Boat Ramp story...

[CJ3Flyr]

The t-case in our T4R's is the coolest thing EVER! :bigok: Yesterday afternoon I was playing with a friends basket case 21ft boat that has a 5.0L V8 I/O drive. Weight wise it's well within limits but not "light". I was at a sailing club where the boat lives. They have a super steep ramp which is the preferred type of ramp for small sailboats.

Rather than stomp on the gas and heat the torque converter unnecessarily I opted to use 4lo (which we can do on dry pavement). I put it in gear, released the P-brake and it didn't even try to roll backwards. I applied a little throttle and instantly had a renewed appreciation of the EFI programming. (In low range throttle sensitivity is reduced.) The T4R just walked up the ramp smoothly with the greatest of ease.

What made it even better is other folks were struggling more with less boat. :bigok:
:cheers:

 

[alaskaman]

4 lo is wonderful !! spells torque with a capital T ~~

 

[SportRunner]

Nice......I have a similar story.....last weekend I went to the lake and towed my buddy's seadoo....his buddy has lakeside property so we don't have to pay to launch them......but his area to launch was pure mud.....he told me if I launch it he'll probably have to tow me out cause I'd be stuck(apearently he got stuck in his f150 4x2 and had to get towed out before we got there), I went in pretty deep just locked the center and came out no problem, not one wheel slipped, then they're all admiring my 4runner.....then when were leaving he asked me if I could unhitch and hitch up to his trailer and pull his seadoo's out.....classic, it was pretty funny though when people look at u like "oh he's gonna get stuck with that little thing" and then afterwards they're like whoa.....

 

[alaskaman]

i recall the 1st time i planted the 4Runner front end into a ditch of snow and pulled it out with 4 lo grinning all the way......=)

 

[cmb]

Last year we stayed on a different lake in Canada,our cabin we rent is at the bottom of a hill thats so steep it's tough to walk down:awais: Had a chance to try out the hill-holding feature...up and down My brother couldn't believe how our 4R didn't even spin a tire pulling the boat and trailer up and out of that lane while he had to go around the longer way to keep from digging up the road.His buddy isn't much on the "Jap stuff" as he calls it, but being the stand-up guy he is,he was impressed and said so!

 

[Annoyed]

Had a few similar experiences with my Tacoma. Bloody thing could pull a house down the road if it was in 4Lo

I don't own the boat anymore, but there were a few times at state boat ramps where people couldn't pull their trailers up the ramps with their full size trucks but I was able to help them out. As long as *I* wasn't the one who had to go swimming to chock the wheels of the trailer while we switched tow vehicles.

 

[charlier180]

I don't own the boat anymore, but there were a few times at state boat ramps where people couldn't pull their trailers up the ramps with their full size trucks but I was able to help them out. As long as *I* wasn't the one who had to go swimming to chock the wheels of the trailer while we switched tow vehicles.

Sure hope those people offered you a cold beverage after you pulled their boats out.

Wish I had a $1 for every boat ramp disaster photo I have seen.
Those photos always seem to "surface" during discussions about towing vehicles.
Never ceases to amaze me what people use to tow with and how they think it is okay just because they have been lucky so far.

BTW, yesterday I was sitting behing a Ford Explorer at a traffic light. It had two hitches on it.
The original hitch was a Class II and the add-on hitch was a Class III.
Would love to see what this person towed with those hitches.

 

[SubSonic]

Hey CJ3, cool story. About "not rolling backwards", isn't that by design? I vaguely remember reading about hill-start assist control or something like that in the owner's manual. Keeps one from inching backwards down a hill during an ascent. The computer does it automatically, it's why there isn't a hill-start assist contrl switch. Or so I seem to recall anyway..

I've had great success with my T4R and my bass boat over this past winter. Days when the water was down and the ramps were a tad icy, I was never worried about launching or loading - most of the time I didn't even have to lock the t-case, just used the standard 40/60 4HI/AWD that is the default for my rig - drives right up the wet/icy ramp like it was mid-summer and dry. Even in 4HI, pulling a load up a ramp, you get the sense that the engine is stacked with more TQ than it is HP. Moreso than road driving anyway. This is what make me come to like the 4.7 in my Tundra when I bought it back in '99.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Good stories

SubSonic, you're right about rolling back. When the HAC activates you can hear it. It was just hangin on the converter in my case

:cheers:

 

[JB.]

The t-case in our T4R's is the coolest thing EVER! :bigok:

No doubt about that. The Torsen C really distinguishes the 4Runner.

I applied a little throttle and instantly had a renewed appreciation of the EFI programming. (In low range throttle sensitivity is reduced.)

I didn't know about this. It's a feature I've often wanted. Do you know what year was it incorportated?

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Re: Re: Boat Ramp story...

I didn't know about this. It's a feature I've often wanted. Do you know what year was it incorportated?

I'm not sure. My Titan was the first vehicle I drove with this feature. My '07 V6 does the reduced throttle sensitivety in low-range by the seat of my pants.

Truthfully I have not read that this is a feature of the T4R. I assumed it's there and my butt-o-meter says it works that way. It wouldn't be the first time the butt-o-meter was out of calibration though :lmao:

I can't imagine a drive-by-wire setup wouldn't do that...

:cheers:

 

[JB.]

Re: Re: Re: Boat Ramp story...

I can't imagine a drive-by-wire setup wouldn't do that...

Yeah, should be a no brainer. Maybe it's there and I just want more.

 

[charlier180]

Good stories

SubSonic, you're right about rolling back. When the HAC activates you can hear it. It was just hangin on the converter in my case

:cheers:

When I was looking for a new vehicle I took my 4Runner to the two steepest hills (with traffic lights at the top) where I live.
The HAC worked perfectly. Just one of the many reasons I ended up buying the 4Runner.

BTW, is the HAC in the V6 noisy for some reason?
Either I am hard of hearing or HAC on the V8 is quiet because when it activates on my 4Runner it is seemless and quiet.

 

[cmb]

I've got a V6 SE and the HAC isn't the noisy one; it's the DAC that sounds like parts are gonna fly any second

 

[CJ3Flyr]

My '07, V6 HAC seems to have about 50% of the noise of the DAC. It sounds identical but less intense. I have experienced it several times and each time I can hear the brake motor doing it's thing.

:cheers:

 

[exclusivebeef]

The other day i pulled a completely stuck 2008 Land Cruiser out of my local boat launch. He was bogged in sand up to his running boards from front to back. Pulled him out with ease. I was impressed considering those things are supposed to have the best 4-wheel drive system around.

 

[Falls]

The t-case in our T4R's is the coolest thing EVER! :bigok: Yesterday afternoon I was playing with a friends basket case 21ft boat that has a 5.0L V8 I/O drive. Weight wise it's well within limits but not "light". I was at a sailing club where the boat lives. They have a super steep ramp which is the preferred type of ramp for small sailboats.

Rather than stomp on the gas and heat the torque converter unnecessarily I opted to use 4lo (which we can do on dry pavement). I put it in gear, released the P-brake and it didn't even try to roll backwards. I applied a little throttle and instantly had a renewed appreciation of the EFI programming. (In low range throttle sensitivity is reduced.) The T4R just walked up the ramp smoothly with the greatest of ease.

What made it even better is other folks were struggling more with less boat. :bigok:
:cheers:

Excellent story ! Yes such a nice 4wd set up these have .

 

[eskimochaos]

The other day i pulled a completely stuck 2008 Land Cruiser out of my local boat launch. He was bogged in sand up to his running boards from front to back. Pulled him out with ease. I was impressed considering those things are supposed to have the best 4-wheel drive system around.

They do, he probably wasnt in 4lo.