Moving to Kauai, in need of vehicle advise.

[Rustyfishook]

Hi all, and thanks for reading.

So, the wife and I are planning to move to the island of Kauai for minimum 1 year. We have two younguns, boy 2 $ 1/2 and almost 7 month old little girl. We currently own ( and love) a 2002 Disco Series II with 4.0L. She is getting up to the 140,000 mile mark, and we are having the discussions of seling her and transitioning to a different vehicle platform.

We would like to have 1 vehicle if possible over there. While we love the Disco, I fully understand the ramifications of a high milage Land Rover... That said, here is what we are considering.

Toyotas: Land Cruiser, either an 80 series or 100.

4Runner

Tacoma 4 door with a shell.

With the Land Cruisers, I'm leaning a bit more toward the 100 series over the 80, due to really high milage of the 80's I've been seeing advertised (we are in SoCal). The 4Runner is a question mark as I really have no personal opinion of them. The Tacoma made the list because I'm a bit of a truck guy at heart, function and practicality.

Why Toyota? Maintenance and longevity. I want to ship a vehicle that I am sure as can be that is mechanically sound.

Equipment: I'm a bit of a minimalist. I'd prefer to get a stock vehicle and add an OME lift, and MAYBE ARB bumpers and a winch. I already own a High-Lift jack and the recovery tools.

So, there is my dilemma.

What say you? And, thanks again.

 

[SDDiver5]

Do you surf? I'd go the Tacoma route. I've been to Kauai maybe 10 times on vacation and there are tons of things to do (might be different if you live there) and having a truck with a shell is the best of both worlds. You can throw wet/dirty stuff in the back and lock it up and sleep in it when needed.

I think a truck is best fit for anyone who has somewhat of an active lifestyle.

 

[Rustyfishook]

SDDiver5,

Thanks for the quick response. That is why the Taco made the list in the first place. My wife and I are both really active outdoors, and want to raise our kiddos that way. Thus the move. I am also just wanting to hear the plus and minuses of the other Toyotas. Kauai is a magical place for us, looking forward to this!

 

[SDDiver5]

Right on. Well enjoy it! I sure to love visiting!

 

[dcwhybrew]

Keep the disco, especially if it's paid for. I would research service options first. I'm not sure what's available there.

 

[Rustyfishook]

dcwhybrew,

It is an option. Care to give a bit more of a reason? Are you a fan of the Diso II, and do you think that the milage of 140,000 (and going) is a non issue?

With those questions, ours is in pretty fine shape, all things considered. We've kept up on maintenance, she runs really well. I'm a decent basic wrench, but I know my limits. Would you at this point do the same modifications that I listed above and just get on with things? Just curious.

And, thanks for your response and opinion.

 

[Drunkle Scuzzy]

If you wind up going for a new rig, I would go for a '99 - '04 Tacoma sr5 v6. If its the 4 door I believe the best years were '03 -'04. I have had 2 of this series Tacoma and they are great trucks. I have had up to 1200 pounds of gravel in the bed and an 800+ pound trailer on 4wd only trails and it is a tractor in low range. I'm not a fan of modern vehicles but these are tough as nails and reliable. One of my trucks has 200,000 miles and drives like a dream. Nothing more than standard maintenance has been needed. Feels more like a car than a truck, especially compared to my 84 Chevy 1 1\4 ton 4x4 with solid front axle.

 

[calicamper]

Family member moved to Oahu 5yrs ago. Some tips fuel costs $$$$$ and traffic can suck on the few primary roads used daily to / from work. And Everything costs more including car parts. Shipping cars over costs $6000 ish out of Oakland etc. Shipping a vehicle in need of constant repair jobs isnt exactly smart money either.

Very little of the Islands are off road accessible to the public. Aka private land etc. My cousin commutes to work by kayak. No joke 20 minute paddle or yep 1hr + drive.

 

[Rustyfishook]

calicamper,

Hi, and thank you! I agree about Oahu, traffic and all. That being said, Kauai is a bit of a different creature. Lots of "backroads" and access. As far as a shipping a vehicle with problems, I'm with you on that. I'll post this mornings findings on the main thread response. Pretty cool to be able to kayak to work though!

 

[Rustyfishook]

This mornings findings

So, thanks to everyone who has responded so far, and to the rest, I really would like to hear from you on this. BIG decision here...

I called our local Rover mechanic this morning who has helped me maintain our Disco through the years. Gave him the scenario, and this was HIS feedback.

