Are PreRunners.....

So I'm getting gas the otherday when some guy driving a very nicely lifted '80's solid axle 4x pulls up to the pump next to me & we start shootin' the shit about the usual "nice truck' "wish I had SAS" etc; .

Start talking about local trails, Corral canyon, desert & when we talked about Pancake rock here in San Diego he said he wanted to hit it with a friend of his but his friend was a prerunner at which time he said "Wish he'd get rid of the training wheels & get a 4x", so that got me to thinking

How many of you think that Prerunners are "Training wheels for 4x4's" & thats not meant in a de-meaning way, its more a question of how many get a prerunner, offroad it for awhile & then step up to 4 wheel drive purchase ??....

 

that sounds stupid to me

 

Ok, doesn't really address the question, can you be a little clearer

 

It seems like it'd be the opposite, as wheeling in 4wd is a lot easier than 2wd which better fits the "training wheels" analogy. But I guess I could see how people with PreRunners who never thought they would go offroading would start to get into it and then maybe get a 4x4 for their next vehicle.

 

prerunners are for the people that like the ride height but don't want or need 4x4 ........just my .o2........

 

I wanted a 4x4 when I bought mine but they only had them in way overloaded trim packages with the least expensive being $23K. got sort of what I wanted for $16K and haven't looked back.
I had a 1989 Bronco II for wheeling but it had 2 open diffs and wasn't any better then my prerunner!
So I think I didn't answer the question...LOL Maybe some else has?

 

I think what the guy was getting at was trail difficulty & he was obliviously no rookie , like i said his truck was nicely setup but a little beat up from use. I've trailed with prerunners many times & it always surprises me where they can go, it always seemed to me that you'd have to be a little more on the ball without the added convienience of 4x..

 

spoken like a true novice

 

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Actually Terry, yours is probably going to be the common answer: $$$$$$$$ changes everything

I dunno about that one here anyway, the guys w/prerunners I go with hit it pretty hard when need be, but when we see a trail that is obliviously meant for 4x, some seem dissapointed...

& for some this is their 1st truck, new to offroading & don't even know if they'll like it or not

 

Sounds like the guy has a 4x4 more for his ego than anything. I don't have anywhere to need a 4x4, so I bought a PreRunner. No land, beaches are vehicle prohibited, no hills/mountains.

 

I agree, also with skills developed from trailing prerunners (throttle control etc; ) maybe it kind of "grooms" them for more serious, technical trails

 

Again this isn't a "which is better" thread, but for you & your area sounds like you made a perfect choice

 

I have never looked at them as "training wheels", but it does kind of make sense. With a prerunner you can go offroad but are more cautious about harder trails. I'm not saying they can't go down them but if they step up to a 4x4 then the trails they were cautious about are no longer a problem and are now more cautious about the bigger harder trails that require more modifications. The next step I would think would be lifted with full body armor, tires, and still with IFS. Then the next step would be SAS. Just like everything else, you have to start somewhere. Most people buy prerunners because either money issues or they don't think they will ever need 4wd, then some of those people decide they could use the 4x4 and the others are perfectly content with the lifted 2wd.

 

Agreeing with you 100%. Yes, prerunners can do some moderate off-roading for sure, but they "cannot" go all places 4x4's can go.

 

I never said they couldn't off road just that the ride height is higher than a lesser model and they may just want a mall crawler to get stuff with ie lumber, plywood etc..... or whatever

 

to a certain extent, the prerunner platform is a step up to the 4x4 platform, just as an IFS 4x4 is a step up to the SAS 4x4...

it's also regional... a lot of desert wheeling/racing does not necessarily need 4x4 while mountainous trails need it...

in regards to the guy at the gas station, he has a SAS rig, so the type of terrain he is wheeling would not be suitable for a prerunner, hence his opinion that the prerunner is not a real truck...

 

I'm leaning towards this too Mike, its a progression, that guys "training wheels" comment was a little sarcastic but he wasn't bashing them really

 

Hey Doug, we should hit up Pancake when I'm in SD from June1-June10

 

That's why I got mine I wanted the 4x4 look and a decent amount of off road ability. But I didn't much care for the extra diff in the front because I'm driving 100 miles one way so I needed the better mpg even if only 3-4 mpg. But I have had my Pre-Runner in places that 4x4's have gotten stuck and made it thru.