What Off Road Vehicle For Me?

[bob91yj]

Jeep Cherokee would meet all of your needs IMO. Grand Cherokee would work as well, but they aren't as reliable IMO.

1.) Must be able to do nearly everything off road comfortably (mud, sand, prerunning, water, and rocks. (but nothing too extreme))...XJ's can be modified mild to wild
2.) I must be able to sleep inside of it with gear. (I'm about average size)...I've got a buddy that's at least 6', he sleeps in his 2dr XJ
3.) It must get fairly decent milage (+-15 mpg city)...my '87 stocker with 200k on the clock still got 20MPG on the highway
4.) It must be below $10,000 USD to purchase...with change to spare
5.) It must be reliable...XJ's are damn near bulletproof for "normal" use
6.) It must have room for 4 people and gear....Not a problem as long as everyone REALLY likes each other, heheh.
7.) It must be safe...not sure on the crash ratings
8.) It needs to be cheap to maintain and modify....parts are cheap and available anywhere, huge aftermarket support
9.) It must not be so nice that I would be afraid to get scratches etc. on it....It's a Jeep, not that pretty to begin with.
10.) It must be acceptable to drive on the highway....not sure what that means, XJ can blend with all the other soccer mom SUV's out there just fine

[C-Fish]

1999-2001 Jeep Cherokee.

Enjoy...

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=1308433068703

[Allof75]

I have been leaning to the XJs... I just wish the lockers weren't so expensive.
Any other suggestions?

[Frank]

Aussie lockers for xj's are $300 and have great reviews. I like my XJ. I am taking it on its first trip in a few weeks. I am 6'3" and would not consider sleeping in my xj, unless I absolutely had to.

That said; I do miss my Isuzu Trooper. Take a look at those also. Though not as many options for upgrades, they are out there. The best part is they don't need much of anything to make it a real adventure vehicle. Maybe a bumper for a winch, extra lights, a roof rack if you are going to sleep in it (I would sleep in a trooper, if a payload could be strapped to the top), tires, a small lift, shocks (shocks are a must, I had KYB monomax from Tire Rack) and tires. Not sure when this article was written, but the price of troopers are far below what he mentions in this article. By the way, this is a great article regarding the Trooper. They are regulars on Craigslist and around here can be found for a few grand.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/vehic...per/index.html

You could have a shopping spree at rocky road, get almost everything in one swoop.
http://www.rocky-road.com/isuzu.html

Pound for pound, apples to apples, if I had to choose between a trooper and a XJ jeep, I'd probably go for the Trooper, after owning both. I love my Jeep, love the "lifestyle" that comes with ownership of a Jeep, love how easy it is to get support for it, parts are so abundant its hard to choose what I want, you can walk into a junkyard any day of the week and find several with good parts on them to pull things from, they are capable to go anywhere...but the trooper was unique, had WAY more room, didn't need much, and mine was a great vehicle. I sold it for $500 with over 200k miles on it a year ago and the guy who bought it is still driving it.

[GTABurnout]

Funny thing about a thread like this is what you usually end up with is each member explaining why they have there current truck. So basically its a list of what each poster has.

I tried to do some thing like this a few years ago. I bout a low mileage 2000 Cherokee (50K). I put on a good set of old man EMU suspension and some 31's. Should have been the perfect truck. It was far from that...

First off it over heated. Even after a new cooling system and a good flush it always ran hot. Steering was crap. It wandered and vibrated allover the free way. Once new steering was put on the DW was under control but truck still rode like crap. Power was lack luster. Remember my truck was stock gearing on 31's it would damn near come to a stop at any hill on the freeway.

Sold it knowing it never was what it was suppose to be. Now after owning my Dodge truck I will never own a Jeep or dodge product again.

What about a 100 series Land cruiser? Or a 1st gen Tundra or Tacoma with a camper shell. Both will be plenty reliable and both have excellent suspension options out there for them.

Which ever way you go good luck.

[blakeape]

I'd look hard at a 3rd gen 4runner with the 3.4 V6. Very reliable, can be found with factory rear locker, 5spd are somewhat rare but an option if that matters to you, pretty easily modified with a huge aftermarket support. Just be careful if you are back east the frame is totally rusted on my 97 and the rear suspension literally ripped of the frame this month.

