Comparison - FJ Cruiser to T4R Trail (former FJ and new T4R owner)

Hmmm



OK



:nono:



Look, every post contradicts the next.

"I'm no expert" :gossip: *but what I can do in 2WD most can't do in 4WD....:doh:

The only reason I even commented is your "I am expert" attitude. Had it been only a vehicle review I would have read it and been on my way. You continue with your "I'm no expert, but allow me to tell you how good I am" BS, and calling me out because I live in the NE.

No matter the terrain, waiting until your stuck in 2WD (by yourself, no winch, unmodded T4R etc.) before engaging 4WD is a bad idea. Thats not an expert opinion, and I'm not coming off as an expert. Not once I have exclaimed how good/old/experienced I am. One does not need to be an expert to know that is foolishness.

Captain Edward Smith was one of the most respected, experienced, qualified sea Captains in the entire world...until his foolish decisions lead to the sinking of the Titanic.

Folks of all ages & experiences can and will make bad decisions and mistakes. The primary difference is that the more experienced ones are supposed to know foolish practices, and avoid them.

that made me mist up....
 

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Silly me....I thought I had joined a Toyota 4Runner Forum, but clearly this is an off-road expert forum instead. My bad. I'll make sure that from now on any post I make pays homage to the experts of all things off-road. You'll all just have to excuse me if I'm not in much of a hurry to change the ways that have kept me coming home safely for the past 30 years or so.

I'm quite sure that you could find all kind of experts on this forum, I always keep in mind that there's somebody out there reading my posts who might be a better expert than me in my area of expertise : )
On the side note - not that I imply that you're doing anything wrong it's just from my experience tuning on 4hi sometimes is not instant. And another thing is that manual says:
"Shifting the front-wheel drive control lever from H2 to H4 while driving
Never operate the front-wheel drive control lever if the wheels are slipping.
Stop the slipping or spinning before shifting."
So I would go with folks who turn on 4hi as soon as pavement ends, besides it's lubricates transfer case and 4X4 gets easier for trails. Haven't been offroading in Florida though.
 
I'd imagine Florida swamps are similar to Louisiana swamps and I dont wait to get stuck before putting it into 4H. Momentum counts for quite a bit in the mud and if you've only got 2 wheels spinning you're sure to lose momentum faster than with all 4.

I'm not really knocking your driving style and if you prefer the challenge of 2wd off roading, thats fine. I'm just saying the prescient thing to do would be to engage 4wd BEFORE the situations really calls for the need.
 
A pretty good thread I thought. Context is usually lost in this type of communication. Seems like human nature is to focus on the one negative thing someone says and disregard the rest. Regardless, your thread was good. I am a former FJ owner and now have a SR5 Premium. For my needs now the 4R wins! I wanted some luxury my 2007 FJ didn't have. Out the door bone stock......the FJ was a bad mofackle! Loved it! This is my 3rd 4R so I am partial to them.
 
Hmmm



OK



:nono:



Look, every post contradicts the next.

"I'm no expert" :gossip: *but what I can do in 2WD most can't do in 4WD....:doh:

The only reason I even commented is your "I am expert" attitude. Had it been only a vehicle review I would have read it and been on my way. You continue with your "I'm no expert, but allow me to tell you how good I am" BS, and calling me out because I live in the NE.

No matter the terrain, waiting until your stuck in 2WD (by yourself, no winch, unmodded T4R etc.) before engaging 4WD is a bad idea. Thats not an expert opinion, and I'm not coming off as an expert. Not once I have exclaimed how good/old/experienced I am. One does not need to be an expert to know that is foolishness.

Captain Edward Smith was one of the most respected, experienced, qualified sea Captains in the entire world...until his foolish decisions lead to the sinking of the Titanic.

Folks of all ages & experiences can and will make bad decisions and mistakes. The primary difference is that the more experienced ones are supposed to know foolish practices, and avoid them.

Pretty sure that no matter what I say you're going to disagree anyway, and for that I'm sorry. First off - I never said I don't have a winch. I do. I also carry a come-along, a hi-lift, a couple tow ropes, and all kinds of stuff to dig chop, saw, etc..

Secondly - I did not intend to come across as some kind of expert. I'm certainly not, and I admit it. I'm not trying to be contradictory either. I think our "perceptions" of off road driving are probably different. I grew up driving in farm/ranch fields and mud and snow, and yada yada yada. I just got used to driving in crappy conditions in two wheel drive pickups. Ya kinda learn how to do it after a while. Nowadays I do the same thing in the swamps of Florida. It's no big deal to me. I certainly didn't mean to ruffle your feathers over it. I don't push the envelope when I'm out there because I don't particularly like crawling around in the mud to unstick myself when I've done something dumb. I realize that doesn't exactly make me the life of the party here, but that's OK. To each his own. Sorry for having offended you.
 
I had an '07 FJ. I love the 4Runner by leaps and bounds because of one simple thing. 4 doors. I loved that the FJ came in a full time 4 wheel drive manual, had a shorter wheel base, and was different looking but I hated the suicide doors. It obstructed vision and it was a pain when you had three or more people riding with you. Especially when you are parked next to another vehicle. Open both doors, everyone had to slide to one side, close the rear door, then everyone had to slide to the other side, and then close the front door. Passengers also hated the fact they could not roll their window down and did not like looking out of a port hole on road trips. Don't get me wrong, the FJ was a great but I personally like the 4Runner way better.
 
I had an '07 FJ. I love the 4Runner by leaps and bounds because of one simple thing. 4 doors. I loved that the FJ came in a full time 4 wheel drive manual, had a shorter wheel base, and was different looking but I hated the suicide doors. It obstructed vision and it was a pain when you had three or more people riding with you. Especially when you are parked next to another vehicle. Open both doors, everyone had to slide to one side, close the rear door, then everyone had to slide to the other side, and then close the front door. Passengers also hated the fact they could not roll their window down and did not like looking out of a port hole on road trips. Don't get me wrong, the FJ was a great but I personally like the 4Runner way better.

