FJC vs 3rd/4th gen 4Runner

After doing a little bit of homework, I'm seeing that the FJ cruiser and 4th Gen 4Runner seem to have the same chassis, the same power plant, and maybe a lot of common drive train components? The 3rd Gen Runners seem to be the same chassis but with a 3.4L motor and I'm assuming a similar drive-train to the 1st gen Tacoma (which would also suit my needs nicely).

Since I have to wait for at least another 6-8 weeks before getting any kind of a start on my trail-truck build and looking at the listings for used vehicles in both models I'm starting to wonder about what kind of differences there are between the FJ and the 4Runners. I've seen some comments about Runners having better sight lines for trail driving, and cargo volume seems to favor the 4Runner (not necessarily a major deciding factor for me). Also the FJ seems to be about 300-400lb heavier in curb weight, which I'm guessing might be extra spaceframe structure for rollover strength without a real B pillar. it looks like the FJ might have a much better departure angle than the 4Runner though due to the shorter rear-end and designed rear-mount spare tire.

Either way, I'll be looking to lift whatever I get and run at least 33" tires, and will probably be swapping out both bumpers and adding sliders and other armor underneath as well as a winch. I'm trying to decide if I want to push all the way through to building a rig that could run the Rubicon, which I might try someday since I go to Tahoe for 4th of July week most summers anyway.

Is there anything else worth considering? The two platforms seem very close for my criteria, and it's looking like it might be easier to find a used Runner, and several grand cheaper (probably enough to get a swing-out rear bumper and full-length Prinsu roof rack) if I go for the 3rd gen Runner.

 

4th gen and FJs are same trans/motor/front&rear suspension and diffs. 4runner will be cheaper. FJs are better wheelers stock. FJ tcase is old school shifter. FJ suicide doors can be a love hate. Suicide door windows are fixed and sucks for back seat occupants. Rear door swings out on Fjs and up on 4runners which can be a issue for RTT and awnings configs. Fj has a tall hood, small windshield and blocky pillars, but you adjust to them quickly, I commuted for almost 90k in mine and never had a single issue, but I use my mirrors and am not afraid to move around to see.

 

Thanks. Since my Tacoma is an access cab and my current "weeekend car" is a Mazda RX8, the suicide doors aren't an issue for me.

Either vehicle is going to end up with relatively full armor (sliders, front plate bumper, rear high-clearance either plate or tube with a swing-out if it's a 4runner, plus some skids), a winch, a 3" lift and 33" tires, probably on-board air and possibly air-lockers on front and rear. Would both platforms end up roughly equivalent for trail driving with those mods, or would the FJ still have some remaining advantages?

If I end up with a Runner, I might set up for a bit of overlanding but won't be doing a RTT either way and probably no awnings. If I get serious about overlanding, I'll probably get more serious about building a trailer to carry the RTT and that gear.

 

At that point FJ would still be a hair better due to rear overhang on the 4runner and longer wheelbase on the 4runner. Also cant dispute the tcase with manual shifter is better. I run air lockers front and rear in my SASed crawler and with atrac, crawl and elocker on the FJ I wouldnt do air lockers.

 

FJ is def a shorter wheelbase than a 4th and 5th gen T4R. 3rd gen T4R is shorter n skinnier than 4th n 5th, but still slightly longer wheelbase than FJ. For the price, 3rd gen T4R is great, but FJ is def more capable.

 

From what I've found, the FJ and the 3rd gen 4runner both have a 106 inch (105.9/105.3 actually) wheelbase, looks like the 4th gen Runnner is 109 inch. I'm thinking the FJ might be shorter bumper-to-bumper with the 4Runner being farther from the rear axle to rear bumper which would give the FJ a better departure angle.

Either the 106 or 109 is an improvement over the 120+ wheelbase on my 2nd gen tacoma for a dedicated "trail" rig, and if I'm going to have a trail rig, might as well get the best I can build.

 

selling my trail ready fj 6spd which is full time 4wd
info below
https://www.fjcruiserforums.com/thr...8k-miles-55k-bay-area-ca.744460/#post-9364380

 

You could buy 2 mint 3rd gens and a limited 4th gen for the cost of one FJ.

FJ's are gaining value now, they are getting out of hand.

My vote is 4th gen sr5 or 4th gen sport (xreas delete) with the 4.0 I've worked on lots of 4runners and its the best pre-2010 model by far.

 

Looks like a hell of a rig, but I'm shooting for a budget of $20-25k after it's all built out (doing a lot of the mod installation myself, both to save money and to know how it all went together in case I need to fix it in the wild).

 

I will say, if you can afford it... FJC on my vote, because of sale value...

 

I'm not particularly worried about resale value relative to what I'm paying since everything I'd be looking at is old enough (8-12 years old, well over 100k miles) that none of them should be depreciating much more, and this is more or less a "toy" and definitely not an investment.

The whole "resale value" issue, especially with trucks is often based on some shaky math. Lots of guys like to point to the fact that a truck that starts out more expensive will re-sell for more (especially around the question of whether to go 4WD or 2wd), but a truck that costs $6k more and re-sells for $5k more isn't necessarily holding more value, it's just that the extra starting cost carries through to the re-sale. A $15k vehicle dropping to $13k is a bigger percentage loss than a $30k dropping to $28k, but at the end of the day, it's the same drop in $$$ and buying the less expensive vehicle might leave you with an extra $15k to invest in things that will appreciate in value over the time in between.

