New family truckster

C

CheezWhiz

Joined
Feb 27, 2008
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799
Location
eastern WA
Family of 5, inland northwest area (eastern WA), with a large dog (malamute/husky mix). Looking for a daily driver, traditional 4x4, something we can take on the rugged forest roads of north Idaho with confidence. The other big priority is long-term durability. We are not too concerned about gas mileage. For whatever reason, I prefer to pay out the nose for gas instead of spend money on maintenance, as evidenced by the 6.0 vortec 2500HD and 4.0 TJ Wrangler in the household - bulletproof engines with bad gas mileage is kinda my thing I guess.

So after looking at the options, I'm pretty convinced the 4Runner meets our needs. We plan to get the two row and save the cargo area for the dog and luggage. Kids will probably be a little grumpy about it but I don't really want to step up to something bigger. There's so much to do within a few hours drive of here that I don't think we'll do many long road trips, just an hour or two to places like Sandpoint, Priest Lake, and Leavenworth.

Any obvious flaws in this plan? Seems like the current 4Runner has been in production for a long time, very reliable, will handle whatever we decide to throw at it. Just ditch the stock tires for some BFG AT KO2's and we're pretty much ready to rock, no?
 
Hard to go wrong with these. My son has a ‘19 and it is built like a hoss. I can see why they have such a cult following. You’ll also enjoy the freedom with comparatively nimble maneuverability compared to the 2500. Lots of 3rd party support for these too.

KO2 might not be my first choice for this, however. KO2s need weight over them when they get old to maintain wet grip. Wildpeaks seem to be a big favorite. you can run 285/70 on them as-is, I think the 275/70 is probably a good compromise. Stock is 265/70. depending on the terrain, I might personally go for something available as a p-metric for DD use, like the continental AT, verdstein Pinza AT, or yoko G015.

having wrenched on his ‘19 with him a good bit, the truck DNA is very clearly present in the 4R.
 
Yeah we plan to go new ... I think this is basically going to be "the one" that the kids grow up traveling in. And it's really only a short time between when they are too small to really travel much to when they are too old to really wanna hang out with their parents ... so I think we'll just bite the bullet and get exactly what we want.

Re: tires, I'm sure I'll stay with the factory tire size. I've never had a ground clearance issue in my 2500HD with the stock 245/75R17 tires. There are surely some bumpy forest roads out there, but I can only think of one place I wouldn't go with any stock full-frame 4x4. Really any decent AT will suit our needs. We do run snow tires in the winter but I like the snowflake "just in case" we get a freak early or late snowfall.
 
Your kids must be small. 5 in a 4Runner + large dog seems tight from the get-go. As to tires, Cooper AT3+ or whatever they call it now is a good tire, had Yoko G015s on a truck not impressed at all, think AT light. The BFG AT tires are and have been a favorite here because they wear so well in the heat and rocks and sand, because they're hard maybe? You can put luggage on the roof and on a rack out back so maybe you can get by.
 
AZjeff said:
Your kids must be small. 5 in a 4Runner + large dog seems tight from the get-go. As to tires, Cooper AT3+ or whatever they call it now is a good tire, had Yoko G015s on a truck not impressed at all, think AT light. The BFG AT tires are and have been a favorite here because they wear so well in the heat and rocks and sand, because they're hard maybe? You can put luggage on the roof and on a rack out back so maybe you can get by.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing. That back seat isn’t really all that big.
 
my initial reaction is i wld rather have to use a roof rack or cargo trailer vs pay Tahoe $ and have a bigger rig for the daily commute? and we do have a crew 6.5 2500HD with a canopy as an alternative.
 
I’d recommend an Excursion but you said new so, I don’t think you’re going to find anything to better suit your needs than the 4 Runner will.

For tires definitely look at both the Toyo At3 and General ATx. It’s been a while since I was selling tires but these two were the most useful all terrains I found. The Falken AT3W is also quite good.

Personally I wouldn’t put a Cooper At3 on my two wheel hand cart but that’s just like my opinion man. I had a very negative ownership experience with some Cooper Discoverers and many customer complaints about their truck tires specifically.
 
CheezWhiz said:
Family of 5, inland northwest area (eastern WA), with a large dog (malamute/husky mix). Looking for a daily driver, traditional 4x4, something we can take on the rugged forest roads of north Idaho with confidence. The other big priority is long-term durability. We are not too concerned about gas mileage. For whatever reason, I prefer to pay out the nose for gas instead of spend money on maintenance, as evidenced by the 6.0 vortec 2500HD and 4.0 TJ Wrangler in the household - bulletproof engines with bad gas mileage is kinda my thing I guess.

