2021 or 2022 Toyota Sienna AWD as road trip vehicle

[Tricia]

We pulled a recent model Jeep Cherokee out of a pretty deep ditch this winter. Zero tow points. Couldn’t believe it. No telling if any damage was done yanking on the suspension.

I had to tell the driver to get off the phone before the pull. This turned out to be important as it was on a hill, and once out of the ditch the car advanced on the tow vehicle at an alarming rate.

I remember a friend getting his Jeep Grand Cherokee stuck in a clay pit way back when....
They called my dad to come get them unstuck.
My dad tossed them a log chain and tow strap and told them to. "Hook it on to something sturdy."
They hooked it on the bumper....nope. That got pulled off quickly and then my dad tossed it back and said, "Hook it on to your front axel."
The friend said, "Can you come down here and show me?"
My dad: "You think I'm stupid? I didn't get it stuck. Just lay down in the mud and hook it around your axel"
That did it but it was hilarious.
I have pictures somewhere.

 

[jmeb]

14" rims, 145hp, AND a cassette deck?! Now we're talkin'!

That's about 45hp and a cassette deck more than the car I'm currently baselining...my 1990 Miata which was neglected by my mother and sat in the yard the last 5 years. IMHO the perfect compliment to a lifted minivan for a 2 vehicle quiver.

On it's first drive with fresh tires, fluids, new pads/rotors, and a lot of swear words/bloody knuckles. (Sorry for the thread hijack @Wendy)

 

[Philpug]

That's about 45hp and a cassette deck more than the car I'm currently baselining...my 1990 Miata which was neglected by my mother and sat in the yard the last 5 years. IMHO the perfect compliment to a lifted minivan for a 2 vehicle quiver.

On it's first drive with fresh tires, fluids, new pads/rotors, and a lot of swear words/bloody knuckles. (Sorry for the thread hijack @Wendy)

View attachment 135427

looks like the front fender has been painted. Also looks like my first Miata, a 90B w/HT with 122K on it and every panel a different shade of red. I got it for 1K...not today.

 

[jmeb]

looks like the front fender has been painted. Also looks like my first Miata, a 90B w/HT with 122K on it and every panel a different shade of red. I got it for 1K...not today.

yep—it was hit while parked. Front fender. Quarter panel and hood all got paint. While in the shop to get paint the HT was stolen off it...so they had to source a new one and paint it. It also went through a massive hail storm. Patina. Lots of it. 113k currently.

bought 20 years ago for 5k

 

[Ogg]

bought 20 years ago for 5k

Hah! Around here you might get that much for it now.

 

[Tony]

14" rims, 145hp, AND a cassette deck?! Now we're talkin'!

I had a 1991 Extended Aerostar 4WD with 4 liter V-6. I think all of the 4WD my year and later had the 4 liter and am surprised the one for sale is a 3 liter. Mine was only rated at 155 hp, but torque was 240 and being lighter than most SUVs, it would move well going up the Sierra and get 20 mpg easier than my newer SUV that has modern 3.5 liter VTEC V-6 and one more gear. My Aerostar was Eddie Bauer model and 2nd and 3rd seats folded (backwards) flat making a comfortable bed, and it was tall enough inside to easily get dressed for skiing. It would also carry bikes standing up and quite a few pairs of skis would fit under the 2nd and 3rd seats. The 2nd and 3rd seats had same attachments so you could remove the two-passenger middle seat and put the three-person rear seat in the middle and still carry five with a lot of room for stuff. I carried a full-sized motorcycle with middle seat in it a couple of times. But I'm not tempted to look at a 30+ year-old Aerostar, even one with only 20K miles.

 

[Philpug]

But I'm not tempted to look at a 30+ year-old Aerostar, even one with only 20K miles.

I think the term is "Double dog dare ya!"

 

[Tom K.]

A couple of winters ago I drove off the road in a white out and had to get a tow truck to pull me out. I had a '91 Dodge with truck camper and no rear tow hooks or anyplace to attach a hook, or so I thought. The tow truck driver crawled under the rear of the truck, where at the end of the frame rail there was a 1/2" hole thru which he attached a shackle. Problem solved.

I now carry shackles with me.

I just bought a new tow strap, to replace my 20-year old one that shredded itself just as we were getting a Sprinter conversion van out of the ditch.

