TRD Off-Road - necessary or worth it?

Hello fellas - new to the game here. I’ve been eyeing up the 3rd Gen Tundras and was wanting to get one with the TRD OF package, but was curious to hear from guys who are more educated than me. My intended use for the truck would be my daily driver, but I do intend to use the truck several times a year to be in the Rocky Mountains where there won’t be paved roads (hunting). Not planning to climb boulders or do any sort of off-road ‘course’. Do you think normal 4x4 would suit my needs? Is the TRD OF package worth the MSRP cost? I don’t need the best - but don’t want to be SOL if I find myself in a sticky situation when weather turns.

Hadn’t seen this asked elsewhere, but I’ve made a fool of myself before. Links to any prior discussions would be humbly appreciated.

 

Daily drive absolutely not needed .

Rocky Mountains unpaved roads do not need it .

Any real rugged terrain TRD . You actually save money buying that package vs aftermarket - well worth it .

 

I have about the same use case as you, and I decided the $$ would be much better spent on things I’d actually use.

I’m glad I didn’t get the TRD package, although I originally wanted it “just because”.

 

Not needed.

Save the money and upgrade yourself as you see fit.

 

Appreciate the perspective. Have you been up in the Rockies and managed alright even in some weather?

@TundraWorkHorse what do you consider to be rugged terrain?

 

So if you don't get the Trd package, you will get regular non trd shocks, which are not good at all. It'll be bouncy ride on even average road and poor boat like handling during regular turns. Trd shocks should give you more stability on turns.

I have non trd standard shocks and will be upgrading shocks as ride is very bouncy and handles like a boat.

On the opposite side, you can always get the Trd lift kit installed after if you need more lift and better handling... It's about $5k installed or so.

Or you can upgrade the shocks later on, but why bother if you can just get a Trd package. With aftermarket shocks you'll be voiding your suspension warranty

 

for the better part of 14 years we didn’t have the OR package features on tundras and a lot of us survived in nasty crap. It’s nice to have but not a necessity unless you are in the 10% or hardcore users.

the TRD or shocks are garbage as well for any real use and the Trd lift kit shocks are barely Ab upgrade- Bilstein 5100’s. If you need real shocks get dobinsons, kings, fox, icon, higher end bilsteins, elka, etc

 

You’ll probably never need the extra features like locking diff, or crawl control but I do agree that you’ll appreciate the better shocks, slightly better tires and more skid plates. The off road shocks probably give a better ride on the highway was well

 

We decided to get the TRD package for the 360 camera, the rear locker and the suspension.

We wont do a lot of offroading but the locker will help us get out of greasy spots with the trailer in tow. This would be handy if used to pull a boat up a wet ramp as well.The 360 camera is a very handy feature.

I didn’t like the 18” trd wheels so I changed them to aftermarket wheels.

 

Given your circumstances, the only reason to get the TRD Off Road package would be if you ever plan on selling your truck later on in life as it would have increased value and desirability.

If you're planning on keeping this truck till the wheels fall off, I would first recommend that you torque your wheel nuts and then not get the unneeded package.

 

Are you referring to the PVM camera? I believe that is not specific to the TRD package, no?

This feedback is great. My original inclination was that it would be a good idea. However, I took a step back and brought it to front of mind that I don’t have a lot of data points on people having issues. At the same time I’m surprised an OEM upgrade is available that would apply to such extreme conditions that the vast majority of users would never need, but I guess that’s marketing for you.

 

With ours, we got the cameras with the TRD package. Ours is a “limited” trim.

We can’t pick other packages so we get everything or nothing. When ordering we can have a “limited” and select the TRD package or not. That’s it?

I think it is a geographic difference and it sounds like there are so many different ways to configure in the US compared to Canada.

 

I wanted the TRD package but ultimately decided against it because we don’t use the locker or Krawl pretty much ever on our 4Runner Trail and I couldn’t find a Limited with it in the color I wanted. But it’s very cool to have. ATRAC is included with 4WD Tundras which makes the truck very capable off road.

 

I would have picked an sr5 trd sport if it came with the 360 camera and locking differential. I think 99 out of 100 users would want the color matched bits of of the sr5 vs the limited chrome... Once your used to using a 360 camera system its difficult to go back and the tundra 360 camera is worlds better than the tacoma system.

 

I would go for it just because of the OEM e-locker. Even though you can only use it in 4Lo.

The TRD OR package on the 2nd gens came with the same LED headlights that the Pro gets, dual climate, Bilstein 4600 shocks (which I didn’t hate as much as everyone else, even though I did change them out to the TRD Fox kit), TRD OR wheels, bed stickers (real important), a skid plate package, and I don’t know what else.

