Help deciding between 2016 TRD Off-Road or Limited

**I posted this on r/toyotatacoma a moment ago. I've been reading this forum for the past few weeks. Any input on this would be awesome. Thanks!

My dilemma is that I will be doing more on-road/highway driving than off road. But I am planning on hitting the numerous off-road trails here in the Las Vegas area - Red Rock Canyon, Mt Charleston, etc. This will also be my commuting vehicle. So we're talking a 90/10 split with on vs off road.

Does the TRD model really sacrifice highway comfort? If I drive to San Diego a few times a year, should that be the deciding factor? Can I do all my off-road stuff in a Limited? Or would I really benefit from those Bilstein shocks and cool new Crawl Control feature?

I'm really torn here. I put my order in tomorrow morning.

 

I don't own an offroad myself but have done my fair share of offroading with lockers/etc.

A 4WD tacoma is a great basic offroad truck regardless of package you get. If you do basic offroading, you shouldn't have any concern. Get the 4WD for sure!!!

The only real 'feature' to the TRD offroad (in my opinion) is the locker and the crawl control. This stuff is only really beneficial to more moderate and extreme offroading trails. If you don't go offroading very often OR you don't do moderately to extreme trails, it's somewhat pointless to have.

If you discover you need a locker later on, you can add that (like an ARB). The crawl control? You've got your own crawl control features in your right foot.....by driver experience and throttle control.

 

If you can swing the limited, go for the limited. IMO.

 

Apologies, I know I can google this, but what's the short explanation on the 'locker'? Or rather, the real world benefits of it?

And thank you for the reply - with yours and DrFunker's reply, I'm leaning towards the Limited now! I wish their build-a-vehicle configurator was up!

 

Congrats and good luck. Or I should say, good luck and congrats.

 

"Locker" means locking rear differential so that if you are stuck in the mud or terrain, the two rear wheels are "locked together on a shaft" and wheels will spin in unison. The 4-wheel drive capabilities on all 4x4 models is very good overall. Here's a website: http://www.offroaders.com/tech/locking-differential.htm . I have a 2015 Off-road and it is my daily driver, and I drive more than 50 miles a day. I cant compare it to the 2016 models but I think it's just as comfortable as the 2015 sport. In my opinion, the Tacoma's still don't have the downward leg room so your hamstrings can't rest on the seat (im 6'00"). That's the only part of my body I eventually get tight after very long drives. I've only done mild off-roading in the couple of months owned and haven't needed the locker yet, but I plan to get more into off-roading down the road and want a "locker". Good luck!

 

Thanks!

 

Let me google that for you. You're only supposed to use it to get "unstuck" basically.

A locking differential is designed to overcome the chief limitation of a standard open differential by essentially "locking" both wheels on an axle together as if on a common shaft. This forces both wheels to turn in unison, regardless of the traction (or lack thereof) available to either wheel individually.

 

Good Luck on your choice
I would go limited since you don't off-road or 4wheel

 

Agreed. Coming from a 2013 FJ with crawl control, I only used it two times in probably 10 off roading trips, and both times was just to say I used it. I'm sure there is a situation somewhere for someone where it came in handy, but to me it was loud (sounds like your vehicle is falling apart), was either too slow or too fast, and didn't do much more than what you could do yourself with the throttle and brakes.

IMO, the biggest disadvantage of skipping the TRD for the Limited is losing out on the rear locker. That said, I will be getting a Limited.

While I do love to be offroad, I spend much more time on road commuting to work and errands than I do off road, and this time around I decided to buy what I will get use out of 90% of the time instead of the 10% of the time. I have an 07 4runner without a locker and still managed to have some fun in the trails.

 

Kbattlefield about summed it up.

In normal differentials (often called 'OPEN' diffs).... when you get stuck, one wheel is usually stationary and the other spins freely. This is because all the power will go to the path of 'least resistance' (the spinning wheel). Imagine this situation....one wheel on pavement (stationary wheel) and the other wheel in mud (spinning wheel).

With a locker.... both wheels are locked together regardless of the terrain. The power goes to both wheels.

So, imagine ... the same sitaution as above..... The tire on the pavement will drive you out. There is no path of 'least resistance' when both wheels are locked together.

 

To expand on to what Janster said, all tacoma's have auto limited slip differential which uses the trucks brakes to control (stop/slow) the spinning wheel and send power to the other stationary wheel.

 

As I said, I know I could've googled it myself. Was looking for what it meant for those of you who have used it on your Tacos. Here in the Vegas area, it's all jutting bedrock, loose sand and gravel. I appreciate everyone's explanations. It helped quite a bit.

 

The locker is nice but MTS/ATRAC is the important difference. MTS/ATRAC only operates while in 4-LO. With MTS the brakes will aggressively control wheel spin so it is rare that you would ever need the locker anyway. Anything that doesn't have MTS/ATRAC (ie anything that is NOT the TRD-OR) will be running open diffs in 4-lo. In 4-HI they all use the same traction control system that operates in 2wd which is designed for use on higher speed low traction situations such as snowy roads. The limited is nice but given the option my preference would be for the OR for that additional capability. The locker and the crawl control are just bonus features.

I don't think you will lose much on the road ride quality between the models. They all have the same suspension with a heavy ass live axle with leafs in the rear thats going to ride like shit no matter what. There's no getting around the physics of 300+ lbs of axle, tires, and brakes banging around back there. Fancy shocks and better tires may make a small difference. They're all going to drive like a truck because they are all trucks.

 

Go to a dealer and drive the '15's that are on the lot. SR5, Sport, OR, LTD - they're around. I drove them all and for me, they drive like a Toyota truck - all of them. The SR5 and Sport drive, in my opinion, almost identically. The OR a little more "stiff". The LTD a little different due to different rims/tires. I personally like my truck to drive like a truck and I like the OR in that regard. If your off road is dirt road and aggressive dirt road but not climbing rock fields any 4x4 model will handle that just fine.

 

You make an excellent point. Hmmmm.... decisions, decisions...

 

OP - meant to add that the '16s are going to likely drive almost the same model for model as the '15's so driving the '15's will help you decide

 

I've driven the '15 LTD 4x4. My buddy bought one at the beginning of the year. I really like it. He's only driven it on roadways. But when I get mine, he's down for some off-road action. I've even mapped out some 'moderate' trails already.

In this crawl control demo video how does the driver spin the front wheels independent of the rear?

And for those keeping count, I'm now leaning towards the TRD OR trim.

 

I doubt you will drive it 90/10. If it's going to be driven on the street you will be at 99/1

 

Maybe he has trouble keeping the truck on the road.