How capable are '05-'08 4WD Tacomas? Need advice on trim selection

I've been building up my wife's 2016 SR5P and I have found that ATRAC gets me ANYwhere I want to go. There is a night & day difference to hitting that little button on steep, loose climbs. I can't imagine having a 4WD tacoma WITHOUT ATRAC or at least the RR diff lock. Of course I can always do an aftermarket ARB air locker but I like the thought of keeping the factory 4WD system intact and un-altered.

For those of you with a 4WD tacoma that lacks ATRAC or the RR diff lock, I'm curious as to how capable your truck is? I can't imagine it very good and I'm going to be buying a used 2nd gen and it seems difficult to find an '09-15' TRD Off road which has all of these features. Am I correct in saying the '05-'08 doesn't even have much capability when you get on steep/loose terrain?

Seems like my options are:

Find an '05-'08 4WD and put an ARB air locker in it.

Find an '09-'15 and utilize the factory ATRAC or RR diff locker.




Any input is appreciated. I look forward to building this taco once I find it with some proper coilovers (Toytec boss + DAKAR pack & UCA's), 285's and sliders. I've been limited with how gnarly I could make our 4Runner since it's my wife's truck and I'm ready for my own Toyota in addition to the wife's t4r (pictured here).

 

As far as im concerned "crawl control" and atrac is for people that dont know how to drive . Being serious though they are very nice features to have but it really comes down to the driver. Ive seen guys in open diff 2wd trucks out perform guys with 4wd jeeps with front and rear lockers

 

Very good to know. I just have some big reservations about finding a clean '08 TRD off road or TRD sport that doesn't have either ATRAC or a diff locker. I live in the AZ desert though and it seems we have a layer of kitty litter gravel on top of all dirt so I have grown very fond of ATRAC in our 4Runner. It doesn't skip a beat.

 

One option is getting any 09+ second gen without ATRAC and doing the yellow wire mod so you have TRAC in 4L. Similar effect as ATRAC but the revs have to be a bit higher for it to kick in. In my understanding.

Very easy mod to do and reverse

 

Yeah I've read up on that. Thanks for reminding me. That would be a totally doable option for me I think. Each time I use 4L it's a scenario where I suppose I could use ATRAC anyway so that's a great point.

 

It is very hard to talk about capability in concrete terms, especially as the driver is such a large factor. I will point out that 05 - 08 TRD Sport trucks have a mechanical limited slip rear axle. There are a lot of us out there running open diffs without ATRAC and getting everywhere we need to go.

 

Yeah I agree. I'm no "experienced" wheeler but I like to take my time and go slow when it's steep or rocky or loose & I found that ATRAC or similarly a locker help me keep my foot out of it and just take the easy way out. Call me a sissy or a noob, I don't really care it's just the way I like to wheel. I just come from my experience in our SR5 4runner and it's hard to imagine getting up certain climbs without ATRAC so I was really hoping to reach out to you guys with '05-'08 4WD tacos to see how you make things happen out there.

 

dude that 4-Runner is tight, and by tight I mean money

 

Thanks man, I love it. Definitely the best 3-row midsize SUV on the market. I'm running OME coils on Bilstein struts and she handles on and off road like a dream.

 

I think it has a lot more to do with driving ability rather than lockers. I've made up and down mosquito pass and tincup pass with my 14 long bed. Biggest issue was clearance. Knowing how to pick a line is half the battle.

 

Great advice. I'll have to hone in my wheeling skills some more. One thing I'm getting from all of these comments is that I shouldn't really worry about finding a 2nd gen with ATRAC or a RR diff locker. This would open up a lot more potential trucks for purchase for me.

 

I love having my rear locker in my 14' and I use it all the time, I rarely use the atrac but it has helped me get out of a deep snow situation offroad once.

 

BTW the trd offroads all come with the locker even the 05-08's

 

I have an 08 TRD Off Road, which i put stock sized KO2's on, and I've had zero problems with traction in anything but gooey red clay mud on a steep hill (Peavine, north of Reno, NV, in the early Spring), and that was overcome with a bit of momentum.

 

The ko2s do awful in mud, I've seen my share of it on peavine cause I live at the base of that mountain.

 

agreed re: muddy ko2's... but they are great on gravel, sand, rocks, and the highway, so I'm happy enough with them.

my kid took this up peavine a couple times. haahahh, THOSE tires had zero problems with traction! of course, 6x6 helps, too.

 

I second that. My KO2's are great at a lot of things but mud is definitely not one of them. KO2's are terrible in mud.

 

Had three Off Road 4X4 Tacomas (2001, 2005, 2010). The 2010, with A-TRAC, is unstoppable, STOCK. The only thing you can do to improve traction more is to let some air out of the tires. A-TRAC is great, because it controls spin on the front tires as well as the rear. It 'out-wheels' just having the rear locker and open front diff. However, pre-2009 Tacomas would do well to have lockers, at least on the rear. That is if you don't want someone to have to pull you out! I have been four wheeling for over 40 years and there is nothing wrong with having traction technology to make off-roading less work or easier on the terrain. Spinning wheels only damage roads AND MOVE YOU NOWHERE. A-TRAC is amazing technology.

 

This is very helpful information given your experience. Putting an ARB rear air locker on '05-'08 TRD off road might cost the same in the long run as just buying an '09-15 that has ATRAC. That's how I'm looking at things currently. I am aware of how helpful airing down is for wheeling, I do it every time but I probably don't go much lower than about 18lbs on my C load 265's. Thanks a bunch for sharing, David.

 

the 05-08 TRD OR's already have a manual rear locker, its a pushbutton on the dash.