From a 100 to a 3rd Gen 4Runner or 1st Taco?

[OxCart]

Hey everyone,
I thought I'd just get some quick insight from anyone who may have experience with both, or all three of these trucks, as I have had experience with just the LC. I'm in the process of selling/trading my 100 and initially planned on nothing but a Tacoma to replace it with. I used to have a pickup and do miss the convenience of a bed, and I know what I can expect from a Taco...but searching locally and somewhat abroad the price difference between the 1st gen Tacos and 3G Runner is still crazy. I'm seeing Tacos with 200K+ miles go for what I paid for my 98 LC with 142K and way more than what a 3rd Gen Runner is going for. Made me think. Also, what I miss about my pickup when I look back, was that it had an 8ft bed and I could throw full sheets of ply in it, and other big/akward items...so really it probably doesn't apply to a Taco bed.
Just curious to anyone who went through that process and why they came out one way or the other, specifically regarding size and long distance builds.
It's starting to seem like a 4Runner is a good call, kind of a like a "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" version of my 100 series? if I'm patient I figure one at a decent price should pop up where I would have enough left for some tune-up/baselining and a few build items.
Note: I'll be doing the bulk of my travel solo or with one other person. Long distance, cross country and offroad but no rock crawling or super tech trails etc.
Appreciate any insight!
Best
Bryan

 

[Hixson]

I occasionally find myself on IH8MUD hunting for 4runner/taco mods, but when I stumbled across your post, it sounded too much like my recent experience to not make an account and comment. I come from a 3rd gen and a 5th gen 4runner, with a Taco in between. I had great experiences with all of them, and they each had their issues. My 3rd gen was a pretty abused example when I got it, yet it still took me from one coast to the other and back again, with a little offroading thrown in the mix but nothing too crazy (bonus points: it was RWD). Because it needed more work than I could give it at the time, I traded it for a Taco with an offroad package.

That truck was fantastic. It did everything I ever asked of it, and I'd have it to this day except the wife and I downsized to a one car family, and I wanted something a little more suitable for her. Enter the 2015 4runner: this was the mistake purchase. It was a Trail, and an incredibly capable vehicle, but it felt MUCH bigger than my 3rd gen and my Taco, and while it did everything I asked of it (daily driving, bit more weekend technical offroad), I never fell in love. So just before my daughter was born, I turned it into a Subaru for the wife and a 3rd gen 4runner for me. I did test drive several 100s before the 3rd gen purchase; they were just too far along in mileage and too big to deal with downtown everyday for me.

The lessons I learned in this process are these:
- the 3rd gens have character and capability. There's a reason these things are the enthusiast's choice. The perfect blend of truckiness and versatility (my understanding is that the Land Cruiser crowd feels the same way, I just like the smaller size of the 4runner). Caveat: your success here depends entirely on the quality of the example you find. Wait (and/or pray) for the right one.
- the tacoma was fantastic; but i need a place to put the wife, kid, and dog, and still have some room for bags, tent, etc. Also, every desirable pickup example I could find was priced way above its equivalent 4runner. I will always love Toyota pickups, and hope to own another one, but the juice wasn't worth the squeeze for me. I figure my next pickup will be as a project and a farm truck/toy, not a daily driver.
- the 5th gen 4runners are incredibly capable and worthy of love from many people; just not from me. I still see great examples of them and think "That's a damn good-looking machine," but I wouldn't buy another one. Felt kinda numb on the fun offroad stuff.

TL;DR: The 3rd gen 4runner won my money in a recent search for all the vehicles you mentioned. For me, it proved the perfect balance of function, fun, and cost.

Good luck with your hunt.

 

[OxCart]

I occasionally find myself on IH8MUD hunting for 4runner/taco mods, but when I stumbled across your post, it sounded too much like my recent experience to not make an account and comment. I come from a 3rd gen and a 5th gen 4runner, with a Taco in between. I had great experiences with all of them, and they each had their issues. My 3rd gen was a pretty abused example when I got it, yet it still took me from one coast to the other and back again, with a little offroading thrown in the mix but nothing too crazy (bonus points: it was RWD). Because it needed more work than I could give it at the time, I traded it for a Taco with an offroad package.

That truck was fantastic. It did everything I ever asked of it, and I'd have it to this day except the wife and I downsized to a one car family, and I wanted something a little more suitable for her. Enter the 2015 4runner: this was the mistake purchase. It was a Trail, and an incredibly capable vehicle, but it felt MUCH bigger than my 3rd gen and my Taco, and while it did everything I asked of it (daily driving, bit more weekend technical offroad), I never fell in love. So just before my daughter was born, I turned it into a Subaru for the wife and a 3rd gen 4runner for me. I did test drive several 100s before the 3rd gen purchase; they were just too far along in mileage and too big to deal with downtown everyday for me.

