Offroading--> 3rd Gen or 4th Gen?

[Falls]

Anyone else have a hard time getting around in a 4th gen 4 runner in the snow?

I've been off road in a foot of snow and never had the least bit of a problem and even on snow covered rutted , rocky hill's,with and without the center diff. locked. I personally think the 4R is great in the snow.

I have a hard time believing that it would get stuck in 4" of snow. I think there's more to that story than what were reading.

Ultimately....I would love to be able to switch off all the electronic BS,VSC,Atrac,dac,the reverse hold stuff. I wish they would have switches to turn all that on and off. That's one thing I don't like about the 4R. When driving on snow covered road's on or off road I feel better with the center diff. locked and no VSC.

 

[2003Can4runner]

I assure you that there isn't any more to the story. My dad isn't a huge offroader but he liked the fact he had that option incase he needed it, which is why he always buys 4runners (he has had 4 and now has a Tacoma with a 6 inch lift and 35" tires). He knows they are extremely capable and it didnt' even phase him at all to park where he did. It was pathetic watching it because the snow wasn't even up the the rim! it was on grass where nobody has parked before so there wasn't built up ice or anythign. the stock tires on those things are absolutely terrible so i guess that's the culprit.

 

[GatorGreg]

'99 is the year that's regarded as the best modern gen off road Runner in stock trim due to it's highest ground clearance (early '00s shared the taller springs also) and of course the factory locker but with a few mods any year Runner can do well off road.
In '01 Toyota dropped the Runners an inch and lost the locker and 5 speeds.

Ron (or anyone else who knows) do you know when in the '00 model year they stopped using the taller springs? My 2000 was built in October of '99 - it seems pretty high so I'm guessing it has the taller springs? Or could just be illusion since it has no running boards - pic:

<img src="http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachment.php?postid=200514">

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Greg,it does appear you have the taller coils but you should do a rear diff clearance measurement and let me know and I'll go measure my mom's '99 which is bone stock and has the shorter coils.

 

[jwyshrek]

I've been off road in a foot of snow and never had the least bit of a problem and even on snow covered rutted , rocky hill's,with and without the center diff. locked. I personally think the 4R is great in the snow.

I have a hard time believing that it would get stuck in 4" of snow. I think there's more to that story than what were reading.

Ultimately....I would love to be able to switch off all the electronic BS,VSC,Atrac,dac,the reverse hold stuff. I wish they would have switches to turn all that on and off. That's one thing I don't like about the 4R. When driving on snow covered road's on or off road I feel better with the center diff. locked and no VSC.

Actually, I know of someone who got stuck in about 14" of snow up a slight incline...2003 V8 4wd. But it wasn't because of the 4wd systems...it was those tires...cheap Dunlops that came stock with the vehicle...couldn't get any grip at any of the 4 wheels.

 

[Thai]

Greg,it does appear you have the taller coils but you should do a rear diff clearance measurement and let me know and I'll go measure my mom's '99 which is bone stock and has the shorter coils.

Actually, Greg, you n

 

[Falls]

I've been in some really deep snow , off road with mud too. I have the center diff. locked . ( important as this is the major culprit of shutting down power ) and I was playing and roosting all over with no problems.

I like the 3rd gens better , but I also think its who's behind the wheel and how they understand 4x4's play a HUGE factor , tires also play a huge role.

I don't mean to be rude but getting stuck in 4" of snow and having a Mazda (2wd mind you) come in and pull you out with not even spinning a wheel seems like a bizaar story to be . There has to be more to it than that.

This winter I'm going to get myself in a situation where I have the diff locked in 4hi and just giver hell to see what happens, but when I have hit a few parking lots ( while playing ) in a snow storm and locked in 4hi with center diff. locked I was just hammering the crap out of it in 12" of snow and never had anything shutting down the power.

 

[Falls]

One more thing to add, I think the ATRAC works well , better than a rear locker in some cases and not in others. I think that and the other ele. controlling stuff are great , but it would have so easy for them to put enable/disable switches for each feature at the time of design/build.

Like I always say sometimes the GO pedal can get you out of as many jams as the BRAKE pedal. I'm a true beleiver in that theroy.

Personally if they made the 4th gen or the next gen. with a lever and lockout hubs I'd be the 1st one in line....solid front axle too..........ok I gotta go this fantasy is killing me ....lol

 

[Baba Booey]

Personally if they made the 4th gen or the next gen. with a lever and lockout hubs I'd be the 1st one in line....solid front axle too..........ok I gotta go this fantasy is killing me ....lol

It doesn't need to be a fantasy if you lived in a different part of the world....

Toyota Australia

 

[boston_kevin]

I also think you have to consider a bigger picture... For pure offroading, 3rd gen would probably beat a 4th gen given the same dollar amount for upgrades. That being said, the biggest single complaint about the 3rd gen was the on-road manners (second being the lack of power) and the 4th gen is probably the best on-road 4runner ever and the safest. So the question becomes, how many of the nuances of the 3rd gen can you live with to achieve slightly increased off-road prowess? Likewise, how many of the electronic nannies can you take off-roading before the 4th gen becomes annoying? Personally I off-road less than 5% of all mileage driven, so I'd rather have the on-road manners.

And, before I get blasted, I have ridden in many 3rd gens, but I never owned one, so my experiences in the 3rd gen is limited to the passenger seat, maybe 500 miles combined (or less).

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Oh definetly the 4th gens have the on-road manners and would love one eventually as a DD but the 3rd gens just ride like a truck and don't mind the roughness but as I get older I may tire of it. My mom has a '99 Limited and she's almost 50 and she never complains about her Runners ride.

I wonder how much off road prowess the 5th gens will give up vs the 4th gens.

 

[GatorGreg]

I wonder how much off road prowess the 5th gens will give up vs the 4th gens.

They're probably asking themselves the same thing right now at Toyota as they contemplate different design options for the next gen '09

 

[Iron Clad Lou]

wont be long before the damn thing is on a RAV 4 platform...

 

[Thai]

I doubt that 4runners/Tacoma/Prado vehicles will ever be linked to RAV4 or Highlander. If anything, then 4runners of the future will share platform with future Sequoia (kinda like Nissan Pathfiinder/Xterra being based on Amarda's frame).

 

[boston_kevin]

I think the 4runner occupy a nice little niche in between the full sized SUVs (Land Cruiser and Sequoia) and the small SUVs (Rav 4 and Highlander). I think this will probably maintain it's independance from the other platforms... The 2 full sized SUV's and pressure from US and other countries on these big SUV's, I think you'd probably see a merge of Land Cruiser and Sequoia...

 

[Duc Hunter]

Pardon my Rant here

 

[Duc Hunter]

Wow, I am surprised no one ahs said anything, agree, disagree, think I am nuts, laughed, cried......it was meant in a good natured way gang.

 

[Thai]

I agree with you. Usually, if no one answers, then it's all good...the problem is when they respond to your post!

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Good post but it is a bit off topic since the point of the thread is 3rd gen vs 4th Runners;there always will be better options but it's not what is being discussed.

Stock for stock a locked 3rd gen has an edge.

 

[gonzo]

Stock for stock a locked 3rd gen has an edge.

but what if the 3rd gen doesn't have a locker?

i have noticed that my 2nd gen was much better in the sand than my 4th gen, however, my 4th gen kicks but up some of the steeper hills and rock faces that my 2nd gen was unable to climb (most likely due to the extra power).