Stone Stock 2015 Limited - Off Road Capibilities?

[Khjphoto]

Bought the Limited because I slab it from PA to CA, but always stop in SW Colorado and Moab So before I get myself stuck, what are the capibilities? What would you do as far as mods? Thinking of a Gobi for storage. Not interested in lifting since that would effect MPG. Be kind guys, don't think the Limited would ever be an aggressive rock crawler; am I wrong?

Thanks for your input, and send photos too if you can.

 

[1engineer]

Bought the Limited because I slab it from PA to CA, but always stop in SW Colorado and Moab So before I get myself stuck, what are the capibilities? What would you do as far as mods? Thinking of a Gobi for storage. Not interested in lifting since that would effect MPG. Be kind guys, don't think the Limited would ever be an aggressive rock crawler; am I wrong?

Thanks for your input, and send photos too if you can.

It will go places you won't think about taking it. It goes farther than your nerve.

 

[Khjphoto]

It will go places you won't think about taking it. It goes farther than your nerve.

Well shooooot son - it has a seatbelt and air bags - where would I not take it?!
Although I appreciate your comment, there "ain't no meat on the bone"

Looking for real world information. Hopefully someone will post useful information. Again thanks for the input.

 

[wiley81db]

this is a great question for me too, bigger tires?? lift or no??

 

[Engineer]

I predict this is going to be a epic thread.........What exact question do you want us to answer? How do you Define "Off Road Capabilities".......The limited is 99% the same as a trail or SR5 and aside from worse approach and departure angles due to lower front and rear bumpers so they will perform very similar. (no rear locker option but ATRAC is a good substitute)

You sound like you have minimual off road experience and while I am not an expert I would say 90% of capability is in the driver within reason (certainly if you are comparing 4runner model lines).....give someone a uni-mog and yes they will likely be able to do more then a 4runner regardless of driver experience.

Installing a Gobi will not improve your off road capacity in the slightest it will raise you CG slightly which is not desireable

As you are concerned about MPG I assume a more aggressive tire is off the table, so that leads us to just making sure you have recovery gear or a friend to help out incase you get stuck.

As [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] said the stock 4runner is far more of a truck then most can handle, having basic recovery gear and an aggressive tire go along ways for increased protection of getting stranded. Skids and sliders protect body panels and drivetrain components from expensive repairs

I think you should have bought a TRD Pro :hiding:

 

[Engineer]

this is a great question for me too, bigger tires?? lift or no??

12" lift and 37s or you should stay in the parking lot.......best advise, read up on some basic offloading skills and go out and start exploring in safe legal manor. Buy gear and upgrades as you determine you need/want.

 

[1engineer]

Well shooooot son - it has a seatbelt and air bags - where would I not take it?!
Although I appreciate your comment, there "ain't no meat on the bone"

Looking for real world information. Hopefully someone will post useful information. Again thanks for the input.

How good a driver are you? My comment stands. It will take you places off road that you will not be willing to take it unless you are a seasoned off roader and you don't mind taking your new truck through the brush and rocks. It is excellent off road. Be even better with better tires.

 

[Seattle206]

Very capable but I wouldn't try anything too extreme with those stock tires. I'd upgrade to more aggressive A/T's but they will effect your gas mileage.

 

[Khjphoto]

I predict this is going to be a epic thread.........What exact question do you want us to answer? How do you Define "Off Road Capabilities".......The limited is 99% the same as a trail or SR5 and aside from worse approach and departure angles due to lower front and rear bumpers so they will perform very similar. (no rear locker option but ATRAC is a good substitute)

You sound like you have minimual off road experience and while I am not an expert I would say 90% of capability is in the driver within reason (certainly if you are comparing 4runner model lines).....give someone a uni-mog and yes they will likely be able to do more then a 4runner regardless of driver experience.

Installing a Gobi will not improve your off road capacity in the slightest it will raise you CG slightly which is not desireable

As you are concerned about MPG I assume a more aggressive tire is off the table, so that leads us to just making sure you have recovery gear or a friend to help out incase you get stuck.

As [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] said the stock 4runner is far more of a truck then most can handle, having basic recovery gear and an aggressive tire go along ways for increased protection of getting stranded. Skids and sliders protect body panels and drivetrain components from expensive repairs

I think you should have bought a TRD Pro :hiding:

Have quite a bit off road on two and three wheels:



As mentioned above, I enjoy SW Colorado, Wyoming and of course Kalifornia.
So, where do I plan on driving? Mostly the passes around Silverton and anywhere else one can get away from the madding crowd! Most of the time
I am solo - most people have jobs! The Gobi is only to haul the camping gear
don't plan on "crawling" around with an increased CG, although can't really see getting into a situation where that would be an issue.

My request for info is primarily what mods would be a "nice to have". Tires and a lift are pretty low given I slab about 7,200 RT miles.

Sliders, I may add them, tires any suggestion as to what may be the best of both worlds?
Recovery gear, well I will add sand ladders, no winch. Maybe I better get a Sat Phone LOL
Don't know if I have too much interest in driving into an area that would beat up a $45,000.00 vehicle? Just wondering without a lift am I limited to Starbucks on a snow day?

 

[ic0517]

I thought Stone was some new color only on Limiteds, for about three seconds.

 

[jwkilgore]

The biggest problem with the Limited is the low-hanging trim pieces will snag on surprisingly low obstacles. The early SR5s (like mine) have the same trim. It's even worse if you have OEM or other non-structural running boards.

