So after a year of hemming and hawing (and another new Jeep), the wife and I have finally decided to get a 4Runner. We just got back from a Moab/Ouray trip and realized, we just do not need the capability (or daily driver compromises) of a modified Jeep. The only trail we ran the entire trip that was somewhat challenging, was Seven Mile Rim, but a lightly modified 4Runner would have been fine.

So, all that said, we are going to test drive a slightly used TRD Off Road tomorrow morning. If the wife likes it, we are going to “order” one, or find one in the pipeline closest to her desires. The dealership will sell a TRD Off Road Premium or a TRD Pro with no market adjustment, but the Pro would be a 8-12 month wait. So, we will go with the Off Road Premium. Flexible on color, no black, no Lime Rush, moonroof required, but what else should we get? Is KDSS a must have? How about the sliding rear cargo tray, worth it, or not necessary? Any advice is appreciated.


*EDIT* Got lucky and found a ORP inbound in about a week.

I went the exact same route 2 years ago. I had a 2016 Wrangler Unlimited. The TRD 4R has plenty of capability with the rear locker and the electrical stuff like CRAWL, MTS, and ATRAC, if you're into that.

Mine is a 2018 TRD Offroad Premium with KDSS and Moonroof. Long story short, my family and I are much happier in the 4Runner. It's much bigger inside and drives 1000% better on road. I did not specifically seek out KDSS, but I'm really happy I have it. Personally, I think even with stock suspension it drove fantastic on the road. Some body roll, but was really controlled compared to what everyone else says about the non-KDSS 4Rs feeling like a boat around corners. I put on Fox 2.0 suspension front and rear and it is now really well planted at 2" of front lift and 33s. I put in the KDSS on/off switch from Dr KDSS and I feel I have the best of both worlds now. For the small amount I've spent on "off-road" modifications, I'm confident I can go wherever I would need to go. I have not driven a non-KDSS 4R for comparison, however.

I love having a moonroof, so that's an easy one for me. Every other car feels dark without it.

The sliding tray is a toss up. It does cut into cargo space, but it does have it's place. My brother has one in his Pro and he likes it a lot for getting heavy things out like coolers or grabbing hunting gear. I personally did not care to have it as I have two little kids and cargo space is at a premium for all of their sh*t.

Otherwise, the 4Runner really doesn't offer many more must have or distinguishing options. you're getting the Premium, so it's loaded already inside. Don't jump at any side steps or anything. They aren't very strong.

Don't get kdss unless you need to track the car or it's going to be a pavement car. It's extra cost, hash on washboards (need that disconnect thingy) and if it breaks/leaks good luck. There's a kdss cult here, my non kdss drives great and with the money saved my king 2.5 lift was basically free. Fwiw Im prone to car sickness and have no issues with my wife driving 4+ hours.

How tall are you? Moon roof really limits head room for front and back seats.

I am 5’11” and the wife is 5’9”. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks, this is very helpful.

I'm 6'2" and have no issues with my dome hitting the ceiling, FWIW. Your seating position may vary...

These are valid points for KDSS. It's not necessary and pricey, especially if you are going to modify suspension which it sounds like you are. The $1700 entry fee to KDSS can be spent on a nice set of coilovers and rear shocks. Most aftermarket coilovers/shocks are going to eliminate most of the nosedive and help with the rolling in corners. I am on road mostly and tow a trailer, so that's probably the biggest reason why I enjoy and prefer having it. He is right in that it can be harsh on washboards being such a big swaybar, but the KDSS switch helped with that. It's kind of cool having a disconnecting swaybar and really can give you the best of both worlds. I could be wrong, but from what I see it is a very reliable system and rarely has issues (knock on wood), but it is costly to fix if you decide to. If mine broke, I'd probably just find a way to rip it out.

Great choice, I think and there is a VERY active, fun Toyota culture alive and well all over the US - here in SoCal there's several groups to wheel with.

You'll get a quiet, comfortable road drive. Definitely choose an TRD Offroad with the rear elocker and ATRAC/Crawl control - very useful if you learn how to use it. Mods are more expensive than with jeeps, but a 4runner on 33's with a 2-3" lift and armor is a VERY capable, comfortable compromise for us.

KDSS - yes
Sliding rear tray - nope

We have 33's and a 2" lift, and wheeled all over Moab including fins and things which is a fairly technical trail for a mildly built rig. We'd also consider hells revenge and poison spider mesa do-able, along with the Arches national park back country.

Several folks have run the Rubicon with 34-35's. The slickrock trail was just run by a member here with a bit of minor damage, but nothing catastrophic.

We are actually in the process of adding a Marlin crawler Tacobox to drop our crawl ratio to 157:1. Should be a huge improvement offroad but should leave our rig completely streetable for local trails and long road-trips.

We have road tripped quite a bit and the difference between 70mph in a Jeep Jk and 70mph in a 4runner is extremely significant. We had a JK in our convoy along with a 150k mile FJcruiser and both toyota's were bank vault quiet and smooth in comparison.

I like my KDSS but I recommend test driving both and have your wife decide I usually will upgrade when things wear out (except for supercharger). After 50k I will be moving to upgrade my shocks to Ironman Foam Cell Pro. It has taken 5 years for the old ones to start fading on long forest service washboards.

And welcome to the Forum. Most anything you can think of doing has been done here. Search is your friend.

Thank you for the advice. I am very interested to hear of opinion of this TacoBox. Low range gears is one of the best mods you can make IMHO. I had a TJ on 40’s with a Atlas 5/1 t-case, and it made crawling so easy.

We went through this just about a year ago. Ended up with an ORP with KDSS, Moonroof, and Multi-Terrain Monitor as the only options. Couldn't be happier with it. For what it's worth, we approached it with our options being the must and color options being secondary. Those three options were our must haves and we took the first one with those in a color we liked. Hope this helps!

I just picked up my 22 ORP KDSS last month. It was a 6 month wait for me because I wanted the KDSS, and for whatever reason they don't usually ship them to my area. For me, KDSS was something I really wanted because I do not plan on doing a lift any time in the next 5 years, and with the better road manners, and better articulation for off-road, it seemed worth the money. And I am really loving the ride quality vs. my old lifted FJ. The system is very reliable, btw, it is the X-Reas that has problems.

Here's a great video comparing KDSS to non. This guy does some good videos concerning Toyota lifts in general.

KDSS vs Swaybar Ultimate Test - YouTube

The ORP is a capable rig and a great choice. My only complaint with the package is the softness of stock suspension (excess body roll and nose-dive under hard braking). I would upgrade the suspension system with higher quality shocks, stiffer springs and poly sway bar bushings. If you go this route it's also a good time to consider including a slight ride height lift and better tires. Basically this would emulate the Pro package.

Well, interesting. Today we were able to drive a used TRD Sport (all they had), and look at a new, sold TRD Off Road. The wife (whose vehicle it would be), didn’t like it. The interior is too dated for her. I, on the other hand, loved it. So, she is keeping her Jeep, but the question is, should I trade my Lexus in on one? Hmmmm.

You should be fine on the Moonroof. My wife and I both have taller torsos and had trouble when we hopped in the first one we looked at in the dealership, but adjusting the power seats made it easy to keep our heads from hitting the roof, much easier than on our '99 SR5.