Help making 4wd decisions

ok so my dilemma is, I have a 2011 prerunner with close to 120,000 miles on it. I'm not really having any issues with the truck. I originally purchased it just so I can have something to put my motorcycle in the back of when going to the track. Well then the off-road bug bit me. And being in Texas I was content with my prerunner going off road. I saw no need for four wheel drive. Well the more I'm getting into off roading / trailing I've realized how important four wheel drive can be. In light to moderate mud I do fine due to the fact I'm running mud tires. But most of the time I just have no grip and end up sliding everywhere due to the fact there's no power to the front. Now back to my decision making. I have been reading up on Vancity(I think that's how you spell it 4 wheel drive conversion)and it has me interested. Now a lot of you probably wonder why I don't just trade my truck in. i Kelly Blue Booked it with the amount of miles I have on it and it is only worth about $10,000 that's the high end. I still owe about 19,000. So most likely I would go upside down a good bit of money possibly up to $12,000. That is the reason I was looking into 4 wheel drive conversion. What should I do? should I take the upside down hit or should I try to pay to get the conversion done? right now my monthly payment on my truck is 380 bucks I'm trying to stay under 400.

 

4wd conversion is a lot harder on a 2nd gen then a 1st. It can be done, but for a lot of money. Idk what website you're looking at, but a 2011 TRD prerunner, is at least a 20k truck

 

If you want a 4wd then get one man.

 

I guess I was a little high. Without knowing anything but it's a TRD 4 door prerunner, high is 15k

 

Tough decision for sure.

Forget the conversion, not worth it.

The fiscally conservative guy on my shoulder says for you not to buy a new truck. But the younger part of my says YOLO, (all the young kids are saying that , whatever it means).

 

For me, I'd say do neither. Stick with what you've got and drive it within it's limitations. To me, there's simply no reason to put yourself in debt over a truck. But hey, I don't buy things that I can't afford.

David

 

Just bide your time and run what you have as you continue to pay it down.Then get a new truck.

 

This is the best advice you can get.

 

Another sad case of "PRS" -Prerunner Regret Syndrome.

 

Does your prerunner have a rear locking diff or is it open? I noticed a rather big diff (pun intended) between open, limited slip, and full locking rear diffs. Might wanna consider just upgrading the rear diff to a full locker if you plan on doing mud. Couple of my friends have 4x4's with locking diffs, mines 4x4 with open diffs... and they dont usually have any difficulties keeping up with me on most trails.

 

I think you got some of the best advice already. Go find a 80s or 90s Toyota pickup with 4WD and use that for offroad. They are cheap to maintain and modify comparatively. Also my signature is relevant lol

 

Lol very good advice guys. Thanks for the advice.

 

I have 120k miles on it though and a few dents and dings

 

I would still take it to a dealer for trade in quote. Can't fully rely on what KBB says. The dealer will run the VIN and see what other similar trucks have sold recently and base the trade in on that. Not so much on what KBB says and even then you can still wiggle the value up with them before trading it. Or keep it until it quites on you if they aren't willing to give you a fair price.

 

IMO do it right the first time. Seems like your willing to make a decent investment to get 4x4..

SAS some 1 ton dana 60's bro.

 

This is what I found. Tacomas used to be higher till a POS review from a magazine a few months ago

 

I don't know, out here in California, 2wd or 4wd, Tacoma's sell all day long over book value. I just paid $20K for a 2010, 4-door PreRunner, SR5, V6 with 57K miles, that was listed for sale for $24K on a reputable dealer lot.

Probably could have negotiated it down a bit more from there, but I just hired another guy for my business, and needed a truck that day, and had to have a white Tacoma, which this was to match my other fleet.

Everyone I have told said I got a good deal, and these trucks just plain & simple are not cheap to buy new or used.

truthfully, the highest re-sale value Tacoma's I'm seeing out here are white, access cab, 5-lugs with an automatic. Seems like 2009+ are still $18-$20K trucks.

As far as the Op goes, Hummm got me thinking, if you could source all the parts, it might be worth doing the conversion, if you've already got the coveted TRD O/R pkg. Someone with more knowledge than me will need to tell you what's involved with that. Common sense tells me, you need a transfer case, new front to back driveshafts (since PR's have a two-piece center shaft in place of the T-case) Front differential, axles, and possibly an ECM flash or swap and the switch.

Seems like all of that could be sourced from a salvage yard for pennies on the dollar .vs new etc... That's cheaper than $30-$35K for one of these new trucks.

*This is not advise or suggestive advise* but you may even pay less in insurance and licensing in your state, since the registration still says the truck is a "PreRunner" and not a 4WD. Re/sale and trade-in down the road may take a bigger hit, but anyone driving anything with 120K+ miles on the odometer, clearly doesn't give a hill of beans about resale value anyhow.