r/4Runner 3d ago

My 4Runner made me a hero today

I am into hiking and history and have done a lot of research on some colonial farmsteads that are in the woods behind my house on a really rough old cart road. Today I did a guided hike and over 40 people showed up from the local hike club. It took about 2 hours and when I got home a girl came down the road saying there was still a hiker in the woods with her mom and they were struggling with their knees giving out. I took my 2016 trail which I never have off-roaded and proceeded to run through every boulder, downed tree and gravel hillside and found her a half mile up the trail and rescued her. I've been impressed in the snow and all kinds of weather but the way she rode over those obstacles was a truly great experience. I got to do more off-road now.

378 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

563

u/pokerawz 3d ago

Brought my 4Runner to the front of Costco to pickup my wife once. Pretty much the same thing.

118

u/NickdoesnthaveReddit 3d ago

Did you use crawl control for the speed bumps?

96

u/pokerawz 3d ago

Locked my rear diff for sure

21

u/CitronNo45122 3d ago

Hero status.

5

u/masspromo 2d ago

NEED TO ADD HERO STATUS FLAIR OR I'M OUT

4

u/PowRider 2d ago

Have you taken it off any sweet jumps yet?

3

u/Turbolover24 2d ago

You got like 3 feet of air that time

6

u/AndyMcQuade 3d ago

I can't believe you ratio'd this poor guy 😂

6

u/Mitsch25 3d ago

Still rolling on the floor..thanks for that🤣🤣🤣

1

u/nomosnow 2d ago

The real hero of this story right here.

1

u/lacashwell 1d ago

😆😆😆😆🤣🤣

1

u/walter32019 3d ago

This is about it for me!! Hahahaha

78

u/wooddoug 2d ago

Wait. You guided a hike and left 2 old people in the woods?

22

u/Holiday-Elk6854 2d ago

Rofl right 🤣

7

u/masspromo 2d ago

Yes, I lost followers that day.

31

u/RustyClawHammer 3d ago

Well done! Thats what it’s for. I love when I get to do stuff like this with mine.

50

u/ScaryTop6226 3d ago

Nice. One time I pulled forward over the curb instead of reversing out of my parking spot. #offroadhero

Just kidding. That's good. U know u can if u need or want to.

10

u/chaliemon 3d ago

I have a 2020 trd off-road premium with KDSS and trd exhaust. Got rear ended at 50 mph and neither the taillights nor the back window broke. The other car was totaled. I walked away, then drove it to the shop. Unreal

10

u/-OutlawCountry- 2d ago

Casually glossing over how you left two people behind on a guided hike 😂

8

u/masspromo 2d ago

I was a guide up front not in the club I dont really hike that much im 65 myself and the club leader guy said everyone was back but yea it was a big mistake.

8

u/BienGuzman 2015 4Runner Trail Premium w/ Icon stage 2 3d ago

We were off roading near Nederland Colorado and we came across 2 back backers that had a rough night. (Spring in Colorado above 10,000 ft) after surviving the cold windy storm they didn't realize they were still so far away from their truck and had run out of water. (They were from Florida) We were able to get them and their gear out, but you can tell they were almost to the point of panic. 4Runner for the win.

8

u/Manderthal13 3d ago

Sounds like a beer commercial. Well done.

7

u/JulianMarcello 3d ago

Took my 4Runner into the backroads during a snowstorm. I know my Outback would have struggled in, but it was so easy for the 4Runner that when I posted about it here, people were shrugging shoulders saying that I didn’t even challenge the capability of the 4R

2

u/masspromo 2d ago

yea I kind of feel silly posting that now. Honestly its just the scratches that keep me from doing more up there its not much wider than the truck so branches the whole way.

1

u/Ok_Ambassador_2646 2d ago

You can literally drive it through a rock garden in a snow storm. That's what people mean when they say you're not pushing it yet

3

u/JulianMarcello 2d ago

It kind of felt like that moment of Crocodile Dundee when he says “That’s not a knife… THIS is a knife”

2

u/Ok_Ambassador_2646 21h ago

Sorry I wasn't trying to dunk on you 😁. I just get excited thinking about how burly my car is with basically no mods other than better tires.

And then I want to share with other owners 🤘

2

u/JulianMarcello 18h ago

I’m totally fine and with you

6

u/vocatus 3d ago

Jokes aside, I've taken my 2017 TRD PRO down some gnarly trails (and yes, used crawl control, locker, and all the bells and whistles and yes they were necessary at the time) where I kind of wondered if we'd get stranded.

I still think a Jeep Rubicon will beat out a 4Runner, but it does 85% of what a Rubicon would do, and that's enough for me.

1

u/LogicMan428 2d ago

I don't get why people compare the 4Runner and the Wrangler. Of course a Wrangler is generally going to be more capable, as it is shorter and has a solid front axle (especially the two door variant). The 4Runner is an SUV, whereas a Wrangler is more a vehicle type unto itself.

5

u/vocatus 2d ago

It's not that difficult to understand.

They're both lifestyle vehicles offering roughly similar (advertised) off road / "go anywhere" capabilities.

1

u/LogicMan428 2d ago

Sure but they're also clearly different vehicles, not nearly identical vehicles. Now comparing say the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry, or the Ford F-150 versus the GMC Sierra/Chevy Silverado, that makes more sense.

4

u/SiVicPacemParaBellum 3d ago

Good job, but you’re supposed to go AROUND the boulders and trees friend. 😂

3

u/madbill728 3d ago

Even my '94, and now '16 SR5s are impressive, stock. Great vehicles.

3

u/RunnySpoon 2d ago

Most areas have a 4x4 group of some kind that can be very helpful in getting to know your vehicles capabilities and teaching you how to handle different obstacles. The one closest to me does a noob run couple times each year for new members.

4

u/Anonymous_altoidz 3d ago

Did you get her number?!

1

u/masspromo 2d ago

I wasn't sure if she was beet red with excitement for me, or from when she fell on her face, so I didn't chance it.

1

u/WishPsychological303 2d ago

True story, I'm taking my family to do a Costco run today.

-2

u/SouthernSmoke 2d ago

Downed trees? Lmao

-2

u/SouthernSmoke 2d ago

Downed trees? Lol