Newbie looking for suggestions...

[rfroy]

Hey gang Jerry from Colorado.

I am starting to look for a replacement for my aging 98 Ford Expedition. Love the thing but she has almost 190K on her and both mains are leaking and needs upper and lower ball joints.

I am looking for a replacement that will be mainly my daily driver with camping, fire roads and light 4 wheeling like Cinnamon Pass in Southern Colorado. My needs as a daily driver are simple but I have a part time job that requires me to carry tools, computers, ladders, etc. in to the not so safe parts of Denver.

Capacity - two adults, 14 year old creature (girlfriends daughter) and a dog. We like to tent camp and have most of our gear in tubs or cases for easy loading and use.

I don't abuse vehicles like bounce them off rocks but I do enjoy being off road with friends and family. My son has a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Wrangler which is in the process of becoming an off-road only jeep. We would like to team travel around Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming.

Ant thoughts?

Jerry

 

[Ryan Bickford]

4 door zr2 ?

 

[Applejack]

Well you are going to get a lot of differing opinions here as there are a lot of reasonable vehicles that fit the bill. FWIW I have had used several brands and always found Toyota's to be tops. It's really hard to beat their dead nuts reliability. I have found that it really isn't hype at all. If you are looking for something that you don't have to modify except for tires, I was so very impressed with the capability of our 1999 4Runner. Being a limited model it does have the benefit of the rear locking diff for more serious off road excursions, has room for 5 with a dog and gear. It's not the most thrifty at the pump though. Averaging only 16mpg with our lifted and armored 4Runner trips to the gas station are more frequent than we would like. If you keep it stock though, you can easily average 19.

 

[Glenn C]

Coming from a landrover man I too would go with a hilux surf(4runner here in Ireland) I am currently in thte process of selling my disco1 (after a large list of repairs an a road worthiness test I will be getting a 4runner im fortunate to have the 3.0 Turbo Diesel model here , they can seat 5 and a nice area in the back for the dog or the gear or both if arranged right , id second the 4Runner anyway , best of luck what ever you buy

 

[rfroy]

4 door is a must. I had a Toyota Hilux pickup in 1980. 2-wheel drive and I beat the hell out of it. I am interested in the 4runner but not the price as they are very expensive here in Colorado with low milage. I would like to keep the cost around $15K and the milage under 100K. I know I'm not going to get much in the way of milage in this replacement but any thing north of 15 is better than what I'm getting now. Like the looks of a lifted Trailblazer / Envoy and the price works but not sure how one would hold up in the long haul (150K+ miles)

 

[p nut]

1st Gen Tundra 4x4 seems like a good fit. You can get one for less than $15k with 100k miles all day long. I've seen a few in the $11-12k range. Double cab or Access cab (which also has 4 doors).

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

4 door is a must. I had a Toyota Hilux pickup in 1980. 2-wheel drive and I beat the hell out of it. I am interested in the 4runner but not the price as they are very expensive here in Colorado with low milage. I would like to keep the cost around $15K and the milage under 100K. I know I'm not going to get much in the way of milage in this replacement but any thing north of 15 is better than what I'm getting now. Like the looks of a lifted Trailblazer / Envoy and the price works but not sure how one would hold up in the long haul (150K+ miles)

Trailblazer is easy to find with loads of options, under $15...under $10 is doable, under 100K.

I have an 06 TB. fully boxed frame, 2.7:1 TC, had stock rear locker(upgraded now), 300HP inline six, solid auto trans, got 20+ mpg stock, now it still sees 15-16 mpg. Not a ton of aftermarket support for rock crawling, but plenty for what your needs seem tobe. Mine has front and rear steel bumpers, motor and radiator skids and rock sliders. I run 35s but 33s are simpler to fit. Here are couple pics, but check out my build thread. These trucks surprise a whole bunch of people with how well they do.

FYI- It has over 150K with no major needs, just what I chose to upgrade. Been lifted and abused for 60K of that. Motor and trans and TC are solid. I changed diffs to get lower gearing, but the factory made it to 150K with just fluid changes. Parts are really cheap for these trucks and easy to find with the amount they produced. I fully plan on 300K and keeping it forever. My buddy had his trans go out at 225K after never servicing it, but his motor is still strong.

 

[Frank]

I am a huge fan of the Isuzu Trooper. Cheap, 4d, 4x4, reliable, doesn't need a lot to be super awesome, tons of room and plentiful.

Scott Brady seems to like them a lot also.
http://www.expeditionswest.com/vehicles/ewvehicles/Isuzu_Trooper/index.html

http://www.expeditionswest.com/vehicles/past_ew_vehicles/index.html

 

[rfroy]

Trailblazer is easy to find with loads of options, under $15...under $10 is doable, under 100K.

I have an 06 TB. fully boxed frame, 2.7:1 TC, had stock rear locker(upgraded now), 300HP inline six, solid auto trans, got 20+ mpg stock, now it still sees 15-16 mpg. Not a ton of aftermarket support for rock crawling, but plenty for what your needs seem tobe. Mine has front and rear steel bumpers, motor and radiator skids and rock sliders. I run 35s but 33s are simpler to fit. Here are couple pics, but check out my build thread. These trucks surprise a whole bunch of people with how well they do.

FYI- It has over 150K with no major needs, just what I chose to upgrade. Been lifted and abused for 60K of that. Motor and trans and TC are solid. I changed diffs to get lower gearing, but the factory made it to 150K with just fluid changes. Parts are really cheap for these trucks and easy to find with the amount they produced. I fully plan on 300K and keeping it forever. My buddy had his trans go out at 225K after never servicing it, but his motor is still strong.

You Sir are killing me! I lover your Trailblazer. you have one of the finest machines I have ever seen. Yours is one of the reasons I am looking at the Trailblazer line. I have spent some time in the Trailblazer on a road trip and the ride was good. Stock I think they are butt ugly (I'm talking 400 lbs shoved into spandix ugly!). I saw a lifted TB out at the DIA airport in Denver a couple of years ago and thought "wow, why could'nt they come from the factory that way"


To the rest of you thanks for the input. I have to pay off my motorcycle and car (next May) and I will be looking after that. Looking to do more camping and such with my son and grandson next summer and want something for that. I will be looking and asking questions untill then.

THANKS!

Jerry