Bye Tacoma! Hello 4Runner. From Phoebe, to Rhea

Officially taking my leave. With two rambunctious pit-mixes and a kid on the way, I was looking for something to haul the whole family in and still get to go offroad and play in the snow. I'll seriously miss Phoebe- what a great truck! I'll probably keep hanging out here because ya'll are a lot more lively than either of the T4R boards.

















Sold to a private owner who came down from Fresno to get her. Hope she is still loved and taken on adventures.

As far as 4Runners go, I had been on the lookout for the past two months- I wanted a used Trail Premium with KDSS and a plain cargo area (no sliding rear tray). I was looking everywhere on private listings, craigslist, classifieds, etc. Most dealers and private parties wanted above $40K for their used(!) trucks, which is just a hair under what new ones cost.

I didn't really care to get a new Off-Road version. Other than the name change, the ONLY updates to the truck for 2017-2018 include C-pillar emblems, TRD stitching on the headrests, and faux carbon fiber overlay on the center console. No thanks, not worth the price premium.

Finally found exactly what I was looking for. 2016 Trail Premium. 15K miles on the clock. Toyota CPO warranty. KDSS and plain rear cargo. Previous owner had installed weathertech floor liners and the EXACT tires I wanted (275/70R17 BFG KO2s, the largest that can fit on stock suspension). And the price was $36K, which is just above trade-in value. The problem was that the truck was in Portland OR!

It ended up not being a problem at all. The dealer took off $200 for my Southwest flight and that was the lowest they could go on the price. Flew up early on a Saturday, dealer picked me up from PDX in the truck so I could test drive it back to the dealership. Paperwork was signed in less than an hour. Spent some time exploring the Japanese Garden and eating BBQ. Crashed at my sister-in-law's (conveniently located in nearby Beaverton). Woke up at 4AM on Sunday to drive home on the scenic route (Willamette, Crater Lake, Modoc, Susanville, Reno, Bridgeport, Mammoth, Lone Pine, Mojave, home). Fantastic trip.







Not my first choice in color but it is growing on me. All in all, I'm happy. The 4Runner certainly is a lot more plush and crammed with electronic goodies, though I really enjoyed my Tacoma because of its analog simplicity. The lady appreciates the auto transmission, she always got flustered driving stick in the Tacoma. I'll miss the 3 pedals though!

Decided on Rhea for her name. Like her sister Phoebe, she is a Greek Titaness and "mother of the gods". She gave birth to Zeus and, like her sister, also has a moon of Saturn named after her.

 

Nice T4R good upgrade for the family an great pics.

 

I understand it was a family decision, very unselfish

You will miss the Tacoma, but some day you’ll be able to get another one. I’ve been there...

By the way, nice T4R!

 

lack of the manual trans is what takes the t4r out of the options for my yard, stinks too, cause they are nice and I know I would have taken one of them over the double cab taco.

 

Sweet ride, glad you stayed within the family.

The T4R are really growing on me.

 

Nice Ride. What is the towing capacity?

 

If I recall ours is 55-5700 I believe

 

Love that color. Looks great.

 

damn thats nice....i have to ask...where the hell can you drive into a cave? because obviously my life is not complete until i can.......enjoy the new ride

 

That is inside Reward Mine, located just south of Independence, CA. 5 minutes after that photo the truck wouldn't start and we almost had to hike out. After twenty minutes sitting in pitch dark everything had cooled down enough to get one last start out of the battery and away we went! You'd better believe I got a new battery and a jumpbox as soon as I got home .