Hi team, happy to contribute some information to the board after all the knowledge I've gained!
I just returned from 6 days driving and hunting in the White River National forest near Meeker Colorado. We covered elevations between 6,000 and 10,500 feet on forest service trails.
You can see some of the ground we covered from my onX tracks below.
Some of the elevations were steep.
Vehicle | 2007 4.0 4runner
Mods| Roof Rack, bilstein 5100's on 1.75 setting, 5th gen coils, daystar 1.5 spacer, 255/75/17 KO2
Trailer| Home built utility trailer, 42x48,
Recovery Gear and misc| Shovel, tow strap, rear receiver shackle, lithium battery pack, viair 300p, arb puncture kit, maxsa escaper buddy, chains
Observations
Day 1: Ingress into national forest observations
Forest service access off a county road, elevation 7000 feet. Final camp site 9600 feet about 10 miles in. All sorts of vehicles were making their way up the forest service trails, many carrying 5th wheels, toy haulers, or ATV trailers. The area had received about 2" of snow fall the prior day. Some had melted and turned to mud, some of the snow was hard packed and slick in the shade or steeper elevations. I was trailing a Tundra on 37's towing a 5x8 box trailer loaded with the Elk Camp and ATV, totaling approx 1300 lbs. More on that trailer later.
Trail was rocky and steep at sections, but both vehicles managed without a fuss, with the exception of one 100 yard stretch where the road was steep and packed with icy snow. The Tundra managed to get about 30 yards up before loosing traction. the trailer also managed to get jackknifed to the point where further backing up was not an option. We used the MAXSA boards to get the Tundra going again, and once more getting over the peak. The driver did a great job avoiding wheelspin on the boards, and they worked great with no burning off the nubs. They were hard to find in the snow. In retrospect, red would have been a better choice than tan.
At camp I aired down to 24 PSI using the 300P hose and checking with a tire pressure gauge. Of note, the big Tundra's 37's were a mud terrain of some sort, and did poorly in the snow. The KO2's fared much better.
My Little trailer was a mess, but it handled the conditions well.
Elk camp post setup day 1
Day 2: Most of the snow had melted, turning the roads into a frozen muddy mess. It also increased the depth of a few water crossings. 4runner did great, airing down really made a difference.
The shovel in the quick fists held secure. There was some rotation, but the shovel did not move horizontally in the mount. I was pleasantly surprised. I did not chose a d-handled shovel, which would have provided some security so the shovel had no chance at slipping out spade-end. But it held strong.
No sign of elk.
One of the few vehicle pictures I managed to take.
Day 3+
10" of snow fell the evening of day 2. We headed down the mountain at 5 AM, towards the southern end of the National forest. We did not make it far until we encountered an abandoned Durango blocking the road, presumable because the trail conditions were so poor. We had a 2 hour detour west through the only other egress point from camp. I followed a 2019 Tacoma with Duratracks and a small Icon? lift. The driver had a heavy foot. Even with tires aired down, the 4runner did not handle the potholes, rocks, and bumps as well as the Tacoma. The 4runners suspension was more stiff due to the coils and the shocks. However, it turns out it towed really well. More on that later. We made a detour to Meeker to get chains for the Tacoma.
At this point, most of the other hunters were grounded at camp, with the exception of OHV's. We took the 4runner and Tacoma up some very steep and very narrow trails. On the advice of a ATV driver, we chained up rears for most of the day. Both vehicles tracked up the snowy, rocky, and slick roads very well. Later in the day we heard the Durango had been recovered, so we headed back up the shorter southern route where two pickup trucks had met at a blind turn, and neither was unable to move once they came to a complete stop. Both trucks were unable to safely reverse. The upslope truck had some big mud tires, and the downslope truck had some well sipped stock sized tires but it didn't matter. The trail was blocked again. We enjoyed our two hour detour route back to camp from the west.
We spent the next few days covering forest service trails looking for elk sign, but to no avail. We left the morning of day 6 in advance of a incoming storm. It took 9 hours through Steamboat Springs, climbing Cameron and Rabbit Ears passes. Both passes were very hazardous, the latter completely unplowed. Thankfully traffic was light. The other party in the Tacoma took the southern route, and was not so lucky, returning 12 hours later after being stuck on I-70 for 3 hours. I ended up towing the 5x8 1300 LBS trailer, and the Tacoma took my little utility trailer.
Notes
1. Weather is absolutely humbling for vehicles and on foot.
2. Full sized trucks were simply to big for most of the trails.
3. Stock tires were completely inadequate for all vehicles, with the exception of few trims with upgraded tires (Ram Rebel)
4. ATRAC is amazing. The 4runner and Tacoma did great in mud. It is not as effective in snow, but it helps keep momentum going farther than without.
