Outfitting for Life on Gravel

BTW, the Limited plastic rocker protection are the best thing you’ll find to protect the lower doors from getting chipped up on gravel IMO. I took my running boards off right away and have zero chips on the metal. The plastic rockers are starting to show a little wear however, but that’s because they’re doing the job. That said, I don’t have mud flaps either but I don’t think they’re needed despite this pic. Lol. I’m on gravel roads, hunting roads and in muddy farm fields pretty regularly and no problems at all with the Toyos on the stock rims. Good luck!

 

Awesome -- I would only lift it 1" (or maybe 2" front / 1" rear) to get it up off of flying rocks, which are not an issue on our vehicles with higher clearance.

I have 5 17" wheels and 5 Nokian Outpost nAT 255/75R17 tires on the way. I am ordering these TPMS sensors (which appear to be made in Germany, for less than the OEM Pacific sensors) so we could opt to keep the stock wheels/tires ready to go if we ever need them.

Yeah, we have never done any treatment with any of our trucks and have just done frequent washes in town.

 

Great photo, looks like a blast! There is still no "trail style" running board / slider option that will fit with the stock Limited rockers, right?

Have you done any PPF, ceramic, etc.?

 

I haven’t done anything to the paint at all and the 4R is looking great. My SR5 was black too and it held up really well. I mean you’re always fighting a losing battle with a black vehicle, but I always loved the way the Black Limiteds looked, so I’ll deal with that. have 23,000 miles on the Limited now and couldn’t be happier. There are a couple of options for sliders out there for the Limiteds, you need extended mounting brackets, but I’ve never considered adding them as I like the look and clearance without them.

 

Cool, so I will keep the stock running boards on for now for wife/kids and look for sliders that will work with the Limited rockers eventually.

I will show you what it looks like once I get the tires mounted, hopefully not too awkward

Here is what the road looks like at its best when nicely graded, in this case it's just a matter of kicking up a lot of dust and small rocks. When it gets rough (and it does, especially after big rains/floods or during spring melt) 4x4 definitely comes in handy.

 

I don't think it's a height thing, I think it's a tire thing.

 

Yeah, maybe the Geolandars are kicking them up. It will be interesting to see how it is changing nothing other than the wheels/tires. We have had really great experience with Nokians in the past, so I am looking forward to trying the nAT's.

 

Of course. Full length would be the only thing that makes sense. Better than a step that gets mashed into your body by a big rock or obstacle on trail. Also kick outs angled at 15* work well too. Not as easy to step on but don't get snagged as easy and make the rig look taller

 

Alright, here we are with 255/75R17 Nokian Outpost nAT 115S tires on a stock Limited. It sure is nice that these fit just like stock in the spare location. First run into town today.

It drives beautifully. I'd really prefer to leave it stock, but may add a Cornfed 1" front only or 2"/1" spacer lift just to get a little more clearance from rocks getting kicked up. For the minimal cost it may be worth a try. I really like the factory stance, personally, and don't even mind the polished running boards any more!

 

I would love an update on the Nokians. They are on my short list for new tires in a month or so.

Thanks in advance.

 

rip off the rockers, throw the running boards away.. put on a new front flap.. ditch xreas next as its junk.

 

For all of that, you should just skip buying a Limited in the first place. Either buy a regular 4R if you want the clearance, or buy a crossover of your choice if you want a road-going AWD.

The torsen center diff of the Limited only sends a portion of the power to the front wheels when unlocked, so I'm not convinced the benefits are worth having to tear the car apart to remove the other things you paid extra for.

 

If I had fit in a Limited (can't have a sunroof) I'd have been inclined to do the same.

The Limited would have still been a slight clearance upgrade over the previous crossover but just needing to swap out cosmetic parts like the bumper, etc. to get on-par with other 4Runner's seem worth it to me to get full-time 4WD in my book. (well, over swapping in a full-time t-case or finding a 4th gen)

Compared to my Sorento, the 4Runner benefits are clear but I miss how surefooted the Sorento was in wet, on-pavement conditions where part-time 4Runner's just don't compete. There was barely any wheel-spin to be seen in aggressive right turns, u-turns, etc. (Although having not even 190 hp on tap surely helped, and the clutch system was designed to eventually fail, but it was terrific while it worked)

 

Did you change the rear fender flare & find the plastic trim piece cover here when you swap the rocker panels? or you kept it as is?




Me personally don't like to keep this unfinished / non matching as Limited rear wheel arch is different than other trims. I don't think everyone is like me who want to have perfect finish on mods.
(Pic from a youtube video swapping rocker panels.)

 

I guess my frame of reference is different, coming from a history of exclusively RWD vehicles.

The traction control/ auto LSD was big step up on its own, and with as heavy as the 4R is, I've only accidentally spun the tires once in the rain.

 

We've only put 2000mi on them, but I am very happy. My wife almost never drives it, but took it into town in a really bad winter storm and felt very confident (her reference being our AWD Volvo with Nokian WRG4's). The one con I notice is a bit more road noise than I expected, but that comes with the territory. I would recommend them as a year-round tire.

I have kept the running boards on. I believe they are preventing rocks from hitting body panels.

 

No change in the rear. In front its a small metal end cap and a new mudflap, otherwise thats about it. The bar is an old Shrockworks rock bar.

 

Xreas is fine, until it starts to leak. Which may or may not happen.


Rockblokz mup flaps are great for gravel roads check them out.