Offroad Argument

J

jmrwd3

New member
Hello, I am a University of Missouri student, and bought my first 4runner over the summer. It is a '99 4x4 w/ 5speed stick and I love it.... However recently I have become interested with taking it offroad, it is fully stock, and i'm not taking over boulders... just small stuff. Unfortunately, we got some snow and to get off the trail I had to either go over a snow pile, or backtrack to the start of the trail..... so i started out real slow and got stuck real quick. My father told me, "you are going to ruin your car, it wasn't designed for that and it won't last you very long the way you treat it." i was shocked!! if i had any speed i would have made it!!! "a passing truck pulled me off the snow real easily btw...." I love my truck and would never try to hurt it :) My question to you all is this... Do you agree with me or 'ole dad? Can the 4runner due some easy offroad trails and still last as a daily driver, or will i soon be looking for another truck?
 
Register to hide this ad
Drive it like you stole it!

Every vehicle I have ever had I have given hell! I dont suggest just being stupid and trying to F*uck your 4runner up but its ment to be driven hard its a toyota for gods sake! It will last forever! :) Yes you can wheel it lightly or hard and still use it as a daily driver.
 
Last edited:
Mine is my DD and during the summer it makes about 7-10 off road trips a summer and I've got 125k on mine and no issues. You do have to remember the more you wheel it the more likely you'll put some wear and tear on your truck but Toyotas do hold up well as long as you take care of it.
 
Re: Drive it like you stole it!

miles said:
Every vehicle I have ever had I have given hell!
Click to expand...


Oh how true! haha I go on trials in mine alot, my only rule is a avoid mud as much as possible, I mean I'll go through it but you ain't gonna catch my Frunner covered in mud, it's the nicest thing I've ever had, mud is what pure offroaders and beaters are for
 
Re: Re: Drive it like you stole it!

my only rule is a avoid mud as much as possible,
I completely agree! Mud is evil! its no good for any engine. Its just no good! It may be a little fun but stick to the dry trails and your 4runner will last you a long time.
 
not a good question to ask me because i go off roading in everything i drive:

4runner, saturn rental car (man was Enterprise pissed when I brought it back)
 
Sure it's a solid Toyota and a stock 4runner will take you pretty far off road, and pretty nicely on the road as well.

But, as a father of grown children, I have a good idea of what your dad is saying and why. Your in college, just starting out in life, your dad has already been there and done that so to speak. He is just trying to instill in you a sence of being practical, parents want their kids to learn from mistakes the parents have already made. I won't pretend to know your situation but most kids in college get some sort of finacial aid from their parents, either with school, room/board, a place to live in the summer, and/or, often with the car they drive and the insurance. I know from my own experience, when one of my kids was in college, the last thing I would want to see is them taking un-necessary risks to a vehicle that is needed for them to complete school, even if it was a sturdy 4runner. I'd feel the same weather I helped buy it for them or they did it on their own, your in college, finish it and get on with your life/career. You have plenty of time to wheel your truck after school if finished.

What your dad is saying is: don't let you brain write checks that your wallet can't cover. My job demanded that I have some sort of 4X4, I didn't have to climb rock piles, just get in and out of some rougher than normal territory. I had a 1977 Bronco slip into a lake, nothing crazy, it was just real muddy and steep. My 85 Toy PU got stuck so bad that I had to leave it, it froze and the truck had to stay out there until it thawed. My 92 runner had a CV boot ripped by a sharp corn stalk, and another by a piece of bailing wire wrapped around the axel. The passenger door got ripped by a piece of metal sticking out of the dirt on the side of a dirt road. There are a few more but none of this happend in real rough country, nor was I out there for fun, but they all cost $$. Take your truck off road enough and something is going to break and it will cost you money and down time.

If you can afford it then go have fun, if you can't then wait until you can and the 4runner is a great choice.

