What to look for in a vehicle.

[toyrunner95]

(this may want to be sticky if it goes well.)


I have been searching over the years to find a decent platform to build an expedition vehicle. I have searched and searched for months on end and I have found many vehicles that suit my needs (sort of). There always seems to be a flaw. Whether its IFS, bad motor, too expensive, gutless, no aftermarket, etc... Over time I have, for the most part settled on a brand. Toyota, mainly for their reliability and avalibility of parts all over the world. Now that is not to say that other vehicles aren't as good; Jeeps are reliable as well as Landrovers and others. I picked Toyota because I am familier with the vehicles. I haven't found the right Toyota for me yet but im sure i will eventually.

I have come up with five basic things that I look for in a vehicle.

Size: will it fit my capacity needs as well as my limitations for trails?
Fuel: will it get me to and from the destination with a decent distance between fuel ups?
Cargo capacity: whether its a truck or SUV will it handle all the stuff I need to take wtih me?
On road: is it nice to drive, is it roomy, quiet, does it have a radio, AC, or anything else that could make my adventures more pleasurable?
Off road: will it get me there without breaking and is it easy to fix should something go wrong.
After market: is there a decent one?

Now many of these requirements need modification, Lifts, tires, bumpers, and so on, but personally I would like to do as little "prep" work as possible to the vehicle. (Such as swap in a new motor and floor because I found a great old FJ55 in a field somewhere. Now that is a fun labor of love and it will probably turn out great in the end; but i want to explore)

My question is, what do YOU look for in a vehicle before you build it.

 

[RocKrawler]

Now I look for comfort, utility and reliability more than when I was younger. I was always into the rock crawling end of the hobby, but I've done Johnson Valley "Hammer" trails and while fun, I want to ease back and do more relaxing, family oriented terrain. Yes the hardcore stuff is fun, adrenaline rushes are great, but I dont have the location and desire to do the repairs and builds I used to. My kids are getting older, daughter turned 18 this year, and my son is 12 and growing up fast - I want to optimize the time we can spend together as relaxing & fun. We have done very few "camping" trips and with busy schedules, time is very valuable now. My daughter wants to get into paddling so we are looking at an inflatable for sale on this forum now. My son wants to sell the beach cruisers and get mountain bikes so we can see more and cover greater ground than just hiking will allow. My wife wants to get trail bikes to go riding around the mountains and deserts. These are all ideas I like myself and we have started mapping out a plan to acquire the necessary equipment for each and build a multipurpose vehicle to get us to our adventures. When the time comes and the kids are gone, it will be our getaway vehicle for long weekends for just the two of us.
With the activities we wanted to pursue, I knew a truck was a necessity, and wanted a diesel for economy and reliability. When the chance came up to sell the FJ & get out of the $500+/mo payment and get a 01 F250 CCSB 4x4 PSD in a very convenient trade I jumped at it. Now I have a very good platform to build on and comfortably transport 4 large sized mammals to our favorite spots. My kids are both taller than my wife, daughter at 5'10" and 12yr old son at 5'11" (Dr. says he'll likely hit 6'7"-6'8", e-gads!) so they are very happy to get out of the FJ's cave like interior and have normal windows to look out of that actually roll down. It will haul our equipment, a camper which I'm shopping for now, and with regular maintenance it wil last us a lifetime. While its on the long side of what I'd prefer, I wanted everyone to have fun and enjoy not only the location we would end up at, but also the trip to & from.
As for wheeling the vehicle itself, I've had full sizes in the past and understand their limitations. I also know some people on this forum who are more into the expedition side of things, I've wheeled with them in Sedona, and they are great people I'd love to explore other areas with. We didnt have to be tearing up the vehicles rockcrawling to have fun, and we decided, for now, this end of the hobby is a better fit for us. Thats my take on it, and looking forward to hearing what others feel on the subject.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Now I look for comfort, utility and reliability more than when I was younger. I was always into the rock crawling end of the hobby, but I've done Johnson Valley "Hammer" trails and while fun, I want to ease back and do more relaxing, family oriented terrain. Yes the hardcore stuff is fun, adrenaline rushes are great, but I dont have the location and desire to do the repairs and builds I used to. My kids are getting older, daughter turned 18 this year, and my son is 12 and growing up fast - I want to optimize the time we can spend together as relaxing & fun. We have done very few "camping" trips and with busy schedules, time is very valuable now. My daughter wants to get into paddling so we are looking at an inflatable for sale on this forum now. My son wants to sell the beach cruisers and get mountain bikes so we can see more and cover greater ground than just hiking will allow. My wife wants to get trail bikes to go riding around the mountains and deserts. These are all ideas I like myself and we have started mapping out a plan to acquire the necessary equipment for each and build a multipurpose vehicle to get us to our adventures. When the time comes and the kids are gone, it will be our getaway vehicle for long weekends for just the two of us.
With the activities we wanted to pursue, I knew a truck was a necessity, and wanted a diesel for economy and reliability. When the chance came up to sell the FJ & get out of the $500+/mo payment and get a 01 F250 CCSB 4x4 PSD and lose the payment in a very convenient trade I jumped at it. Now I have a very good platform to build on and comfortably transport 4 large sized mammals to our favorite spots. My kids are both taller than my wife, daughter at 5'10" and 12yr old son at 5'11" (Dr. says he'll likely hit 6'7"-6'8", e-gads!) so they are very happy to get out of the FJ's cave like interior and have normal windows to look out of that actually roll down. It will haul our equipment, a camper which I'm shopping for now, and with regular maintenance it wil last us a lifetime. While its on the long side of what I'd prefer, I wanted everyone to have fun and enjoy not only the location we would end up at, but also the trip to & from.
As for wheeling the vehicle itself, I've had full sizes in the past and understand their limitations. I also know some people on this forum who are more into the expedition side of things, I've wheeled with them in Sedona, and they are great people I'd love to explore other areas with. We didnt have to be tearing up the vehicles rockcrawling to have fun, and we decided, for now, this end of the hobby is a better fit for us. Thats my take on it, and looking forward to hearing what others feel on the subject.