The lessons I learned in this process are these:
- the 3rd gens have character and capability. There's a reason these things are the enthusiast's choice. The perfect blend of truckiness and versatility (my understanding is that the Land Cruiser crowd feels the same way, I just like the smaller size of the 4runner). Caveat: your success here depends entirely on the quality of the example you find. Wait (and/or pray) for the right one.
- the tacoma was fantastic; but i need a place to put the wife, kid, and dog, and still have some room for bags, tent, etc. Also, every desirable pickup example I could find was priced way above its equivalent 4runner. I will always love Toyota pickups, and hope to own another one, but the juice wasn't worth the squeeze for me. I figure my next pickup will be as a project and a farm truck/toy, not a daily driver.
- the 5th gen 4runners are incredibly capable and worthy of love from many people; just not from me. I still see great examples of them and think "That's a damn good-looking machine," but I wouldn't buy another one. Felt kinda numb on the fun offroad stuff.

TL;DR: The 3rd gen 4runner won my money in a recent search for all the vehicles you mentioned. For me, it proved the perfect balance of function, fun, and cost.

Good luck with your hunt.

I really appreciate the insight, I think it mirrors exactly what I've started to suspect; the 3rd Generation Runner really suits me the best for what I'm looking for. Your mention of owning an older Toyota pickup is something else I've been considering, I've seen plenty of 80's and early 90's versions going for a few thousand here and I'm starting to consider buying a high-miler as a kind of project/work truck in addition to a 3rd generation runner for travel and most daily driving. The size of the 3rd gen 4runner is what initially worried me, but I don't have kids or a pet so I believe it should be plenty of space. Now the fun part, once I sell my 100, will be the waiting and burning retinas on computer screen looking at ads. Last week a 2001 went locally for $7K, with 89K original miles, all records and looking like it rolled out of showroom, I nearly took a loan out just to get it, that's when the 4Runner versus Taco really started to kick in, I couldn't imagine what someone would have wanted for a 1st gen Taco in the same condition and same mileage.
Thanks again!

 

[WES1977]

btbowie where are you located? I have a 100 and had a 03 Taco until last month, and they are 2 different animals. The 100 rides so smooth compared to a rough ride in the Taco. The Taco will spin like crazy in the rain, unlike the 100. You should probable go the 4runner route. What about the FJ cruiser? It's shorter and some people don't like the look though. Mine drives great, only thing I don't like is the blind spot.

 

[OxCart]

I'm over in VB at the oceanfront. I looked at a few FJ's but they're out of my price range once I sell the 100, and I'm not a huge fan of the interior. I do enjoy the ride of the 100, I still have stock suspension on it as well, so it's been nice around town, even on the KO2s. I've owned other pickups and most have been rougher rides no doubt about it, my last was a regular cab with an 8ft bed and it was 4x2, a lot of spinning and getting stuck when we had one of our tiny snowfalls, but hey it was free. I hadn't considered the Taco versus rain, never imagined it would spin so much, bummer! Another check in the Runner column. I'll be curious to see what our local market's like for the 100 when I put it on Craigslist if nobody here wants it.

 

[WES1977]

I'm also trying to sell my 100. I tried in the past with no luck. The wife just wanted to much for ours. Now we are down to taking $9,500 for it. It's a 02 with 212k miles in pretty good shape. Probably going to list It this weekend. How many miles is your and what are you asking for yours?

 

[OxCart]

Mines a '98 with 144K on it. Asking $11K. I put $4K in on baselining it in September as well, and attached that receipt to my listing. Currently putting the interior back together with new rear carpeting. If I go Craigslist I might take the BFG's off and just put some used street tires on it. Every Cruiser I see around town is not built. Well one guy who drives an 80 but that's it. I'm still losing a ton if I get $11K, but at least I could sleep at night. Might be wishful thinking, hopefully not.

 

[OxCart]

I'm also trying to sell my 100. I tried in the past with no luck. The wife just wanted to much for ours. Now we are down to taking $9,500 for it. It's a 02 with 212k miles in pretty good shape. Probably going to list It this weekend. How many miles is your and what are you asking for yours?

Your sig, the '84 pickup, made me double check our local CL, figure if could find a working 22re around here cheap then I could just use that for a work truck and the Runner as my everything else truck. So far it's slim picking though.