Doug
 
bah.

its all in what you want out of it.

are 4runners offroad beasts in stock form? no. will they get you far? YES. will you damage the tinfoil bumpers and skid plates if you keep at it? HELL YES. does it matter? only if you care about keeping it stock.

a truck like the 4runner comes from the factory in "itll get you through any daily rough spot" mode.

you WILL screw the truck up if you push it past this... you can smash in the bumper so that it interferes with your fan or smashes your radiator for example. you can land on a rock and bash your skidplates up into something. you can land on a rock with your quarter panels and smash them up.


with sliders, a locker, front and rear armor, aggressive tires and plates, a 4runner can go VERY far.
 
I've owned 3 4runners so far. Each of them spent 20 miles a day, everyday on dirt roads (sometimes mud, sometimes dust) and a bunch of miles every year in sand. I haven't babied them, I take care of them, service them and use the heck out of them.

From what I've been able to see they are as offroad capable as any of the stock SUVs better than most. They have better construction, with 80000 miles on them they don't sound like a bag of bolts when you drive down a washboard covered road. Try that with a Jeep or Exploder.

This winter my Runner has spent the vast majority of its time in 4WD because of snow. Some of the guys around here have been amazed at the amount of stuff my stock 97 will go through but it's well balanced and it handles well.

I'm definately not college aged, I'm a lot closer to 60 than I am to 50 but for what I do and where I live I won't drive another SUV for work or pleasure.

Take care of your ride, service it, drive it with some common sense, (watch the depth of water you might drive through) but don't be afraid to use it. Otherwise you might as well get a car.

Just my 2 cents.
 
jmrwd3 said:
Hello, I am a University of Missouri student, and bought my first 4runner over the summer. It is a '99 4x4 w/ 5speed stick and I love it.... However recently I have become interested with taking it offroad, it is fully stock, and i'm not taking over boulders... just small stuff. Unfortunately, we got some snow and to get off the trail I had to either go over a snow pile, or backtrack to the start of the trail..... so i started out real slow and got stuck real quick. My father told me, "you are going to ruin your car, it wasn't designed for that and it won't last you very long the way you treat it." i was shocked!! if i had any speed i would have made it!!! "a passing truck pulled me off the snow real easily btw...." I love my truck and would never try to hurt it :) My question to you all is this... Do you agree with me or 'ole dad? Can the 4runner due some easy offroad trails and still last as a daily driver, or will i soon be looking for another truck?
Click to expand...
 
You can do a lot of trails if you change good off road tires. most of the roads I do are a level 3 and some 4's. I go all over Colorao and like Ouray best. I've done imogene, engineer, cinnamon, ophir, corkscrew, california, hurricnane, stony and a few others in that area. I do have a tal-hada grill guard and I have BFG all-terrain tires. I have just added a trd superchager and look forward to seeing how it does in the mountains. the next mod I wan to make is to put slee rock sliders on.

If you take your time and are careful, you can do many 4x4 trails. It would best if you go with someone that has done it before.

also get some 4x4 books that describe the trails.

be save and have a good time.
 
RE: noahjokc

Yeah i am definetely taking the 4Runner to Colorado this summer, and buddy and I are going out to the San Juans to climb some 14ers; originally I was very nervouse about how the 4runner would handle on the 4x4 roads we picked, engineer pass was one of them. I have been to the areas many times, just not in my own vehicle. What would be things to check before the trip? I bought the truck in July and it has a little over 100k. I know for one the timing belt or clutch have never been changed.
 
YES

look underneath!

theyre like tinfoil though. if you plan to wheel for real, you need to step up to thicker skids.
 
Do you know what I need to go out there, i.e. tow cables, flag, permit. What are the trails like? I know of people that take their bikes out there, do you have watch out for them? Any info you could pass along I would apperciate it.
 
I called Fingerlakes today and they said no 4wd drive vehicles are allowed only atv and bikes. Any other places you know of?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 380 (members: 5, guests: 375)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,304
Messages
3,554,040
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top