Best 4x4 / daily driver! Opinions wanted
- Thread starter v-stone
- Start date
BlackDog
one small mod at a time
- Location
- Proudly Deported to ID
Except fpr the whole removable roof thing, and a slightly longer wheelbase for a smoother ride, oh Yeah, and ecept for the one ton rating......GM figured that one out YEEEAAARRRSS ago!They call it a ....
:greg:SUBURBAN!:greg:
Almost settled for a handful of different suburbans. glad i didn't.
Have access to a half ton TBI 87 (?) for nuthin... gonnna get it just because.
Panos
12Volt Specialist
- Location
- Salt lake City
this is thread is so stupid, everyone knows for the price you cant beat a early toyota. thats it period!
drive train is strong
run forever
has an actual frame!
llight
cheap
and simple, simple is key!
you could buy a stock 85 truck 4runner whatever, even go newer and put asolid axle in it. right now on ksl for 500-2000$
put a small lift on it 33s-35s lock it up in the rear and it will suprise you about where it can go and how it will hold up!
drive train is strong
run forever
has an actual frame!
llight
cheap
and simple, simple is key!
you could buy a stock 85 truck 4runner whatever, even go newer and put asolid axle in it. right now on ksl for 500-2000$
put a small lift on it 33s-35s lock it up in the rear and it will suprise you about where it can go and how it will hold up!
v-stone
Registered User
- Location
- Stansbury Park, UT
Great replies. Thanks Guys
I have left out a lot of my details because I wasn't looking for other opinions on what "my best 4x4" would be, rather what other people have found to be the best for them and why. It allows more vehicles to come up that I may not have ever thought of or known about, like a 4 door bronco or how capable the Mitsubishi can be. But since so many people want to help... I drive about 90 miles a day, have 2 kids under 4, not an expert but mechanical minded, love to build my own stuff and want to be able to run a 3+ trail without any worry. I've owned 2 zuks and 2 toys. The toys kinda left a bad taste for me with the brand but I'm still open to them. The budget is low only because I'm a cheap skate, don't think about budget just keep it realistic.
Kurt,
I would love to hear why you enjoy the FJ40 so much.
I have left out a lot of my details because I wasn't looking for other opinions on what "my best 4x4" would be, rather what other people have found to be the best for them and why. It allows more vehicles to come up that I may not have ever thought of or known about, like a 4 door bronco or how capable the Mitsubishi can be. But since so many people want to help... I drive about 90 miles a day, have 2 kids under 4, not an expert but mechanical minded, love to build my own stuff and want to be able to run a 3+ trail without any worry. I've owned 2 zuks and 2 toys. The toys kinda left a bad taste for me with the brand but I'm still open to them. The budget is low only because I'm a cheap skate, don't think about budget just keep it realistic.
Kurt,
I would love to hear why you enjoy the FJ40 so much.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
A choke cable and hand throttle on the dash, wiper motors on the inside of the vehicle, an 18" steering wheel and components that are not only meant to be serviceable but field serviced to boot. It combines state of the art engineering (for the 60's).
One of the funnest runs I have ever been on was the Relic Run (see RelicRun.com for more info). Not at all because I was in my old Land Cruiser, but because everyone there was in some form of vintage iron, be it Scout, Rover, Bronco or Jeep. There is something to be said about relic's in the desert, carburetors and points!
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
My KJ has excellent on road manors (I put on 90,500 mi since 07). It has a real t case and tranny as well as a 2.8 l turbo-diesel that you will not find as an option on any other Jeep model in the US. I've driven through the highest altitude trails to the swamps at sea level. It also has heated leather seats, a kick butt stereo and video system. Despite the lift, larger tires, and trail equipment that brings her in an just under 6K LBS I still get 21 mpg. I do acknowledge however that a KJ CRD is for serious enthusiasts only.
Maverick
old-school
- Location
- Anywhere, thanks to my geeky droid
I was thinking about your rig today on my drive out to Elko and back, with respect to this thread and in considering 4x4's that get good mileage. A coworker has a stock CRD libby and we've taken it on a couple trips to visit our Nevada clients. I love the heated seats too!!! It's stock, so we avg 26mpg at 80ish mph.
I've love to put the 2.8 or the GC 3.0 in a 4dr JK. That's actually what got me thinking about it.
Brett
Maverick
old-school
- Location
- Anywhere, thanks to my geeky droid
Your sidekick looks pretty cool, and a nice blend of drivable vs wheelable.
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
Yeah, 26 mpg is what I got when it was stock. Then I put the lift and bigger tires on it dropped to 18 mpg. When I re-geared, it went up to what it's now. There is a company called Green Diesel Engineering that does a reflash of the ECU that everyone raves about. It should get me back to stock MPGs among other performance enhancements for both on and off road sexuality.