There's no question that back seat sucks in the FJ. I sure isn't much of a passenger hauler. For me, it was OK because it was just my photography vehicle, and seldom hauled people. I think the biggest thing I've noticed in the switch is just how much quieter and better handling the T4R is on the road. Even with A/T tires, the FJ was noisy. With M/T it was REALLY loud, and was flat-out unsafe on wet highway (it would slip and slide all over the place). I did like the seat and floor material in the FJ for cleaning though. That black carpet in my T4R is going to be a pain. Gonna have to get some Weathertech mats in there soon.
 
A pretty good thread I thought. Context is usually lost in this type of communication. Seems like human nature is to focus on the one negative thing someone says and disregard the rest. Regardless, your thread was good. I am a former FJ owner and now have a SR5 Premium. For my needs now the 4R wins! I wanted some luxury my 2007 FJ didn't have. Out the door bone stock......the FJ was a bad mofackle! Loved it! This is my 3rd 4R so I am partial to them.

Thanks, and I agree. The context is being misinterpreted. My fault too, as I'm obviously coming across wrong. No big deal.

I had the 2008 FJ - Was a great truck, but I'm definitely loving the T4R now....even though I was skeptical when the dealer was trying to talk me into it. I can tell it's a better fit for my use.
 
Noise is nothing, I just turn up the radio! Lol. I just think if Toyota is gonna build a rig like that, just put two doors on it so you can have better rear windows and call it a day.

There's no question that back seat sucks in the FJ. I sure isn't much of a passenger hauler. For me, it was OK because it was just my photography vehicle, and seldom hauled people. I think the biggest thing I've noticed in the switch is just how much quieter and better handling the T4R is on the road. Even with A/T tires, the FJ was noisy. With M/T it was REALLY loud, and was flat-out unsafe on wet highway (it would slip and slide all over the place). I did like the seat and floor material in the FJ for cleaning though. That black carpet in my T4R is going to be a pain. Gonna have to get some Weathertech mats in there soon.
 
Noise is nothing, I just turn up the radio! Lol. I just think if Toyota is gonna build a rig like that, just put two doors on it so you can have better rear windows and call it a day.

Agree with you on the doors. All novelty I guess. I don't know if you ever saw the concept version of the FJ, but they actually had fold-flat seating throughout that would've converted it to a sleeper. I guess safety regs prevented them from going production with that, but would've been cool. A moon roof would've also been a "nice to have" for me as well.
 
Agree with you on the doors. All novelty I guess. I don't know if you ever saw the concept version of the FJ, but they actually had fold-flat seating throughout that would've converted it to a sleeper. I guess safety regs prevented them from going production with that, but would've been cool. A moon roof would've also been a "nice to have" for me as well.

I've had 2 FJs and 2 4Runners. I like the sunroof, flip-up tailgate, tailgate window that rolls down, and 2 "real" rear doors on the 4Runner. But I do miss my FJ with a manual. It was a pleasure to beat the hell out that thing on a regular basis.
 
Isn't there something in the 4Runner manual about running 4WD a bunch of kilometers per month? Keep the juices flowing type thing?
 
Pretty sure that no matter what I say you're going to disagree anyway, and for that I'm sorry. First off - I never said I don't have a winch. I do. I also carry a come-along, a hi-lift, a couple tow ropes, and all kinds of stuff to dig chop, saw, etc..



Secondly - I did not intend to come across as some kind of expert. I'm certainly not, and I admit it. I'm not trying to be contradictory either. I think our "perceptions" of off road driving are probably different. I grew up driving in farm/ranch fields and mud and snow, and yada yada yada. I just got used to driving in crappy conditions in two wheel drive pickups. Ya kinda learn how to do it after a while. Nowadays I do the same thing in the swamps of Florida. It's no big deal to me. I certainly didn't mean to ruffle your feathers over it. I don't push the envelope when I'm out there because I don't particularly like crawling around in the mud to unstick myself when I've done something dumb. I realize that doesn't exactly make me the life of the party here, but that's OK. To each his own. Sorry for having offended you.


Understood.

And for my part, I apologize as well. There was no need for me to carry on with it.

In the end, we all do the things we want to do. I have no issue with anyone doing there own thing, the only exception would be if they put others at risk.

Have fun out there, safe travels.
 
I am now the owner of both a 2008 fj and a new 2014 4runner TE. I beat the hell out of my fj trails rock crawl competitions and pushed the platform to the limit. I was going to trade for a 2014 fj tt but my dealer could not get one quick. I test drove the 2014 sr5 4runner it was well laid out and the back seat was usable. I TOLD the dealership they had 1 chance left if they could come up with a TE. It happened and I am in love. I am not gonna rock crawl the 4runner and I am putting the fj back to stock for the wife. I'm going to make my 4runner BA but not crush the body panels in the rocks. I'm gonna find me a toyota pickup for that
 
Been through this technique discussion a few time before and as usual the devil is in the details.

Having full time 4wd I can't speak to 2wd specifically, but I have a policy that seems similar to the OPs when I'm playing around in virgin forest road snow (solo). I carry chains but don't use them unless stuck (and then I'm often turning around).

It comes down to a few things, mainly what the purpose of the travel is and whether other trucks are present or not.

If you have to get through, then by all means lock and load. If turning around is no big deal, why dig in deeper first?
 
You do in fact have beautiful pictures....it must have been a ***** shooting that bridge from the middle of the swamp...:behindsofa:




Welcome to T4R...:D
 

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