Brett
Meat-Hippy
- Location
- Salt Lake City Utah
Which 4x4 to buy?
- Thread starter landroner
- Start date
RockMonkey
Suddenly Enthusiastic
Brett
Meat-Hippy
- Location
- Salt Lake City Utah
Mine's all one color.
Mine's exactly the way it's supposed to be. White with silver trim!
See??????
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q118/dadilius/untitled-2.jpg
Last edited:
Brett
Meat-Hippy
- Location
- Salt Lake City Utah
Oh, and I recommend a 01+ Toyota Tacoma Quad cab with the TRD package.
Houndoc
Registered User
- Location
- Grantsville
So, family friendly reasonable price and I take it will be used not just as a trail rig.
Based on that, Grand Cherokee and mid-90s Land Cruisers I would think are most versitile. Tacoma Double Cab may work well also.
But think outside the box as well. I have used my Montero Sport for the last three years, daily driver, some family camping trips (before the Yukon XL came along) and progrssively more difficult off-road use (Kane Creek, Poison Spider Mesa). Has done very well for what most people don't think of for off-road. Only down side is lack of after market support, specifically lockers. They are our there (ARB front air locker), but not as many choices as some others.
Point being, don't limit choices to only Toyota and Jeep. Some people have really liked Xterras, Rodeos etc as well. You have some of the same after market issues I do, but depending on where you interest in the sport leads, it either won't matter or you will decide on sell and buy a more agressive trail rig down the road anyway.
(which is why my Montero Sport is for sale....
http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=48872)
hammerhead
Junkyard Dog
- Location
- Southern Utah
Lots of opinions flying around but not many questions about what the rig is going to be used for...
How many people are in your family?
How many seats are required?
How much gear do you plan to take?
Do you plan to do many highway miles on the way to the desired trail?
Is it going to be more of an expedition vehicle?
It's no secret I'm a Toyota guy so I totally understand the brand loyalty thing but to make my rig what I wanted it has been modified with an assortment of parts from aftermarket to Chevy to Ford and even some (heaven forbid) HEEP parts...
The same can be said for a vast majority of the more capable rigs you will find on the trail or on this site.
red
Active Member
- Location
- Eagle Mountain
another thing to consider is if you ever going to tow something, say a ski boat or something like that on a trip to the lake with the family.
4 or 5 people or more with cargo and an expedition trip, something like a toyota land cruiser, chevy tahoe 4 door or suburban, ford expedition or excursion, jeep wagoneer. 3-4 people plus cargo or you need some more power than a jeep or smaller toyota can provide fullsize blazer, bronco, exended cab pickup (longer than a suburban).
i had an 86.5 nissan extended cab pickup that got me into offroading, excellent truck (totalled by an envoy), best place to go for aftermarket for nissan is www.calmini.com
4 or 5 people or more with cargo and an expedition trip, something like a toyota land cruiser, chevy tahoe 4 door or suburban, ford expedition or excursion, jeep wagoneer. 3-4 people plus cargo or you need some more power than a jeep or smaller toyota can provide fullsize blazer, bronco, exended cab pickup (longer than a suburban).
i had an 86.5 nissan extended cab pickup that got me into offroading, excellent truck (totalled by an envoy), best place to go for aftermarket for nissan is www.calmini.com
Decide what you think is cool and will fit you family and needs. Then look for one that someone else has built (well) and buy it from them. That will save you some serious money. Built/bought who cares as long as you wheel it! Besides, you willend up changing a few things to the way you like it anyway.
SLC97SR5
IDIesel
- Location
- Davis County
Toyota:
1985 X-Tra Cab
1997 Land Cruiser w/lockers F&R
1997-1998 4Runner w/Rear locker
2001-2004 4Door Tacoma TRD
1985 X-Tra Cab
1997 Land Cruiser w/lockers F&R
1997-1998 4Runner w/Rear locker
2001-2004 4Door Tacoma TRD
Decide what best fits you and your family. There is a lot out there that could work for your needs besides a Jeep or Toyota. Jeep fits my needs and a Jeep is what I take out. Check out some off road websites and you wil see many different vehicles you could choose from. But in the end just base it on what criteria fits your family. Good Luck!