Tacomaguy
Active Member
- Location
- Syracuse Utah
Tacoma or 4runner very reliable
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
Tacoma or 4runner very reliable
I could easily say that about a number of cars/trucks I've owned. NONE of them have been Toyotas, though (mostly due to seating position in a Toyota = uncomfortable for me)
- Location
- Riverton, UT
According to some pundits diesel will be the fuel of choice within 10 years on more than 50% of the vehicles on the road. Sounds good to me. Going diesel now puts you ahead of the curve.
Houndoc
Registered User
- Location
- Grantsville
I would take issue on the "best for the money" being Toyota (heck, there is a 14 year old LX 450 for sale here for over $10k). They may be well worth it, and to be honest I would love to buy one, but not cheap.
The full-size Bronco idea is good (I know of one for sale, '95 with 140k miles if you're interested). If I could sale my Montero for enough to buy the Bronco, lift it to run 35s and put in a selectable locker, I would do so.
With your requirements, it leaves things pretty open. 4Runners, Land Cruisers (the fuel cost with 90 miles a day will hurt), Cherokee or Grand (Wraglers don't hardly have room for a diaper bag unless its an unlimited), Montero Sports, Isuzu Trooper and on and on.
Figure a budget, shop and test drive!
The full-size Bronco idea is good (I know of one for sale, '95 with 140k miles if you're interested). If I could sale my Montero for enough to buy the Bronco, lift it to run 35s and put in a selectable locker, I would do so.
With your requirements, it leaves things pretty open. 4Runners, Land Cruisers (the fuel cost with 90 miles a day will hurt), Cherokee or Grand (Wraglers don't hardly have room for a diaper bag unless its an unlimited), Montero Sports, Isuzu Trooper and on and on.
Figure a budget, shop and test drive!
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
"Best for the money" and "cheap" are often mutually exclusive. Its pretty hard to compare a Lexus with $4k+ worth of upgrades and factory lockers, etc to anything in the $4k-8k range. You can find 80 Series in those price ranges, but they will have typical wear, typical miles and likely no lockers (worth an easy $2k to many) and zero upgrades.
There is a reason some are content saying 'best for the money' and there is a reason some continue their search, spending nearly the same money along the way. Buy once, cry once.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Well in the spirit of the thread, which ones that would meet the OP's criteria?
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
I've put about 170K miles on two different Jeep 4.0L engines. My wife ran a '96 ZJ from about 30K miles to 140K without ANY issues other than battery, brakes, shocks, tires, etc. I don't know that you'll get more reliable than that. I think I do remember a trans coolant line or something, but don't remember the specifics other than it cost about $50 or similar. Not the best MPG, I'd say we averaged about 14-17 mpg or so. The 4.0L in a ZJ is not exactly a good match, but it'll get you by.
I bought a '91 XJ (aka "the Toolshed") at about 120K (?--can't remember very well) and sold it at about 185K (motor was DONE, but still ran---had so much blowby that it would dump a prodigious amount of oil into the air filter on a trip over an hour). Other than self-imposed trail repairs, I only had one major issue with that vehicle. A mis-diagnosed CPS cost me about $1200 in parts/labor over a few weeks.
With smallish tires, I could knock down 18-19 mpg. That figure went down as the tire size went up. With 35" tires, a SUPER tired engine and 4.88 gears, I was still getting about 14-15. I really liked it with 32 MTRs or 33" SSRs and 4.10 gears. Very capable, would tow our tent trailer without issue and wasn't a beast to drive everyday. I think I got about 15-17 mpg with either of those setups. There's just the creaky uni-body thing with the XJ. Not exactly the best design. They're a lot like building a drag racer out of an early Camaro/Nova or Mustang. The unibody has a lifespan. When it starts cracking and creaking, buy another and move all your junk over to the new platform. You can gusset/rebuild and chase cracks as often as you want. The stresses will move around the body to areas you haven't addressed yet.
I think if I started over again, I'd look for a TBI K5 and one ton axle it with some 37-38" tires. They're a little big for some trails, but I think that'd be the most reliable, easy to find parts for vehicle that there is. There's plenty of room, cheap to buy and build and somewhat capable.
You do have some reliability issues just built into the K5. Frames aren't exactly known for their strength esp. around the steering box. The 700r4 could use a good rebuild so YOU KNOW it's good to go. For the most part, the TBI motor is good to go. Decent power, but not exactly a powerhouse. You can use your imagination to figure out what would swap/work on one of those, but then you kind of end up with a "custom" type rig.
I've got at least 250-300K miles wrapped up in GM TBI motors over the years. SUPER reliable but nothing exciting performancewise. My wife and I put about 120K on an '89 Camaro. Put a cooling fan in it other than brakes, tires, shocks etc. Since it was still "nice" when we sold it, we got some decent $$ out of it.
