Crawl Control & Multi-Terrain mode Benefits

I'm considering purchasing a 2020 Tacoma OR or PRO. I currently have a stock 2012 Tacoma OR... I'm a novice off-roader and want to get more into Overlanding. Is the Crawl Control and multi terrain modes worth it? Thx!

 

I have the OR. The locking rear diff was the selling point for me. Maybe I need to play with those other functions more.

 

The rear locker is a must-have for anyone going off-road.

The crawl control is a gimmick. It is loud, awkward and annoying; you can attain better results by simply engaging 4-L and holding the transmission in 1st gear.

I haven’t use the multi terrain dial yet, so I can’t comment on it. Chances are, once you learn to off-road you won’t use it.

 

Crawl control is a gimmick, in my opinion. Only thing that makes the OR/Pro worth it is the locking diff. But even without a locker, you can clear a lot of trails.

Personally, if your current '12 is in good shape, I would just run it. Get some Maxtrax and have fun. Even installing an air locker would be cheaper.

I wouldn't say a "must have." It's nice to have. But not a necessity. It wouldn't keep me from going wheeling.

 

The must have feature on the OR / Pro is the manual transmission; comes with a free MTS / CC delete.

/thread

 

4low-1st gear- rear diff lock, that’ll get you further than any crawl control.

I tried crawl control once. Never again.
I’d probably buy an SR5 and put lockers in it if I could do it again.

 

Yeah I only went with the OR for the locking rear diff... could care less about the CC or MTS.

 

Pictures of where my 2nd gen Sport 4x4 has gone with no locker, no crawl control.

 

MTS/CC/locker are not required off road. Of those three, the locker would be my choice. A-TRAC and TRAC are so solid that for the most part you dont need anything except common sense.

 

Lol. Nobody said anything about logging roads.

 

Yeah. Same here. Not sure whose idea it was to add a dial for such an annoying feature. Pure marketing hype, no doubt.

 

As others have said, the crawl control isn’t worth it. Even in scenarios where I thought I could benefit from the ease of setting a speed and just driving, the noise is too much and I ended up disengaging it and using good gas/brake control.

The MTS seems to add a little benefit in my opinion. I had an 2007 SR5 before and was stuck quicker and more often then the off road using the MTS.

The rear locker is a very nice addition. I priced an air Locker for my SR5 and was quoted 3-4K so even if that was all I got it was worth buying the off-road vs a lower trim.

 

In my experience Crawl Control is very effective.

Followed a Jeep modded with 3.5" lift and 35s up a muddy slope that also had it cross axled. 4lo and 1st gear selected, and I could barely get it to move, let alone get to the point where the suspension was articulating as it seemed I had no traction with the stock tires.

Decided to try crawl control and the Tacoma shook, shimmied, and made all kinds of horrible noises but it dragged (literally, the belly/crossover pipe touched) itself up.

And I like MTS too. Gives the front axle more traction in my experience without the fear of a locker where you touch down the spinning side and break an axle.

Coming from a Jeep Rubicon Unlimited, I think the MTS and Crawl Control are brilliant. Unless you're in a mud bog where you need both axles locked and some RPMs to clear the tread of your tires I think systems like this are the future, and I think Toyota's implementation is as good as it gets.

 

Oh gawd, I sure hope not.

 

So many variables, though. Were the vehicles set up the same? Same tires, suspension, wheelbase, etc? I've never been in a situation where it actually helped.

 

Hm. Glad it worked for you. I just got motion sickness.

 

Well this was good info for sure. I’ll probably just keep my 2012 Taco OR and upgrade the Bilstein shocks that came with it. I’ve got an automatic OR, will that make a difference as oppose to a manual?

 

If a locked vehicle gets stuck and a non-locked vehicle doesn’t, that speaks more about poor driving in the locked vehicle more than any special powers of crawl control in the non-locked vehicle.