Considering the unthinkable

I had a mildly built TJ for years that was an extra vehicle, that I had to sell for medical reasons. Kept DD'ing my 04 Tacoma for a while, until someone totaled it. Bought a Gladiator, lifted it and 37s. I enjoyed it, never had any problems with it. Traded that for a go fast car. During that time, I've had the 4R for 7 years, and 150k miles. It has been our go-to for road trips, despite worse mpg and acceleration than the JTR. I wouldn't necessarily call the 4Runner a comfy ride, but definitely quieter than a Jeep. I have driven the 4R on a month long/9k mile road trip, and from TX to Canada on another trip, I don't see myself doing that in a built JK. If I lived in Utah, there's no way I wouldn't have a Jeep. If you can only have one, and you're not doing the crawling trails then go for it. Maybe consider a used GX460. That being said, I am back in the market for a JKU to build (tons/40s) because the 4R isn't set up for the trails I'd like to run (Moab/Rubicon). I won't be parting ways with the 4R, for the foreseeable future.

 

I have a TJ and I had a lot of fun with it but like you I don't rock crawl that much anymore.
If you can keep both that's the best but honestly if I had to choose one it would be the 4R for what I now do compared to what I use to when I was younger.




I bought it for cheap as soon as I was done with college and learned how to off road with some friends from the jeep community in AZ.
I do miss wheeling with these guys and I should start going out there with 4R groups, but I just have been busy with other life projects.

 

Thats what I would do

 

No matter how much we like our 4R, I'll never sell my '03 TJ. It's just too special to us.
The 4R is all stock and can be replaced when needed but, my TJ is one of a kind.
In fact I'm heading to SoCal next month to buy another '03 TJ. It will be set up for winter time snow plowing duties.

I'm in the "keep the Jeep" camp.

 

I switched from a Rubicon JK on 35s and heavily modified for crawling as well. I loved my TJ and JK and still do love Jeeps. I grew tired of driving them though. The 4R drives much better than Jeeps. Towing is better, comfort is better, camping is better, room is better and reliability is substantially better. The Jeep rock crawled MUCH better than my 4R however with the proper mods my 4R has made it on every trail my Jeeps went. I live in AZ and rock crawling is mostly what we do. If you ever get the bug to crawl the 4R is more than capable with the right stuff.

 

I have owned pretty much every model of a Jeep Wrangler (CJ, YJ, TJ, JK, JKU) and I am currently considering selling my 2008 JK to pick up another 4Runner. I purchased my current 4Runner to replace my son's Xterra and I'm giving it to him for college. However, I've been driving it here and there and I'm loving the comfort, style, and sturdiness compared to my current JK. If I had a longer commute (currently only 2 miles one way), then I would ditch the JK and certainly buy another 4Runner. I do love taking the freedom panels and doors off my JK though and just going for a backroad cruise. I will probably wait a few years and pick up a low-mileage 2024 model 4Runner as I just don't like the new ones.

 

2025 is the new 4R.

 

Fixed my post thanks

 

Much better mileage in my 4R than the JLUR. I had the 3.6 as well. I ran both 35 and 37" Duratracs and the mileage was abysmal. With the 35s I never got over 14.5 and with the 37s lifetime MPG was 12.4. Part of that was due to my Poison Spyder stubby that was like putting a sail on the front of the thing. It's 168mi from my house to my Camp and I would go through 3/4 of a tank on the way up. My 4R is getting me 20mpg at 70mph and if I can drive around at 45-50 I get 23ish.

 

Same here with my TJ Rubicon. 4" lift and 33" tires but the Jeep will get no better than 16 mpg. My 4R routinely gets over 20 mpg driving those same roads...but it runs on stock sized tires.