I've been looking at some of the expo-type rigs. The fullsizes intrigue me a little. A crewcab pickup could be pretty nice, but you're definitely trail limited. You do have some pretty heavy duty parts there, though. Some of the full size builds are pretty clever but I'm not sure I'd want some in some of the trails I've seen in/around the swell with the switchbacks and dropoffs/washouts etc. They could be an asset at times, but way too much pucker factor at other times.
Other thoughts I've had:
2nd Gen Dakota with a crewcab and 5.2 or 5.9L V8 and SAS would be pretty decent sized. Fairly capable and kind of a decent "swiss army knife" type of rig. I'm not sure I'm sold on that, though.
mid-sized Blazer/Jimmy (they have HORRIBLE reliability reputations, though) and SAS could be intriguing as well. (I don't get the reliability reputation as the 4.3L V6 is a COMMONLY swapped motor/powertrain--not exactly powerful, but adequate)
I test drove an older (similar to your little pickup) Tacoma crew cab with IFS. I just am NOT comfortable with the seats that low to the floor or something in the Toyotas. (something about that cab is just not ergonomically correct for a guy my size with craptastic knees) I did drive a newer Tacoma (the wider versions) and it had decent power and was better riding for me than the older ones but just couldn't justify the price tag for my current uses.
Ultimately, I bought another tow rig for the Jeep/trailer combo and daily drive a deezel pickup (kind of annoying, honestly). I'm attempting to see how "streetable" I can make my "Jeep" (TBI 350/700/D300 and one ton axles with 40" MTRs) without sacrificing too much trail ability. (speaking of that, I need to call Carl at Tera). I'd like to get it to where I could drive it through the 'swell in a reasonable level of comfort. EZ Rhino's CJ8 is about what I'm heading for there. I've got a solid start, but a LOT of work to do. Storage of gear will be an issue there, similar to your FJ40. Cowboy's used to roam these areas with everything they needed on themselves and their horse. I think it could be done with my current off-road rig, but I've grown quite accustomed to SOME luxuries. (I hate to admit that, but it's totally true) Time will tell how it works out.
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- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Was it a different Grand Cherokee that had some major brake issues repeatedly? Was that a WJ? While I like the look of the WJ over the ZJ, the WJ that Candace had for a few years was a let down. The CPS, dash rattles, and front brake issues.
XJ's continue to be a great budget platform imo and yours was a prime example of that, run trails like Pritchett and drive it home reliably. For lighter duty uses and the need for 4-5 passengers its by far one of the better choices in the sub 10k range. Nobody can argue that. Aftermarket is one of the stronger markets and weak-links are relatively easily resolved.
One would really have to look at where you intend to take it. As noted a full-size especially a crew-cab would most certainly make some trails unnerving. Even if you could maneuver it through it would likely really slow you down, fine for some, a deal breaker for others. No one shoe fits all.
EZ's rig is a great build and it works perfect too. One of my first Swell trips was riding shotgun with EZ. He cruised up the canyon at 50+ and got high teens as I recall, can't be that. The Scrambler gives you the much needed cargo room when on trips with the family. If I was a Jeep owner it would likely be a Scrambler, I've always like their proportions.
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
I used to work for Toyota and every vehicle I've owned has been a Toyota since 1989. This Jeep is the highest mileage vehicle I've owned and it's the only one that didn't rust on me or required a new engine (put 2 in my 2000 GTS before trading it in at 45k).
Toyota is great product and they do a great job of taking care of problems before negative press exists. Oh the storys I could tell.
Toyota is great product and they do a great job of taking care of problems before negative press exists. Oh the storys I could tell.
deltatrader
Member
- Location
- Saratoga Springs
Never owned one, but those early - mid 90's cruisers seem like a nice balance.
I'm knocking on wood as I say this, but from my experience, the 95 2 door Tahoe I have now works really well. I paid $1500. It's lifted and on 33s. MPG is around 12-16, and has power to occasionally pull the boat. I never have had a drive train problem with a GM vehicle I have owned either. I've owned a suburban, Youkon xl and this Tahoe. I have become, over the years, a GM guy.
My Toyotas (2 of them) have blow engines and transmission bearings. I loved what they could do in moab, but reliability and power was very poor.
I'm knocking on wood as I say this, but from my experience, the 95 2 door Tahoe I have now works really well. I paid $1500. It's lifted and on 33s. MPG is around 12-16, and has power to occasionally pull the boat. I never have had a drive train problem with a GM vehicle I have owned either. I've owned a suburban, Youkon xl and this Tahoe. I have become, over the years, a GM guy.
My Toyotas (2 of them) have blow engines and transmission bearings. I loved what they could do in moab, but reliability and power was very poor.
JL Rockies
Binders Fulla Expo
- Location
- Draper
No tranny probs with my yotas just the occassional exploded engine. TMS USA stopped bringing in the Celica GTS with 6 speed after 2001 to avoid bad press. They brought it back after installing a panel truck like shifter and an ECU program that de-fanged the car. The Celica was killed and the drive train was sold to Lotus who began getting reports of the same exploded engines and tranny.