Decisions are hard!

[75S30]

Ok, I've finally broken down and realized I just don't have any idea what the hell I'm doing...:Wow1:

I'm trying to decide what my next vehicle will be and either I am extremely picky or there just aren't many choices that fit my criteria...

My criteria is as follows:

1) Must be comfortable enough for me and my wife to travel cross country in.
2) Must be reliable enough to trust driving it cross country.
3) I do want it to be 4wd. I won't rule out AWD vehicles but I do prefer a simple mechanical 4wd setup.
4) I'm 6'1 and I want us to be able to sleep in the back of the vehicle for those late nights when the last thing I want to do is setup a tent.
5) Cheap...I'm not poor but I'm no rich man. I really need to keep the purchase price under $5k. I won't be able to justify much more than that to my wife and it is paramount that she is on board with all of this. I don't like camping alone!

That being said our current rig is almost perfect. I have a '91 Montero long wheel base with the 5speed stick. I love the layout but the vehicle itself wasn't in the best shape when I bought it as a winter beater for the few days a year I can't ride my motorcycle to work. The size is perfect though. I love that it is unique but that is also a bit of a problem. I want my next vehicle to have readily available parts and if we're in the middle of nowhere I don't want the small shop mechanic to look at me cross-eyed.

I like the idea of a basic Cherokee as I've heard great things about the engines and the transmissions but I don't know if they're physically big enough to fit me (6'1") and my wife if we want to sleep in the back.

Toyota's are out of my price range.

Most full sized trucks are out of my price range and seem a little bigger than what I want but I haven't ruled them out.

As you can see from above I am all over the board. My front runners right now are the Cherokee xj, the 5.0L Explorers (just recently started looking at these). There are some seriously nice looking Explorers in my price range but for some reason they don't seem like a popular choice. Honestly though if anyone has any ideas that they think would do the job please let me know! Nothing is off the table.

 

[UHAULER]

I would look at full size 1/2 ton trucks. Late 80's to around 2000 should be in your price range. Put a camper shell on it and build a sleep platform.

 

[82fb]

I am 5'10" and fit fine in a Cherokee. My brother is 6'4" and is kinda cramped in there. I have driven mine from WA to CA at least five times, and put about 65K miles on them in five years or so. Very comfortable for me. Noise level is a bit higher than most newer vehicles, and if you are doing a cross country camping type trip, you will find storage space limited. One of those roof rack mounted plastic cargo boxes makes it much easier.

I would go with a 3 inch budget boost lift and some 30-31 inch tires. My mileage went up slightly with that combo, to about 21 mpg. Stock headlights stink, so a good set of driving lights is nice.

For sleeping, take the seat bottom out, put in in the front seat area, and sleep with your head to the rear of the vehicle. If you have a 2-3 inch thick foam pad, you can sleep pretty well.

 

[syoungs]

tahoe or suburban comes to mind. I see used units around here well under the 5k price tag, if you take your time you can pick up a really nice gmt800 suburban for 4000 and have a touch left over to baseline the vehicle.''

good solid 4wd
dependable
parts availabilty is probably highest of any other rig
failry simple to work on
great creature comforts

 

[75S30]

I've considered a Tahoe, but I get nervous about the steering set up. I've been told that they can be pretty weak. I like the idea of staying as close to stock as possible so maybe I shouldn't be too concerned? In my area Tahoes are around the same price as a similar mileage Cherokee. Is there any benefit to something like a Tahoe other than the bigger size? And, why don't people like the explorers? The prices seem lower on average than other similar vehicles.

 

[plumber mike]

If your considering tahoes, you owe it to yourself to get a suburban. Same IMO just more room. Explorers, 4 runners, grand Cherokees are all fine and dandy, but the mileage is the same as a suburban in most cases, so why cheat yourself out of the extra space a suburban affords. If your going cross country, I'd rule out anything imported. Folks in the heartland drive American (majority) and most auto parts stores stock parts for domestic just about anywhere.
Short story long, a 92-99 suburban would be my vote. Stone cold reliable, and can munch miles effortlessly. Can easily get 19-20 mpg highway in stock form with a conservative right foot.
You might also check out AWD chevy express and Astrovan

 

[bdog1]

Luke.... Come to the dark side!

Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[Plannerman]

I have had both the Cherokee and the Explorer. Both are great vehicles. If you're looking at general back country use, get the Explorer. It will be more comfortable. I loved my Cherokee, but ultimately sold it because my 5'11" was too big and long drives got to be uncomfortable. The 5.0l Explorer is very, very durable and the body on frame construction will be very rugged. Lots of aftermarket support for that engine (was used in mustangs and F150s) and the chassis (basically a ranger).

The Cherokee will be more adept at the more technical trails due to the front solid axle. The Cherokee drive train is also very robust. The storage space is more limited and I found sleeping in the back to be a bit tight. My wife and I both slept in the back on occasion, but it was not exactly comfortable. I was usually diagonal across the back and she'd tuck in between in the remaining triangle of space. I also did not care for the unibody construction of the Cherokee. I hated parking cross axle or off camber and not being able to open or close the tailgate because of the twist in the frame.

At the end of the day, both vehicles are excellent for the price and will be very reliable if you take care of them. Flip a coin and don't look back.

 

[surlydiesel]

I vote Ford Expedition. You can get an older one, late 90's early 2000's for 1500-3000 with just over 100k and most were used to ferry kids around. They can get see 19mpg on the highway, plenty of space and ride nice. This is the current front runner for our Grand Cherokee replacement if the need arises.

I had a reg cherokee for 3 years and it was fine but I found myself feeling cramped after long drives, I'm only 6 feet tall and there is no way my wife and I could sleep together in the back of one. Not wide enough. I'm 220 and I need some space to sleep.

I'm also on board with the Suburban, Yukon...I'm just a Ford guy. I will prob not buy another Chrysler product after the GJ. It was a great deal and gets the job done but the ill fitting plastics that creak when I move my arm on the armrest, or the loose door panels, terrible door seals, any crosswind on the highway and it seeps in (I've readjusted the door jams but it still leaks with high winds), it is a nice size but I wouldn't want to sleep two in the back.

If I have cash when it's time to replace the jeep, it will be either a Toyota Sequoia/4runner or if I'm still broke (most likely) it will be an Expedition/Explorer.

-jorge

 

[75S30]

Thanks for all of the replies! I would go the van route but to be perfectly honest I have little desire at this point to do any major modifications. I want something that I can just get in and drive with little work from me to make it capable. I really can't shake the explorer idea. The fact that they're so clean and cheap is probably the biggest thing. It is also really comforting how common they are when it comes to parts.
Some people at work are telling me that the fords, especially the Explorer, have major transmission problems. Is this something any of you have experienced?

 

[4x4junkie]

And, why don't people like the explorers? The prices seem lower on average than other similar vehicles.

That is something I've tried to sort out for two decades now. My best guess is the bland 'soccer-momesque' exterior styling that offers few clues to the rugged DNA under it's sheetmetal.
All of them from '91-'01 have lots to offer for our type of use...
'91-'94 with it's near-bulletproof drivetrain all the way out to both axles that is extremely modifiable (i'd put it up against the Cherokee XJ any day myself). Manually-shifted t-cases & hubs were also offered these years.
'97-'01 offers the venerable 5.0L V8 engine (something uncommon in this size class). Though the V8s did come with an AWD t-case w/o low range, the BW4406 (I think?) from a F-150 is a mostly bolt-in swap and gives it true 2WD/4WD operation w/ low gear.
With a stickshift and the OHV V6, the Ex easily gets low-mid 20s for MPG too. I haven't slept in one myself, but it looks as if there's more than plenty of room to do so if you get a 4-door.

There are some reports that continue to circulate that Explorers have weak transmissions (completely untrue of the stickshift), however my research indicates it's simply the factory cooling that is inadequate (heat will destroy any automatic transmission). Add an external aux cooler to it and they seem to last as well as anything else out there (I frequently see in excess of 200K orig on them when ran with an aux cooler).


Edit, didn't see your last post lol... Looks like we were already on the same wavelength about the transmission. I wouldn't hesitate over the trans, just plan to install an aux cooler on it and it should be fine (or just get one with a stickshift).

 

[east_tn_81]

I would say a first gen or a second gen explorer. Parts all over the place for these things plus you can even use ranger parts.