Do I need the TE?

J

jfon

New member
Considering a 4R and have learned a lot from this board. Basically I need to decide if I need the TE version.

I don't intend to do serious off-roading for its own sake, but will use the vehicle to get higher in the mountains for fishing and hunting. The further I can drive the shorter the hike. Our house is at about 8800 feet in Summit County, CO.

Other than that use, it will mostly be on-road, largely winter use. besides the TE, the LE appeals due to the full time 4WD, the SR-5 due to its bang for the buck. Thanks in advance for your feedback!
 
Register to hide this ad
What you "Need" is difficult question. IMO, they all exceed the true off road needs of most of us regular professional Americans. I would recommend to buy which one you "want" the most. Good luck!
MB
 
An SR5 will do you fine, and a LE will be really nice.

If you only want to change the tires, or need the rear locking differential, then a TE might be for you. Other than that, all it offers over the other models is cheaper unpainted body trim, which is nice if you scratch that up off-road.

If you want to do more suspension work than shocks, a SR5 is probably a better vehicle to start with, unless you can get a TE without KDSS.
 
The only thing I wish my SR5 had was the rear locker. Other than that I saved a bunch which I can put towards suspension (which you might replace anyways on the TE), armour etc.
 
b_w. said:
The only thing I wish my SR5 had was the rear locker. Other than that I saved a bunch which I can put towards suspension (which you might replace anyways on the TE), armour etc.
Click to expand...

You can get an aftermarket air locker for both front and rear differentials from ARB. That might actually be less than the TE upcharge, or at least be close.
 
homeyclaus said:
If you want to do more suspension work than shocks, a SR5 is probably a better vehicle to start with, unless you can get a TE without KDSS.
Click to expand...

KDSS is one of the best reasons to get a TE - leaving the offroad debate out of it the on road handling with KDSS is worth it alone.

I'd say get a TE WITH KDSS if you're going to be changing the suspension. If you don't care about KDSS get one of the other models, you can easily (if not cheaply) add lockers down the road.
 
homeyclaus said:
An SR5 will do you fine, and a LE will be really nice.

If you only want to change the tires, or need the rear locking differential, then a TE might be for you. Other than that, all it offers over the other models is cheaper unpainted body trim, which is nice if you scratch that up off-road.

If you want to do more suspension work than shocks, a SR5 is probably a better vehicle to start with, unless you can get a TE without KDSS.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with this.
 
jrhaze said:
KDSS is one of the best reasons to get a TE - leaving the offroad debate out of it the on road handling with KDSS is worth it alone.

I'd say get a TE WITH KDSS if you're going to be changing the suspension. If you don't care about KDSS get one of the other models, you can easily (if not cheaply) add lockers down the road.
Click to expand...

I agree that KDSS on road handling alone is worth it and is exactly the reason why I got it, but I think once you start to do more serious suspension mods KDSS gets in the way more than it helps. And well if you end up having to disconnect it, why bother sinking all that extra $$ into the option, might as well put it towards mods :)
 
I have no regrets buying a TE and I'd buy one again if I had to do it over again knowing what I know now. At the same time, if anything goes wrong with KDSS out of warranty it'll probably be very expensive to fix. I've heard that just recharging the KDSS fluid (whatever's in there) is around a grand. Now that I'm out of warranty if anything breaks on the KDSS I'll be pulling it out and going long travel without sway bars.
 
Some firsthand CO experience coming at you. You say that you don't "intend" for any type of serious offroad driving. I will disagree with that, once you're behind the wheel. I'm not a serious offroader by any stretch, but I've had my TE in spots my 06 Sport wouldn't get to. Basically stock for both, minus tires. The TE is amazing, and it's better to have it and not need, than to not have at all. I'll also give kudos to KDSS.

You live in Summit County for crying out loud, that's paradise for a TE!!!

Not to mention better resale, especially here.
 
Last edited:
I live at about 7,500 feet north of Durango.

I'd have NO OTHER vehicle than my TE.

I don't have a need for full time 4WD, but when I need 4WD, the TE delivers.

TE offers WAY MORE than "unpainted trim" - you can find the differences on the Toyota web site.



:usa2:
 
Honestly any will work for you, but I would have been very inclined to go TE if I didn't need the 3rd row. They all have pros/cons but it is hard not to like the TE for what you plan to use it for. I do like the full time 4wd in snow though.
 
I have an LE and a TE and will be living at 6500 feet in the Springs.

My wife has been up in CO with her LE for a month now. It's been a tank through flash floods and moderate off road use (she's a mountain biker). Both have done great through thick mud on our Ocala, FL property, and I prefer the full time 4WD and interior comfort of the LE.

Both have low range and are tanks.
 
I'm happy with my TE simply because it has a lot of goodies right out of the box. If I had a ton of cash to immediately do a full build (long travel suspension, lockers, armor, etc) on an SR5, I would've gone that route because I intend to do all those mods to my TE eventually anyway. Buying the TE allowed me to have a pretty decent machine right off the showroom floor and complete my build gradually as finances allow for it.

KDSS - awesome
E-Locker - better than nothing
Crawl Control - unnecessary
TE skid plates - again, better than nothing
TE looks/visual appearance - ultimately not important to me
 
Matteblack said:
What you "Need" is difficult question. IMO, they all exceed the true off road needs of most of us regular professional Americans. I would recommend to buy which one you "want" the most. Good luck!
MB
Click to expand...

x2. Exactly right....
 
Thanks for all the feedback, folks. This is a great forum.

The "what I want" question is a good one, but Toyota doesn't offer it. If I could I'd get an LE (for the full time 4WD and leather seats) with the locking axle of the TE. Since this combo isn't available, I'm sorting things out.

I have no intentions related to suspension mods, but the aftermarket locker idea is interesting. Maybe I'll go the LE route and see how it does for me, and add the axle later if needed.

Again, many thanks!
 
eddiebx said:
I agree that KDSS on road handling alone is worth it and is exactly the reason why I got it, but I think once you start to do more serious suspension mods KDSS gets in the way more than it helps. And well if you end up having to disconnect it, why bother sinking all that extra $$ into the option, might as well put it towards mods :)
Click to expand...

I think suspension changes that would require the disconnect of KDSS far exceeds what any "normal" lift setup would be...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 372 (members: 4, guests: 368)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,306
Messages
3,554,045
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top