Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
when i had my kidney transplant i had a lifted ram with 37" tires. I used a step stool to get in/out (still quite comical to any onlookers) i had a cord attached to one of the legs so i could pull it up into the cab once i stepped/climed/crawled/pulled myself in.
Even the tiny engine of a Suzuki Sidekick has plenty of torque to carry this vehicle over rocks. In fact, a dragster's engine has quite a lot of torque, but it would not make any sense to go "rock-crawling" with it. Also keep in mind that you better have quite a strong undercarriage to protect the battery if crawling over rocks with an EV
The type of off-roading the OP is referring to is quite different than the one above, and there are plenty of ICE trucks and SUV's he can choose from
That’s one of the problems with some vehicles today. To climb over rocks type of roading requires very good throttle control. Give enough throttle to get up onto the rock. Some drive by wire vehicles don’t seem to have such tight control over the engine’s throttle. While turbos have greatly decreased the turbo lag of the past, there is still some turbo lag which may impact rock crawling.
My 2010 4Runner is an excellent handling vehicle. It does have KDSS, which means much larger sway bars.
Hey, speaking of 4Runners, what's with all these tires/wheels being stolen from 4Runners? I'm hearing it's an epidemic. Are they using the tires for their "midnight intersection take-overs?"
The OP also said he'd be driving 3-4 hours to get to his destination. A lot of these vehicles aren't very comfortable on the road even if they're great on dirt tracks. The 4Runner is one of the worst handling things I've driven.
Yes, that's a general concept of engineering that many people seem to ignore - if you really tailor a design to a specific purpose, then you normally give up a good deal of other advantages from an all-rounder. There are valid reasons that most vehicles aren't built like hard core track cars or hard core off-roaders, and those reasons are not just price. Usually, when you depart significantly from the all-purpose design to make it better at one thing, then sure, it gets better at that one thing, but it also gets worse at a lot of other things - that's exactly why most vehicles aren't built that way. ;-)
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 03-31-2024 at 08:31 AM..
Yes, that's a general concept of engineering that many people seem to ignore - if you really tailor a design to a specific purpose, then you normally give up a good deal of other advantages from an all-rounder. There are valid reasons that most vehicles aren't built like hard core track cars or hard core off-roaders, and those reasons are not just price. Usually, when you depart significantly from the all-purpose design to make it better at one thing, then sure, it gets better at that one thing, but it also gets worse at a lot of other things - that's exactly why most vehicles aren't built that way. ;-)
Yup. Whole point of overlanding is a vehicle that can drive 14 hours on roads and do so fairly comfortably. They're not the best rock crawling heavily modified Jeep Wranglers. The way you get those 14 hours on a road is on a trailer. 4Runner is a good choice. Yeah, they have terrible handling but they're still reasonably comfortable. If you just want to stick to roads or almost all roads, just get a Highlander. More comfortable, better handling... but not nearly as capable off-road. 4Runner is a good compromise between the two.
That’s one of the problems with some vehicles today. To climb over rocks type of roading requires very good throttle control. Give enough throttle to get up onto the rock. Some drive by wire vehicles don’t seem to have such tight control over the engine’s throttle. While turbos have greatly decreased the turbo lag of the past, there is still some turbo lag which may impact rock crawling.
Agree. Also, the best rock/slow climbers, as least as far as I know, benefit from a manual transmission with a HI/LO transfer case. Even the tiny Sidekick with its very small engine had both.
The 2024 Toyota Tacoma was redesigned. Among all the changes, it not longer has a 6-cylinder engine, but a 4-cylinder turbo engine. I would prefer the 6-cylinder one without a turbo, but will probably buy the 2024-25 Tacoma for my wife, because she likes the Tacoma, instead of the 4-runner, which by the way...is coming up to a redesign, too.
The Tacoma for my wife will have a Leer or similar topper, and if if buy the mid-offering TRD, it already has the nerf bars.
Hey, speaking of 4Runners, what's with all these tires/wheels being stolen from 4Runners? I'm hearing it's an epidemic. Are they using the tires for their "midnight intersection take-overs?"
They gotta be going somewhere....
More than likely the Toyota alloy wheels are very expensive compared to the average tires that come with it from the dealership. Most people have at least one lock (lug nut) on each wheel, even the spare. That won't stop the thief, just slow him down a minute or two
A 100k mile 200 series Land Cruiser for $30k is a good deal in my book. I paid $27k for my 168k mile 200 in 2018, and have put 68K miles on it since. Radiators on early 200s are a known replacement item. Sometimes a starter solenoid has to be replaced and it’s a bear to get to them. If you tow a lot, you might want to keep an eye on your rear axle bearings. I’ve only had to do the radiator replacement. I am very fond of mine, it rides very comfortably at today’s highway speeds with ample power to accelerate out of any dicey road trip situation.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