So if you want any of that, go for it. And yeah, it will help your resale a bit, but remember that it also costs like $4k+ up front, so I don’t think it is any real advantage $$-wise when it comes to resale value…

 

Like PBNB said, it’s kind of a nice overall package in Canada. Along with the cameras you get the cool TRD steering wheel and shifter, adding a little TRD flavour to the overall look of things. So both functionally and aesthetically, it’s a nice overall upgrade.

If I do some proper off roading even once, I’m sure it will be an extremely happy experience playing with the dial and the cameras, and I will likely turn into a little kid “playing trucks”. My middle aged brain apparently thinks that worth it…

 

It’s really not worth it to get the TRD package for a daily driver even if you occasionally do some light offroading. If that’s the look you want, fine, but the TRD package is generally more fuel inefficient due to the tire and aero package (no front air dam). The main selling point for the package is the much better shocks as everyone mentioned, the locking diff as mentioned, and the crawl control + multi terrain select. But if you plan on driving on some rougher dirt roads, that’s not needed. I would say tires are more important than anything else but you could get those and install them when needed.

 

I drove offroad almost as much as onroad in my '19 ORP 4runner. I never used the locker. Not a single time. Not even to function check. If I was rock crawling or something, then it might have been useful, but if that was the route I wanted to go, I probably would have thrown out the e-diff in favor of an ARB air locker, even if it meant trashing the rear diff and sourcing something from an SR5. I used the OEM Wrangler Dueler tires. They did well enough. I had hakkas for winter, which are amazing, and I'll probably get some, studded, for the Tundra.

As to the post above, "proper off roading" was accomplished without cameras and terrain dials long, long ago. All it takes is good tires, an understanding of how your vehicle works, a bit of experience, and awareness of your surroundings. I promise, the old method is a lot more fun, too.

 

I guess another part of the equation is how quickly you want a new Tundra. While availability is increasing, it is still limited. I would not hesitate to buy a truck that is otherwise equipped to your liking, but also has this package that you don't "Need". You may be waiting a while.....

 

For me I originally wanted a Limited with the PVM package and then I looked some more and for another $2k for the TRD package I get nicer rims, nicer grill, better shocks and the locker rear. So for $2k it was a no brainer to add all that cause I couldn’t buy it all afterwards for even close to that.

 

Yeah the TRD is actually much harder to find right now than those without it. I would have absolutely no use for the rock crawl mode but are the other multi terrain functions (mud, snow, sand) really doing anything differently than simply throwing it into 4WD? I think it was mentioned that the locking differential only kicks in when you engage 4Lo? Are these extra terrain modes specific to 4Lo too?

 

Toyota crawl is stupid but the locker is nice. All the other TRD stuff is just dressing it up for Saturday night. I would hold off for a cheaper trail trim with locker if you can. May be a while since the crazies are starving to death and sr5 TRD 4x4 tundras are the only food left on earth

 

Not necessary at all, I just went with it because I wanted the different wheels and grill because I think they look better than the standard SR5.

 

The TRD suspension is better and unless you plan on swapping the base suspension parts out it’s less hassle to just opt for the TRD. If you are patient you can find someone selling the TRD OR or TRD Pro suspension at some point.

 

When I was shopping I decided to go for the creature comforts first. Getting a TRD is a nice option but for me... not needed.
As others have said, want better suspension?? Couple of years from now the aftermarket world will explode with more parts for these vehicles.
New shocks, springs and a upper control arms.... You be in business with the hard part finding a decent alignment shop locally.

 

I went for it primarily for the locker, since it could come in handy on boat ramps. The rest is just nice to have, but not worth it if the locker wasn't part of the package. The MTS is neat to play with but nothing outrageously special. Same with the crawl control.

Here in Canada, the TRD OR package gets us the gucci steering wheel and shifter knob, so there's that.

 

My Limited TRD OR has the front air dam.

 

I don't know if 3rd gens are like 2nds, but I would never want to go back to a smaller gas tank. I think most if not all TRD OR came with larger gas tanks. Don't know if this is similar on 3rd gens, but maybe a consideration before you buy (assuming there's still two size tanks).

I'm hopefully not in the market for another 5-10 years, so sorry if this isn't applicable. Just didn't want you to have buyers remorse as I once did.

 

Something to consider - if your looking at SR5’s, you will want at the very least to look at one of the Premium packages so you can get the bigger fuel tank, power Softex seats, dual zone climate etc. Sometimes, depending on your location, you will need to just get the TRD because that will have all those other things.

If those things are not important to you, you can save some cash and just get 4x4. You will be fine for nearly everything. I have the TRD OR but I won’t use most of it ever. You will better wheels in my opinion also.

Just the way Toyota does it, you just have to take what’s there. Or wait for an allocation.

 

The biggest selling point for the 3rd gen TRD OR package is the rear locker. And like somebody said, Tundras went twenty or so years without a locker, and they were somehow utilized off road just fine.

My 4x4 non-OR went up two dirt/rock roads in the Rocky Mountains last summer, one of which was very muddy and the other mostly loose rock, and I never had an issue.