THE Day you were Glad you owned it...

[mnofpeace]

2014 4runner SR5...
So i get the thing home, i am loving it, not much else to say. loving the forum, loving watching guys turn simple (relatively speaking) SR5s into true off road monsters, but I am a little nervous/jealous when my wife beats me to the keys and my beloved rig (for which i am paying for) is in the hands of someone who didnt even like it on first site.


then comes the one major snow storm we had in the DC area this season. Forecasters tell us all, it is coming, no avoiding this one. I wake up, take my pick up to work as it hasnt started snowing yet, so im good in my 2WD 2003 F150. I tell the wife, just take it to work. If its that bad, call me and ill tell you how to handle it. As the inches pile up...3...6...8...10+ i get that call. "hun, put it in 4Hi, and just take your time. You will be amazed at how much control you'll have" I even get stuck a couple times in the pick up, so its getting bad really quickly. She gets home safely, thank goodness, and proceeds to tell me about the commute; driving around wrecks, avoiding skidding sports cars and sedans, up and down hills that other vehicles are spinning their wheels on. Even taking surface streets that are too hilly for other All-wheel drive cars to scale. I take it back out, and see all of the carnage, and realize ive made the correct purchase.

About 2 weeks later, after hearing from others and seeing how bad it could have been, any jealousy is erased...and i have the epiphany "MAN i am glad she had it on THAT day!!! I dont think she would have made it home in her front wheel drive convertable coup"

:wow:

 

[Land_Shark]

ahh, I remember that one. I wish I'd owned it during Snowmageddon, but my Nissan Frontier was pretty good for that.

The day I felt most grateful to be driving a 14' Trail was during one of the recent storms that hit Boston. We went to Killington and afterword hopped eastward to New Hampshire to visit family, right near the Mass. border. We were supposed to stay for 2 days, but left early to "beat the storm" home. Well, we didn't leave quite early enough and we ended up driving through completely snow covered roads for about 350 of the 500 mile drive home. I grew up in Buffalo, NY and have driven various vehicles through intense storms before, but nothing like this and never for this many stinken miles! I think we saw less than 75 miles of clear (but wet) pavement. We spent the whole time cruising home at about 30 - 45 mph and were passing cars all the time. Funny thing is I rarely ever had to put it in 4HI - probably due to brand new(ish) Cooper S/T MAXX tires. The Runner handled great and I never had a moment of uncertainty during that very intense and sometimes scary drive home. That 8 hour drive took about 12 hours, but we made it home safe and sound.

 

[nb rob]

We were hammered with snow here in NB this year as well.

My nissan titan's front differential broke (shattered) when I was taking one of my hounds for an emergency visit to the vet. This was the second time I lost 4x4 while taking a dog to the vet in a snowstorm. Turns out this is a common problem for titans when there is snow on the ground (give me a break?!? there can't be a better condition for 4x4)

$1600 dollars later, the front diff was rebuilt, and I brought it home and the driver's side seal was leaking again, bad.


The day I was glad to have the 4runner was the day I dropped off that leaking POS at the toyota dealership, and picked up my new reliable 4r. Good riddance, exxon valdez.

 

[dahorst]

See that's what is awesome living in the great white north, we can appreciate all our 4runners have to offer almost every other day throughout our 8 month winters :canada:

 

[Jhalko]

See that's what is awesome living in the great white north, we can appreciate all our 4runners have to offer almost every other day throughout our 8 month winters :canada:

Plenty of good year round use here in good old Colorado, did I mention we still can ski for a few more weeks? :usa:

The day for me was the day it came home with me and every day after!

 

[Engineer]

The day for me was the day it came home with me and every day after!

Well Said

 

[perkdog258]

Plenty of good year round use here in good old Colorado, did I mention we still can ski for a few more weeks? :usa:

The day for me was the day it came home with me and every day after!

I think my moment was not only the first winter I had the 4runner here in Western NY, but also the first time we took it to Ocean City NJ. When it storms there the flooding can be bad. That was the first year we could drive up and down the island with out any worries.

Every time I think that 4runner can not amaze me any more than it already has....it some how always makes me happy we own it. The 3rd row can be a pain due to less cargo space but when you need it, it sure is nice to have.