Maverick
old-school
- Location
- Anywhere, thanks to my geeky droid
Great suggestions. Love the '97 Land Cruiser, that one is rightfully at the top of the list. I'd add the X-cab Taco too, make sure you get the rear locker.
Add an Isuzu Trooper to the list, along with a samurai, XJ Cherokee, WJ Grand, ZJ Grand, etc.
mesha said:
Good advice.
Since you mention "rock crawling" you may want to target a vehicle that is easily modified to fit at least 33" tires, likely 35's or 37's. The Toyotas mentioned above start getting expensive to fit tires bigger than 33"
How many people and how much gear is also crucial. CJ/YJ/TJ jeeps will only fit 4 people. A scrambler will seat 6 if you add another back seat.
Newer, bigger SUV's (expeditions/tahoes/suburbans) are great for family camping trips and to tow toys...but take major coin to fit tires big enough for rockcrawling. There are a couple good candidates though, '87 to '91 blazers and suburbans with 4-6" of lift and 35's.
Last but not least...extended cab, shortbed fullsize pickups. The solid axle dodge 1500 comes to mind, along with the xcab shorty cummins. Doesn't take much to put on 33's and add lockers, plus you have room for 6 in the cab and plenty of room for your gear, and good ground clearance. The chev's come with a rear locker and room for 285's (33's) but not the best ground clearance. Older F150s and xcab shortbed Superduties are good bets too.
So...how big is your posse?
red
Active Member
- Location
- Eagle Mountain
you can fit 33"s on the old chevy/gmc pickups/blazer/suburbans at stock height with some fender trimming (my blazer is just fine on 33x12.5 bfg mud terrains), 32"s are a perfect fit stock.
extended cabs are long, longer than a suburban. a regular cab long bed pickup is 2" longer than a suburban of the same body style, and an extended cab is even longer than that. but if your comfortable with the idea of 4 wheel steering or your very familiar with long wheelbases then it works.
extended cabs are long, longer than a suburban. a regular cab long bed pickup is 2" longer than a suburban of the same body style, and an extended cab is even longer than that. but if your comfortable with the idea of 4 wheel steering or your very familiar with long wheelbases then it works.
Maverick
old-school
- Location
- Anywhere, thanks to my geeky droid
For reference, my '95 chev ext-cab shortbed took up exactly the same amount of room in my garage as my '99 suburban. The wheelbase might be a couple inches longer on the xcab, but not much. Bumper to bumper was the same. My excursion is only a couple inches longer, but alot taller. A dodge quadcab shortbed also fits. (Dunno about the megacab shortbed, though I'd like to find out)
Thanks Mesha, Red, Brett, RockMonkey, Houndoc, Maverick, 97wrangler, hammerhead, and SLC97SR5 for all the suggestions you have given me...They are really valuable and would help me in buying a car....as I was looking for the 4x4 which would give me a good responce... Any advice?
Maverick
old-school
- Location
- Anywhere, thanks to my geeky droid
What do you mean by "response"? Throttle response, ie, power? You'll want to avoid just about anything with a 4 cylinder. Most of the suggestions have good power to weight ratios when equipped with a 6 or 8 cylinder. Obviously, the V8's will have the most power.
Power + rockcrawling = expensive axles.
You mentioned that it is for your family to go trailriding and try out rockcrawling, but you haven't said yet how many people your family is. That makes a huge difference in what is recommended.
Power + rockcrawling = expensive axles.
You mentioned that it is for your family to go trailriding and try out rockcrawling, but you haven't said yet how many people your family is. That makes a huge difference in what is recommended.
