Is the 4Runner your toy or daily driver?

[Bumbo]

For the first 200,000 miles our 4Runner has primarily been a daily driver... even after a lift 20k miles ago, dual battery, lighting, fridge, and other mods it has been our adventure truck / road trip truck which would still see some times in a working parking lot.

We recently bought our 3rd vehical and our tune regarding the 4Runner is starting to change... and its starting to become more of a toy (and a money pit).

We spending most of our time in CA BLM and deserts when we have leisure time.

We worry less about breaking something or having down-time if something happens to the truck. I try to work on it myself and treat it as more of a hobby item.

Our aftermarket decisions have started to drift from our original vision...

I started to realize I am treating my rig as a toy more than a tool... just curious as to what your 4Runner is to you.

Part of my concern is that I am at a point where you have to start spending "real money" for mods (like long travel done right, gearing, lockers), and am not sure if the 4Runner is really the best or smartest platform to do it on.

For example... I have OE style bolt on suspension... and even on the higher end of that spectrum it can only do so much.

I start looking at performance mods like 2+ or 3.5+ long travel with a secondary bypass shock, and even engine mods (v6 here) or swap +supercharger...

Its not difficult to find yourself looking at a potential of 20-30k of additional spending from this point forward. If I start buying mods at this level I am almost having to commit to the platform. I dont expect my 200k motor to last forever, but if I have 10-15k in custom suspension + gearing and lockers on it already, its hard not to considering fixing the motor vs dumping, parting out, and moving on.

A part of me feels that before going too far down this rabbit hole, I should consider alternate options such as a sand rail, UTV / Side x Side, / another road legal platform that has more potential for making power...

So for those who own a 4Runner, how do you use it, would you keep it as a pure toy if you had the option, or would you move onto something else?

 

[Inv4drZm]

I really think the 4Runner, 4th gen V8 especially, is one of the most well-rounded street-legal platforms for any purpose. It can do it all from long road trips expedition style camping to rock crawling or dune-jumping to daily driver grocery getter largely due to its reliability and aftermarket support. (We all already know this of course)

Right now its my only vehicle but I haven't treated it that way considering I'm a busy college student wheeling on the weekends without a ton of extra cash laying around to easily fix broken parts from the trail.

I'll be graduating soon which has made me think about "what comes next" with my truck. My conclusion is to build my truck expedition style adventure camping machine that can take on a few trails similiar to what I've been doing already. I don't want to beat this thing up on the trails (but I also don't want to be towed over every rock). If I have the urge for total trail domination I would likely buy a classic Toyota solid axle vehicle or side by side and trailer it to the wheeling spots in Colorado, Moab, or even local spots that are 4hrs away. My 4Runner would be "base camp" while I beat up on a vehicle that is hardly street legal anyway.

As far as all the mod money accruing. You don't need long travel, supercharger, lockers, or 35s. You can drive over insanely gnarly stuff with aftermarket shocks, 33s, and maybe a rear locker. The other $15k is mainly for the enthusiast "cool factor" IMO. Sure there are some that actually "need" these $ items for the things they put their truck through. Not to bash, but most of it can be tackled fine with experience and no urge to take the hardcore route through the rock garden or fly 80mph through the desert. You don't need long travel, lockers, etc to have a good time and enjoy America's scenery with your 4Runner.

My rambling 2 cents worth...

 

[Timberland]

Technically my 4runner is my daily driver, but all of my vehicles are "toys" to me. The runner is just the most practical of the group. With a few mods, it certainly feels special to drive, and I think it's something you can be proud of. Toyota trucks have such a great legacy, you're bound to get compliments and comments if you have a nice one. These things hold their value extremely well, so as long as yours isn't rotting out I'd say it's worth investing in. If it works and you love it, spend money on it!

 

[rooost]

I would take the consideration of how will you feel if it is gone ? If you keep it and do nothing, it doesn't cost much....seems to me the experience of an open buggy is very different from riding in a full vehicle, do you need a change ? You can always use your toy to tow your other toy.

 

[blackoutt]

I struggle with this too sometimes. My 4Runner is my only 4 wheeled vehicle so I must keep it streetable. The places I have gone and plan on going to explore are far away which with my limited vacation days dictates all interstate there and back for the most time out there. Could I go all out with long travel, 35's, RTT, bumpers, the whole shebang? Sure but it wouldn't fit in my garage, would cost me a ton for something I don't use 75% of the time, kill fuel economy (not that I bought this to sip fuel), and ultimately be a waste. Another thing that helps keep the 4Runner mild is I also have 2 wheeled toys to quench my extreme offroad needs, which the 4Runner is great to tow and camp out of during those events, don't even need a lift or any fancy mods to do that.