 

[White Stripe]

My reasoning in getting a 3rd gen 4runner was that I don't always need a pickup bed, so I bought a 6x12 trailer to pull with it if I ever really need to haul stuff. I would like to add a trans cooler though just to help keep the trans cooler than the stock cooler. I wouldn't gawk too much at low mileage units you see for sale and their high prices. Because even if it has 75k on it, guess what? Its still old, and so all the seals that will leak on a 210k 4runner are going to leak on a 75k 4runner because its old too. I would shoot for a 99 or 2000 because you can get one in those two years that have the combination of: 2wd, AWD, 4Hi, 4Lo, and 4lo with rear locker engaged. Pretty cool they have that. Whenever its wet or a little icy, I just hit the AWD button. I also added forced induction, which bumps up the power of the 3.4 to 300hp about. Whatch out for PS rack play, rear axle seals leaking, and rear main leaking. Mine also has the electronic climate control, which I really like, but some people prefer the manual controller. Here is a nice one, but you would have to travel...
1999 Toyota 4Runner Limited

 

[WES1977]

Your sig, the '84 pickup, made me double check our local CL, figure if could find a working 22re around here cheap then I could just use that for a work truck and the Runner as my everything else truck. So far it's slim picking though.

Yeah, it was too good to pass up. The guy I bought it from was about to haul it to the junk yard. I would love to convert it to a dump bed.

85 is the perfect of both worlds. Solid front axle, and Fuel injection. 84 is carbed, 86 IFS

 

[OxCart]

My reasoning in getting a 3rd gen 4runner was that I don't always need a pickup bed, so I bought a 6x12 trailer to pull with it if I ever really need to haul stuff. I would like to add a trans cooler though just to help keep the trans cooler than the stock cooler. I wouldn't gawk too much at low mileage units you see for sale and their high prices. Because even if it has 75k on it, guess what? Its still old, and so all the seals that will leak on a 210k 4runner are going to leak on a 75k 4runner because its old too. I would shoot for a 99 or 2000 because you can get one in those two years that have the combination of: 2wd, AWD, 4Hi, 4Lo, and 4lo with rear locker engaged. Pretty cool they have that. Whenever its wet or a little icy, I just hit the AWD button. I also added forced induction, which bumps up the power of the 3.4 to 300hp about. Whatch out for PS rack play, rear axle seals leaking, and rear main leaking. Mine also has the electronic climate control, which I really like, but some people prefer the manual controller. Here is a nice one, but you would have to travel...
1999 Toyota 4Runner Limited

Thanks for the insight and some great info. I definitely understand that old is old so certain things are prone to failure either way but I figure if I can find one that's nice and has reasonably low miles I'm good with waiting for it. My 98 Cruiser has 144K, though I'm not necessarily expecting to find that low very quickly without paying a premium. It seems most people are saying 99-00, it sounds like the ticket to me. Plus those years didn't have the traction control either if I remember correctly. Be nice to have a vehicle that I can drive 4x2 again. So 99-00 Limited is at the top of the list. I haven't sold my truck so I'm in that in between zone right now where I'm looking at ads but shouldn't be because I can't do much about it. This '00 is local and looks great, I'm not sure about the price but could be fair? 2000 Toyota 4Runner

 

[OxCart]

Yeah, it was too good to pass up. The guy I bought it from was about to haul it to the junk yard. I would love to convert it to a dump bed.

85 is the perfect of both worlds. Solid front axle, and Fuel injection. 84 is carbed, 86 IFS

Good to know, I appreciate it. Now I need to find someone who's hauling one to a yard too. Lucky score! I'd like to have a flatbed on one myself. There a few 86-88's on CL around town but lowest is the 88 at $1800, with a blown head gasket. Now that I think about 85 Xtracab was the Back To The Future truck, which kind of makes me want one more.

 

[OxCart]

Yeah, it was too good to pass up. The guy I bought it from was about to haul it to the junk yard. I would love to convert it to a dump bed.

85 is the perfect of both worlds. Solid front axle, and Fuel injection. 84 is carbed, 86 IFS

I've gone from hunting 4Runners down to hunting down 85 Pickups. Might even go with an early 90s, not 100% sure. I need to fit surfboards up top as long as 9'8" and I do like the 22r/e so that's taken priority lately. My Cruiser is going up on CL next week, thought I'd see how your sale was going? Might try eBay if nobody local bites. Again, thanks for the input on the trucks.

 

[oftpiste]

Hey all, thread bump here..... I did some searching to little avail so apologies if I missed these answers elsewhere.

I'm a hundy owner who's been shopping for a Taco for a kid who's headed off to college and will be doing a lot of winter/mountain driving and possibly parking lot dirtbag-style camping. We would either get one with or add a canopy for the dirtbagging. Budget is $10k or less, and if less I'd get the major service items handled before sending him off.

