Pre-runners ?

Maybe I am missing something, why would someone buy a 2wd pre-runner when a 4wd is not that much more, I am not slamming anybody's purchase, and I have not ever driven one or for that matter ridden in one, and by no means made of money, but it confusing to spend that amount of money for a 2wd ?

 

I think it's mostly the gas mileage. The 2wd versions get better mpg and are still very versatile. Unless you go off road or drive in the snow regularly, it's probably better in the long run to save the gas. That's just what I've gathered in the last few months of research but I decided on 4wd from the get-go since I'm pulling up stumps, driving off road, and we get snow regularly.

 

Fuel Mileage, Warm climate (ie: no snow) but no desire to go off-road, and maybe it is the money. It might not be that much more, but some people are stuck by what they can afford. I could have gotten a v6 pre-runner when I bought my 04 for roughly the same price as the 2.7L 4x4 that I did buy. To me at that time the 4wd was more important, but I could not swing the extra money at that point in my life to have both the v6 and 4wd.

I am sure there are other reasons, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Yeah, I don't offroad much. When I have, it was never hard-core enough to really need 4WD. My truck spends most of its time on the highway, so a PreRunner made more sense. I have put 27,000 miles on my truck in the last 11 months, and I need to get the best fuel economy I can since I am not independently wealthy. For many people 4WD is a false sense of security in most cases, but when you really need it there is no substitute.


In retrospect, I wish I had gotten a 4WD now. Most people with the 2.7L 4WD AccessCabs are getting the same MPG that I am. Fortunately I have never needed 4WD. I am going to get a Limited Slip Differential for my rear axle and some new tires and call it good.

 

Not all of us need 4 Wheel Drive. (Why buy something that you don't need
When one decides to make a purchase of this sort it is important to address certain questions: Living environment
a) Does it snow where you live?
b) Will you be Off-Roading (Muddin' ect.)
c) What kind of work will you be performing w/ this truck

We were all born with the power to chose. This is the beautiful part of life.
If one later decides that more Truck is required, He/She can go and purchase a 4x4 V8 Tundra.

 

i got my pre-runner because i couldnt afford the 4x4, but i dont need 4x4 either. plus it has better fuel economy(less weight), and it still does great off road. the rear locker is pretty good. oh yeah, less maintenance too.

with that said........................i love my prerunner.

 

For me it had nothing to do with money. I am thinking of buying a second vehicle before the end of the year!!!!! .....thinking, I said. I have absolutely no need for a 4WD. My truck will NEVER leave the road!!! Not purposely anyway!

 

I went for 2wd for many of the reasons listed above. I traded my full size chevy silverado Z71 for my V6 prerunner. I liked having the 4wd available if i ever needed it, but i never used it. I do some mild off-road, but its mostly hard-med pack desert dirt here in So Cal. We have another 4wd vehicle in the house so it doesnt matter too much. Didnt feel the extra money was worth it. Plus the mpg was a major selling point.

 

I guess what spurred this question for me is I have a company truck (2007 Ford F-150 2wd ) and I work in the construction industry and it is totally worthless in anything but pavement or dry ground conditions. I know some of your reponses state no off-road business, but I would be concerned if I had to go to a parking area and park in wet grass, mud or the like ?

 

I can see where you are coming from. Given your industry it would make more sense to buy a fullsize 4wd truck. I on the other had have no need to carry large payloads or tow large amounts [have another vehicle for that] so it didnt make sense to opt for the 4wd. If i was going to be using my truck in that way i prob would have opted for a tundra or another full size. When i bought my tacoma i wanted good mpg, some decent HP numbers, and still be able to haul my bikes to the desert and back.

I did park in some muddy area when i went to the disposal site [dump], but had no problem getting out. I am definatley going to upgrade my stock tires to some A/T's with a little more bite simply because the ones i have make any sort of terrain difficulties a pain. But i have yet to have any real problems with getting out of not-so-extreme situations.

 

I'll throw in a couple of more reasons I haven't seen mentioned. I like sitting higher in traffic. Easier to see the road. Plus, the off-road package got me a nicer riding suspension (and those who got the suspension TSB done now have that benefit for less money). I didn't plan to offroad, but now that I've got a truck that could handle some light offroading, I'll be looking for a chance.

 

Riddle me this ? Does anyone own a pre-runner trd w/ locking rear diff that currently resides in an area where it snows and once engaged can you go highway speeds ?

 

I have an 07 PreRunner 2WD. I didn't get 4x4 because the dealer in Indianapolis didn't have one and I didn't feel like waiting a month for them to track one down. Plus I got a great deal on the one I bought.

Three days after I bought it we had a blizzard (late February this year) and we got close to 4 feet of snow. After they"cleared" the roads I had a pretty hard time getting it going. I do have the locking rear differential and the couple times I got stuck, I was able to get out using the rear diff lock. I was under the impression you weren't supposed to go over like 10 MPH with that engaged though.

The car I had before was a 2000 Honda Passport with 4WD. I never used 4x4 once in that car and 3 days after I go rid of it the blizzard hit. Go figure.

 

Kharma I guess, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, that sucks that it happened that way, I wish you clear roads from here on.

 

For me I loved the look and ride height of the Prerunner/4x4 TRD Sport but when it came to not choosing the 4x4 it was simply that I couldn't find all my other options plus 4wd and didn't want to order one. I'm only an hour away from Tahoe and will be driving to CO this Christmas so I hope I don't regret my decision but so far I love my Prerunner.

 

CO. allows tire chains, a cheap investment for a rough ride, but maybe they keep your a$$ out of deep "Kimshaw"

 

I'll definately have the chains, and although I have no idea what "Kimshaw" is I'll be sure keep me and my taco out of it.

 

Remember the scene in the movie Rambo when he is locked up in the hole and the prison guard throw a bucket of nasty all over him- "Kimshaw"

 

The only way to get the V6 Double Cab is a Prerunner. I never go offroad but if I wanted to, this would still be a capable vehicle. No, I couldn't go some places that a 4X4 can go but I wouldn't want to anyway.

The original poster said: "but I would be concerned if I had to go to a parking area and park in wet grass, mud or the like ?"? Seriously? We're talking about an offroad suspension on a 2WD vehicle here. Wet grass won't hinder it at all.

 

I took a lot of the things above into consideration but here is where my bottom line was:

I never go off road. If I do its in a yard somewhere and the only place I go where it would even require the 4wd is my grandmas backyard. I just pull out the farm tractor whenever I get stuck.

We get 2 bad weather days here per year on average and 90% of my commute is interstate.

Gas mileage is better

Statistically speaking, fewer parts/components to break

With the towing package (which I will probably never use) and the V6 I have the HP and capacity to tow anything I need.

Honestly, the biggest thing I was hung up on was making sure I had decent looking factory wheels. I upgraded to the towing package primarily for that reason. I just wanted a 4 door.