Light weight

New 4runner owner here.. I'm getting more use to 4runner but my question is. Are these 4runners just light? Going down the hwy at 70 mph I have to keep both hands on the wheel, the slightest thing wind a truck flying past throws me around I don't like it. There's no comfortable drive down the hwy constantly hanging on to the wheel. It's a trd premium with new tires. 35k miles. Just thought it would be a more relaxing then it is..

 

They aren't light. The 5th Gen weighs about 5k lbs. It gets thrown over the road because the wind gusts get underneath the truck and throw it off balance. That's what happens when you have a lifted truck. The more windy it is, the more you have to slow down and hang on to the wheel.

 

It's just factory no big lift.

 

Front end alignment may be off (castor angle zero or negative).

"
Positive caster angle
The steering axis is angled such that a line drawn through it intersects the road surface slightly ahead of the center of the contact patch of the tire on the pavement by a distance called trail. The purpose of this is to provide a degree of self-centering for the steering—the wheel casters around in order to trail behind the axis of steering. This makes a vehicle easier to control and improves its directiona directional stability (reducing its tendency to wander). Excessive caster angle will make the steering heavier and less responsive, although in racing large caster angles are used for improving camber gain in cornering. Caster angles over 7 degrees with radial tires are common. Power steering is usually necessary to overcome the jacking effect from the high caster angle.

Some front-end alignment calls for different right-side and left-side caster. This is called cross caster, and the difference is called the spread. Cross camber may also be specified, but not usually both."

Edit: Borracho Loco said it best. Being passed by a large(r) vehicle will definitely affect handling.

 

Thank you I will share this info with my aliment guy..
I just know other 4 runners were flying by me without any hesitation

 

Well it's not a light, but it is tall, which will be pushed around more than low profile car. That said it would have to be a sereus gust of wind or a simi passing you while stopped. Have you owned a tall truck like this before? It's the nature of tall trucks and may take some time to get used to.

I had an old box truck that would wildly change lanes in the wind. Steering was shot, which didn't help.

Maybe add some weight to it.

 

better check tires,suspension etc. I mean it has a high center of gravity but no more than any other SUV of the same size. I drove Blazers for many years (the real ones not the mom-mobiles they make now) and my 4Runner handles about the same.

 

It's not the weight - it's the aerodynamics. I'm much more likely to keep both hands on the wheel of my 4R than my Outback.

 

It's also different than other trucks that I've driven in the wind, which you may be experiencing as well.

In my Tacoma, the wind blows from the right, and the truck gets blown to the left (makes sense).

In the 4Runner, when the wind blows from the right, it seems like the nose points into the wind, and the truck moves to the right (seems counterintuitive). I don't know if this is just me, or if the back of the car catches more wind than the front (being a big square), and makes the truck turn into the wind.

Whatever the reason, it did take some time to get used to it.

 

They are heavy..!!
But you are taking a box down the street. Its just like holding a big box and running across the beach.

 

I have a chevy z71 it has 285's on it. not lifted, but sits up as high or higher then 4runner it doesn't blow easily all over the road. Thank you for any help.

 

I have a chevy z71 with 285's on it. Not lifted but sits up as high or little higher then 4runner and I don't have a problem unless a semi passes me pretty fast. I don't worry about getting a drink of water while driving the truck