"Can afford" isn't driving the decision either, since I could afford a much more expensive vehicle than I'm interested in using/building into a trail rig. If I wanted to figure it out, I could afford to drop $30k on a 2014 or newer FJC, but I'm looking to keep the total cost including mods (self-installing pretty much all of it, so I'm only counting parts cost) and armor to somewhere in the $20-25k range before sales tax; ideally, I'm looking to spend under $16k on the starting vehicle.

I did just find a V8 4Runner that would be a great candidate, but it's a private sale and I'm not going to ask a stranger to hold the thing for 2 months until I'm able to actually pull the trigger on whatever I end up getting.

 

If your building a trail rig the 3rd gen will suit you just fine. My rigs a 97 4Runner and it get wheeled hard. You can have it fully built for what the price of a stock FJ/4th Gen will cost you.

 

It's probably mostly going to come down to what I can find when I'm able to pull the trigger and get started. I don't need to pinch coins on the build, but I don't like the idea of bouncing a relatively expensive vehicle off of rocks and trees and maybe even rolling over in. My ideal rig would actually be a vintage FJ40, but I've only seen fully restored ones around here (going in the $70-80k range, which is really hard to forget when planning a trail run).

I'm sure I'll be OK with a 3.4l (used to have a 97 tacoma, and I know that engine) but kind of like the extra power of the 4.0l since I'll be putting on at least 33s. Ideally, I'd like to have a rig that would be capable of doing the Rubicon in case I ever develop the level of skill that would make me able to do that, but being able to do Top of the World in Moab is a must have for me. I'm starting to lean toward the T4R over the FJC since I'll hopefully be taking some passengers along on easier drives and may also need to sleep in the back from time to time (although that'll affect my plan for where to mount a tank for OBA).

 

The 3.4l is fine after you re-gear the diff's. For a trail rig you'll want front/rear lockers anyway so throw those in when you re-gear. 33's are pretty easy to make work but it's worth putting in the extra work to run 35's. As far as being capable of the Rubicon goes. I've done it twice. It's not that bad but I'm also F/R locked, dual cased on real 35's. lol

 

I'd like to not get too low on the ratios in my diffs since there's a good amount of highway between where I live (not far from LAX airport) and anywhere I can hit the trails (not counting some of the streets in L.A. that have been so poorly maintained that they almost require a LT suspension to drive on).

When I'm done, I'll likely have ARB lockers front/rear, and most of the base vehicles I'm looking at seem to have a locking t-case. I'll definitely be adding a winch along with front/rear bumpers (probably a spare tire swing-out if I don't get a FJC), sliders and steel skids. Currently planning on a 3" suspension lift with no body lift which might limit me to 33-34" tires anyway.

 

I'm running 5.29's with Pit Bull Rocker 35x12.5x17(35 1/4" on the truck) and at 75 MPH I'm sitting at 2800-2900 RPM's. The 3.4L doesn't mind at all.

 

We're in the market for a 4th gen 4Runner for our soon to be 16 year old; HOWEVER, 4Runners are getting more pricey based on our first round of research. If you don't have a lot of backseat needs, we too HIGHLY weigh in in favor of the FJ. It's a purpose-built vehicle we've owned and loved for ten years. It has our vote.

Happy shopping! Cheers.

 

FJC is gonna hold value BUT you give up interior space by a LOT. The 4Runner is HUGE by comparison inside. If you're ok with the Tacoma access door - it won't be an issue. But if you have kids, its a non-starter.

 

As a 2 time FJ owner and one time 4Runner owner I disagree. Once you’re in the back seat it’s not a lot different. Getting into the back seat is though.

Visibility isn’t so great but wah wah, get a decent set of blind spot mirrors and you’re set.

As far as power plant, the 2010+ FJ and 4Runner are the same but the first few years have the 4.0 that’s in a 2nd gen Taco.

Way easier to put 33s on an FJ.

Aside from the power rear window, they are superior in almost every way to a 4Runner IMO. But I’m rather utilitarian.

 

I ended up getting a 2008 T4R Limited V8. Since guys have started building out GX460/470s, I might not end up as the only crawler out there with heated/ventilated leather seats. It is seeming like mounting switches for the aux lighting might present some challenges since the moonroof complicates the addition of an overhead console, but I think I can get 6 in where the "sunglasses" holder is and hopefully put the winch controls in where the RAS controls are now.

Cost was a large factor (since it's currently a 3rd vehicle and will be mainly a trail rig once I get the build out completed so I wasn't looking to pour a ton of $$ into it) and I'm not anticipating a lot of future depreciation on a vehicle that's already 13 years old with 200k miles, but the interior space doesn't hurt; no kids of my own, but it'll be nice to take friends out on some day runs during vacations in Tahoe. I had no real intention of leaving either vehicle "stock", so the trail capability advantage of the FJ wasn't as big a differential as it could have been; I'll still have a little less departure angle than a FJC would have had, but with the Victory rear end and tire swing-out, I'll probably be as good or better than my Tacoma with a Trail Gear rear bumper which should be good enough.

Since it came with the air suspension and XREAS, it's possible I'm actually tearing out more expensive suspension hardware than I'll be putting in for the 3" lift (got a full Bilstien/OME set with Icon tubular UCAs for a few hundred more than what I've heard the XREAS parts cost). It is going to end up looking like a "minivan on stilts for a while since I have to wait for the front bumper to be able to fit the bigger tires.