So after looking at the options, I'm pretty convinced the 4Runner meets our needs. We plan to get the two row and save the cargo area for the dog and luggage. Kids will probably be a little grumpy about it but I don't really want to step up to something bigger. There's so much to do within a few hours drive of here that I don't think we'll do many long road trips, just an hour or two to places like Sandpoint, Priest Lake, and Leavenworth.

Any obvious flaws in this plan? Seems like the current 4Runner has been in production for a long time, very reliable, will handle whatever we decide to throw at it. Just ditch the stock tires for some BFG AT KO2's and we're pretty much ready to rock, no?
Click to expand...

The 4Runner is not a family vehcile. Narrow rear door opening-smallish back seat. You need to look at something bigger-and with a chasis newer than 20 years old.

Look at the sale numbers of the 4Runner-then the Chevrolet Traverse and get back to me. How often are you going to be blazing trails?

I have been all over that area-mini vans use those roads. This is about what you want-not what a good family hauler the 4Runner is-because it isn't.
As state above by at least two others - with a little objectivity-it will be tight from the get - go.
 
Last edited:
Here are our Yokohama A/T G015's in LT 265/70R 17 E.

They are great in rain, snow, they are quiet, balanced easily, and so far have done great on 4wd trails. Although we generally don't encounter deep mud. The light mud they have been through was no problem.

img_20200418_150634-jpg.65730


Our 4Runner is almost four years old, and just about to roll over 4000 miles. Yeah, it doesn't get driven a lot, but it is mostly driven in snow (last winter was a record snow season), and 4wd trails. The G015's are mild looking, but they haven't disappointed yet, and they don't howl like some A/T's do.

A review: https://expeditionportal.com/review-yokohama-geolandar-at-g015/
 
CKN said:
The 4Runner is not a family vehcile. Narrow rear door opening-smallish back seat. You need to look at something bigger-and with a chasis newer than 20 years old.

Look at the sale numbers of the 4Runner-then the Chevrolet Traverse and get back to me. How often are you going to be blazing trails?

I have been all over that area-mini vans use those roads. This is about what you want-not what a good family hauler the 4Runner is-because it isn't.
As state above by at least two others - with a little objectivity-it will be tight from the get - go.
Click to expand...
Most years I'll wind up putting cables on the back to keep from sliding off the road during hunting season ... pretty sure we aren't going the same places 🤣
 
I've been happy with the KO2's on my 3/4 ton ... having changed a flat tire 50 miles from the nearest hard road at night in the St. Joe national forest with the wind whipping and the wolves howling ... I just want something puncture resistant. This will not be my daily, for the wife. I daily the 2500HD.

I do see the appeal of something like a Tahoe. It's just a ton more money and I don't like the fuel management stuff. Yeah it could be a little tight but good god, my brother and I grew up going on vacations in the back of a regular cab truck with two dogs to keep us company, I am pretty sure my rugrats will survive if they have to sit next to each in the air conditioning for a few hours 🤣
 
CheezWhiz said:
Most years I'll wind up putting cables on the back to keep from sliding off the road during hunting season ... pretty sure we aren't going the same places 🤣
Click to expand...
OK. Point taken. Please take my point it's not the right size for two kids, a large dog and everyone's luggage.
 
CKN said:
OK. Point taken. Please take my point it's not the right size for two kids, a large dog and everyone's luggage.
Click to expand...
I get that 100%, you are right. I have a receiver-mounted cargo carrier, plus we'd get the roof rack. If that's not enough, a small enclosed trailer is also an option.

Also - it's a blended family and we only have the kids about 50% of the time. Sometimes it's just the two of us and the dog.
 
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CheezWhiz said:
I get that 100%, you are right. I have a receiver-mounted cargo carrier, plus we'd get the roof rack. If that's not enough, a small enclosed trailer is also an option.

Also - it's a blended family and we only have the kids about 50% of the time. Sometimes it's just the two of us and the dog.
Click to expand...

The kids are grown and on their own, but they occasionally join us for some trail exploring. Boy is 6'3", and has no problems sitting in the rear seats. The rear seatbacks also recline a bit.

A 5th gen 4Runner is much roomier than my dads car was. My siblings and I survived just fine. We didn't have smartphones either. Oh the humanity!
 
02SE said:
The kids are grown and on their own, but they occasionally join us for some trail exploring. Boy is 6'3", and has no problems sitting in the rear seats. The rear seatbacks also recline a bit.

A 5th gen 4Runner is much roomier than my dads car was. My siblings and I survived just fine. We didn't have smartphones either. Oh the humanity!
Click to expand...
yeah we looked at a few 4runners and it seems like plenty of room to me!!
 
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