:REOutArchery02:
What a great post.

We also have 2 kids (little ones; 3 and 2, with number 3 on the way) and are looking for alternatives to our 2 door Jeep. I've been considering a quad cab pickup as well. While our BMW (1990 E34..great car...got fender-bender'ed) is down for repairs I have been borrowing my mother in laws 2000 GMC crew-cab Dually. I had forgotten what a comfy/powerful rig that was, and how fun it is to roll all the barn door windows down...feels like you're outside!

I'm thinking maybe a 4x4 GMC 1/2 ton for a Jeep replacement. We only do North American, Non-mexico stuff, so no problem with parts/service availability.

I've actually been on long road trips with catastrophic failures in parts, and the only thing that saved our bacon was the fact that pretty much ALL cities have a Chevy or Ford dealer.
this

 

[miller_au]

Before i purchased my last vehicle i wanted:

1. Diesel
2. Live Axels
3. Proven reliability
4. Excelent parts support/backup
5. Good aftermarket support

Now in saying this i always new i wanted a Patrol, lucky for me it ticks all the boxes!
With all the remote travel to be done in Australia i needed a vehicle that if i had problems in an outback town someone would be able to diagnose the problem and fix it without to much grief. Patrols and Landcruisers a very popular in australia and it would be rare for someone not to have owned or worked on one before... Show up in a broken Musso or Kia and its a whole new ballgame!

 

[SGV]

Why don't they sell the cool stuff to the U.S. I swear, everywhere else gets better vehicles than we do. ******?

 

[toyrunner95]

Because some soccer mom backed over a tricicle and thought she needed 4wd.

 

[UK4X4]

a stolen link......but they are selling these in my local dealer...

now just need to see if they can get the diesel version......


do de do:safari-rig: de do daa:safari-rig: :arabia:


http://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/141334-2007-4-door-fzj76-photos-post1923062.html

 

[Alaska Mike]

I look for inspiration to get out and see new things. Certain vehicles do that for me. Other vehicles inspire nothing more than a trip to the mall.

Since I generally veer towards older vehicles, I modify what isn't reliable and spend a lot of time wrenching. But the selection concept is the same.