Stock 4Runner on trails

[SnowYeti]

Tires are limiting factor way before ground clearance, etc.

Just had a friend take his new Jeep out with stock tires, he ended up on a grass hill, zero traction. He came VERY close to rolling it. Had to call a tow truck to winch him out. $900 later he learned a lesson and went and bought AT tires. Pretty cheap to add leveling spacers up front for some more clearance.

Sell the stock tires while they are still fairly new. When I bought mine I had the dealer switch out the wheels and tires day 1 so I could sell the stock set. Still need to get them up for sale....

 

[MAST4R]

Just had a friend take his new Jeep out with stock tires, he ended up on a grass hill, zero traction. He came VERY close to rolling it. Had to call a tow truck to winch him out. $900 later he learned a lesson and went and bought AT tires. Pretty cheap to add leveling spacers up front for some more clearance.

Sell the stock tires while they are still fairly new. When I bought mine I had the dealer switch out the wheels and tires day 1 so I could sell the stock set. Still need to get them up for sale....

Yeah, the stock tires are worthless. That's the one thing I changed within a week of ownership.

 

[Joe Rito]

You can go many places off road with your T4R completely stock. Ive done hard packed dirt trails, beach (sand), and a few easy rocky roads. Unless you are ready to go hard core, you’ll be fine. Prepare to pick up a few scratches from shrubs and tree branches. Also, running boards will hit in various situations if you are not careful. Otherwise Enjoy!

 

[Salvo Jimmy]

Yeah, the stock tires are worthless. .

“Not exactly” as the old Hertz ad said.

For example in sand aggressive tread tends to dig you in rather than “floating” over the sand. Aired down bald is really best, as us old guys who had only rear wheel drive before the 4WD rage knew, so stock tires with less aggressive tread is better in deep soft sand.

 

[Mutant138]

Fail to see how the stock tires are useless. I haven't hit any snow yet but I have had zero problems even in deep mud pits. As much as I want to upgrade to a larger more aggressive tread but the stocks work fine for me in the time being.

Other than that I wish I was a bit taller for all the river stones out here. I will lift asap. Stock skids are taking a licking.

Drive it stock figure out what you need.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

The first year I had it, I drove Megaweapon all over Nevada and parts of the Mojave desert, basically stock -- stock suspension, stock skid plates, stock bumpers, etc. I did put all-terrain tires on it.

It's a very capable vehicle straight off the lot.

 

[MTN4RNR]

Sit back, grab a beer and enjoy the thread...

Building, driving and adventuring the MTN4RNR

 

[MAST4R]

“Not exactly” as the old Hertz ad said.

For example in sand aggressive tread tends to dig you in rather than “floating” over the sand. Aired down bald is really best, as us old guys who had only rear wheel drive before the 4WD rage knew, so stock tires with less aggressive tread is better in sand.

I absolutely agree for beach driving but not for trail use even if the trail is sandy.

Even when adequate, street tires are awful on dirt. I have never done one single mod on a vehicle because "the internet told me so". Every single change starting 10 years ago with AT tires on a different vehicle has been a response to my own experiences on trail.

But I agree with you on rage and fads. It is getting nuts. The good thing is the crowds stick to the "internet fame" trails. We had two difficult Moab trails to ourselves yesterday while half the world was on Hells Revenge. We also drove a moderate trail where we only found 1 vehicle, a fully stock 4R that had stopped at the start of the final, moderate 1 mile. The stock tires would have handled that mile but they would have been a disaster on the trail we drove prior to that one.

So of course short absolute statements are usually wrong but using the 4R to capability requires AT tires.

 

[Salvo Jimmy]

I absolutely agree for beach driving but not for trail use even if the trail is sandy.

Even when adequate, street tires are awful on dirt. I have never done one single mod on a vehicle because "the internet told me so". Every single change starting 10 years ago with AT tires on a different vehicle has been a response to my own experiences on trail.

But I agree with you on rage and fads. It is getting nuts. The good thing is the crowds stick to the "internet fame" trails. We had two difficult Moab trails to ourselves yesterday while half the world was on Hells Revenge. We also drove a moderate trail where we only found 1 vehicle, a fully stock 4R that had stopped at the start of the final, moderate 1 mile. The stock tires would have handled that mile but they would have been a disaster on the trail we drove prior to that one.

So of course short absolute statements are usually wrong but using the 4R to capability requires AT tires.

Re short, absolute statements, I should have indicated deep soft sand

 

[1water1coffee1beer]

Great thread!

Great thread - I was thinking of starting up something similar. I too am not likely to do any real mods apart from tires and maybe sliders (but probably not - got other savings priorities lately).

Anyway, here's my offroad playlist on youtube: YouTube.

So far a lot of it is from when I still had my Xterra, but as time goes on there will be more TRD ORP footie - just haven't got around to it yet. CO has had an epic winter and I got the 4Runner last fall so there hasn't been a ton of chances to get out just yet.

Anyway, my early impressions are that the 4runner is head and shoulders more capable than the Xterra and the Xterra made up over Imogene Pass pretty well, so as a benchmark, I think we can assume the 4Runner will be able to do all of that and more.

All the youtube videos have links to trail details in the descriptions.

I haven't had the time get the Imogene Pass footage up just yet, but here are the links to the route:
Imogene Pass - Colorado Offroad Trail
and then the link up to get down the other side:
Yankee Boy Basin - Colorado Offroad Trail

Also for reference, I managed to link-up these two trails in the Xterra. Again, I know this isn't directly answering the question but I think it's relevant data.

