PRERUNNER??

I have heard the name tossed around, but I'm not positive what all is there?

Saw a nice TRD 03 Taco for 3K with 120K miles on it near home on Craigs. I have the exact same truck, but mines a Taco, I thought this one was too. In the ad he said "No 4WD", so now that I know how simple it is to fix the actuators, I was gonna grab it, use the nice body panels and sell off the rest.

So, I asked him what was wrong with 4WD, and he replied that he "thinks it's a prerunner".

Is that just a 2wd with a lift?? No transfer case, CV's or front diff?? Damn, I never heard of such a thing

I guess therefore it would be useless to me... Why make these?? This is the Northeast, not Glammis dunes... Did they make many?? Imagine if I bought it like an idiot thinking I got a good deal! That would have been very bad...

 

2wd with a 4x4 suspension, yes.

 

Yup, factory 4x4 without the 4x4 goodies. Should have a elocker rear if it's a prerunner

 

Not always, only trd packages got e-lockers. My dads old 01 dcsb prerunner had none.

 

It’s not a 2wd with a lift. The trucks most people think of as 2wds are referred to as 5 lugs (lug nuts). The 6 lugs are the 4x4s and pretunners.

It’s better to think of the Preunners as a 4x4, but with the front drivelines and transfercase removed. The rest of the truck (body, suspension) is identical.

 

Ya only the TRD Prerunner 1st gens have lockers. There were non TRD Prerunners too with no locker, essentially just a 6 lug Tacoma with only 2wd. I used to have a non TRD '99 Prerunner that I put a lunchbox locker into the rear of.

 

PreRunners have most of what 4WD trucks have, minus 4WD. People use trucks in different ways in many different climates, some never see snow or mud

I have a PreRunner. I've never needed 4WD, but I do use my truck regularly for truck-like duties. Hauling things, pulling things, etc. I even use it as a mobile darkroom.

 

Prerunners are just 2WD 6 lug Tacomas...they're very popular here in the southwest. Probably not so much in places where 4wd is needed

 

Glamisman says... there is only one "m" in Glamis...

 

Thanks guys...


I get it, it's for people that like the looks of a 4WD, but no actual 4WD parts.

Okay, I won't be buying that now unless it were 1500$. However, even then, I read the "width" is not the same as a Taco??

Are any of the body panels the same?? Thanks for your replies everyone...

 

I bought my prerunner for the ground clearance. It's my daily and fishing/camping truck. I own a sequoia 4x4, so if I need to I can play. But I've done pretty good in the prerunner.

 

A prerunner is a truck to scout out a Baja style truck race.

To thicken the plot there were TRD Prerunners made but still never had an elocker. The particular truck I saw this situation on was a '98-00 4cyl automatic FWIW.

 

Yea stick with 4wd

 

True. My friend has an '04 PreRunner and it doesn't have the e-locker.
Has the factory TRD decals, but again, no e-locker.
First time I sat in it, I kept asking, "where is your diff lock button?"

 

Ok 1st off, a factory "prerunner" is a Tacoma. It is no different than a standard 4x4 Tacoma except the missing 4x4 parts...

Now guys will build a "prerunner" truck out of many different kinds of trucks. If it is a custom build then they may have done long travel suspension (wider stance) and even added aftermarket wider body panels. I have seen this done on Toyotas, Chevys, Ford's and others...

I owned a factory 2015 factory Toyota "Prerunner" 2wd, 4cyl Tacoma. It was identical in body panels, width, length etc to every other 2015 Toyota Taoma that rolled off the lot.

 

I also have one of these TRD stickered but no diff lock prerunners. Weird that they put the sticker on, but it's not a TRD package...

 

Tacoma's aren't the only one, plenty of full size trucks that are 2wd and appear to be 4x4. If you live in a place that never gets snow and don't off road, there's really no need for 4x4, just more weight and more stuff to break realistically.

 

Every 01-04 TRD prerunner should have a locker. It was the main part of the package... If not the truck just got the sticker.

BTW.. I drive on the beach with soft sand daily.... Never needed 4x4.

 

Was it a 4cyl? There were some 1st gen TRD 4cyl models that didn't come with a rear locker, just the TRD suspension and cosmetic looks. They were pretty rare though, don't see many of them anymore

 

Which “taco” are you talking about? Prerunners are tacomas, too, as are the 4x4s, and the 5 lugs too...

As has been said, the prerunner is identical to the 4wd truck except for the front drive train. The body panels are all the same, width is the same, as long as you are comparing same year to same year, and a prerunner and a 4wd. The newer trucks are wider.

The 5 lug trucks have very different suspension and the front end body panels (fenders) are different.