Poll: honestly, do you take it off road?

I do a ton of forest service road exploring and camping in the norCal / southern Oregon mountains. It's my happy place.

I do what I would consider light off road stuff, river crossings, etc. I don't seek out rock crawling, mud bogs, and the like. Basically I enjoy dealing with the sort of stuff you encounter on said FS roads under any conditions and circumstances - so as to continue to traverse the road and not have to turn around when it gets rough. I would get zero pleasure from going to an off road park and just fucking off. I need to be able to go somewhere to facilitate my desire to explore, so driving on a closed off road course would be disinteresting for me.

 

This is pretty similar to my uses. I generally go around deep mud and don't do hard-core rock crawling.

I feel the same about off-road parks. But, I might try one out for the purpose of education/learning how to approach different scenarios best.

 

IH8MUD. Florida sucks for exploring but Ocala is expansive enough to get the exploring itch scratched a little. Extended trips to N GA, TN, NC, PA and especially AZ have been epic. Only scratched the surface in AZ so far. CO, UT, and CA are on the bucket list. All of these trips have been solo, which obviously has limitations. Not very many people actually want to get dirty or push their trucks. I've gone with clubs, but with 10 - 30+ vehicles in a line, that gets old fast. Really enjoy the people though.
I'll be driving to Jackson for work this week, and will be heading north east into the Appalachians afterwards on the 5th for a few days, if anyone wants to hit me up.

 

@MeefZah I agree with the paid parks. I've been to a bunch, however, for the following 2 reasons.

1. To practice, they are rated trails so I can determine if I'm improving in both skill, and what my vehicle is capable of and needs to improve. Honestly, I'm done with this part of my training. I've built a few vehicles, and now simply use them as a bulletproofing session after a large mod and before a big trip. So at first, they were exciting. Now, they are part of the process, and I rarely go.

2. To introduce new people and teach others. I really enjoy this part more than the park itself. I like showing how their equipment works (lockers, when to use 4H vs 4L, the benefit of quality tires, etc.). In fact I'm heading to Hot Springs OHV in a few weeks to take my friend who we lifted his 2020 Pro up there, so he can play around and learn.

But in the end, the parks were like going to a shooting range. It's practice, so I can go do what I really want, which is to visit scenic places, remain composed when things go sideways, know how to recover myself and other safely. And, it always helps when you make new friends, so there's that.

I do want to attend Rendezvous in the Ozarks, it would be a good chance to meet some new people in the area. I'll try to make it.

 

I bought mine just for off roading. I commute and mall crawl with the Tacoma

 

There's not a lot of off roading available here in Central NJ, but I try to do it when and where I can. I did some off roading last weekend. Most of it was really tame. I turned off 4WD at one point, and then I saw a BMW sports car. One part was really hardcore, for me at least. My SR5 did well. I had it in 4WD low and picked my lines to try to avoid rutted out spots. I didn't come close to needing ATRAC. I wasn't expecting it to be so intense. If I knew, I probably wouldn't have done it by myself, but I did it, and it was totally fine. And there were other trucks in the area, so if I got stuck I might have been able to wave someone down to help me.

 

You said honest right?
I bought the Pro due to the fact that I didn’t have to do much to get the look and capability I wanted. I brought her home and figured I’d give it a year of clean scratch free beauty before I beat the hell out of it...well almost 5 years later she’s still scratch free, 15k total miles and barely seen rain. I just can’t do it.
She’s payed off in under a year, maybe when I get another “baby” then the 4Runner will be down graded to the driveway and I’ll start caring a lot less.
The good news is that I’ll have basically a new paid off Pro. The bad news is I’m a poser currently.
On the opposite end of the spectrum my buddy just bought a brand new Rubicon, spent 12 grand on top of the 50K for huge lift and tires and is currently breaking shit every weekend and tearing it pretty well. I’m not sure I could sleep at night...
In fact I bought a beater truck that I whoop on and don’t care about.
I use a Volt for my daily commute and have a junker truck so the 4Runner really is an “extra” vehicle but the thought of harming it after 5 years and 40k is something I’m not really wanting to do.

 

I'll toss this out there too. I only bought a 4Runner ORP so I can see something in the distance, and get there. Sure, there's a few places that are a hard no, but a mountain pass, a forest road, a 5,000 mile roadtrip which leads to an unknown hilltop....if I got the guts it will get me there. People often make the decision backwards. They will buy it and see if they use it.

I didn't need a 4WD vehicle to go adventure. I need to go adventure, so I bought a 4WD vehicle. Not sure that makes sense, but in my head it makes sense to me

 

Wait.........you can offroad these things?

