Good starting platform for under 7k?

[Calplaya]

more capable offroad then an American vehicle? well thats a first ive ever heard that lol! I still have yet to get stuck in my Suburban, and ive been in some pretty rough stuff in that. Around these parts, where we have a lot of mud in the summer, and need to drive in the fields, and during the winter have blizzard after blizzard, you need a good, strong, hefty vehicle to handle it all, and American trucks and SUVs are everywhere, with anything imported usually being towed out. Maybe as far as size is concerned I could see it being a bit of an issue if your wheeling a small trail, but otherwise, they are awesome off road.

Yes the 4.8L and 5.3L are very very similar, and like you said, they do share a lot of the same parts. I actually have a car craft magazine where the boys bought a silverado 5.3L and were gunna see how much power they could bolt on it before it broke, with no strengthining of anything really. they got well past 600 HP and it was still asking for more, when they looked at a casting number on the block and realized it was actually a 4.8L, so these engines are very stout indeed.

As far as being smooth/refined and mordern, with the 5.3L, you get that, and you dont have a whole hellofalot to worry about. Reliability on these as ive illistrated before is well above average. Great engines. Cant go wrong. But I would advise not looking at a 2000 Tahoe, and instead look for an 01-04 one. not only was the engine majorly refined in 01, they also went with a new transmission too, which is worlds ahead of the old one. the first year (01) did have some problems in that tranny with the butterfly gears, but that issue has been addressed in recalls and just people breaking down and getting new transmissions afterward. My dads 01 Tahoe had it, went out at 37k miles, got a new one, now the truck has 230k on it with no issues.

otherwise, all of those options you layed out, well, you wont be disappointed unless you buy the Nissan haha.

[Kermit]

I feel as though an xterra would be more capable offroad than a full size american vehicle.
:

Nah, it is more about driving skill than what vehicle you have.

I have own both fullsize and mini-trucks and still wheeled the same trails. While I really like my Tacoma, I sure do miss my '76 F250.

I had it set up darn near exactly like this one, just a
different color.

14034.520.390.jpg


There is a guy running around town here in a late model regular cab F250, with a about 4" lift and 35" tires, 8' bed, and a topper...really like that truck, he can
go anywhere I can, plus has higher load capacity. You can make a pretty nice living quarters with a 8' bed, a cot and a topper.

Roll-a-Cot, has cots with no center leg, can place it right over a wheel well, plus breaks down quite small.

http://www.camptime.net/roll-a-cot.htm

American TopGear kinda sucks....no Jeremy Clarkson...but...

[JeepMI]

more capable offroad then an American vehicle? well thats a first ive ever heard that lol! I still have yet to get stuck in my Suburban, and ive been in some pretty rough stuff in that. Around these parts, where we have a lot of mud in the summer, and need to drive in the fields, and during the winter have blizzard after blizzard, you need a good, strong, hefty vehicle to handle it all, and American trucks and SUVs are everywhere, with anything imported usually being towed out. Maybe as far as size is concerned I could see it being a bit of an issue if your wheeling a small trail, but otherwise, they are awesome off road.

Yes the 4.8L and 5.3L are very very similar, and like you said, they do share a lot of the same parts. I actually have a car craft magazine where the boys bought a silverado 5.3L and were gunna see how much power they could bolt on it before it broke, with no strengthining of anything really. they got well past 600 HP and it was still asking for more, when they looked at a casting number on the block and realized it was actually a 4.8L, so these engines are very stout indeed.

As far as being smooth/refined and mordern, with the 5.3L, you get that, and you dont have a whole hellofalot to worry about. Reliability on these as ive illistrated before is well above average. Great engines. Cant go wrong. But I would advise not looking at a 2000 Tahoe, and instead look for an 01-04 one. not only was the engine majorly refined in 01, they also went with a new transmission too, which is worlds ahead of the old one. the first year (01) did have some problems in that tranny with the butterfly gears, but that issue has been addressed in recalls and just people breaking down and getting new transmissions afterward. My dads 01 Tahoe had it, went out at 37k miles, got a new one, now the truck has 230k on it with no issues.

otherwise, all of those options you layed out, well, you wont be disappointed unless you buy the Nissan haha.

Haha I guess I worded that poorly, it being American has nothing to do with it, but being a Jeep guy I always figured that smaller, lighter vehicles were better offroad. Although this vehicle will see more highway than trails so capability isn't actually that important. Whatever i get it will have a winch and recovery gear just in case

Good to know on the 2000 tahoe's though, I'll watch out for those. First model years generally do have more problems anyway.

Nah, it is more about driving skill than what vehicle you have.

I have own both fullsize and mini-trucks and still wheeled the same trails. While I really like my Tacoma, I sure do miss my '76 F250.

I had it set up darn near exactly like this one, just a
different color.

14034.520.390.jpg


There is a guy running around town here in a late model regular cab F250, with a about 4" lift and 35" tires, 8' bed, and a topper...really like that truck, he can
go anywhere I can, plus has higher load capacity. You can make a pretty nice living quarters with a 8' bed, a cot and a topper.

Roll-a-Cot, has cots with no center leg, can place it right over a wheel well, plus breaks down quite small.

http://www.camptime.net/roll-a-cot.htm

American TopGear kinda sucks....no Jeremy Clarkson...but...

