.

Click to expand...

You did not have any issues, because you don't drive like a dumb ass. Most of the people that are off the road think that because they are in 4 wheel drive they are immune to ice.

I have an 06' Megacab diesel. Use it for towing. Bought the 4runner for the wife. The Dodge is too big to drive and park on a daily basis.