Help needed deciding what to build up next... On a budget of course.

Subspd

Adventurer
A little background. I have owned a lot of trucks over the years. 7.3 Excursions to Suzuki Samurais... But I love Toyota trucks and keep coming back to them. Wife and I have lived all over the USA and Mexico and travel frequently. I also get transferred to a new area every 3 years or so. We don't travel light and space is always a hot commodity. HOWEVER I really don't like rigs that won't fit on trails on the East Coast since I end up there frequently.

So past Toyotas...
97 T100 SR5 4x4
97 FJ80 LX450 (triple locked and never should have sold it...)
1999 UZJ100 LC
2006 Tacoma
2007 4runner (was fully built up, but miles were high and I got tired of front end problems with it)
2009 Rav4 (only kept it for a year but could hold more than you think)

Must:
be under 150k miles
be under $14k
be able to lock the center diff (this has come in handy in snow situations)
be able to add a rear locker if it doesn't have one.
have aftermarket support for bumpers, sliders, lockers, etc.

So I am really trying to decide on what to get next.

Budget is 14k for initial purchase and will build it over time.
I am really trying to get something with less than 150k miles and in really clean shape.

I am thinking about a first gen Tundra or Sequoia, thoughts?
Could try to find a clean 1st gen tacoma but most are rusted out on the east coast and over priced if they aren't.
GX470, this one interests me, but I see a lot of little problems pop up on these with all the electronics. Still nice platform.
Another 4runner, kinda would like something different.
100/80 LC... This is probably what I should head towards but finding a clean one with low miles is next to impossible in my price range.

Any other suggestions? Any reasons to lean toward one over the other?
 
Im hoping to start on my 04 sequoia this spring. 2 big reasons why i feel good about the sequoia. Its a toyota and i already have it. Kinda limited on aftermarket support but there are lockers for the rear, just about everything tundra will fit the frontend. 4.7 is solid. I've been fortunate to have limited rust issues but thats usually the killer around here. Its something different as well. One thing i have noticed is that there not quite as costly as the tundras seem to be. We bought ours from the original owners 2012 with 110k for 11. 1st gen tundras with 150k aorund here are generally 12/13 and up today. I actually considered selling ours this summer and advertised it a 6 for 3 months and never got a call. Apparently it was meant to be.

Not trying to sway you but i think you could into a real nice sequoia way cheaper than a tundra. Gotta remember that most of these are soccer mom deals and when the "need" for a new 70k suv arises, the old one goes pretty cheap. Hope this helps. Good luck.
 

bkg

Explorer
Here in TN, 1st Gen sequoia’s are very inexpensive compared to tundra’s. Many, though do have high(er) miles.

Had an 07 Limited for a while. I liked it. Just needed a truck
 

Subspd

Adventurer
Yeah I have noticed that the Sequoia is much cheaper than the Tundra. And in a lot of ways the big interior is ideal for a travel rig.

My only concern was aftermarket support.
Can anyone confirm that on a Sequoia you can lock the center diff?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Subspd

Adventurer
24c2e476149ff11117417810af883cbf.jpg


The one I never should have sold...
But now that it’s won’t be a daily driver I can justify a V8.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

bkg

Explorer
Iirc, the SR5’s were part time and the Limited had similar tcase to the 4Runner (2/awd/4/low).... I think. Been 9 years
 
Last edited:

bkg

Explorer
I’m not sure what you meant by only the v-8. But the 4th gen v6 has full time as well. But could be ran in 2wd if desired.

4th gen v6 - 2wd/4hi/4lo
4th gen v8 - “AWD”/4hi lock/4lo
Some 3rd gens - 2wd/“AWD”/4 hi lock/4lo

Is that better????
 
To the op, my 04 sr5 sequoia has a button for 4wd, a button to lock the center differential, and a shifter to select high, neutral, and low range.
 

thezentree

pretend redneck
Iirc, the SR5's were part time and the Limited had similar tcase to the 4Runner (2/awd/4/low).... I think. Been 9 years

My '01 SR5 has the multi-mode (2/AWD/4/lo) case. I THINK all the 01-02 4Runners have multi-mode but maybe the 4 cyls have the J-shift case?

Not saying you're wrong, just that the later 3rd gen SR5 is at least available with multi-mode.
 

Loubaru

Adventurer
My '01 SR5 has the multi-mode (2/AWD/4/lo) case. I THINK all the 01-02 4Runners have multi-mode but maybe the 4 cyls have the J-shift case?

Not saying you're wrong, just that the later 3rd gen SR5 is at least available with multi-mode.

From everything I remember/guide I've read the 99-00 were the only ones with the multimod case. AWD push button and 4WD/4low on the J shift. When I bought my old 4runner a few years ago I was looking superficially at the 99-00s because of this.

Back to the original post. Unless you need a bed I'd be looking at the 100 series LC, G4 4Runner, or Sequoia. I have a DC first gen Tundra and while I love it its definitely large, I don't off road much though, mainly just forest service roads.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,527
Messages
2,875,534
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top