[Box Rocket]

I think you should be looking at either a 2001-2002 Toyota Tacoma, or a 1993-1997 Toyota LandCruiser FZJ80. They both fit your requirements for the most part. I can see an XJ working pretty well too, but if it were me I'd take either of the Toyotas first.

[Bogo]

I'd look hard at a 3rd gen 4runner with the 3.4 V6. Very reliable, can be found with factory rear locker, 5spd are somewhat rare but an option if that matters to you, pretty easily modified with a huge aftermarket support. Just be careful if you are back east the frame is totally rusted on my 97 and the rear suspension literally ripped of the frame this month.

All the salt and ice melting chemicals they use in the north east are cruel to vehicles. I have a perfectly running '95 2nd gen 4runner that spent most of it's life in southern New Hampshire, but it's frame is going 100 flakes at a time. Pick them up from the south west or places where they don't use salt on the roads.

Also consider the 2nd generation 4runners. They have a smaller interior than later ones, but will still fit 4 people if a bit cramped. The 2nd generation are lower powered than later ones, but have higher gas mileage, and the engines are highly reliable. Even the V6 3.0 everybody likes to dis. Regulatory changes forced new non asbestos head gaskets on them and the initial ones failed, but the replacements last fine. There was a recall on them. First generation 4runners were 2 door so the rear seats are hard to get into, but being a lighter vehicle they get better gas mileage. Some 2nd generation 4runners are two door, but they are rare. Stay away from the turbo powered first generation ones as the turbo likes to go. The 4 cylinder 22RE engine is easy to work on and rarely breaks. The 3.0 V6 is shoehorned into the engine compartment so it can be a pain to work on. People curse that, but thankfully it rarely needs work. All 4x4 ones have a high low transfer case. Low range easily eats up the rugged miles even when heavily loaded. The fender wells will fit most 32" tires without modification and no lift. Mild lifts allow 33" to 35" tires. 35" tires require a bit of foot well bashing and flattening a seam. Snorkel kits are available or can be home made. If you get one, resist the temptation to switch to Dana 35, and 40 axles as they are much weaker than the stock Toyota ones. The stock IFS is very rugged, but if you are going to be running at high speeds over rough roads, add an IFS brace to the frame. They bolt on between the rear IFS attachments points. They are only really needed for crazies doing 45+ on rough bumpy roads or technical rock crawling with large tires.

The changes I'd make to a stock 2nd gen 4runner. OME springs, torsion bars, and shocks in front and rear. 1" ball joint spacers in front, and 1.5" lift (from OME medium springs, and cranking torsion bars). Slightly longer lateral control rod on the rear suspension. 16x7 wheels and 245x75r16 load range E KM2 tires. If needed regear differentials to suit tires. Add ARB air lockers to front and rear differentials. ARB bull bar front bumper for the field rats (deer). 2nd battery with isolator for refrigerator**. Small inverter to power laptops, battery chargers, etc.. Rear bumper with pintle hitch. Off road trailer, like the surplus military ones, for extra gear, fuel and supplies when what I need along won't fit in the 4runner. I'd change its hubs to have the same lug diameter and number as the 4runner uses, and use the same wheels and tires on it. That gives me two more spares for emergencies. Pair of Lightforce 170 HID driving lights with wide/far lenses.

** I'm tempted to put on a 2nd alternator in place of the air conditioner compressor and have it charge the 2nd battery. The second alternator and battery would be a totally separate system from the stock system. I'd also change the air conditioner compressor out for a 12VDC powered one.

[Frankspinz]

Nissan Xterra 2000-2004, plenty cheap on the used market. Good reliability, plenty of info on many online forums ...

[Martinjmpr]

The 2nd generation are lower powered than later ones, but have higher gas mileage, and the engines are highly reliable.

I've never heard that 2nd gens get better MPG than 3rd gens. In fact, usually I hear people with 2nd gens or 89-94 pickups with the 3.0 complaining that they have no power AND their MPG sucks.

What kind of MPG are you getting? And is this with a manual or automatic? I could imagine a 2nd gen with a manual getting better MPG than a 3rd gen with an automatic, but that's sort of an apples/oranges comparison.

A 2nd gen with a 22re and 5 speed would probably deliver decent MPG in the 20+ range. Slow as molasses compared to the newer ones but I never had any problems driving my 85 Toyota pickup or my dad's 88 4runner, and both were 22r/5 speed combos.