Deer Creek - Colorado Offroad Trail
Saints John - Colorado Offroad Trail

My thoughts thus far are that the stock t4r can handle anything rated at 5 or less on TrailsOffRoad.

 

[jspagna1]

I never had issues with my 3rd Gen and no issues with my 5th gen. AT ties help of trails but you also need to know your limitations. Go and enjoy yourself.

 

[jwscott79]

Looks like your in Charlotte. I'm a recent transplant to the area and just made my first trip to Uwharrie National Forest last weekend in a 2015 Trail with totally stock suspension, just has Nitto Terra Grappler G2 in stock size and RSG rock sliders. Only did the "easy" trails and had no real issues. The skids got some love here and there due to the "low" ground clearance of the stock suspension and long wheelbase but just had to go slow and find good lines. It was just me and the wife solo, ran in to plenty of helpful people along the way. Overall good experience. And as an extra bonus my wife is now so worried about me damaging the 4Runner she actually asked if there was anything we could do to make it work better on the trails, she actually asked about a lift. Gotta keep the wife happy. R.I.P my credit card!

Not sure how much worse the harder trails are but I was only really limited by ground clearance on the trails I tried.

Go slow and easy and you should be fine as well.

I did all of the moderate trails at Uwharrie with my completely stock (including stock bridgestones) plus completed Dutch John. I will say that I probably should've waited on Dutch John, but the runner kept surprising me and forcing me to continue. The weekend I went stock was bone dry, I do think that contributed to my success on the difficult trail. I have since lifted 1" and added Nitto ridge grapplers in stock size. Will be back out at Uwharrie in a couple of weeks. As others have said, run it stock to see exactly what you need and to get a baseline for comparison when you do begin the mods....good luck.

 

[jwscott79]

Y’all NC folks might want to check out Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. My stock SR5 does just fine there.

Agreed. Hatteras and Ocracoke are my go to beach driving destinations, never been anywhere else.

 

[tjnptel1]

Went to Corolla over Memorial weekend and the T4R handled it like a champ. I was so proud of it.. then I saw a Nissan Murano chug along too and was like "oh.." It was a blast none the less but did get a cracked windshield.

<a href="https://ibb.co/2c4QtpF"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/WBJwyRH/4runner-beach.jpg" alt="4runner-beach" border="0"></a>

 

[TacoRunn0517]

Stock = More than capable

My thumbnail is from the only time I've taken my Runner off-road. A fully stock 4Runner Trail was all I had and I wanted to go with my buddy who has a nicely-modded Wrangler JKU. Both him and I were surprised on how well my 4Runner did with the beginner (and 1 intermediate) trails that I rode on. Even with the stock Duelers, I really enjoyed myself. I've since added ATW3s and hope to get some rock sliders. Other than that, the 4Runner is really comfortable off-road as a stock unit. Any mods are added bonuses!

 

[Cymon]

Still stock. I have kept up on every off-road ride I’ve gone on with lifted 4runners and Jeeps, just sometimes slower and using some common sense. I do get a little more use out of my skid plates and have only gotten stuck/high-centered once but it was mainly due to losing traction with my OEM duellers. With the upgraded tires a stock 4runner can do just about any but the most difficult off-road trails. If I encounter an obstacle I’m questioning I find a way around or turn around.

One of the unfortunate things is that if you drive enough in the stock vehicle off-road with a wife/spouse like I did, they also learn how capable a stock 4runner is and question every little mod. :redbrick:

As stated common sense and learning your limits is key. I would suggest a Off-roading class to learn those with supervision of professionals.

My thread has lots of pictures of some of the adventures and the link below is to the description of the off-roading course. Posts 14-23.
Cymon's Weekend Warrior and MFD Thread

 

[sbuster1]

You can go many places off road with your T4R completely stock. Ive done hard packed dirt trails, beach (sand), and a few easy rocky roads. Unless you are ready to go hard core, you’ll be fine. Prepare to pick up a few scratches from shrubs and tree branches. Also, running boards will hit in various situations if you are not careful. Otherwise Enjoy!

I have the 2018 Sr5 4 runner with stock tires. I am in real estate so I need to go over mostly land and not so much really hard trails. Can you reccomend a very good tire that will help me show land and go through snow if necessary?

 

[MAST4R]

I have the 2018 Sr5 4 runner with stock tires. I am in real estate so I need to go over mostly land and not so much really hard trails. Can you reccomend a very good tire that will help me show land and go through snow if necessary?

Given your needs, Consumer Reports rankings can help you out. For trail use, CR is worthless, but since they test tires on pavement, you can get value out of them for your use.

Also check out Tire Rack videos with stopping distances in various types of conditions, including rain and snow for AT tires. You have to watch the videos to get to the data.

Not all Tire Rack ATs have videos, but search and you will find

Personally, if I had your needs, I would look at P-metric versions (unless you have a lot of sharp rocks or sticks on that land) with the snowflake symbol. Generally, the Cooper AT4 gets solid marks for light duty offroad use. The Falken Wildpeak is great but does not last (I have had those). And so on, lots of options.

I am otherwise a Subaru driver, so IMO the 4R will always suck in snow on pavement (but it is a tank in snow offroad .

 

[Gstick]

I don't agree that the 4R sucks in snow on pavement. I think that mine does very well.

 

[PHXMT]

I don't agree that the 4R sucks in snow on pavement. I think that mine does very well.

Same here. I have KO2's, but nonetheless... I mainly bought my 4R for snowboarding trips and been very happy with trucking up the mountains with heavy snow.