It came with a shackle, which I now understand.

I just flew to NC to buy a car. As far as service, any franchised dealer will service any car if their brand. Service and sales are mutually exclusive, Service does not care where the car was purchased.

I have emphatically NOT found this to be the case.

The small town dealership where we bought every car but one over 20 years went to the mat for us with Toyota and Honda on a couple issues, specifically because they knew we were loyal customers.

Honda cost was over $2,000 and Toyota was ~ $1,000 (2012 Sienna brakes are crap).

n = 1 so TIFWIW.

 

[djetok]

That's about 45hp and a cassette deck more than the car I'm currently baselining...my 1990 Miata which was neglected by my mother and sat in the yard the last 5 years. IMHO the perfect compliment to a lifted minivan for a 2 vehicle quiver.

On it's first drive with fresh tires, fluids, new pads/rotors, and a lot of swear words/bloody knuckles. (Sorry for the thread hijack @Wendy)

View attachment 135427

whats up with the camber on the drivers rear?

 

[jmeb]

whats up with the camber on the drivers rear?

TBD -- one reason that it's going in for an alignment in the next week or two. It's really not as extreme as the photo looks with some basic measurements. Shocks and bumpstops arrive this week...hopefully will have time to put them on. And then to the alignment rack.

 

[Ogg]

I just bought a new tow strap, to replace my 20-year old one that shredded itself just as we were getting a Sprinter conversion van out of the ditch.

It came with a shackle, which I now understand.



I have emphatically NOT found this to be the case.

The small town dealership where we bought every car but one over 20 years went to the mat for us with Toyota and Honda on a couple issues, specifically because they knew we were loyal customers.

Honda cost was over $2,000 and Toyota was ~ $1,000 (2012 Sienna brakes are crap).

n = 1 so TIFWIW.

Our local Subaru dealer used to be like that. They were a family owned, had been selling Subarus since the early '80s(maybe earlier) and had a great knowledgeable, service department. They got a new motor put in our '97 outback a couple thousand miles past the end of the warranty. My wife had brought it in for an odd engine noise a couple times that they couldn't duplicate at the shop. Subaru wanted to deny the warranty claim but the service manager and owner fought for us because it had been an existing undiagnosed problem. Their reputation and standing with SOA meant it wasn't a very hard fight. The dealership has since changed hands several times with each new owner taking it further down into the abyss. It's now owned by one of the bigger auto groups that has an absolutely horrendous reputation.

 

[Tom K.]

Our local Subaru dealer used to be like that. They were a family owned, had been selling Subarus since the early '80s(maybe earlier) and had a great knowledgeable, service department........ The dealership has since changed hands several times with each new owner taking it further down into the abyss. It's now owned by one of the bigger auto groups that has an absolutely horrendous reputation.

Same situation with us, but we moved, so we'll never know if or how far down the Big Group Ownership rabbit hole they go.

 

[Wendy]

Our local Subaru dealer used to be like that. They were a family owned, had been selling Subarus since the early '80s(maybe earlier) and had a great knowledgeable, service department. They got a new motor put in our '97 outback a couple thousand miles past the end of the warranty. My wife had brought it in for an odd engine noise a couple times that they couldn't duplicate at the shop. Subaru wanted to deny the warranty claim but the service manager and owner fought for us because it had been an existing undiagnosed problem. Their reputation and standing with SOA meant it wasn't a very hard fight. The dealership has since changed hands several times with each new owner taking it further down into the abyss. It's now owned by one of the bigger auto groups that has an absolutely horrendous reputation.

Gosh, that sounds exactly like my local Subaru dealer. Family owned forever, great place to get a car, no sales pressure whatsoever. Now it’s owned by a behemoth and customers are just a number.

My local Toyota dealer IS family owned. Still not the same attention given to customers as the old Subie dealer. We’ll see if I can have any success there or if I indeed have to extend my search further.

 

[Wendy]

Another question:
What’s the difference in clearance when the Woodland edition, which is lifted about 0.7’ and has 18” rims, and the XLS, which has the regular 6.7-ish clearance and has 20” rims?

Any idea why they might’ve put 18” rims on the Woodland (lifted) version?

@Philpug , @jmeb I’m just stupid when it comes to this so I need some edumacation.

