How Often do you off-road per year

[Ron4RNevada]

Just curious as to how often the typical Fifth Generation 4Runner on this forum gets off on a moderately challenging track in rock, dirt, sand, and muck where 4 wheel drive is definitely required. I'm talking about spending the whole day in the stuff not just your neighbors driveway......

And if you spend all those days in 4low shout it out.....

 

[Ron4RNevada]

By the way - I'm kind of an off road nut. I have spent around 22 days (AVG 30+ days per year) wandering in the dirt since I bought the SR5 in December 2014..... Before that I averaged about 25 days per year in various Land Rovers over quite a few years...

 

[2014 Warthog]

Shoot, I voted 10+ but I was thinking in terms of whole trips. It would actually be at least 20+ counting the individual days off-roading on longer trips...

 

[3wbdriver]

I got off road on weekends about 5 times last year. Sadly only about 3 so far this year. I would like to do more, but the nearest place I can wheel is 120 miles away, and that's a smallish (400acre) park.

 

[eroy2]

well my truck is 2 weeks old at 1pm today and I've been out 4 full days already. Shocked some locals that I was at 600 miles and climbing mountains already.

 

[jasonv]

moderately challenging? not sure. sand, no I'm in Canada. shitty muddy rutty trails that a car or car based "suv" can't go?

all the time.

I purposely stay away from rock climbing, holes and trails that are inevitably going to get me stuck or cause damage, mostly because i'm old and over it. I'd rather do that stuff on an atv.

oh and i'm often driving through a foot and a half of snow on the roads before the the plows even get going.

 

[1engineer]

Mine is used for work in addition to recreation. I might only have to go three miles in 4WD to get to the machine but I will spend all day there. Same with recreation. My 4Runner is usually not the "recreation" or the "work" but is used to get me there. If I have to put it in 4LO to get through a section then there is usually a Dozer or Skidder close by that will give me a quick pull to the other side.

 

[jwkilgore]

There's a large gap in your poll between "occasional gravel road, no 4WD" and "more than two full days all day in 4WD". I'm definitely well above gravel and have been in plenty of places where 4WD was required; on the other hand, I've never been in 4WD all day.

I picked the latter because it better fits what I do. I do require 4WD much more than twice a year, but because of the "all day" requirement I limited it to 2 days.

Here in the southeast, snows sit on roads no more than a few days each year and my snow travel rarely lasts more than a few hours each time. Definitely more demanding than a gravel road, though, and 4WD definitely required on the steep local hills. Same for hunting roads/trails where a 2WD couldn't make it the entire way. I leave it in 2WD most of the time, only briefly putting it in 4WD when crossing a mudhole, creekbed, or climbing over a rock ledge.

 

[Ron4RNevada]

Hey -> great responses guys!

 

[Jhalko]

Hmm well my truck is always in 4wd, it's very effective cruising around the mall... :moon:

 

[1engineer]

Hey -> great responses guys!

Ron you have to remember too that some of us live in places where snow will be on the roads for several weeks at a time. A few years ago I drove 300 miles in a snow storm at a top speed of around 40 mph. Took right at 10 hours and the INTERSTATE was worse than most trails I go on lol. In that 10 hours I saw maybe 50 vehicles on the road. Tough driving and I wouldn't have did it unless I had a 4WD system like the 4Runner. The vehicles I did see were pickup trucks and full sized SUVs. No crossovers out that night.

 

[mnofpeace]

Im a newb to this...just bought my rig back in december 2014. I jumped on this forum, and the inspiration hitme immediately.

Counting snow days, ive already been in 4WD all day for 3 or 4 days. I am always looking for somewhere to exercise my 4WD system.

The trails i have been on have definately been Level 1 at best. Im not out there in the expanded wilderness like some of you guys out in Tx or the Southwest. But add a little moisture, some mud, some slick and muck, and i am fully enjoying this new experience. And once its paid off, and i have that income back into my pockets, i can surely see a few mods being thrown at the truck then.

For now...AT tires are planned for Sept...then we'll see where that takes me.

 

[bernardmwrangle]

How about how many hours have you spent in Crawl Control?

 

[MLA]

This is an interesting poll. Based on some of the pictures and builds on this forum, I would have thought this group as a whole spends a lot more time offroad than what the results indicate. Then again, perhaps the results are skewed based on the "all day in 4wd" qualifier.

