This 4×4 lived up to my expectations. I could end it there but I’ve really enjoyed driving it for the past few years.
My dog Sam loves it even more than the old Nissan 4×4, the first Samobile.
Originally, i just folded the back seats down to sleep when me and my dog were driving cross-country but the irregularities in the floor were really uncomfortable.
I built a flat platform with a spongy rubber surface to make sleeping a lot more comfortable. Thrown a sleeping bag and dog blanket in the back is how we do it now.
I also built a storage compartment on the side for the kit to make coffee in the morning.
The storage compartment holds a few cans of propane and everything I need to make tea, coffee and hot soup on the road.
For the first time, I’ve got a go anywhere, in any weather, luxury vehicle. Some say the 4Runner rides like a truck but to me, it rides a lot smoother than any other 4×4 I’ve ever driven.
Sam loves walking around the back of the 4Runner like it’s his own domain with picture windows.
And that power read hatch window is great when it’s time to purge the dog hair on the highway.
I didn’t just get this vehicle for Sam, I got it for me too. Cross-country driving takes you through all kinds of weather. The 4Runner ran fine through everything, just like I expected.
There are times when Monsoon rains wash out the only road up to the ranch. Low 4×4 makes it fun, even when the mud is as slippery as wet clay.
I’ve always enjoyed driving in storms but now, it’s something I look forward to more than ever. Even snow. My favorite.
My least favorite thing is driving through wildfires. But I never worried about the 4Runner choking and dying on me.
Even Sam wasn’t worried while we watched acres of inferno billowing smoke on both sides of the road.
In the past few years, I’ve learned to count on the 4Runner to always get me home.
Just this past Monsoon season, it rained so hard, there was zero visibility. Hail and lightning sheared a big tree in half on the roadside. It fell on the moving 4Runner. I thought I was about to be impaled.
The wind was so strong, it put the tree into a spin insomuch that it hit the engine cover and rolled across the windshield and roof while I drove right through it and came out the other side before its full weight pinned us underneath.
There were only a few scratches that buffed out but not a single dent. That gave me the impression that it’s a tank.
Having a built-in weather map feature always came in handy while decision making on which route to travel.
Three years and 80K miles later, I’m really satisfied just changing the fluids on time without any problems.
I’m glad I bought this 4Runner because it lived up to everything I expected from a Toyota 4×4.