Disco with 140,000 miles CAN run well and long if maintained. The real issue is parts and service for unforseen bigger issues that COULD arise. It is basically rolling the dice on keeping and transporting our Disco. He agreed with the aspect that Toyota will have a MUCH larger parts and service availability over there, and would be a good platform to go with.

So, I'm still on the path of looking for a Toyota replacement/platform for our family. Any help and opinions are very appreciated.

So far, Tacoma's are getting a pretty big vote in this. That being said, I AM finding some lower-ish milage series 80 Land Cruisers within driving distance from me. Avoid, and stick to looking primarily at 100's, or consider 80's a bit more?

Thanks.

 

[Christophe Noel]

I lived on Kauai for five months. You may not like my suggestion, but here goes. Just take your Disco II there and give it a nice place to die when you leave it behind. There's a couple things to know about Kauai. First, you can drive from the south side to the north side in about an hour. It's only 45 miles from Poipu to Hanalei on the north side. However, traffic is so bad that the trip can often take two hours. Point being, driving around the island is pretty slow going with lots of gas burn. Expensive gas. So, many residents don't often drive from one side of the island to the other very often. Meaning, most of your trips will be under 15-30 miles if not way less.

Secondly, there's really nowhere to drive off road. In fact, there's not really much road period. At least half of the island's mass is roadless. The few unpaved roads usually traverse private land and the locals are REALLY sensitive to people being where they're not suppose to be.

Kauai is a good place for the beater car. When we lived there we bought a 1975 AMC Hornet station wagon. IT WAS AWESOME. In five months, with no job and all day to explore and play, we only put 750 miles on that car. There's really not many places to drive to.

 

[Rustyfishook]

Christophe Noel,

Thanks much for your response. I'll say this first, I'd like nothing better than to keep our Disco, put a moderate lift under her and go. The issue is that she is worth (Edmunds TMV) by the books about $2000.00 private seller. I live in San Diego currently, and see similar ones for sale on Craigslist going for between $3000.00 and $4500.00. Ish...

That said, for what she is worth, if I had a catastrophic engine failure (which CAN happen with higher milage Rovers) the replacement/repair costs completely dwarf the value of the vehicle. It seems to me that the Toyotas have a much, very much better aftermarket following and parts availability, as well as the reputation for just lasting a really long time with maintenance.

Again, I'd love to keep the Rover, but this will by my family's vehicle and reliability is very much top of mind. That is why I would really like to hear from other owners and get some solid feedback on it here. I'm willing to keep her, just need some more data and insight.

Okee dokee, with all that said, I'm gonna have to do a bit of push back on the rest of your Kauai intel. I spent 10 days there and drove from Waimea to Haena State Park, a few times in that 10 day stretch. I'm a little bit familiar with the traffic (35 mph behind old farm trucks) and conditions.

As far as the gas prices, they are currently about a buck higher that here in SD http://thegardenisland.com/app/gasprices/
But, as of two months ago, THESE were my gas prices, and prior to that, much higher. This is a non issue for us.

And a bit of research for off roading brought up this http://www.wranglerforum.com/f122/your-favorite-kauai-off-road-trails-130359.html
And this http://www.summitpacificinc.com/hawaii-car-rentals/off-road-places.html

There seems to be a pretty good amount of trails and off road. This won't be our primary pursuit over there, but I want the ability when the mood strikes.

So, all this said, I do appreciate your response. Do you have any more insight into high milage Disco's that I might not be considering? I'm just looking at what I'll have to spend on either a stock Disco (lift, bumpers and winch) which is a throw away vehicle? Possibly? Or a Toyota, which hopefully will follow us wherever we go?

Thanks again.

 

[java]

I love my 4th Gen 4runner FWIW.

If you're not planning to stay, or keep your disco long term, I would vote for the beater. Salt is hard on cars in hawaii in general.

But take a look at used car prices over there before you go.

 

[calicamper]

Parts!!!! Cousin bought a BMW convertable 328 thing used older ride over there. A month later the car had some sort of electrical failure. Took 4 weeks to get the part and 30 minutes to get the car going again. Getting parts to the islands is a slow by boat process. Ive fedexed some small parts to him for his F250 7.4L he shipped over. They shipped the F250 and their 1994 LC. Sold the LC it was a basket case before they shipped it, got a mini which was a mess replaced it with the bmw. Major problem was down time waiting for parts.

 

[Rustyfishook]

There is the crux of it. Toyota appears to have the much bigger following and service over there..