My personal use is more in line with [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION]. I use my TE to get to camping spots, etc. I frequently have to use 4wd at Padre Island National Seashore. The beach is about 60 miles, but you typically need 4wd once you get 5 miles in. Girlfriend and I tend to camp 20 miles in. I highly recommend this national park (not to be confused with South Padre Island). Many of @JBlick's photos were taken there, and I know a number of you asked about the location in his thread.

@JBlick - sorry if I gave away your secret location, but I thought it was fair since you've moved to CO

 

[Ron4RNevada]

Ron you have to remember too that some of us live in places where snow will be on the roads for several weeks at a time. A few years ago I drove 300 miles in a snow storm at a top speed of around 40 mph. Took right at 10 hours and the INTERSTATE was worse than most trails I go on lol. In that 10 hours I saw maybe 50 vehicles on the road. Tough driving and I wouldn't have did it unless I had a 4WD system like the 4Runner. The vehicles I did see were pickup trucks and full sized SUVs. No crossovers out that night.

Yes I realize that. I live in snow country too.. Not only does N, Nevada get snow (though not as much this past four years due to drought).; but I also drive across the Sierra Nevada lots of times each winter - where the snow can really get deep.

It's a bit tough making an all encompassing definition of off-roading. I was really interested in what most people do recreationally - Just going out and enjoying challenging the truck....

1. When I said needing to be in 4wd I meant those times when the terrain was tough enough that one would not get far in 2wd.
2. When I said "all day in 4wd" That could mean that a lot of the trail required 4wd, and all day I was meaning that one spent much of the day off road as opposed to 5 minutes in the dirt exercising the 4wd linkage.
3. When those with a limited which is always in 4wd - I really meant when it was needed and the lever/knob was in the 4wd locked position.
4. The fellow from the Canadian boonies driving on unimproved roads and mostly snow covered should have checked the ALWAYS box.
5. The guy with the Limited "beauty" that was always on pavement should have checked the NEVER box.
6. Someone who goes to Moab for a five day jaunt should check the box that adds up all five days.

All in all the responses have been good and seems to be a well rounded response. My whole purpose was just to see how the majority of 4Runners were being used..... I hope the mall crawlers will join in to make this exercise meaningful......

 

[Ron4RNevada]

How about how many hours have you spent in Crawl Control?

You will have to start a new thread as most of us don't have a Crawl Control or a LOCKING REAR DIFF......:cowboy:

 

[4Rager]

I said 20, but it's not "all day" most of the time. A couple times a month my buddy and I will go out for a few hours after work and explore trails and go shooting. There's a lot of random trails that meander through the hills and sagebrush around here. Most are not maintained so you really only need 4wd to make it through washed out gullies or some of the rock patches. My truck is stock suspension and tire-wise, so these trails are pretty mild when it's dry, but not so much when it's wet.

 

[Ron4RNevada]

4Rager;

Hi neighbor - I'm just forty miles down the road in Fernley. After you get some LT - C or E rated tires on it you'll have to come and join me someday. I've been exploring ghost towns, mining sites and remote mountains and canyons in northern Nevada for several decades now . . .

 

[G Meyer]

I live in northern sask and snow and ice are on the road six months of the year. have to have it in 4HI all winter or else driving anywhere is a real pita and pretty much impossible in 2wd

 

[03_4x4Runner]

I have not done much harder stuff with my 14 yet for two reasons. I am not ready to get body damage/pin stripping yet and my wife spent the 1st part of the year recovering from shoulder surgery. What I have done is about 300 miles of gravel roads and easier off road trails around Lake Havasu, north rim of the grand canyon, Flagstaff and some new trails we discovered in southern Arizona. In my old 03 I was doing harder and harder trails and it was showing the abuse from this. As my 14 gets older I will abuse it more. I am finding my wife and I are enjoying the scenic easier trails over some of the harder trails where you only go short distances at very slow speeds. Here in the desert you can drive many miles relatively easy and then come to a spot that is washed out, very rocky, deep sand or very steep. It is those hard places that require lifts etc. to get through. What I have found is the bottom of the rear shocks and the running board mount brackets have little paint left on them from the small stones blasting away on them. The bottom side of the doors would be pitted up very badly if it were not for the running boards stopping the stones. Low range is often used in tougher sections just because it is just easier to drive going up and down the terrain. The 4runner is so dusty after some rides it is hard to tell what color it is. I live right on the edge of the desert BLM land so I use my atv for most of my local off road use anymore and use the 4runner for easier farther away places.