I drove on a trail that was much more challenging than anything I've done so far. I think it was about at the limit of my stock 4th gen.
The trail was narrow and steep with nowhere to pass or turn around, and there were only a small number of possible lines through any section. I hit the front skid plate and gas tank skid plate on some large rocks in a few spots but I didn't seem to dent them. I bent a bracket that holds up the running board, but it should be easy to bend back. And I got plenty of trail pinstripes that I'll have to buff out.
I was with a friend in a lifted Tacoma. He has a rear e-locker, a few inches of lift, and A/T tires. I just have LTX MS2 tires, stock size, stock height. His Tacoma didn't seem to have ATRAC, so he would just spin wheels. But ATRAC on mine was awesome! There were several sections where my 4runner had an easier time getting over stuff than the Tacoma, despite me having smaller tires optimized more for highway driving.
There were a few spots where one or more tires had to climb steep roots or rocks. I just gave it a bit of gas and let ATRAC push me over the obstacle. There were a few where the wheels didn't spin at all, despite the Tacoma having trouble. Towards the end there was a section of snow. I hit it with some speed, but not far into it I felt like I was slowing down and about to sink in. But ATRAC kicked in as I gave it a bit more gas, and with more pounding on the brakes than I've ever heard I made it the rest of the way up at a steady speed!
I had trouble in a couple spots. When I was stopped with one or more wheels on something but not all the way over I would start to roll back fast if I let off the brake. HAC is useless and doesn't activate fast enough (maybe not at all if your foot is still lightly on the brake?) With one foot on the brake I gave it some gas, but one or two of the wheels would just spin freely as I let off the brake and gave it more gas, and ATRAC didn't activate (or not quickly enough, anyway). Maybe using the brakes cancels ATRAC? I got over those sections by backing up off the obstacle and trying again from just below it.
I realized after that some parts would have been a lot easier if we had aired down our tires. Rookie mistake! But neither of us has a compressor, and I'd prefer not to have to air back up with the bike pump I carry. (it's good for small adjustments)
It ended up being a fun experience, but there were a few sections where I was worried we wouldn't be able to get through.
