Another nooby who can't decide on which trim to buy

Looking to purchase a used 4R. I've seen 70 years. I want to get one for riding on SoCal desert dirt roads and towing a popup tent trailer to the Sierras or central coast camping to soak some bait. I used to have a full size stock '93 Bronco that I drove up to 250,000 before it said, "Enough!" It was pretty much basic but I had a blast in that ol' gas guzzler. I don't need a whole lotta bells and whistles. Still, if I find a 4R that I like that comes with extras and bonuses, I wouldn't disconnect them. I'd rather spend $$$ on upgrading tires than on heated seats or exterior mirrors w/ turn signal lamps in them. All that being said, my top 2 choices are the SR5 Premium or a TRD Off Road. What do ya think? I'm open to any polite suggestions.

 

get an SR5 and build it the way you want to.

 

When I purchased I knew I wanted the locker, Softex seats, signal mirrors but didn't want the shocks because I would rip them out so the choice was easy, TRD Offroad.

 

Do you want mechanic Xferr case or electronic? TR OR for the Mechanical. I like that for when driving in winter & seen a snow drift not far ahead I know when I pull into 4x4 Hi it'll be there not waiting for a solenoid to react. Had that on 2015 Tacoma TRD Sport, Previous 2 FJ's had mechanical & last 4RUnner did. I won't change back to electronic. But, It's your $$$ get what you want!

 

I’d go off road or off road premium. Just for the diff locker and the manual transfer case. As a bonus you get other good off road goodies like multi terrain select on the off road.

 

First post tells us nothing on what you want.

Make a list of needs then wants. Would help narrow it down.

 

You almost never need 4wd on the socal desert roads.

I think the place for concern is sand for when you're driving through washes but if you air down and carefully and slowly start again once you stop or if you dont stop you'll be fine. Or just don't stop in loose sand.

If you're on a fixed income go SR5 as you don't really need a locker or ATRAC. I've done a lot of socal roads in and aroubd the mojave and south of there. The places I clicked in the 4WD I could have gotten past with mote speed.

Or. Be safe and get the OR so you know it can crawl itself through and out of places. So you can have fun and get yourself into trouble and have good odds at self recovery.

 

Requiring cloth seats, no sunroof, lower cost meant SR5 for me.

But you may like the manual 4WD lever the TRD and models have. You lose the sunglasses holder in the overhead console though in favor of add'l 4WD controls.

Different years have different equipment. 2021+ get those bright LED headlights, but you might miss the warmth and less harsh cutoff of the previous ones.

2020+ get extra safety stuff like radar cruise, bigger headunit with smartphone projection.

Push button start became standard around 2022, etc. Blind spot monitoring + rear cross traffic alert showed up for 2023.

If you go older, there's more changes too.

 

ORP gets my vote.

 

Don't limit yourself to one trim level. Find a good clean 4Runner that's in your budget. As long as it is 4X4 you can get it to do whatever you see fit. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

 

Where are you located? 93306, 93561? It matters.

 

This ^^^

 

SR5P will do what you want the TRD Off Road will do it for more money

 

^Except lock the rear diff.

Socal has a ton of awesome and challenging trails. ORP gets my vote!
Only reason I would recommend otherwise is if you plan on regearing anyways... Then you could add lockers when that time comes. Atrac is a great tool but that diff lock has saved me many times.

If you want to stay mostly stock ORP w/ KDSS. Very capable rig imo.
If you plan on extensive mods (Long travel shocks, >34" tires, regear, etc) the SR5 makes more sense as a base.

I kind of lucked out since in my area the ORP don't come w/ kdss. So long travel shocks, 34s and a diff lock. Works great for me and didn't break the bank.

 

TRD Off-Road costs less than the SR5 Premium.

Off-road Premium costs more, of course.

 

SR5 Limited?

 

Thanks for the input. All I need is a basic 4wd. I've saved up $$$ for years to get a truck when my Ford finally dies. Upgrades to a 4R are out of the question as my soc sec income will not allow for much more than the usual maintenance and upkeep. I don't want full time 4wd. Seems that an SR5 is the ticket. My zip code is: 93536.

 

SR5 will do well. Now the next decision is regular or premium.

 

I went ORP as I knew i was going to mod. Sounds like the SR5 will do for yah!

 

Modding is a whole different conversation.

I think ORP vs SR5 (premiums or non premiums) really comes down to: do you want the diff locker or not? Diff locker is not full time FWD, it’s a way to get you out of tougher off road situations.

 

WOW......amazing. What should I eat for dinner and what should I wear tomorrow.

 

Ours is a 2019 SR5 Premium. Don't laugh at heated seats!! Real nice on a frigid morning in the Cascades or Sierras!! We have 3rd row seats and have never used them but nice to know they are there if we need them. Turn signal mirrors???? I'd suggest looking at all the possible models that you can! We don't need KDSS or locking diffs (we live in the Cascade foothills in WA State and have never needed it). Most "problems" can be avoided with a little caution and driving skill! Personally, I'd stay away from AWD and go 4WD. We've driven in blizzard conditions from Bend, OR to Bridgeport, CA and on "Rez" roads all over AZ, NM, and the Mojave in CA. Invest in decent tires (KO's, Wranglers, M/T, etc.= don't go overboard, at least at first!)=get decent recovery gear (mats, shovel, straps and maybe an ax=tire inflator for the Mojave sand). A CB radio for where there is no phone coverage (or a ham radio?) and good navigation (make sure your "card" is current! AND HAVE A GOOD MAP!!)

My avatar is ours at the Chaco Canyon Nat. Mon. visitor center.

 

Get what you can afford and have room for mods or maintenance. I would probably go TRD Offroad for the extra off road driving modes and crawl control. You can’t add that after market.

also I live in south Florida and heated seats come clutch when during 2-3 days a year when temps drop in the 40’s. Also heated steering is on of those things, that I would have never cared about or even known to have until we had it lol