My husband says just order the Woodlands version when it’s available to order. He’s liking that cement gray color and the additional 1500W outlet.

 

[Philpug]

Another question:
What’s the difference in clearance when the Woodland edition, which is lifted about 0.7’ and has 18” rims, and the XLS, which has the regular 6.7-ish clearance and has 20” rims?

Any idea why they might’ve put 18” rims on the Woodland (lifted) version?

@Philpug , @jmeb I’m just stupid when it comes to this so I need some edumacation.

My husband says just order the Woodlands version when it’s available to order. He’s liking that cement gray color and the additional 1500W outlet.

The 20" wheels will have a lower profile tire verses the 18" which will ahve a beefier sidewall. Rolling circumference will (probably be the same). One of the reasons I went with the 20" on our Yukon XL verses the 22" that came on it.

 

[Wendy]

The 20" wheels will have a lower profile tire verses the 18" which will ahve a beefier sidewall. Rolling circumference will (probably be the same). One of the reasons I went with the 20" on our Yukon XL verses the 22" that came on it.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!

Woodlands edition it will be!

 

[KingGrump]

Another question:
What’s the difference in clearance when the Woodland edition, which is lifted about 0.7’ and has 18” rims, and the XLS, which has the regular 6.7-ish clearance and has 20” rims?

Any idea why they might’ve put 18” rims on the Woodland (lifted) version?

@Philpug , @jmeb I’m just stupid when it comes to this so I need some edumacation.

My husband says just order the Woodlands version when it’s available to order. He’s liking that cement gray color and the additional 1500W outlet.

The larger wheel is for the "urban cool" look. Oh yeah, it also enhance handling. That is the primary reason I like mini-vans. The enhanced handling.
The taller side wall of the smaller wheel will usually provide improved road shock absorption and a softer ride.

0.7" lift isn't all that much. Compare the MGVW for both model for a better indicator of final ride height after the vehicle is fully loaded.
I have seen plenty of mini-vans going down the interstate dragging their rear bumpers on the pavement.

 

[Wendy]

The larger wheel is for the "urban cool" look. Oh yeah, it also enhance handling. That is the primary reason I like mini-vans. The enhanced handling.
The taller side wall of the smaller wheel will usually provide improved road shock absorption and a softer ride.

0.7" lift isn't all that much. Compare the MGVW for both model for a better indicator of final ride height after the vehicle is fully loaded.
I have seen plenty of mini-vans going down the interstate dragging their rear bumpers on the pavement.

The detailed specs aren’t out yet for the Woodlands edition, so I can’t make that comparison right now. But thanks; that’s something to look for. My impression of Toyota and the thought that went into this vehicle is that the Woodlands edition wouldn’t be produced if it were purely cosmetic.

 

[jmeb]

0.7" ain't a whole lot. But some of the other features are nice. But you can always choose to eventually bump your tire size up an inch, yielding another 0.5". And if that's not enough, Traxda makes a 2" lift kit that is dead simple to gain additional clearance.

And yeah...20" wheels are frankly completely silly on a vehicle designed to be a road trip machine capable of handling dirt roads. As @Philpug mentioned, you get less cushion from sidewalls and less ability to air down for additional traction if necessary. Bigger and bigger wheelsize is just silly... just one example of why:

 

[Wendy]

0.7" ain't a whole lot. But some of the other features are nice. But you can always choose to eventually bump your tire size up an inch, yielding another 0.5". And if that's not enough, Traxda makes a 2" lift kit that is dead simple to gain additional clearance.

And yeah...20" wheels are frankly completely silly on a vehicle designed to be a road trip machine capable of handling dirt roads. As @Philpug mentioned, you get less cushion from sidewalls and less ability to air down for additional traction if necessary. Bigger and bigger wheelsize is just silly... just one example of why:

Wow, that’s awesome! Physics! Math! Equations on a whiteboard! Explained that way, now I really understand it.

@Tricia just sent me this cool t shirt which I’m inserting here because it kinda fits the situation:

I‘m *guessing” that Toyota didn’t want to change the ride quality/handling a whole lot, so only is lifting the vehicle 0.7” Maybe. Whatever. As you indicate, if we choose, we can later have the vehicle lifted a bit more.