I'm pretty new to four wheel drive vehicles.

I haven't had to take my truck off the pavement yet, nor through snow or ice. Just trying to get an idea of what it can do before I consider any modifications.

I'm not really into the idea of off roading for the sake of off roading. I just need my truck to get me places that might have snow or mud between me and them. Campsites, hunting cabins, work on a snowy day, etc. without getting stuck. No off road trails that are difficult on purpose.

I read posts about lockers, big tires, lifts, re-gearing, solid axle swaps, and all of this, and it leaves me wondering how capable my plain old stock 4x4 toyota is.

How far will it take me without modifications?

 

If you have some tread on your tires it will get you about anywhere you want to go. No complaints from me.

 

What you should do is just drive it for a while, learn how driving on fire/dirt roads is different from pavement then go from there.

As far as how a stock truck will do, it will do very well. Jan this year i got 8'' of snow at my house (in town) and i had very little problems getting from point A to B.

 

Add a winch and pack a shovel/axe and not many places you can't go.

 

get yourself a good set of tires..

for me a good set of tires..is nasty mud terrain...

for you it might be a good All Terrain..

i recommend GoodYear Authority A/T's from walmart..

they are excellent on and off road..great tire all around!!!..

im running pro comp X-terrains and they are great on and off road too..but a bit too agressive for someone in your position..lol

BFG A/T's..i've heard good things...but i've driven a '88 yota in the mud with them..and they suck...couldnt make it through a hole in 4wd...then i went through it in my truck with the x-terrains in 2wd..lol no problem at all

 

They are quite capable. Pack a shovel and some chains and there won't be many places you can't get to in the snow. The only modifications I would make are a decent set of all-terrains which do pretty well in snow and are better than street tires in mud.

 

just get some 31s a tire gauge and i hi lift and you will go everywhere. thats basically what im running right now. one quick and easy mod is go with shorter bump stops in the front it actually frees up alot of travel.

 

Keep it stock, when I had my IFS I put it through some crap I didn't think it would go through. We did a snow run (12"-15" off the trail and I went through it) here 2 years ago and I was the only IFS and was the only one that didn't get stuck. As a matter I was the main person winching people out..lol...

Having a good tire is the start. I know that people have said get and AT tire which I totally agree with.......but.... the last set of tires I had were a Mud Terrain, but were awesome on and off road. The wear on the tires wasn't bad at all, just balance and rotate about 3K miles or so. The tires were the Toyo Open Country Mud Terrain. They were a little pricey.... but the preformance was second to none. Never let me down.. in snow, mud thick and soupy, sand, rocks, gravel... the street noise wasn't bad at all. With those tires you will be able to go anywhere you want.

I made sure that when I bought them, I had free rotation and balance for the life of the tire. Makes it easy to have them rotated and balance..

So after all the blah... blah.. good set of tires and a winch!!

Hope this helps

 

hell get some chain and a good Come-Along

thats what my dad used when he was my age...got his '79 chevy out of ANTHING he went into...lol

 

yeah you should get some all terrains and they will do
and just start off by going off road where it aint too tuff because you dont want to start off in a very difficult place and flip your truck or something bad happens you know

 

a set of 32 or 33 in tires would do good for your truck. You will be suprised that with a good aggressive tread where a stock Toy will go. I bought a set of Dean Mud Terrians, and they are not super aggressive, do great on the road, and great off road.

 

A good set of tires (I like Treadwrights) and a little experience will take you a long long way in a stock Toyota.

 

Don't forget to air-down tires ....15PSI is a good start. Bring air compressor with you.

 

toyotas climb like mountain goats. seriously. you can go anywhere you want with a decent AT or MT, a hi lift jack, a tow strap, and a friend.

 

I just bought my 94 truck, stock height, 31"s.

Took it dow to the river, made it through a wet sand coolie, that was up to the doors, than over to the gravel pit, where i climbed some pretty sharp angles, no problem!

Cant wait for our average snow fall of 4 feet this winter! woot!

 

Hey sundog, hope you extended your breathers for your diffs....lol

 

No, and i thought about it as soon as I sank. It looked mostly dried up, but previous experiences shouldve taught me better (we literally buried a car in the same kind of mire)

I pressured washed it right down after wards, and am going to redo my oil.

It was fun x-)

 

no to hijack, but when you guys recommend carrying chains, how are you using them? i imagine you throw them down when you get stuck for traction? is that right? what length and size do you carry?

 

to the ends of the earth

 

Where can't you go, is the question you should ask.