Quote:
Originally Posted by gjcarving
Curious as to why you hate the tailgate so much?
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The problem with the barn door is it doesn't give you any protection from the elements. Imagine coming back from a trailhead in the pouring rain - pop the hatch and you've got instant cover while you get stuff sorted for the ride home. Coming back from a day of skiing in a snowstorm - same issue. Or at the beach on a 95 degree day with no shade in sight. The barn door does nothing for you except be hinged on the wrong side depending on how you park.
The Landcruiser design is even more versatile. It splits the hatch with the upper hatch being ~2/3 and the lower hatch ~1/3. The top hatch gets you cover while you root around in the cargo area, the lower hatch gets you a clean & covered place to sit. In the 4Runner all you have on the bottom is a generally filthy bumper and no place to set stuff if the cargo area is full. I had a Cruiser for a few years in the 90's and I STILL miss that awesome hatch design.
Then again all of this is really moot is all you're doing is driving around town - sometimes with a passenger or two, and maybe groceries. I'm pretty sure that's all the vast majority of current 4Runners are being used for, with some folks here being the exceptions.