Ron4RNevada
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150122 4R Trek 267 – Sand Trek in Hot Springs Mountains
This is almost exactly the same route as LR Trek 247 on 30 March 2014. About the only difference was that was in the Land Rover Discovery in damp sand while this is in the Toyota 4Runner in dry sand. Both trucks driven on Toyo Open Country LT 265/70R-17 MT (10) (LR had 265/75R-16). Both trucks spent most of the time in Low Range, both had electronic traction control, Land Rover Had open center diff with a locker on it while the Toyota is a part time system so that the transfer box is fully locked when in 4wd.
Performance wise one can hardly tell them apart. The Toyota, however, I spent a lot of time sweating running through the sage brush worrying about paint; I’ll eventually get over it. It was a beautiful day: sunny, cold (22 to 36F), no wind.
A couple comments about the Toyota extra equipment:
*The back-up camera is wonderful when one is using it in a parking with buildings, people and cars around. When backing through big rocks and sage brush it is useless as it’s a bit tough telling how big the rocks or brush are. It’s much better to just dip the mirrors and navigate with them.
*The sonar warning system spends all it’s time beeping. If backing over sage brush it beeps ALL THE TIME. Better to turn it off. Generally I just back over brush after looking to see that there isn’t a big rock hidden in it. Both of these systems, however, work great when turning around on a narrow shelf road – They let you know when you are about to hit the ledge.
*The 4ETC (Land Rover) and the A-TRAC (Toyota) work almost exactly the same. The Land Rovers is always on while the Toyotas turns off in Low Range but can be turned on when needed. I pretty much leave it on in the sand.
*The DAC (Toyota) is set to about 1mph in all of the gears in LO Range while the Land Rovers varies depending on what gear is selected. In first gear in the LR it works at about 4mph which is much too fast.
*The side curtain restraint system is cool but must be turned off manually so that it doesn’t inflate when on a steep off camber slope. One must remember to turn it back on when back in civilization. The LR only had two airbags vs. the 4Runners ten.
First a few pics from last year:
This year:
This is almost exactly the same route as LR Trek 247 on 30 March 2014. About the only difference was that was in the Land Rover Discovery in damp sand while this is in the Toyota 4Runner in dry sand. Both trucks driven on Toyo Open Country LT 265/70R-17 MT (10) (LR had 265/75R-16). Both trucks spent most of the time in Low Range, both had electronic traction control, Land Rover Had open center diff with a locker on it while the Toyota is a part time system so that the transfer box is fully locked when in 4wd.
Performance wise one can hardly tell them apart. The Toyota, however, I spent a lot of time sweating running through the sage brush worrying about paint; I’ll eventually get over it. It was a beautiful day: sunny, cold (22 to 36F), no wind.
A couple comments about the Toyota extra equipment:
*The back-up camera is wonderful when one is using it in a parking with buildings, people and cars around. When backing through big rocks and sage brush it is useless as it’s a bit tough telling how big the rocks or brush are. It’s much better to just dip the mirrors and navigate with them.
*The sonar warning system spends all it’s time beeping. If backing over sage brush it beeps ALL THE TIME. Better to turn it off. Generally I just back over brush after looking to see that there isn’t a big rock hidden in it. Both of these systems, however, work great when turning around on a narrow shelf road – They let you know when you are about to hit the ledge.
*The 4ETC (Land Rover) and the A-TRAC (Toyota) work almost exactly the same. The Land Rovers is always on while the Toyotas turns off in Low Range but can be turned on when needed. I pretty much leave it on in the sand.
*The DAC (Toyota) is set to about 1mph in all of the gears in LO Range while the Land Rovers varies depending on what gear is selected. In first gear in the LR it works at about 4mph which is much too fast.
*The side curtain restraint system is cool but must be turned off manually so that it doesn’t inflate when on a steep off camber slope. One must remember to turn it back on when back in civilization. The LR only had two airbags vs. the 4Runners ten.
First a few pics from last year:
This year:
