SR5 Vs Trail Off Road Capability

M

Mguts

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I know that the Trail has all of the extra off road controls, but my dad's SR5 seems like a pretty capable vehicle on its own without all of those extras. To you guys with the Trail edition, do you guys actually use those off road controls?

I'm trying to decide between the two and am wondering if in real world conditions, I would actually miss or need the extras that the Trail Edition offers. I currently own a 2 door Tahoe that is archaic in terms of any offroad help even compared to the SR5 and have been perfectly fine so I'm kind of thinking that the SR5 would get the job done for me.
 
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Mguts said:
I know that the Trail has all of the extra off road controls, but my dad's SR5 seems like a pretty capable vehicle on its own without all of those extras. To you guys with the Trail edition, do you guys actually use those off road controls?

I'm trying to decide between the two and am wondering if in real world conditions, I would actually miss or need the extras that the Trail Edition offers. I currently own a 2 door Tahoe that is archaic in terms of any offroad help even compared to the SR5 and have been perfectly fine so I'm kind of thinking that the SR5 would get the job done for me.
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I don't have a TE, but methinks that it would out perform the SR5 in three major ways:

1. It has a diff lock.
2. It has a diff lock.
3. It has a diff lock.
 
Unless you are into rock crawling with a tire in the air a lot the SR5 will do fine. Even when a SR5 has a wheel in the air the atrac will get it through. You just have to hit the gas a little more to get it to work. The atrac will apply the brakes to the wheel with less traction and it works amazingly well. Also you may want a better gas tank skid because the SR5 only covers half the tank.
 
If you planning on crawling/trail runs, it would be silly to not get the trail. Yes all the electronic things are fun, but I never really use them. The locker on the other hand is helpful on an epic level. If you plan on doing just casual offroading, SR5 will be fine, if you wanna build a rig that will be very capable on the trail, get the trail.
 
Mguts said:
I know that the Trail has all of the extra off road controls, but my dad's SR5 seems like a pretty capable vehicle on its own without all of those extras. To you guys with the Trail edition, do you guys actually use those off road controls?

I'm trying to decide between the two and am wondering if in real world conditions, I would actually miss or need the extras that the Trail Edition offers. I currently own a 2 door Tahoe that is archaic in terms of any offroad help even compared to the SR5 and have been perfectly fine so I'm kind of thinking that the SR5 would get the job done for me.
Click to expand...


Much better to have them and not need them, then to need them and not have them.....

Just my 2 cents...
 
The doodads are nice, but I chose the Trail for the KDSS, the rear locker, and the TE specific cloth.

The KDSS makes the street driving far superior to a stock SR5 and it made no sense to buy an SR5 only to spend extra money on better suspension when the Trail had it to start with FOB.
 
I too chose the Trail for mainly for the KDSS. In fact it was the only reason why I even bothered buying a new 4Runner and selling my Built 08' Tacoma.

IMO the trail looks better with the black fenders, etc. but Harper proved you don't need a Trail to get that look.

Then the Locker, Really Nice to have if everything else fails to get you through an obstacle. I've used mine twice to get me through stuff the other extras wouldn't.

The Crawl Control is Cool but in the real world probably unnecessary, I have experimented with mine a few times, does what it's designed to do but wasn't a feature I had to have.
 
Yep, I chose the Trail for two main reasons.

1. Cosmetic reasons
a. I just liked how the exterior looked in comparison to SR5 and Limited models. No rocker panels, trim, etc…
b. I also enjoyed having the nicer gauges which I can’t believe are not standard on all models…
c. Didn’t come with factory leather which I did not necessarily like. I planned on putting aftermarket leather in and it is much better quality.
2. Mechanical Reasons
a. Diff Lock
b. KDSS

The other electronic gizmos are interesting and fun to play with but probably have limited “real” world use at least for me.
 
It all starts with what you are going to do with the truck. I bought an SR5.

Exterior
I like the exterior of the Trail better, but its all coming off. I will replace both front and rear bumpers, I already trimmed the rockers fro my sliders, etc. So all I will be left with is the hood. It was not worth the extra expense for just the hood.

Interior
I already changed my interior our with leather would have done the same thing with the Trail. I do not have the guages and I want them. But once again the expense was not worth it for just the guages, I will buy a set out of the junkyard in a year.

Suspension
The trail is much better than the SR5 stock. But once again I ripped all the stock gear out and went with ICON. So now I am better than a stock Trail IMO. Was not worth the money to rip out the stock components. KDSS is great but I am an old school guy and am more comfortable with normal sway bars I can disconnect to get ultimate articulation if I want. Plus I feel the less the stuff on a vehicle that can break the better. I did not want to be left on the trail in a couple years because KDSS crapped out on me. Who knows if this will ever happen, but I do not have to worry about.

Locker
The electronic locker is awesome, but ARB's are awesome as well. I plan to switch gears so I would have to open the rear end anyway. When open I will put a ARB locker in the rear, problem solved.

So in the end, it was not worth the money for me to spend on a hood and guages. This is how I went about the purchase, hope it helps. Basically for the extra money spent on a Trail, you can have a lifted SR5 with a ARB locker with room left over to spare. It all comes down to what you are going to do aftermarket with the vehicle and how you intend to drive.

Ben
 
My dealership couldn't get me a trail and they don't sell them in Missouri, so I had to settle for a SR5. It handles super well offroad, whether its sand, mud, water, or rocks, my SR5 was keeping up with the other trucks that had lockers. Did a few steep trail runs, ATRAC does help a ton. I would say if you're not going to do like heavy crazy offroading get the SR5.
 
Trail

BFLAN said:
It all starts with what you are going to do with the truck. I bought an SR5.

Exterior
I like the exterior of the Trail better, but its all coming off. I will replace both front and rear bumpers, I already trimmed the rockers fro my sliders, etc. So all I will be left with is the hood. It was not worth the extra expense for just the hood.

Interior
I already changed my interior our with leather would have done the same thing with the Trail. I do not have the guages and I want them. But once again the expense was not worth it for just the guages, I will buy a set out of the junkyard in a year.

Suspension
The trail is much better than the SR5 stock. But once again I ripped all the stock gear out and went with ICON. So now I am better than a stock Trail IMO. Was not worth the money to rip out the stock components. KDSS is great but I am an old school guy and am more comfortable with normal sway bars I can disconnect to get ultimate articulation if I want. Plus I feel the less the stuff on a vehicle that can break the better. I did not want to be left on the trail in a couple years because KDSS crapped out on me. Who knows if this will ever happen, but I do not have to worry about.

Locker
The electronic locker is awesome, but ARB's are awesome as well. I plan to switch gears so I would have to open the rear end anyway. When open I will put a ARB locker in the rear, problem solved.

So in the end, it was not worth the money for me to spend on a hood and guages. This is how I went about the purchase, hope it helps. Basically for the extra money spent on a Trail, you can have a lifted SR5 with a ARB locker with room left over to spare. It all comes down to what you are going to do aftermarket with the vehicle and how you intend to drive.

Ben
Click to expand...

I agree, it all depends on what you have planned. The looks do not matter if you are going as far as replacing the bumpers, rear locker=ARB, kdss is cool but still probably not as effective as disconnecting completely plus I am wondering about the limits of the kdss adjustment once we have taller lifts available. Stock TE bada$$ but if you are planning on moding the thing alot of that stuff will be ripped out anyway...
 
I bet under the control of someone who really knows what they are doing, the two versions are almost equally capable.

I chose the Trail for the following reasons, and their importance to me:

1. KDSS - test driving both the Trail and SR5, the Trail handles noticeably better on road, where I am stuck doing most of my miles.
2. Exterior look
3. The orange gauges on the SR5 are extremely undesirable to my eyes.
4. Locking rear diff.
5. CC and MT

Since I have no plans for suspension modifications, the Trail was the right fit. If I were a modder and could live with the orange, I would have bought the SR5 and gone to work.
 
The SR5 is a fine 4x4 and probably all that most people need. I can picture a few trails and/or conditions where I may use crawl control or multi-terrain, but I'm certain the SR5 would also make it thru. In the event I get stuck the first button I'll push is the diff lock. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the TE has a slightly greater approach/departure angle than the SR5. I went with the TE for aesthetics, ie; hood scoop,smoked lenses,wheels, and also for the practical features, ie; mudflaps, roof rails, xm, diff lock, were some features I wanted that are standard on the TE. Another reason was the SR5's are more common,I've yet to see another TE in the county.
Tough decision, good luck.
 
Also in the rocks ground clearance is what matters. I do not think the trail sets any higher than a SR5. I have a 4th gen and it sees a lot of desert use in the rocks. It was pretty much useless stock but with my 2.5 lift and BFG all terrains it goes everyplace I want it to go with out dragging on the bottom. It is amazing how well the atrac works pulling it up obstacles. Do not expect your vehicle to stay spotless if you do much off roading. My wheels are getting chips from all the rocks thrown at them and the side gets pretty nasty stripes from tree branches, not to mention more dust than you could dream possible. I am pretty surea alot of new trail owners would not be willing to subject their new vehicle to this kind of abuse. I see some pictures posted of what a trail edition is made for but most of them are on a fire road you could drive a car down. I do not do mud and water but they tear up a vehicle even more. I have been off roading many years and that crawl control crap would be useless to me. Just a gimmick. Learn how to modulate the gas and brake, use the proper gear and do not rely on some fancy dial. This all comes with experience. If the sr5 did not have atrac then I would say definatly get the trail ed locker.
 
Lesser talked about TE features:

Optitron gauges, upgraded BT radio, waterproof seats, windshield and mirror defrosters, power outlets, sliding rear tray, "cooler" looking wheels.

I believe most of those are SR5 options, but it's good to try to compare similar models.
 
I find multi-terrain select is nice for going just a little faster down dirt/gravel/sandy/slightly muddy roads while in 4H. It is like ATRAC for Hi range. If you were interested in any kind of desert-style racing or just like to drive fast down back country roads, I think it would be a big plus.
 
Egstyle said:
I find multi-terrain select is nice for going just a little faster down dirt/gravel/sandy/slightly muddy roads while in 4H. It is like ATRAC for Hi range. If you were interested in any kind of desert-style racing or just like to drive fast down back country roads, I think it would be a big plus.
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agreed, my local 4wheeling spot has all gravel roads between the trails, and its fun to put it on multi-terrain and raise a little dust...
 
What do you guys use in snow? We had about 6 inches of heavy wet stiff on the ground last weekend and I got to try out how the 4R handles.

I was a little surprised at how much the VSC takes over. It was fun to try to get sideways and let the VSC fix it for me. But then it started to get annoying when I almost took my neighbors mailbox out when I couldn't turn because VSC and TC wouldnt let me get sideways. Maybe I should have turned all that hoo hah off?

Guess driving the 4R is a little different than the WRX. Can't wait for more snow.
 
Ryan_S said:
What do you guys use in snow? We had about 6 inches of heavy wet stiff on the ground last weekend and I got to try out how the 4R handles.

I was a little surprised at how much the VSC takes over. It was fun to try to get sideways and let the VSC fix it for me. But then it started to get annoying when I almost took my neighbors mailbox out when I couldn't turn because VSC and TC wouldnt let me get sideways. Maybe I should have turned all that hoo hah off?

Guess driving the 4R is a little different than the WRX. Can't wait for more snow.
Click to expand...

In snow I turn literally everything off, knowing that if i get one rear wheel stuck there are plenty of things I can turn on to get back out. But as far as fun in the snow goes, TC comes off. I played around with TC off in the new 4runner to see if it was like my old limited in that it would randomly turn back on again, but no, my new 2010 will stay off regardless of the rubber im burning. food for thought
 
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