Maybe it’s me, because I’m old. I just don’t see the need for speed when crawling along a difficult trail. I’m of the old school. Low range and locked in 1st going through a technical section. And years of off road driving has taught me tire placement by feel. I seldom have used a spotter, they distract me.
I’ve never had a lifted vehicle. I’d have everything from a 1970 Ford F-250 4x4, to my current ‘18 SR5. All stock suspension, all stock size tires.
My priority is overall value. I know my 4Runner isn’t made to do Moab trails at speed. I have no desire for a rig that can do that. So there is no need for me to turn my stock rig into a Frankenstein, along with the price tag up front and the price tag in the future in high failure rate of parts and diminished overall drivability day to day. I’m sure there’s someone with talent that could turn a Lincoln Town Car limo into a Moab rock crawler, but what’s the point? My 4Runner can do the trails I want to take, yet it can run down the highway comfortably, quietly and smoothly when the wife and I with another couple go to a city two hours away for some fine dining. And I’ve used it as a tractor in developing my acreage by dragging out sagebrush and driveways. I tow a utility trailer and haul a ton of heating pellets once or twice annually. It is stable in the deep ice and snow on the unplowed country dirt roads where I live. And the list goes on. It’s versitle.
I’ve had acquaintance with others who spent $$$$ above the $$$$$ sticker of their rigs in lifts and all sorts of off road bling. All of them spent $$$$ in repairs before their rigs turned over 75,000 to 90,000 miles. One even finally gave up after his second engine and second transmission in his 2011 Rubicon with only 90,000 miles. All were surprised and jealous that I spent $0 in repairs to my bone stock 2002 Tacoma TRD, even though it now has over 200,000 miles (I gave it to my 44 year old son when I bought the 4Runner). We all took the same routes through some difficult eastern California, Nevada and Death Valley trails over the decades. That truck was like a Timex watch - it took a licking but keeps on ticking. It’s even been on its side (a badly eroded shelf road caved in underneath me).
Some may think my 4Runner is just a pavement troller, until they notice the deep pinstriping, then notice the skid plates. But my experience of where to put my tires has kept the rest of the undersides unmolested. I know my 4Runner has limits, but I accept that and have a lot of fun within those limits. And I don’t have to spend an additional dime.
