Hi T4R.org. What a great resource here of dedicated enthusiasts! I'm anxiously awaiting my first 4Runner, a 2016 TRD Pro, that is being trucked from Florida to me here in San Diego. I've already learned so much here and am looking forward to regularly participating in this community.
Me and the new Runner:
My wife and growing family (2 young boys and in laws as well) really wanted a 3 row vehicle. I wanted our next vehicle to be off road capable for both the fun of it and for access to great new places. We both wanted rock solid reliability. Unfortunately, her Honda Accord has not lived up to it's general reputation. We basically got a dud as I know they are generally very reliable. I heard some quote (don't recall where) that you can take a 4Runner from Alaska to the tip of South America, run crappy gas, crappy oil, never change the plugs nor oil and they'll just keep going (I'd obviously never abuse a vehicle like that...). My wife's sister has had truly incredible reliability from her 3rd gen 4Runner.
So then when I saw my first Quicksand Tacoma a few months back (I know, I know, I'm not at all keeping up...) I was in love with this rare color. Finding out you could also get a 4Runner in that color sealed the deal. I never much cared for brown/brownish cars since my first car - a 1978 Toyota Corolla, manual trans, RWD, dark brown exterior and tan vinyl interior... So, it must have just been the unique and rugged look that attracted me to Quicksand.
With a crazy extensive search of local and nationwide dealers I finally found a low mileage, perfect condition 2016 in Quicksand in Florida. I hope to see it for the first time in ~2 weeks or less. It will be trucked out. Then I can stop obsessively snapping pictures of the same vehicle/color whenever I see one randomly...which is not often enough. Maybe I'll also stop pointing and calling out just about every runner I see when out driving around with the fam...
Here she is (the actual one I bought):
Some of you are surely wondering about the 3rd row seats. From a couple of good posts here, it doesn't seem like an enormous project to graft some in and I already found a reasonably priced pair on eBay. Hopefully, I can get them recovered with a decent match of the Softex seats.
I've already got tons of great advice on lighting here on the forum and have a slew of ideas for mods. Maybe I can sell the idea a front and or rear bumper to the wife based on protecting our truck from parking bumps/dings from other careless parkers...
I hope I don't go as "crazy" as members LawnDart or SOcalTRAIL, but I can dream.
Last but not least, here's a shot of my other ride. She looks like a garage queen but has seen many a track day:
Me and the new Runner:
My wife and growing family (2 young boys and in laws as well) really wanted a 3 row vehicle. I wanted our next vehicle to be off road capable for both the fun of it and for access to great new places. We both wanted rock solid reliability. Unfortunately, her Honda Accord has not lived up to it's general reputation. We basically got a dud as I know they are generally very reliable. I heard some quote (don't recall where) that you can take a 4Runner from Alaska to the tip of South America, run crappy gas, crappy oil, never change the plugs nor oil and they'll just keep going (I'd obviously never abuse a vehicle like that...). My wife's sister has had truly incredible reliability from her 3rd gen 4Runner.
So then when I saw my first Quicksand Tacoma a few months back (I know, I know, I'm not at all keeping up...) I was in love with this rare color. Finding out you could also get a 4Runner in that color sealed the deal. I never much cared for brown/brownish cars since my first car - a 1978 Toyota Corolla, manual trans, RWD, dark brown exterior and tan vinyl interior... So, it must have just been the unique and rugged look that attracted me to Quicksand.
With a crazy extensive search of local and nationwide dealers I finally found a low mileage, perfect condition 2016 in Quicksand in Florida. I hope to see it for the first time in ~2 weeks or less. It will be trucked out. Then I can stop obsessively snapping pictures of the same vehicle/color whenever I see one randomly...which is not often enough. Maybe I'll also stop pointing and calling out just about every runner I see when out driving around with the fam...
Here she is (the actual one I bought):
Some of you are surely wondering about the 3rd row seats. From a couple of good posts here, it doesn't seem like an enormous project to graft some in and I already found a reasonably priced pair on eBay. Hopefully, I can get them recovered with a decent match of the Softex seats.
I've already got tons of great advice on lighting here on the forum and have a slew of ideas for mods. Maybe I can sell the idea a front and or rear bumper to the wife based on protecting our truck from parking bumps/dings from other careless parkers...
I hope I don't go as "crazy" as members LawnDart or SOcalTRAIL, but I can dream.
Last but not least, here's a shot of my other ride. She looks like a garage queen but has seen many a track day:
