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"Other" off-road vehicles

bczoom

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I've been pondering another off-road vehicle.

I obviously started with the Suzuki Samurai but it doesn't look like they are many left for the picking.

Are there similar vehicles that would work pretty decent?
Suzuki Sidekick
Geo Tracker
???
 

bczoom

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Some of the older Land Cruisers may work but I'm really tight on space.
 

Melensdad

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I've driven Suzuki Samurais down in the Virgin Islands and they are a blast. I can't find any in my area as they are typically rusted through and look like Swiss Cheese or they are so highly modified that they are not practical/reliable.
 

California

Charter Member
Site Supporter
How hard-core do you need?

Will you trailer it to an offroad site, or, expect it to resist damage and drive the family home after a day offroad?

Any Jeep is an obvious choice. Or maybe a Toyota 4-runner and its clones.

For family adventure use - I've had several 4x4's that were suitable to take the family far beyond the end of the road, since I have a mining claim deep in the Sierras. When there is a logging contract then the only hazard is to avoid the logging trucks. But after the first year or so with no logging, we are on our own to fill and climb through washouts or winch across slides that block the haul trails. (the places that wash out or slide are nearly straight up/down side slopes). Plus we often went in before the snow on the north-facing slopes cleared, driving on drifts that contained a dozen or so layers of compressed ice. (Average snowfall there is about 14 feet. After the freeze/thaw layers compress the snowpack, the drifts are like 4 ft of concrete but with rotten spots.)

I started with two Willys Wagons, then two Wagoneers. Finally the second Wagoneer would stand up to this abuse and never sustain any damage, although I always made it home (135 miles) with the prior rigs as well.

The best rig for this use was an 88 Trooper I bought new. Even today I think the early Troopers (88-91) are a good choice if you want something inexpensive and cheap to fix, maybe 5 -10 k cheaper than a Land Cruiser which is unquestionably more competent. The Isuzu 4 cylinder had more hp and better mileage than the 6 cylinder (Chev V6) but today the chev engine is the one with plenty of parts available. Also the Trooper LS, the premium model, had a limited slip differential and bigger tires. Avoid a Trooper prior to 88, those had carburetors and much lighter running gear. And if your state's smog rules allow it, you can replace the little citation v6 with a larger modern chev v6.

There's nothing wrong with having a good stereo and A/C in a rig that will go through someplace where your wife and passengers insist that they get out and watch, when you have to return through that bad spot.

re tight on space - Just leave it outside. For 16 years my Trooper was always parked outdoors and the paint looked fine, better than most 5 year old cars.

The final irony was I couldn't wear this Trooper out in 130k miles, 16 years. It was totalled by a falling tree limb.
 

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Dargo

Like a bad penny...
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I was trying to solve the same "desire" a while back. It seemed that every Suzuki was beaten to death. The local 4X4 club has a pack of guys running the little Kia 4X4's and say they do great off road. They are not exactly reliable though. I ended up with an old box style Jeep Cherokee Sport. It cost me less than a trashed ATV would have and it's been great off road. I think I torqued it a bit this last time though. The hood used to close just fine and was centered between the front fenders. After my latest off roading in it I noticed that there is no gap on one side between the fender and about an inch gap on the other side. Oh well, I haven't had a chance to see why yet. I just used the leaf blower to get all the weeds and seeds out of the grill and radiator and all is fine again; cept for that gap...
 

dzalphakilo

Banned
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=211941496&dealer_id=58823119&car_year=1997&search_type=both&num_records=25&keywordsfyc=&make=SUZUKI&transmission=&make3=&model=SIDE&distance=200&make2=SUZUKI&address=27018&advanced=&certified=&model2=SAMUR&max_mileage=&max_price=10000&sort_type=priceDESC&min_price=&body_code=0&end_year=2007&keywordsrep=&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=81

Apologies for the long paste. Had a buddy up in W.V who had a sidekick and loved it for hunting and kayaking in the mountains of W.V. He's sorry he got rid of it.

From my experience now living "down south", I'd suggest you consider the option of looking for a vehicle down south of Va. I realize it's a bit of a haul, but if you run a carfax on the vehicle and can see that it is a "local southern car", you won't beleive how much "better" the vehicle can be. Bought my used T-100 down in Hickory, 98 with 65k on it. Truck was five years old when I bought it. Engine and body were in PERFECT condition, and even though it now has well over 100k on it, engine still looks new. Traded my 95 Toyota PU truck for it that had seen weather from Syracuse, N.Y and Morgantown, W.V, had 130k on it, but man, did the winter salt show on that truck.

No salt, very little snow on the roads down here. Vehicles age very well.

If you can find something you like down around Winston Salem, Charlotte, Greensboro or Hickory N.C, verify it is a local vehicle, be happy to work something out with you getting the vehicle up to you (I can always kill two birds with one stone and visit some old co-wokers/customers/friends up in the Meadville area). Still try and make that trip at least once a year anyway.

Just a thought.

Found this one as well, heck, I even got interested looking at it.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=204846728&dealer_id=53947140&car_year=1993&search_type=both&num_records=25&keywordsfyc=&make=GEO&transmission=&model=GEOTRACK&distance=100&make2=&address=27018&advanced=&certified=&max_mileage=&max_price=5000&sort_type=priceDESC&min_price=&body_code=0&end_year=2007&keywordsrep=&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=57
 
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bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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DZ,

Thanks for the thoughts on getting a southern car. Both of the links provided are vehicles I should consider.

CA,

I don't need anything too hard-core.

Re. "tight on space" I was referring to the trails and such that I would be riding on. I like the Trooper but it may be too big.
 

California

Charter Member
Site Supporter
bczoom said:
CA,

I don't need anything too hard-core.

Re. "tight on space" I was referring to the trails and such that I would be riding on. I like the Trooper but it may be too big.
They are bigger than the minis, but a lot smaller than they look. When I got the Subaru Outback I had trouble parallel parking it. It seemed clumsy and sometimes took two tries to get into a space that looked fine. I finally looked up the specs: the 99 Subaru Outback is 11 inches longer and 5 inches wider, compared to the 88 Trooper!

And the visibility to all four corners of the Trooper is superb, like sitting in a lighthouse. No wonder I could zip the Trooper into spots where the Subaru requires caution and precision.

I don't know if an old Trooper is the best solution today. Probably something newer wouldn't cost any more. But I think it belongs among the contenders.

Photo: Typical application. Easter week 99 was the last opportunity for a family camping trip with just the four of us before older daughter graduated HS and departed for college. We were determined to get out somewhere.

Considering storms forecast for the Sierras, we towed over the summit and into the Nevada desert near Fort Churchill, a remote area. The storm was worse than expected - we got some even over there, and had to wait for chain control to lift before we could climb back over Donner Pass into California. This sort of push-the-envelope family trip was typical of when we had the Trooper.

That trailer was used mostly to extend the season into harsher weather. We normally camped carrying everything for the four of us, plus often extra stuff for hosting inexperienced guests, in (and on top of) the Trooper. A real expedition vehicle.

PIC00384fortchurchill2.jpg
 

ghautz

Bronze Member
Site Supporter
I went through the same thing last year. Found a '98 Sidekick Sport that works great for my purposes. Didn't want a lot of power accessories, but had to accept power windows, power door locks, electric mirrors and an aftermarket cruise control. Turns out the cruise control is great for highway driving. The car gets 33mpg on the highway, never less than 27 on any tank of gas so far. It is small enough to go a lot of backroad places my old T100 wouldn't fit. The reliability record for Sidekicks/Trackers is excellent. It just turned over 100k miles and still does not leak anywhere or burn any oil. Wouldn't mind finding a 2dr hardtop for strictly backroad use.
 

cj7

New member
Well as you might expect from me I woudl say a jeep.

The early TJ's '97 to 99' are great out of the box. These are hitting the used market at pretty low prices. especially if it is a 4 banger and 5 spd.

I would shy away from the earlier yj model.. harsher ride, not as comfortable and alot of them are about the same price as the newer model TJ

I also like the XJ or Cherokee. We have plenty of them in the club. Stick a budget boost lift and 31's on them and wheel all over our neck of the woods. They turn very well and we have had them in mant tight places.


Now you can go newr and buy a Rubicon edition Wrangler. It will have oversize tires, better axles, and selectable lockers at both ends. This set up from the factory really is the best bang for your buck if your looking at a new jeep.

Now also keep in mind that there was 'Umlimited' that just went out of production. It is narrow like a normal jeep, but has a little longer wheel base. It has ten more inches inside for cargo and passengers.

Brand new is the 4 door Wrangler or JK. We just had one out on the trail. It perforemed very well for a stock jeep. The guy has not put a small lift on and 33" mud tires. I can not wait to see it wheel now.

So you know I have to ask... you say you have some trials to run on?

We are always looking for new places to trail ride. If it is a nice chunk.. maybe somethign can be worked out..



Oh.. and I have wheled with trackers, rodeos, land rovers, and a bunch of other rigs.. each one has its pros and cons for a given situation. I have yet to see a rig that performs top notch in all catagories.. IMHO

I think it all come down to what ever you like!
 

bczoom

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cj7 said:
So you know I have to ask... you say you have some trials to run on?

We are always looking for new places to trail ride. If it is a nice chunk.. maybe somethign can be worked out.
Sorry Rick,

No real trails to speak of... I have about a mile or so of trails going back through the woods. Pretty narrow with a steeeep hill off to the side. Most are only 6' wide (which is why I need something small).

I have the RTV but a cab with heat would cost me about $3K. I was thinking for that price, I could get something like what we're talking about for beating around on inclimate days.

I take the kids tobogganing around a lot in the winter. Sometimes it's in a field a couple miles away. It would be nice to be pulling them in something heated and also to have a warm place for them to defrost every once in awhile as opposed to having to come home.
 

cj7

New member
Those cherokees can be had for little money.. buy a beater just for the woods for a few hundred.. then if you do bump some trees its no big deal.

A bud of mine bought a 4 banger auto for $250.00 runs great and is not rusted through... it is inspectable...

plenty of parts and aftermarket resources for this and many jeep models
cheap and easy to fix.

I know of a nice red one that has 140,000 miles on it over in Leechburg PA at a friends shop.. I think it is priced at $2700.00
 
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