I'm one of those in the "keep both" camp. I love my 4R for 99% of my driving but there are just some places that the extra ground clearance and short wheelbase of the Jeep allows it to go that would stop the 4R. I'm part of a Search and Rescue unit; the Jeep earns its keep there all the time. As far as taking the top off...only time my Jeep's top has been off is when I painted it. My Jeep lives on dusty dirt roads...a pic in one of the above posts says it all. WHY would you want to breathe dust?? If I need to be topless I'll get on my dirt bike or quad.

 

Not sure if I quoted those right but had to do some googlin' to do some mpg to L/100k and back again. I was getting a pretty steady average of 18mpg in my 2020 JLUR which was fairly stock and now am getting an average of 14.5mpg in my 2024 4r pro which is also still stock, should I be concerned you figure? That's way off both of your numbers. Tbh though I'm going by the dashboard display, haven't actually tested the math yet.

 

Oh and yeah I guess we sorta took over the post but now I'm also thinking op is off in the distance

 

I wouldn't be too worried. The first 1,000mi on my PRO had me slightly concerned, but now that I'm over 1500 and pushing 2000mi, the mileage has steadily started to improve. Regularly getting close to 20mpg on trips around town, which were at 13-14 when I first got it.

 

Well I actually bought this as a demo, there was already 4,500k on it, 2,800m, now there's around 3,400 miles

 

I still wouldn't worry. It took me a bit to get the hang of driving it efficiently, but it's getting better every day. Short trips and warming it up destroy the mileage. I find I get better MPG at 72-75 than I do at 70. Under 70 the MPG goes way up. If I can drive around at 40-55 I get 23-24MPG

 

Okay, thanks I'll keep that in mind. I definitely lost my heavy foot a long time ago but she's due for her first service soon, I'm going to see if I can up the time line, it's covered under the warranty they tacked on.

 

I previously had a 2005 LJ. It was a sweet Jeep. But for reliability and comfort, a 4Runner is a lot better.

 

Love my moonroof and driving with it open, but on trails here in north Georgia you’re spitting out dust. And trust me, wheeling with your roof and windows open during pollen season is a mistake you’ll only make once b/c your interior will match your exterior.

Oh, and from your post, sounds like you won’t miss the Jeep as much as you might think.

 

Me too. Kept one of the 2 TJs... for now

 

Getting ready to sell this mall crawler and buy a 4Runner.

 

Well that didn’t take long. Picked up this 2016 JKU Rubicon this weekend.
I've put over 150k miles on this 4Runner since new. I wouldn't call the 4R quiet, or refined, but driving it and the JKU back to back, the 4R definitely has better road manners. JK will get built up to run 40" tires and trailered to Moab, and the 4R will remain our main road trip car.

 

The 4R wont dissapoint you at all. I had this guy in tha back (jeep) almost making the leap of faith and switching over to 4R. His comment was that the jeep is not as comfortable anymore and his back hurts now if he is on the trail for too long.

 

I'm game .. o!!!!o

 

I don't get what these two posts are supposed to mean...

 

Woke up Sunday to run some errands and check the surf and our jeep was gone. Stolen in the night from street beside our house. Police confirmed it crossed the border at 1:27am into Mexico. They take photos of license plates on every car going in.

Such a bummer. Will be looking for another but will miss that one. Had done a lot of wrenching on it and had a serious connection to it. Thieves suck!

 

Very common in San Diego. They tried to get my daughters JK Rubicon but fortunately failed. It took over two months for the dealer to fix it.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. It is definitely a bummer. I put a ton of work into mine over the lock down using almost all Mopar parts (while you could still get them). I can imagine how bad you feel about having something you've worked on so hard get taken from you.

On my maiden drive after rebuilding the Jeep, my wife and I went to an antique shop in a town near us. While walking away, I turned around and some dude was getting in it - presumably to steal it. When I was running towards the Jeep he took off running. Needless to say, we left right away.

Kill switch was my next "mod".

 

In hindsight a kill switch is a good idea. I think even an old school Club on the steering wheel would have prevented this. Complacency kills!