I want a 4 cylinder with manual trans. Power and speed are less important than rock solid reliability and good gas mileage. Obviously I would look for one that's been well maintained and get the sense that the bigger maintenance issues are pretty much the same as they are with the LC such as timing component replacement etc.

I've been focusing on Tacos because for some reason I have the idea that they're superior (maybe more like an LC?) to the 4runners in terms of longevity, maintenance and capability. True or false? What I don't clearly understand is whether or not these are essentially the same vehicles with different coachwork. Is one better than the other or are they pretty much the same?

Tacos in the PNW (like LC's) are very highly prized and sell quickly for pretty strong prices and I also look in other places in the West, but nothing yet. Should I bring the 4Runners into the mix or are they really a different animal than the Tacos? Anything else I should take into consideration?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[WES1977]

Hey all, thread bump here..... I did some searching to little avail so apologies if I missed these answers elsewhere.

I'm a hundy owner who's been shopping for a Taco for a kid who's headed off to college and will be doing a lot of winter/mountain driving and possibly parking lot dirtbag-style camping. We would either get one with or add a canopy for the dirtbagging. Budget is $10k or less, and if less I'd get the major service items handled before sending him off.

I want a 4 cylinder with manual trans. Power and speed are less important than rock solid reliability and good gas mileage. Obviously I would look for one that's been well maintained and get the sense that the bigger maintenance issues are pretty much the same as they are with the LC such as timing component replacement etc.

I've been focusing on Tacos because for some reason I have the idea that they're superior (maybe more like an LC?) to the 4runners in terms of longevity, maintenance and capability. True or false? What I don't clearly understand is whether or not these are essentially the same vehicles with different coachwork. Is one better than the other or are they pretty much the same?

Tacos in the PNW (like LC's) are very highly prized and sell quickly for pretty strong prices and I also look in other places in the West, but nothing yet. Should I bring the 4Runners into the mix or are they really a different animal than the Tacos? Anything else I should take into consideration?

Many thanks in advance.

if your doing a lot of winter/mountain driving for a kid, I wouldn't get a taco with out traction control. I did drive my 03 taco in the snow but I didn't like it. It spins very easily on wet pavement.

 

[oftpiste]

Thanks. Is there enough room in the back of a 4runner to sleep with the seats down? I'd think the canopy would help with traction a little.....? I have friends who like their tacos in the snow. Hmmmm.

 

[ClevSix]

The Taco and the 4Runner are very similar. Aside from the obvious differences...

 

[WES1977]

Thanks. Is there enough room in the back of a 4runner to sleep with the seats down? I'd think the canopy would help with traction a little.....? I have friends who like their tacos in the snow. Hmmmm.

I think 05 and above came with traction control. what year are your friends tacos?

 

[TXLX100]

Hey all, thread bump here..... I did some searching to little avail so apologies if I missed these answers elsewhere.

I'm a hundy owner who's been shopping for a Taco for a kid who's headed off to college and will be doing a lot of winter/mountain driving and possibly parking lot dirtbag-style camping. We would either get one with or add a canopy for the dirtbagging. Budget is $10k or less, and if less I'd get the major service items handled before sending him off.

I want a 4 cylinder with manual trans. Power and speed are less important than rock solid reliability and good gas mileage. Obviously I would look for one that's been well maintained and get the sense that the bigger maintenance issues are pretty much the same as they are with the LC such as timing component replacement etc.

I've been focusing on Tacos because for some reason I have the idea that they're superior (maybe more like an LC?) to the 4runners in terms of longevity, maintenance and capability. True or false? What I don't clearly understand is whether or not these are essentially the same vehicles with different coachwork. Is one better than the other or are they pretty much the same?

Tacos in the PNW (like LC's) are very highly prized and sell quickly for pretty strong prices and I also look in other places in the West, but nothing yet. Should I bring the 4Runners into the mix or are they really a different animal than the Tacos? Anything else I should take into consideration?

Many thanks in advance.

I went back and forth on taco v 3rd gen runner and landed on the 4Runner for price, offroad capability, and covered storage. The amount of money I would have had to spend to get in a 4door toyota truck was stupid in my opinion. I bought a built 1997 runner for what it would have cost to baseline and build a taco. It has 337k miles on original power train, so no concern with reliability for me.

 

[oftpiste]

I think 05 and above came with traction control. what year are your friends tacos?

They're newer, probably less then 5 years old. Not sure I can get into an '05+ for my budget. Still wondering if there's enough room for a 6 footer to sleep in it.