True on the drivers skill, I've seen stock pathfinders go places that Jeep's on 33's struggle in. I would also eventually get a rear locker so that would help with capability.

That truck is super badass though, I'd love to get something like that but I have a feeling that they don't get much over 10 MPG haha. Funny you mention that top gear episode though, I was just watching that the other day and was rather impressed by the capability of those trucks, however the vehicles i'm looking at have IFS where those *** had solid axles. Is the solid axle setup THAT much more capable in a full size truck? Should I be considering a Ram as well because of it?

[Kermit]

That truck is super badass though, I'd love to get something like that but I have a feeling that they don't get much over 10 MPG haha. Funny you mention that top gear episode though, I was just watching that the other day and was rather impressed by the capability of those trucks, however the vehicles i'm looking at have IFS where those *** had solid axles. Is the solid axle setup THAT much more capable in a full size truck? Should I be considering a Ram as well because of it?

It isn't that a SFA is more capable, just a wee bit stronger depending on who you ask. SFA is a bit easier to lift than IFS, correctly that is...drop bracket lifts for IFS over leverage the system, you want to go long travel...but cost goes through the roof then. IFS will ride nicer than SFA. But a coil sprung SFA will be close if it is setup right.



Like anything in life, it is all a compromise. Especially with a budget.

Dodges are worth looking at, but have week steering components that need to be addressed if you are going to drive it hard.

I dunno, maybe your best bet is a F250/F350 with a a leaf sprung front end. Deals are out there just have to look for them...but gas mileage isn't going to be great. 6 to 1, half dozen the other.

[78Bronco]

Broncos are pretty awesome!

[Kermit]

Broncos are pretty awesome!

Yes they are.

1979_ford_bronco_95913281873423482.jpg

[JeepMI]

Well, after a pretty long search for a new truck, I went a different route than expected and picked up a ranger for a good price. I looked at a couple F-150's and an expedition but couldn't find what I wanted in good enough shape for a reasonable price, so I found a clean '03 Ranger Fx4 extended cab with a loaded interior and 110k for waaaay cheaper than blue book. Guy wasn't using it anymore because he started a landscaping company and wanted a quick sale to keep his company afloat. However, the cheap price came with a few problems. Needed a battery terminal, some grease on the slip yoke, a passenger side outer tie rod, a drivers side wheel bearing is on the way out, and it has a small exhaust leak. It will also need tires soon because of a little dry rot but that's no biggie because I want to upgrade anyway. Granted, the truck still drives with with no real shakes or loud noises, but these are things that are just now becoming noticeable, so I'll fix them before they actually fail.

So far i've fixed the battery terminal, greased the slip yoke, and just did some general clean up. Going to transfer the plates tomorrow, and hopefully get the exhaust taken care of (small leak in a flange between the cat and muffler, shouldn't be expensive). Also going to crawl under and start soaking the bolts for the tie rod and wheel bearing so the replacement wont be bad, hoping to fix both of those Tuesday and Wednesday.

After that it should be good to go for a while. As far as mods go, the truck will likely stay close to stock. The Fx4 package came with 4.10 gears, a stout LSD 8.8, some skids, and it sits pretty high. After all of the problems are fixed I'm start looking for used caps to put on it, so that I can build a sleeping platform. The bed is 6', I laid down in it, and though it's not ideal I think it will do. I'm also throwing around the idea of getting a small teardrop style trailer to drag behind it.

Anyway, thanks for all the help guys, i'm looking forward to getting out in the wilderness again.

[redthies]

Seems about time for a pic or two??

[Socal4X4]

I think you will really like that Ranger!!! I have the same truck/year, bought brand new, and love it!!! I have changed out the hubs twice, the transmission 3 times and the stupid rubber tube under the intake twice. To be honest, running 33/12.5 tires though the dunes and over the rock trails (making sure my Jeep buddies couldn't talk crap!!!) and having a lead foot did the damage. Also the fact that once I hit an on-ramp to the freeway I put the peddle to the floor. All those added up to tranny issues. Haven't had any problems since I put a shift kit in (real cheap to do). Again, you are going to love it!!! If you EVER start having weird issues with the motor (runs funny, moose noises, won't idle) do a search for the rubber elbow under the intake tube. Takes only a couple minutes and $10 to fix. If you are smart and look for it instead of putting your truck into a shop for services it did NOT need...like I did. ENJOY!!!more flex.jpgShortcut.JPGIMG_0284.JPG


One more thing!!! It took over ten years of abuse, but somehow the bolts on the left side of my torsen L/S started to back out and tear up the retaining caps inside my rear diff. Took me way to long to figure it out, but I did replace it. Prob not a normal issue by any means, just a heads up.

[Xterra05]

At the moment I'm driving a 2000 Silverado Z71 4x4 that I picked up for cheap, but the transmission is pretty rough (manual trans -whines, occasional grinds, clunks on 1-2 and 2-3 shift), the front end pulls no matter what I replace, and it has some weird ABS issues, so I'm sort of ruling this out at my vehicle to start building off of.

Slighty off topic regarding your weird ABS issues, does ABS kick on randomly while stopping about when the speedometer hits about 10 mph?

Congrats on finding a new rig!