5. Airing down does wonders for traction and ride quality. The Viair 300p aired up quickly with little fuss
6. Extra fuel was helpful. We ended up burning much more than anticipated. the 15 gallons in cans on the trailer proved very useful.
7. I could not tell a difference in performance between the duratracks and the K02's. both did great.
8. Tire width.
-I perceived that the skinnier tires did better in the mud, frozen mud/slushy snow, snow and rocks. They were especially useful picking lines through rocks and other obstacles, where the wider tires simply didn't have that flexibility. As a result, the smaller tires felt more flexible
-Some of the roads were inclined down, and on narrow roads you want to avoid hitting large rocks on the up-slope side. I observed a few times where the uphill tires went high over rocks, pushing momentum towards the downhill. Since these were also slick, it resulted in the trucks sliding dangerously towards the edge of the road
-This would be compounded if there is a lot of weight on a rack. I was thankful I had only traction boards and a shovel mounted on top.
9. The bilstein 5100's and stiffer 5th gen springs made for a bit of a rough ride on the trails. The Tacoma with it's higher end suspension soaked up the bumps better. However, the suspension towed very well, with little sag. The stiffness handled the trailer very well on road, where I drive 350 days a year.
10. 255/75/17's are great in 4th gen 4runners, with the exception of snow chain selection. There is not much clearance between the tire and vertical fender. As a result I had to use class S chains. The chains kept up with the big ladder chains the Tacoma used. But, they were much less beefy. The auto Tensioner failed at an inopportune time, towing the big trailer down the hill. Luckily, the tensioner cable was almost maxed out, so the chains stayed secure, albeit a bit nosily.
I'm on the hunt for some beefier Class S chains before my trip back in 3 weeks, and likely will get 2 pair, 1 as a backup. Toyota does not recommend chains for the front tires.
11. I finally used the 4runner' downhill assist control. With and without chains, down steep snowy inclines DAC provided an incredibly controlled decent. I also used it extensively while towing the heavy box trailer down steep trail sections. I was very impressed, and felt it contributed immensely to safely traversing the trails, only second to the chains.
12. We used a ice fishing shelter for the potty. Worked great.
Misc Photos
I just returned from 6 days driving and hunting in the White River National forest near Meeker Colorado. We covered elevations between 6,000 and 10,500 feet on forest service trails.
You can see some of the ground we covered from my onX tracks below.
Some of the elevations were steep.
Vehicle | 2007 4.0 4runner
Mods| Roof Rack, bilstein 5100's on 1.75 setting, 5th gen coils, daystar 1.5 spacer, 255/75/17 KO2
Trailer| Home built utility trailer, 42x48,
Recovery Gear and misc| Shovel, tow strap, rear receiver shackle, lithium battery pack, viair 300p, arb puncture kit, maxsa escaper buddy, chains
Observations
Day 1: Ingress into national forest observations
Forest service access off a county road, elevation 7000 feet. Final camp site 9600 feet about 10 miles in. All sorts of vehicles were making their way up the forest service trails, many carrying 5th wheels, toy haulers, or ATV trailers. The area had received about 2" of snow fall the prior day. Some had melted and turned to mud, some of the snow was hard packed and slick in the shade or steeper elevations. I was trailing a Tundra on 37's towing a 5x8 box trailer loaded with the Elk Camp and ATV, totaling approx 1300 lbs. More on that trailer later.
Trail was rocky and steep at sections, but both vehicles managed without a fuss, with the exception of one 100 yard stretch where the road was steep and packed with icy snow. The Tundra managed to get about 30 yards up before loosing traction. the trailer also managed to get jackknifed to the point where further backing up was not an option. We used the MAXSA boards to get the Tundra going again, and once more getting over the peak. The driver did a great job avoiding wheelspin on the boards, and they worked great with no burning off the nubs. They were hard to find in the snow. In retrospect, red would have been a better choice than tan.
At camp I aired down to 24 PSI using the 300P hose and checking with a tire pressure gauge. Of note, the big Tundra's 37's were a mud terrain of some sort, and did poorly in the snow. The KO2's fared much better.
My Little trailer was a mess, but it handled the conditions well.
Elk camp post setup day 1
Day 2: Most of the snow had melted, turning the roads into a frozen muddy mess. It also increased the depth of a few water crossings. 4runner did great, airing down really made a difference.
