Adam F

Yea...but not the Rav. It has no power. Weak. You can be in a field of gravel, floor it, and the wheels wont even spin. You come up to a hill and it barely makes it up.

Also the on demand type awd is another hindrance. It only sends some power to the rear wheels when it senses slip, doesnt always work well.

It is fun to do some drifting with in the snow!

bigarms23

the 03 ravs are great offroad my buddy has one and he is getting ready to throw on a set of dana60s and dual cases.

X-AWDriver

Stock vs modded throws all the rules out the window but in stock trim a RAV4 is not an off road vehicle.

cackalak han

My sis-in-law has a newer RAV4 (2006, I think?). That thing's got the ground clearance of a Civic. No way I'd take that thing off-road. Responding to the Jeep Liberty comment, I'd MUCH rather take the Liberty over the RAV4 in off-road situations.

E-money

I think my corolla would go as far on a trail!

Diesel_Freak

The new ones have the 3.4 in them... apparently they're screamers...

Tacoclimber

I drove one with the 3.4. It's a fun little SUV. I could see doing some fabbing and making a fun little prerunner out of one of those...

Adam F

You mean the 3.5L 2grfe (not 3.4L as in 5vzfe)

linuxrunner

HAHAHA you guys are great...

It does not have to have a SAS, lockers front/rear, and 35's to go "off road"

for example
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m2RFKptl_bk

Matt16

I would hate to scrape the belly on a RAV4, and scrape it you would. The components aren't protected. That would get expensive fast. I for one, won't take a vehicle with an exposed oil pan or the likes on rough gravel road without thinking twice.

Diesel_Freak

Didn't know it was a different motor... Still, I hear they're fast little things eh...

Tacoclimber: I agree. How about a Total Chaos Rav4??? MMMMMM

tibbycruiser

My cousin took his 99 rav wheeling with us one time, it did ok but without a low range you have to beat on it to do any wheeling, I smelled alot of clutch and rubber from his rig when all said and done.

Adam F

Yea...the RAV is basically a AWD car, not a rear wheel drive truck like the Tacoma or 4Runner with the 3.4. It has a regular transaxle like any front wheel drive, but has a driveshaft output on the back side that goes to a rear diff.

stormin94

Yeah, I wouldn't take a Rav 4 off road, unless it was just some light stuff, like you would do in a car.

mikejohnson

I am considering either a RAV4 or a Subaru Outback.
I think the Outback is tougher, but the RAV4 gets better mileage.

For off-roading, I the RAV4 has:
* a skid plate to protect the belly some
* a 4WD lock button (for under 25mph only, also turns off when you hit the brake?!) that overrides the AWD computer
* less front and rear overhangs than the Outback

I'll be onroad 90% of the time,
but don't want to get stuck for my 10% mild/medium offroading.

Any thoughts?

Thanks a bunch,
Mike

mikejohnson

By the way, my '86 4Runner (278k miles, original owner) was just totaled-
that's why I'm lookin' for a replacement smaller SUV.
Thankx,
Mike

JasonWin

I've taken my tercel places i probally shouldn't have and never got er stuck. Fields, closed dirt roads(with a pretty steep hill) even drove it throught a ditch down to the shore.

cackalak han

If I HAD to get a smaller SUV that will see pretty much zero trail time, I'd get an Element AWD. Those things are so useful. Rubber floors (so you can just spray everything out), seats all lay flat to make 2 beds, etc. I know some of you will say they look ugly, but picture the Element, Subaru and the RAV4 in the line-up....they're all hideous.

Paul H.

Read up on the outback, check reviews out, they are scary. Basically, good for the first 4 to 5 years then they fall apart quickly I might add. I was also considering both, now it will probably be the RAV4 but it will have to wait until my wife's CRV is paid off.

SharpStick

Dudes.

We're sorting out a 4.1 Rav4 for the trail right now. http://toyota.off-road.com/

Don't laugh yet - we haven't finished anything. So far it's been a bit & piece attack on a gen-one monkey head (look at the front of a Rav4 and squint and it looks like a little Japanese monkey), adding clearance and a some traction. It's been a total parts whore out of our garage, using leftover this and Craig's List that.

You're right, there's no low-range, but the first gear is pretty stubby, and with the optional rear LSD and lockable center diff (an option on the five-speed with all-wheel drive), we've only gotten it stuck on the trail once - and that was nose-deep in a muddy rut that ate at least three full-frame trucks that day. With the tires aired down to about 25lb, it'll go over stuff and through lots of water. Totally maneuverable. We've had this one up to the hood on post-deluge SoCal trails, and all we had to do was take off the OEM intake resonator. Vent snorkels and an intake snorkel are beginning to seem like a good idea (we'll probably have to adapt an old 4Runner unit).

It's also been dynamite in the sand. The OME/ARB spring & shock kit is very well dialed and tossable. It's slow, but totally tractable and entertaining. Yup, it's a dog, and the clutch is a weak point, but the stupid little thing just goes and goes and goes. Less power means more skill. Read the stories on off-road.com.

With the addition of skid plates, more power (diesel swap - there's a version of the Euro-spec D4D that might work), some proper bumpers, lighting and a real cage (seriously), this thing will be a total trail tool. Not bad for starting at $5000. All we wanted it to do was take us snowboarding.

STICK