Which truck or SUV for a short road trip?

[calicamper]

I actually had a friend on a cross country trip roll his 3rd Gen 4Runner. He was fine, but he said he looked down just for a brief moment to grab a cookie, and when he looked up, his front tire was barely off asphalt (narrow road). Before he could correct, he flipped and rolled few times. 4th Gens are much better in this aspect.

In my case tires lifted off while avoiding an accident in progress. 1st time was a gravel truck that crossed 4 lanes of traffic and tried to share my lane with me. The guy behind me after we managed to dodge disaster pulled up and indicated I had day light under two tires and yes I needed a fresh set of underpants after that. About a yr later a mini van spun out across the lane next to me yup I went two wheeling again and thought that was it but came bouncing back down. Dumped the 4runner after that. The Sequoia and the Land Cruiser are on a whole different level regarding stability at speed, and driver ability to handle in bad situations. Your comment about experience driving and concern for crash safety I would say avoid the mid sized SUVs if thats a big concern.

 

[calicamper]

Let me put it this way. I would never put my kid jr driver or my wife with kids in a 4runner, older Pathfinder, older explorer etc given all of them share the narrow, short wheel base high cg nature that makes for a really big handfull in an emergency handling situation. It takes every fiber of truck and tippy vehicle experience most experienced guys have to keep right side up when things go pear shaped in those vehicles. The wider full sized rigs are very different in that respect and far more stable and offer better crash survivability in most cases.

 

[Nivel Egres]

Considering that I just put a deposit on a 2001 4Runner you guys are not making me feel better I guess I'll drive slow as I always do. Nonetheless, thanks a bundle for all of your help!

Assuming the "deal" goes through, I will be a sheepish owner of a 2001 Toyota 4Runner SR5 3.4L V6 with 160k miles for $4k. The car has no rust on the frame or body that I could find, drives well, needs a replacement rear bumper. Odd thing is, it has a rear diff button while according to the FAQ a 2001 model is not supposed to have one. Anyway, wish me luck!

 

[p nut]

Well, the 01+ 4Runners have VSC, so that will help a lot. Also has TRAC, so I doubt you would even need a rear locker. I would double check the rear locker button, because 01+ did not come with it. It looks like this:
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Now, what it did come with is a center diff lock button:
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That just takes it from AWD mode to 4WD mode. Your front/rear diffs are still open, but makes it perform better off-road.
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The VSC works great, but at times, it can be a nuisance. There is a simple mod you can do to deactivate it when you want. Look up "Andy Mod 4Runner".