Otherwise, unless it has XREAS shocks, it has the exact same suspension components as an SR5 or non-KDSS Trail. Get some decent AT tires, learn how to use 4Lo and A-TRAC, and go wherever you want.

 

[Jhalko]

Well shooooot son - it has a seatbelt and air bags - where would I not take it?!
Although I appreciate your comment, there "ain't no meat on the bone"

Looking for real world information. Hopefully someone will post useful information. Again thanks for the input.

I would suggest a bit less sass to the 5th gen moderator, he is actually accurate if not detailed in his response.

this is a great question for me too, bigger tires?? lift or no??

This will only be helpful if you have a LE and intend on the same usage.

My request for info is primarily what mods would be a "nice to have". Tires and a lift are pretty low given I slab about 7,200 RT miles.

Don't know if I have too much interest in driving into an area that would beat up a $45,000.00 vehicle? Just wondering without a lift am I limited to Starbucks on a snow day?

Ok now to the info... I started stock with my LE, drove it that way for a year, did some light off-roading with it. Then slowly have been adding things along the way. The first and best thing I did was get rid of the 20" wheels, sold them on Craigslist and bought the SR5 wheels and netted positive $$, got a set of GY Silent Armors in a C load. I didn't have any change in MPG and the ride and Xreas all remained the same. I took that to Moab twice and did light trails, also did some of the type of CO drives you mention, I never truly hit the limits before I started adding other things. Honestly other than recovery gear you could probably get by on that alone based on comments. On tires, many in here would argue the cooper AT3 would be an excellent option.

The rockers hang low and that could cause issues so I can see sliders being great. I wanted shrockworks step sliders so I swapped mine for the trail version, easy but not cheap but added a lot of clearance there. My lift came around this time as I was finding dirt a lot more than I expected, great decision for me, sounds like it's not for you.

Get a full gas tank skid, unless it changed since I bought mine it only comes stock covering half, worth every penny when I look at the scratches in mine.

If you are mostly camping solo, honestly I wouldn't waste the money on a Rack, get a cargo box or something cheaper as I struggle to see how you need that much space, unless you take ten times more gear than me, possible I'm sure.

Hope this helps.

 

[fattire]

The limited will do a $H!T LOAD more than you ever thought it could. Frankly, it does more than it has any right given the way it comes from the factory.

This is mine bone stock the weekend after I paid it off. 20" wheels. Factory Dunflops. Even the power running boards.

https://vimeo.com/152509493

Same trip. Stuck on the rear diff but dat flex yo!!

Here are a couple from last weekend. Pretty serious incline. Passenger front about 2 feet in the air. Butt puckered so fast it whistled when the rig tilted.

And it's my daily driver.

If you want to keep it very mild yet improve the capabilities I'd recommend the following:

1. Find a decent set of mild AT tires
2. Remove the factory rocker panels
3. Remove the black air dam pieces from under the front bumper.

Mileage hit will be minimal to zero and the functionality vastly improved. I've only done Black Bear and Imogene around Silverton. A rig with the mods above wouldn't have issues on those with smart driving. I can't speak to Moab because I haven't made it there...yet.

 

[Khjphoto]

Thanks for the tire info. Any idea what AT tire also gives a good ride and not to "soft" requiring replacement too often?

Also had a recommendation to switch out the 20's for 17's. Why?

 

[CharlestonFisher]

Very capable but I wouldn't try anything too extreme with those stock tires. I'd upgrade to more aggressive A/T's but they will effect your gas mileage.

Gas is cheap and life is short.

 

[Khjphoto]

Jeff

Thanks, and greet pix too!

 

[Jhalko]

Thanks for the tire info. Any idea what AT tire also gives a good ride and not to "soft" requiring replacement too often?

Also had a recommendation to switch out the 20's for 17's. Why?

There are only two tires made for the stock 20" wheel that are to spec both are highway tires (some put other tire sizes on but many tire shops will not do that). There is also a greater potential for damage to the rim offroad and not much help to air down if you found yourself off road needing more traction. Not to mention a huge selection of replacement tires in the 17" size. The newer trail wheels look great on LE's btw...

Cooper at3, check it out and search for the existing threads on it, probably perfect for your stated usage.

 

[fattire]

I'll second the comment on ditching the factory 20s if you're going off-road. You will destroy them. Sell them while they're mint and you can probably break even and perhaps cover some of the tire cost.

Cooper AT3s are a solid tire. Stay out of the mud in them and you'll do just fine.

 

[fattire]

Otherwise, unless it has XREAS shocks...

All Limiteds have X-REAS. You can technically "lift" it with a spacer but it doesn't get you much.

X-REAS must be completely removed to install a true suspension lift (much like you'd remove the suspension of anything else to lift it). It just takes a little more time to get all the hard lines out and can get messy if not taken apart correctly.

The drawback here is that with X-REAS you can't lift in stages like many here do by swapping the coil overs in the front and adding just a spacer in the rear for a while (or forever if that's your thing).

 

[Jhalko]

X-REAS must be completely removed to install a true suspension lift (much like you'd remove the suspension of anything else to lift it). It just takes a little more time to get all the hard lines out and can get messy if not taken apart correctly.

Actually you don't have to remove it all, just the shocks which can be disconnected apparently, I still haven't gotten around to removing my oil reservoirs and lines.