Now if I was using my 4Runner as a dedicated trail toy, or advertising for my livelihood like many of the growing number of "overland" teams and outfitters out there then it might make sense. Since you have other DD's and this could be your toy only, if you plan on keeping it forever, whatever the cost, then go all out!

 

[Breadman03]

From my perspective here in NE PA, I really don't have much wheeling around me. Most of the woods is owned by mining companies that used to allow public recreation but don't anymore. I plan on keeping mine pretty much stock aside from bumpers, springs and shocks to compensate for the weight, and a winch. I'd really like to get a Polaris RZR or Can-Am Maverick to beat the snot out of.

Technically my 4runner is my daily driver, but all of my vehicles are "toys" to me. The runner is just the most practical of the group. With a few mods, it certainly feels special to drive, and I think it's something you can be proud of. Toyota trucks have such a great legacy, you're bound to get compliments and comments if you have a nice one. These things hold their value extremely well, so as long as yours isn't rotting out I'd say it's worth investing in. If it works and you love it, spend money on it!

Saw your avatar and instantly thought it looked like a sweet MR2. Then I saw your signature.

 

[techno]

My 08 is my dd, but I'd love to build it up to max capability at the same time. What I think I'll be working towards is a 'convertible daily driver', meaning on Friday after work I can spend an hour or so converting it into the weekend warrior mobile. Switch out the street tires and rims for the super swampers, drop the winch into the bumper, pump up the hydraulic body lift, that sort of thing....

 

[CXS]

Mine's both - my DD & toy. I hit the trails a lot but have toned down what I do and built it for my needs. After having a well built Land Cruiser I was able to limit my mods specifically for my current needs. While I can't run the difficult trails I did in the past I can still do everything I want to do. Times change along with needs & wants and it's always a good idea to keep that in mind.

 

[gm350reratliff]

Both 4Runners are daily drivers but we do like to mod and wheel them. They are also our tow vehicles and everything else in between. We do get out and use them but there's a difference between using them and abusing them. If you build and wheel with some common sense and practicality, you can have the best of both worlds.

That being said, I'm adding full plate bumpers and winches to both 4runners and probably going up another tire size or two. With that will come re-gears on both. All of this is subject to change for many reasons but that's the idea so far.

 

[derekjmiller913]

Don't buy accessories buy for your needs in 5 years! Buy for your needs now! You can always change things up down the road. I don't understand folks who overestimate their needs and have a glorified mall crawler that never leaves pavement. To each their own.

 

[BillyBoost]

My 4Runner is my daily driver and ride to the trailhead for hiking. I do not need it to be more than that. For off reading fun I have a RZR 900xp which is a million times more fun playing around in. Good luck with which way you decide to go.

Bill

 

[Bumbo]

I really think the 4Runner, 4th gen V8 especially, is one of the most well-rounded street-legal platforms for any purpose. It can do it all from long road trips expedition style camping to rock crawling or dune-jumping to daily driver grocery getter largely due to its reliability and aftermarket support. (We all already know this of course)

Right now its my only vehicle but I haven't treated it that way considering I'm a busy college student wheeling on the weekends without a ton of extra cash laying around to easily fix broken parts from the trail.

I'll be graduating soon which has made me think about "what comes next" with my truck. My conclusion is to build my truck expedition style adventure camping machine that can take on a few trails similiar to what I've been doing already. I don't want to beat this thing up on the trails (but I also don't want to be towed over every rock). If I have the urge for total trail domination I would likely buy a classic Toyota solid axle vehicle or side by side and trailer it to the wheeling spots in Colorado, Moab, or even local spots that are 4hrs away. My 4Runner would be "base camp" while I beat up on a vehicle that is hardly street legal anyway.

As far as all the mod money accruing. You don't need long travel, supercharger, lockers, or 35s. You can drive over insanely gnarly stuff with aftermarket shocks, 33s, and maybe a rear locker. The other $15k is mainly for the enthusiast "cool factor" IMO. Sure there are some that actually "need" these $ items for the things they put their truck through. Not to bash, but most of it can be tackled fine with experience and no urge to take the hardcore route through the rock garden or fly 80mph through the desert. You don't need long travel, lockers, etc to have a good time and enjoy America's scenery with your 4Runner.

My rambling 2 cents worth...

I agree with a lot of what you said, if anything I have done a lot of it... but considering the age differences and demographic of 4Runner owners is all over the place, its easy to forget or not be able to see another perspective sometimes...

I am probably a bit older than the typically 4Runner owner on this forum, but I literally just spent the last year (after quitting work from a 15 year career) planning trips, vacationing, and adventuring with my 4Runner.

After I stopped working I basically started building up the truck and doing all the work myself...

I lifted the truck, designed my own dual battery setup, tires, bunch of electrical work, ARB fridge, and general maintenance... and took it on a 5000 mile solo road trip all though-out CA and Oregon. Camping along the way and enjoying myself and the truck... pretty wild experience going by yourself for that long (month long trip).