 

[Intruder]

Every day that I look out over a spectacular view that most other vehicles wouldn't have gotten me to...

_DSC2991.jpg by Marc Fossi, on Flickr

 

[The Waco Kid]

My moment was actually last week.

Houston was submerged under several feet of water. We ended up having to take flooded backstreets to rescue friends from their stranded cars. We knew where to avoid the really deep stuff, but I'm still proud of how well it performed. I think I need to do the rear diff breather mod now, though... Or at least it's a good excuse too. :surfer:

 

[3wbdriver]

Every day that I look out over a spectacular view that most other vehicles wouldn't have gotten me to...

^^^^^^ This!

 

[Jetboy]

Reminded me of this commercial. It's a tragedy Toyota doesn't make the exact same one with a 4runner. It's basically our version of the same car.
<iframe width="854" height="510" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6HbdoM_ZNs4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Mcmojoe]

I love this truck to death. But I'm glad I had it while travelling down to Florida. I was on 95 S going about 75-80mph, some Dbag was driving way too fast and rear ended me. He hit my hitch receiver and had a huge hole in his bumper. My silver trim piece fell off and I just felt a little bump. My 2 year old son didn't even realize we got hit. I knew right then and there I bought the right car. I was glad I was in the 4runner and not my previous car, the nissan murano.

 

[USKTog]

That is every day for me. My 4Runner is, without a shred of doubt, the best vehicle I have ever owned!!

 

[Antman]

I picked up all of my morning Managers the day of that storm to open the building and drove them home- no issues at all.
All 3 of them were amazed. Of course the fact that I kept driving through 3' snow drifts helped the cause!

They call it "The Snow Beast", lol.

 

[ic0517]

Turns out our neighborhood is basically a former creek or stream that was filled in with clay. So when it rains hard, you get the picture. The end of the block has it the worst; the water has never gotten to our house, but has crept up the street to about 20 feet from our house, maybe needed 2' more ???? to get to the window wells.

So we were having our third 100 year flood, and I didn't go into work, and I see the water rising. And my wife says, its ok, you can go to work, and I start to go out the door and I say to myself, wait a minute, we are sort of on a high spot here, I am not 100% sure the Sienna could get out, but the 4Runner ....

So I stayed home.

You may ask why don't I move, the answer is, well, our basement has not flooded while we owned it, I think maybe it would be $10,000 damage if it was to flood, I can live with that. I don't buy top of the line appliances, put things up on shelves, keep the 20 year old furnace working instead of putting in a new one, you get the picture. And make sure the sump pump works. I am its b!tch. It owns me.

 

[NoDak]

try driving 15 miles on a 70mph highway and it takes you about 90 minutes to drive a stretch that normally takes 20 mins.

now that's what you call white knuckle driving in -20F white out blizzard conditions.

had to use the rumble strips on the side of the road to know where the hell your going cause you cant see the car in front or the road.

thankfully we only have about 1 or 2 a season.

 

[Jernik]

My moment was actually last week.

Houston was submerged under several feet of water. We ended up having to take flooded backstreets to rescue friends from their stranded cars. We new where to avoid the really deep stuff, but I'm still proud of how well it performed. I think I need to do the rear diff breather mod now, though... Or at least it's a good excuse too. :surfer:

+1. Wife takes the 4Runner to work when the weather is bad. Fortunately, she didn't encounter anything as deep as you did, but she did say there were a couple areas she would not have taken her car through that the 4Runner easily handled.

 

[gdmaddog]

" had to use the rumble strips on the side of the road to know where the hell your going cause you cant see the car in front or the road."

We call that "driving by braille". Scary by effective under bad conditions. :driving:

 

[1engineer]

This is my third 5th gen.
When I have to drive in over a foot of snow every season for the past five years.

When I use the rear hatch for shelter in the pouring rain to change into dry clothes after a ride.

When It gets me out of a situation I should not have gotten myself into.

When it never breaks and always gets me to every destination I choose.

When I look over at my sleeping wife while making an 11 hour drive to watch my son play soccer.

When I wash the mud off and it looks good in the driveway.

 

[ToyotaDoodz]

This is my 3rd 4Runner. Every day when I see it or touch it or drive it. It only gets better form there.