The shovel in the quick fists held secure. There was some rotation, but the shovel did not move horizontally in the mount. I was pleasantly surprised. I did not chose a d-handled shovel, which would have provided some security so the shovel had no chance at slipping out spade-end. But it held strong.
No sign of elk.
One of the few vehicle pictures I managed to take.
Day 3+
10" of snow fell the evening of day 2. We headed down the mountain at 5 AM, towards the southern end of the National forest. We did not make it far until we encountered an abandoned Durango blocking the road, presumable because the trail conditions were so poor. We had a 2 hour detour west through the only other egress point from camp. I followed a 2019 Tacoma with Duratracks and a small Icon? lift. The driver had a heavy foot. Even with tires aired down, the 4runner did not handle the potholes, rocks, and bumps as well as the Tacoma. The 4runners suspension was more stiff due to the coils and the shocks. However, it turns out it towed really well. More on that later. We made a detour to Meeker to get chains for the Tacoma.
At this point, most of the other hunters were grounded at camp, with the exception of OHV's. We took the 4runner and Tacoma up some very steep and very narrow trails. On the advice of a ATV driver, we chained up rears for most of the day. Both vehicles tracked up the snowy, rocky, and slick roads very well. Later in the day we heard the Durango had been recovered, so we headed back up the shorter southern route where two pickup trucks had met at a blind turn, and neither was unable to move once they came to a complete stop. Both trucks were unable to safely reverse. The upslope truck had some big mud tires, and the downslope truck had some well sipped stock sized tires but it didn't matter. The trail was blocked again. We enjoyed our two hour detour route back to camp from the west.
We spent the next few days covering forest service trails looking for elk sign, but to no avail. We left the morning of day 6 in advance of a incoming storm. It took 9 hours through Steamboat Springs, climbing Cameron and Rabbit Ears passes. Both passes were very hazardous, the latter completely unplowed. Thankfully traffic was light. The other party in the Tacoma took the southern route, and was not so lucky, returning 12 hours later after being stuck on I-70 for 3 hours. I ended up towing the 5x8 1300 LBS trailer, and the Tacoma took my little utility trailer.
Notes
1. Weather is absolutely humbling for vehicles and on foot.
2. Full sized trucks were simply to big for most of the trails.
3. Stock tires were completely inadequate for all vehicles, with the exception of few trims with upgraded tires (Ram Rebel)
4. ATRAC is amazing. The 4runner and Tacoma did great in mud. It is not as effective in snow, but it helps keep momentum going farther than without.
5. Airing down does wonders for traction and ride quality. The Viair 300p aired up quickly with little fuss
6. Extra fuel was helpful. We ended up burning much more than anticipated. the 15 gallons in cans on the trailer proved very useful.
7. I could not tell a difference in performance between the duratracks and the K02's. both did great.
8. Tire width.
-I perceived that the skinnier tires did better in the mud, frozen mud/slushy snow, snow and rocks. They were especially useful picking lines through rocks and other obstacles, where the wider tires simply didn't have that flexibility. As a result, the smaller tires felt more flexible
-Some of the roads were inclined down, and on narrow roads you want to avoid hitting large rocks on the up-slope side. I observed a few times where the uphill tires went high over rocks, pushing momentum towards the downhill. Since these were also slick, it resulted in the trucks sliding dangerously towards the edge of the road
-This would be compounded if there is a lot of weight on a rack. I was thankful I had only traction boards and a shovel mounted on top.
9. The bilstein 5100's and stiffer 5th gen springs made for a bit of a rough ride on the trails. The Tacoma with it's higher end suspension soaked up the bumps better. However, the suspension towed very well, with little sag. The stiffness handled the trailer very well on road, where I drive 350 days a year.
10. 255/75/17's are great in 4th gen 4runners, with the exception of snow chain selection. There is not much clearance between the tire and vertical fender. As a result I had to use class S chains. The chains kept up with the big ladder chains the Tacoma used. But, they were much less beefy. The auto Tensioner failed at an inopportune time, towing the big trailer down the hill. Luckily, the tensioner cable was almost maxed out, so the chains stayed secure, albeit a bit nosily.
I'm on the hunt for some beefier Class S chains before my trip back in 3 weeks, and likely will get 2 pair, 1 as a backup. Toyota does not recommend chains for the front tires.
11. I finally used the 4runner' downhill assist control. With and without chains, down steep snowy inclines DAC provided an incredibly controlled decent. I also used it extensively while towing the heavy box trailer down steep trail sections. I was very impressed, and felt it contributed immensely to safely traversing the trails, only second to the chains.
12. We used a ice fishing shelter for the potty. Worked great.
Misc Photos
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. Looks like fun!