Limited or Platinum any good on off road trails?

[4RunnerJay]

Hello Everyone,

Would a Limited or Platinum with 18in wheels and better tires be ok on some green or blue off road trails?

I like the addition of All Wheel drive, but I know it will loose the locker compared to the ORP or Trailhunter.

I’m guessing it will be fine, but

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[Max94]

There’s a video on YouTube that compared the regular 4wd to the full time and as far as I remember the full time performed worse in off road conditions

 

[4RunnerJay]

There’s a video on YouTube that compared the regular 4wd to the full time and as far as I remember the full time performed worse in off road conditions

I’ll look it up.

 

[RTRD_Will]

There’s a video on YouTube that compared the regular 4wd to the full time and as far as I remember the full time performed worse in off road conditions

this one?

 

[RTRD_Will]

Hello Everyone,

Would a Limited or Platinum with 18in wheels and better tires be ok on some green or blue off road trails?

I like the addition of All Wheel drive, but I know it will loose the locker compared to the ORP or Trailhunter.

I’m guessing it will be fine, but

 

[Max94]

this one?

Yup that one

 

[4RunnerJay]

Thank you!

 

[4Everest]

on some green or blue off road trails

It's always a question of how difficult is the trail vs your vehicle's capability, but I think you're looking in the right range. I've been on a bunch of trails that could've been done in a front wheel drive sedan. Even more that could've been done in a Subaru or an AWD crossover.

As long as you're careful about the difficulty of trail you're on, and not out there doing all the superhero stuff (use the bypasses, skip the obstacles) you'll probably be ok. Be very careful in sand though.

 

[4RunnerJay]

It's always a question of how difficult is the trail vs your vehicle's capability, but I think you're looking in the right range. I've been on a bunch of trails that could've been done in a front wheel drive sedan. Even more that could've been done in a Subaru or an AWD crossover.

As long as you're careful about the difficulty of trail you're on, and not out there doing all the superhero stuff (use the bypasses, skip the obstacles) you'll probably be ok. Be very careful in sand though.

Thank you! I’m sure it’s more capable than some AWD SUVs I’ve seen on some trails.

 

[Jets Fan]

I have watched that video a couple of times and frankly I’m quite confused and more importantly concerned about the Limited’s performance on the rollers’ tests.
I am expecting to take delivery of a Limited next month and cannot fathom why a vehicle that is supposed to be full time 4WD cannot pull itself off the rollers. When both rear wheels were spinning on the rollers, why did the two front not pull the truck forward? The same for when the front wheels were on the rollers.
I decided to go with the Limited for many of the comfort features but mostly because I wanted the full-time 4WD. How is this performance 4WD?
Was the reviewer doing something wrong (tranny set-up) ? Can someone please explain what is happening here and did I order the wrong model?

 

[NotApplicable]

I have watched that video a couple of times and frankly I’m quite confused and more importantly concerned about the Limited’s performance on the rollers’ tests.
I am expecting to take delivery of a Limited next month and cannot fathom why a vehicle that is supposed to be full time 4WD cannot pull itself off the rollers. When both rear wheels were spinning on the rollers, why did the two front not pull the truck forward? The same for when the front wheels were on the rollers.
I decided to go with the Limited for many of the comfort features but mostly because I wanted the full-time 4WD. How is this performance 4WD?
Was the reviewer doing something wrong (tranny set-up) ? Can someone please explain what is happening here and did I order the wrong model?

The FT4WD system will perform exactly like the PT4WD system (modulo rear locker) in H4L or L4L.

In H4F, the center diff is open, so without brake actuation, the torque will go to the spinning wheels in a zero traction situation. It’s unclear to me why brake-based slip limiting worked when the front wheels were spinning but not the rear. Seems like a programming issue.

In any case, in any real scenario where multiple wheels have literally zero traction, locking the center diff would be the way to go, and it’s arguably exactly why the ability to do so exists.

 

[4RunnerJay]

I have watched that video a couple of times and frankly I’m quite confused and more importantly concerned about the Limited’s performance on the rollers’ tests.
I am expecting to take delivery of a Limited next month and cannot fathom why a vehicle that is supposed to be full time 4WD cannot pull itself off the rollers. When both rear wheels were spinning on the rollers, why did the two front not pull the truck forward? The same for when the front wheels were on the rollers.
I decided to go with the Limited for many of the comfort features but mostly because I wanted the full-time 4WD. How is this performance 4WD?
Was the reviewer doing something wrong (tranny set-up) ? Can someone please explain what is happening here and did I order the wrong model?

Good question

 

[Jets Fan]

Thanks much. I wil apologize up front-I am not an off-roader and not knowledgeable of all the mechanical verbiage. I say this because I thought 4WD was all wheels are driving, all the time.
I have had my SR5 for 15 years and have engaged the 4WD many times and understand its capabilities and draw-backs (eg. binding in turns). Before the SR5 I had Olds Bravada with auto 4WD, normally RWD. Now I am going to what I thought was FT4WD.
what is the difference between H4L, L4L, and H4F? When would you use each?Also what is the “module rear locker” And what does it do?
REALLY appreciate you educating me.

 

[NotApplicable]

Thanks much. I wil apologize up front-I am not an off-roader and not knowledgeable of all the mechanical verbiage. I say this because I thought 4WD was all wheels are driving, all the time.
I have had my SR5 for 15 years and have engaged the 4WD many times and understand its capabilities and draw-backs (eg. binding in turns). Before the SR5 I had Olds Bravada with auto 4WD, normally RWD. Now I am going to what I thought was FT4WD.
what is the difference between H4L, L4L, and H4F? When would you use each?Also what is the “module rear locker” And what does it do?
REALLY appreciate you educating me.

H4L and L4L are exactly 4Hi and 4Lo from any PT4WD system you’ve used before. In these, the center diff is locked to a fixed 50/50 front/rear split — both axles will spin at the same speed all the time.

H4F takes the place of 2Hi, in that it’s your everyday setting. All 4 wheels are getting driven all the time, with a default 40/60 front/rear torque bias in this case I believe. The thing is, with an open diff, traction is limited by the side with the _least_ traction. So if one side has 0 traction, you get nearly 0 torque all around. It’s an extreme case. So long as the minimum traction of all wheels is above 0, you get torque all around.

When wheel(s) are spinning, you either need a locked differential or the application of brakes on the spinning wheel(s). The latter creates artificial load which substitutes for actual traction, solving the problem.

We see this in action on the test when the front wheels are on the spinner- they spin, the vehicle notices this, applies brakes, which gives the rear wheels torque, and it gets off the spinners. What’s unclear is why this didn’t happen when the rear wheels were on the spinners.

But again, I’d argue that if you were actually in such a situation, 4Lo or 4Hi (L4L/H4L) are what you should be using anyway. H4F is for the everyday scenarios where most of your wheels have at least some traction most of the time.

 

[Jets Fan]

Thank you so much for explaining the differences in a language I can comprehend.
I recently moved into a rural and wooded area and as a result will be spending the majority of my driving (time-wise) on highways that in the winter can and is a mix of loose, packed snow and icy sections. It is for these reasons I wanted FT4WD. So if I understand what you said I should be in H4F on these highway conditions and if I run into a deeper snow issue, switch to H4L?

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