 

Not if you like them. They break every time you will go out!
Wait, that is a Jeep.
We have tanks! Let's go...

 

They also have that great cargo capacity that some may find useful... lol

 

Maybe that's more of a Fiat-Chrysler problem than anything else...

 

It makes sense!

My reasoning for buying the first two 4runners might have been different. But, my current 4runner was purchased because of the hobbies and interests cultivated in the previous 4runners and my Tacoma.

It's a vehicle that is enjoyable to drive on and off road, and SHOULD be basically indestructible. A luxury tank, as I described it when I bought it.

I had the same thought!

 

The gnarliest I took my 5th gen down was Bobby's Hole and Elephant Hill in Canyonlands. I generally prefer exploring over slow rock crawling, but it all depends on what my goals for the trip are I suppose. Also avoid mud at all costs. Mud is the worst.

 

If the mud ain't flyin', you ain't tryin'!

 

Nope 4R is my wife's grocery getter. Heck, we live in the city and I must search out dirt just to exercise the transfer case but...after getting stuck one too many times in my 2wd Gen. 1 Tundra I swore I would never own another 2wd. If my Gen 3 Tundra ever let's me down my wife's grocery getter 4R will be pressed into hunting vehicle service. Then it will have a chance of going offroad.

 

I did before all the wildfires in the mountains started in my neck of the woods. That honestly has kept me from hitting any trails until cooler weather hits.

 

My point of bringing it up: (the reason i bought an ORP)

If I didn't need towing and off road capability I would have stayed with a BMW X5. As a commuter SUV the 4R is hands down the worst SUV on the market. Price, comfort, MPG, ancient technology.... i don't understand 4runner mall crawlers one bit.

I bought mine as a supplement to being the cliche "outdoorsy" (camping, fishing, 4wheelers, motocross). I was attempting to tackle terrain i shoulnt have in my X5 and started breaking parts.

 

I would have to say that is subjective. If you are looking for a MPG king; not the T4R. If you want crossover ride quality; not the T4R.
However, if you want a dependable BOF SUV (and can deal or not care about a few shortcomings) that is one of the most capable SUV's on the market.
Add to that the cost of repair compared to a BMW & the 4Runner pulls even further away.
Honestly, a X5 & 4Runner are only similar in size. They are completely different in design and purpose. My $0.02

 

I’m waiting for California to actually stop being on fire so I can drive this baby! But in October my wife and I will be doing Zion and some dispersed camping so finally it’ll get its shoes a little dirty

 

We had about 800 miles on it, and went hill/trail climbing with the grand kids.

 

I traded in my 2014 Ram 1500 to buy my 2020. I had a couple needs that specifically went to the 4runner; I needed to tow my enclosed trailer (2500-3000lbs), needed to be capable on the beach and be able to fit 2 dogs and a baby. The truck did all but the last well. The 4runner does all them (and I have a small open trailer for when I need a bed). It's tough to beat the cross capabilities of this vehicle and it sees trails, beach and daily commute.

I will say trying to keep the paint looking good and enjoying trails is a big trade off. Polishing this thing takes a while and I feel like it need to do it after every trail adventure. The newness will wear though and I don't care much beyond the annual polishing.

 

If you’re ever in the Oregon area let me know! Always down to meet new people and run trails.

 

Yes I consider NYC a concrete jungle especially with potholes that can swallow whole cars and roads rougher then some off road trails I have taken my truck off-road a few times to clean the pollution in my head mostly
But having a truck that can do it all brings on big smile
J

 

Going downtown in the back seat of a Mini in Manhattan, that was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay rougher than I ever expected it to be. Perhaps the worst roads I've ever been on.

 

I get it. Im just thinking the vast majority of T4R sales belong to people whom a highlander would have sufficed. But who cares, its their money.

I owned nothing but BMWs since 2003, until now obviously. My wife still has a 2013 3 series. In all those years only one was a lemon (2006 325i) dropped a cylinder one morning. My X5 diesel had no issues for 111k miles, when I busted a shock and spring towing a trailer off road (when I realized I was far exceeding the X5 capabilities) I don't blame BMW for that. My wifes little 320i has needed tires, brakes, oil and gas. Several other bimmers i owned never gave me a single complaint. I still have a soft spot for my Bavarian cars and I defend a false stereotype

 

Yes we certainly do! So far, just South Florida.

 

I sort of agree, but I actually think a Wrangler is probably worse or comparable. Plus, it is well built and comfortable.

Agreed. But, strictly as a commuter, I tend to agree with the OP.. Sort of..

I would probably be in a Highlander if I didn't off-road.. Or maybe an RX.

 

Have to deal with this occasionally and sometimes I have to use the 4wHi