Family of 5, inland northwest area (eastern WA), with a large dog (malamute/husky mix). Looking for a daily driver, traditional 4x4, something we can take on the rugged forest roads of north Idaho with confidence. The other big priority is long-term durability. We are not too concerned about gas mileage. For whatever reason, I prefer to pay out the nose for gas instead of spend money on maintenance, as evidenced by the 6.0 vortec 2500HD and 4.0 TJ Wrangler in the household - bulletproof engines with bad gas mileage is kinda my thing I guess.
So after looking at the options, I'm pretty convinced the 4Runner meets our needs. We plan to get the two row and save the cargo area for the dog and luggage. Kids will probably be a little grumpy about it but I don't really want to step up to something bigger. There's so much to do within a few hours drive of here that I don't think we'll do many long road trips, just an hour or two to places like Sandpoint, Priest Lake, and Leavenworth.
Any obvious flaws in this plan? Seems like the current 4Runner has been in production for a long time, very reliable, will handle whatever we decide to throw at it. Just ditch the stock tires for some BFG AT KO2's and we're pretty much ready to rock, no?
So after looking at the options, I'm pretty convinced the 4Runner meets our needs. We plan to get the two row and save the cargo area for the dog and luggage. Kids will probably be a little grumpy about it but I don't really want to step up to something bigger. There's so much to do within a few hours drive of here that I don't think we'll do many long road trips, just an hour or two to places like Sandpoint, Priest Lake, and Leavenworth.
Any obvious flaws in this plan? Seems like the current 4Runner has been in production for a long time, very reliable, will handle whatever we decide to throw at it. Just ditch the stock tires for some BFG AT KO2's and we're pretty much ready to rock, no?