I'm such a newb!! Gen4.5 SE

[SciRunner]

Umm I still think it's the tires (and my newbiness) and not the 4Runner's mechanical components.

All factory 4Runner Sport Edition 4WD V8 with the sucky stock Donflop Grandtrek tires and that's it.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CE1D2B42B7DF9F64

Locking the center diff even while 4Hi does help when driving around in that area.

So what could I have done better other than getting better tires (real ATs)?

 

[4runr30]

Decent vid. Im not an offroading pro by any means, but there isn't much you can do when the tires are clumped over with mud. I didn't see much of the vid, but I wouldn't have stopped during your ascent and might have had more speed out of the gate. Hopefully guys like HB 4x4 and RonMAIDEN will take a look and give you some better feedback.

 

[Nuke]

Every 4Runner I've had has been very capable but with the right tires. The Dunflop Grandcrap AT20's are quite shoddy under bad conditions. They're not TOO BAD (but still, barely passable) for light snow but I'd hate to be back north where I grew up with them.

Tirerack does have some good info to make educated decisions. If you can afford it, pick up a decent set of AT's (I really liked the Destination A/T's I had on my 3rd gen), practice and yard sale the Grandcraps.