After that was a few more road trip with my fiance, Yellowstone, Bryce, GrandTetons, CA, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming... but in less than a year we have logged over 20k worth of recreation miles both on and off-road.

We feel the road trip / expedition chapter is coming to a close, I am going to start working again, and that means frequent (weekend) local trip out to local deserts...

Even if we continue doing road trips or overland travel... I would prefer to do them in a different truck. The SR5 v6 4Runner I have lacks space, luxury, and its just not all that comfortable to sit in 5-8 hours / day driving. I would end up wanting to do it in something else like a new GX460, Land Cruiser, or even a bigger American SUV like a Yukon Denali.

 

[Bumbo]

I would take the consideration of how will you feel if it is gone ? If you keep it and do nothing, it doesn't cost much....seems to me the experience of an open buggy is very different from riding in a full vehicle, do you need a change ? You can always use your toy to tow your other toy.

Yes, the experience from an open buggy is different, and very much to my liking as well as a desert rat.

Even without the 4Runner I would have something to tow with as the 4x4 Silverado was the 3rd vehical we got.

Currently my desert / sand toy is a Raptor 700, but I cant help wanting to drive the 4Runner everywhere too.

Its a lot of gear, but for ATV trips I drive the truck with quad and my lady takes the 4Runner.

 

[Bumbo]

My 4Runner is my daily driver and ride to the trailhead for hiking. I do not need it to be more than that. For off reading fun I have a RZR 900xp which is a million times more fun playing around in. Good luck with which way you decide to go.

Bill

RZR900 is a pretty awesome UTV.

My friend has a YXZ1000 and I basically just follow him in the 4Runner though whoops, dunes, and hard pack.

I really push my 4Runner hard in the desert which is why I am on the long travel kick. Last trip I did have some close calls with a pretty bad bottom out in one location. I would love more suspension headroom to increase saftey and performance.

I have some pretty wild go-pro footage carving dunes... need to get that edited and uploaded.

 

[Bumbo]

Don't buy accessories buy for your needs in 5 years! Buy for your needs now! You can always change things up down the road. I don't understand folks who overestimate their needs and have a glorified mall crawler that never leaves pavement. To each their own.

Not sure if that was a general statement or direct towards me... but my runner is far from a mall crawler in terms of how its used... heck I dont even take it to the mall...

If you dont plan ahead how could you use your money wisely? Last thing I want to do is sink 20-30k into a project that keeps going in random direction, only to find that it doesn't really fit my wants/needs after its run its course... and with very little ROI or cost recovery.

Even changing your mind down the road is a very costly venture if you dont exercise fore-though ... moving away from a rig that has been geared, long travel, or caged is basically even more $ than starting fresh at times. Which is the reason for this thread; picking a final application, specializing for it, or just buying a better toy to start with.

If anything I am constantly growing out of its capability after I mod it... The only things that is left is truly moving into high dollar mods and leaving the world of bolt on OE gear.

For where I often use the truck... I could get away with just selling it and buying something that makes a lot more sense for the terrain I drive on BUT I love my 4Runner and want to keep at it, I just feel that its starting to become something pretty specialized.

 

[Bumbo]

Mine's both - my DD & toy. I hit the trails a lot but have toned down what I do and built it for my needs. After having a well built Land Cruiser I was able to limit my mods specifically for my current needs. While I can't run the difficult trails I did in the past I can still do everything I want to do. Times change along with needs & wants and it's always a good idea to keep that in mind.

Good post... and that is a concern with going hard on mods...

Even throughout the course own owning the 4Runner... I keep modding it, and changing it depending on my needs and application.

Its not that I want to ditch the 4Runner, but the money spend on taking it to the next level can just buy me something else all together, but a part of me still wants to keep taking the 4R to the next level, unfortunately there is a pretty steep cost to do that.

That said, my 4Runner is probably where it needs to be for the most part... but we don't DD it anymore. Right now its sitting in the garage, fully loaded with camping gear at all times... heck I even have food and drink in the fridge so I dont have to deal with that either. It really helps the last min "f-it lets go camping" conversation with my lady when we get bored on weekends.

 

[Inv4drZm]

[MENTION=144483]Bumbo[/MENTION] what suspension do you have now?

Edit: I see 6112's and 5100's

I believe there is still some performance headroom with properly tuned 2.5" remote reservoir and clickers with bump stops before you go to long travel. Unless you are alright to just spend the money on the long travel arms and axles.

If you are worried about dropping the money on your 200k mile 4Runner, you can always make a decent chunk of your mod money back if you reinstall your stock parts and part out your mods.