You can never go wrong with a cherokee lots of aftermarket options, Cheap to Lift, Cheap to fix, good amount of room, small enough for moderate tight trails, 4.0 runs forever, inexpensive axle upgrades (8.8 for rear and chromo shafts for front-hold up to 35's or 37's being careful). cand usually find a good stock vehicle to start with for 3,000-10,000 bucks and that is for a 98-01 model. or get one already fixed up for a few grand more.
that is just my $.02 for a budget family wheeler. same year of toyotas are going to cost a lot more.
or if you dont mind payments go with a 2008 rubicon 4 door (i will probably get it for suggesting that), I just lifted and did some mods on one and I put 35" tires on it with 2" of lift and it still drives on the highway like new.
that is just my $.02 for a budget family wheeler. same year of toyotas are going to cost a lot more.
or if you dont mind payments go with a 2008 rubicon 4 door (i will probably get it for suggesting that), I just lifted and did some mods on one and I put 35" tires on it with 2" of lift and it still drives on the highway like new.
Thank you for taking the time to write.
Thank you for taking the time to write. I really do take your comments to heart and think that it is good to go for a Jeep Cherokee 4.0 to begin with an easy trails with family.. Any advice?
Have a lucky and wonderful 2008 HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks so much again for the advice.
Thank you for taking the time to write. I really do take your comments to heart and think that it is good to go for a Jeep Cherokee 4.0 to begin with an easy trails with family.. Any advice?
Have a lucky and wonderful 2008 HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks so much again for the advice.
My friends told me that if I go for Jeep Cherokee it would be not a good decision as in rock crawling your vehicle parts are going to be damage is normal and in Cherokee you have to replace the shrouds if there will be any damage.
Does anybody have anything to add to this?
Does anybody have anything to add to this?
BlackDog
one small mod at a time
- Location
- Proudly Deported to ID
Do a search and see how many people here wheel a Cherokee (XJ) on the rocks. IMHO they are expensive to build, first on the list is axle replacement, or replacement parts if you don't. lifts are a little epensive..
However if you spend the money they seem to be adequate vehicles.
If rock crawling is truly the desired end effect, i would look at something that is a little heavier duty from the factory, and there fore less costly to build, 80's - 90's LandCruiser,(those can be had from 1,500 to 4-5,000), 86-91 Suburban, Full Size Jeep Wagoneer, those were made all the way through 91 or 92 I believe and were a very comvortable ride, $ runner is a good choice as well, again if the IDEAL rock krawler is the end effect, you will have to spend a significant ampount in the way of replacing all the Independent front suspension parts with a solid front axle, new 4 door wrangler in the Rubicon trim...
However if you spend the money they seem to be adequate vehicles.
If rock crawling is truly the desired end effect, i would look at something that is a little heavier duty from the factory, and there fore less costly to build, 80's - 90's LandCruiser,(those can be had from 1,500 to 4-5,000), 86-91 Suburban, Full Size Jeep Wagoneer, those were made all the way through 91 or 92 I believe and were a very comvortable ride, $ runner is a good choice as well, again if the IDEAL rock krawler is the end effect, you will have to spend a significant ampount in the way of replacing all the Independent front suspension parts with a solid front axle, new 4 door wrangler in the Rubicon trim...
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
My friends told me that if I go for Jeep Cherokee it would be not a good decision as in rock crawling your vehicle parts are going to be damage is normal and in Cherokee you have to replace the shrouds if there will be any damage.
Does anybody have anything to add to this?
I have no idea what the "shrouds" are though or even how you'd replace them. My XJ's fan shroud was the least of my worries as my XJ started to age. I was more worried about unibody fatigue and the ability of the unibody to handle heavier unsprung weight over the long term.
That totally depends on how you wheel if the Cherokee is a good vehicle or not. If you stay to '4' rated and under trails, the Cherokee is kinda tough to beat for a family rig. Under harder use, they get a little sketchy. I'll echo what Stumph says above, though. Cheap to buy, cheap to wheel and cheap to build. They're a decent starting point if nothing else.
I bought a rig with a boxed frame (YJ) and built it how I wanted it.