 

[rickashay]

I really think the 4Runner, 4th gen V8 especially, is one of the most well-rounded street-legal platforms for any purpose. It can do it all from long road trips expedition style camping to rock crawling or dune-jumping to daily driver grocery getter largely due to its reliability and aftermarket support. (We all already know this of course)

As far as all the mod money accruing. You don't need long travel, supercharger, lockers, or 35s. You can drive over insanely gnarly stuff with aftermarket shocks, 33s, and maybe a rear locker. The other $15k is mainly for the enthusiast "cool factor" IMO. Sure there are some that actually "need" these $ items for the things they put their truck through. Not to bash, but most of it can be tackled fine with experience and no urge to take the hardcore route through the rock garden or fly 80mph through the desert. You don't need long travel, lockers, etc to have a good time and enjoy America's scenery with your 4Runner.

My rambling 2 cents worth...

^^Great points. The "needs vs. wants" can become excessive. So many people dump so much money into their vehicles nowadays it almost becomes the norm and makes you think that you "need" to have certain mods to get out on the trails. It's hard to not follow the trend and think that you need LT or that you need 35's cause all the cool kids are doing it. I myself am even guilty of this thought process occasionally and try to give myself a reality check. I still say a lifted Toyota with decent suspension, sliders, skids, a rear locker, and 33's will get you down 90% of the trails you could ever want to accomplish. I have friends who have even ran the Rubicon, and Dusy Ershim in this configuration. Not ideal but doable. And the reality is that those types of trails are way too difficult for 75% of the population anyway. The dune guys might beg to differ and say the nicer suspension is more important that the armor but I guess that comes down to your intended uses. I believe many people stray into the "wants" category for the pure aesthetics and exclusivity. Just look at your own personal uses and build accordingly. Don't ever underestimate the power of good driving technique and spotting.

Mine's both - my DD & toy. I hit the trails a lot but have toned down what I do and built it for my needs. After having a well built Land Cruiser I was able to limit my mods specifically for my current needs. While I can't run the difficult trails I did in the past I can still do everything I want to do. Times change along with needs & wants and it's always a good idea to keep that in mind.

Truth. I am now on my 5th serious build. I have spent way too much money trying to create the "perfect" vehicle that does everything well, but nothing great. The reality of it is that your needs and uses change over time and with that comes the requirement for different parts and build design strategy.

My 80 series was a beast on the technical trails... I thought thats what I wanted. I gave up too much comfort and modern amenities for a slight increase in offroad prowess, only to find myself hating the daily driveability and gutless powertrain.

My Tundra was the closest I have ever come to the "perfect all-arounder" but with talk of kids on the way, the two seater wouldn't cut it.

Now I think I am in a platform that is ultimately one of the best all-rounders money can buy. Toyota reliability, fully boxed frame, made in Japan, V8, and the driveability and creature comforts to coincide. I can't wait to get out and use my 4th Gen 4Runner!

So for those who own a 4Runner, how do you use it, would you keep it as a pure toy if you had the option, or would you move onto something else?

Currently ours is a garage queen. 3rd vehicle so it is nice not having to rack up the miles on daily commutes and I really have no concern if something breaks on the trails. However part of the move into the 4th gen platform was that I will be making a career change in the next couple years and will be dropping down to only 2 vehicles again and the 4Runner will be my DD. Other than the sub-par fuel economy, I'm actually looking forward to driving it all the time.

 

[duffdog]

I actually prefer driving any of my 4runners to any of the other cars I own or have for work. I think I have too many cars...3 4runners, an f350 and a ford escape company car.

The 87 4runner was a restoration project and I rarely drive that anywhere anymore. The 89 with the full cage, linked with SAS with locked rear and front is definitely for the hard trails but is still street legal so I could drive it. But the 05 v8 is really my favorite truck to drive and It has all the offroad stuff so it can handle the rubicon no problem. My opinion is that driving a 4runner is not merely driving a car, it is driving an instrument. A perfectly balanced expedition vehicle with precisely engineered components that can equally handle high speed freeway driving and being slammed into a giant rock.

I made the company I work for buy me a car as a condition of employment, so they purchased a new Ford Escape for me. If that car is not the fullest expression of automotive failure, I do not know what is. Every day that I drive it, I feel like I am in a port-a-potty with windows that will literally fall apart if I were to yell at it. Within the last week, I broke the outer door handle completely off the car by opening the door and the car is losing coolant, probably a blown head gasket. Not to mention it has the worst turning radius of any small car that has ever been invented and the auto open/close trunk thing broke within the first month of me using it.

Driving the brand new Escape and my 11 year old 4runner is quite different, I'll take the 4runner any day.

 

[Flyer]

Mine is my DD and my winter vehicle for snow sports (snow tires) while the Jeep is my offroading toy. I have kept the 4R mostly stock for reliability reasons and drivability too. I think I have ~133,000 miles on it and I hope it keeps going.