keep or don't
- Thread starter eagle1
- Start date
Welcome to the forum!
How many miles do you have? Any significant rust?
What do you intend to do with it?
My father now owns is third Dakota, they are good truck.
How many miles do you have? Any significant rust?
What do you intend to do with it?
My father now owns is third Dakota, they are good truck.
huntoon
Adventurer
Comvee
Check out the Comvee thread, its a ************ 2wd (currently) Dakota.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29182
Check out the Comvee thread, its a ************ 2wd (currently) Dakota.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29182
D
DEEZLPWR
Guest
SAS it or get a 4wd solid front axle vehicle.
strider3700
Adventurer
if you're ever going to need/want 4x4 It's probably just best to sell it and get something else.
The comvee is awesome but if you don't already have a lot into or an attachment to the truck the conversion is hard to justify both in cost and effort.
The comvee is awesome but if you don't already have a lot into or an attachment to the truck the conversion is hard to justify both in cost and effort.
WILLD420
Observer
For what it will cost you to do the conversion and fix up what you have to a level you are comfortable with, you can buy something better. Especially in todays marketplace.
Here in Nevada and in Northern California, there are lot's of people hurting and good rigs are going for pennies on the dollar that were invested in them.
Here in Nevada and in Northern California, there are lot's of people hurting and good rigs are going for pennies on the dollar that were invested in them.
I have 99k miles on it,with almost no rust the truck is out of virginia.I would like to do some camping out of it nothing extreme.There are not too many areas up here in the finger lakes to go to anyway,just state park campgrounds,and a few rv parks.What mods i was thinking of was just some good AT tires,a cap(currently hard tonneau),and some skidplates if i can find some that will fit a 2wd.As far as travel just gravel and dirt roads.Oh and aleveling kit might not be a bad idea.
Outback
Explorer
Before WWII 99.9 percent of all vehicles were 2wd. Allot were used as "Overland" vehicles to go out and work and to get back out to the good places. Of course there were allot more good places back then but roads were not as they are today. 2wd trucks tend to make horrible off road vehicles since most of the weight is up front and not out back over the rear axle. Back then cars were mainly used for what we call overlanding But I suspect it was just be called Camping or Hunting back then. I have a picture of my Grandfather who bagged two mountain lions that were killing his live stock. he had an old 2 wd drive car and travelled his ranch with no roads to camp and track the two mountain lions. The picture is of them strapped on the front fenders. If you have enough weight over the back tires then it should be fine. If you have a very good limited slip then things would be better. Here is a great link you should check out!
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37908
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37908
strider3700
Adventurer
I grew up camping in a 75 f-250 2wd that I don't think had a limited slip or a locker. Hell it had half bald tires most of the time. Sticking to logging roads that where either maintained or resently maintained we never had a shortage of new places to camp. There was a few cool looking/sounding places that we couldn't get to due to the lack of 4wd and/or another vehicle with recovery gear so that convinced me to get a 4x4 when I "grew up".
If that's all you're wanting to do and you're truck is the right size for what you want/need then yeah, add a good set of tires and have at. 99% of my off road exploring has been done on roads that a car could handle if it had enough ground clearance. I've only used the 4 wheel system as a safety measure when turning around on tight tracks and dipping the tires into the ditches and a couple of times coming up hills and needing to make a tight turn the rear wheels wanted to spin.
If that's all you're wanting to do and you're truck is the right size for what you want/need then yeah, add a good set of tires and have at. 99% of my off road exploring has been done on roads that a car could handle if it had enough ground clearance. I've only used the 4 wheel system as a safety measure when turning around on tight tracks and dipping the tires into the ditches and a couple of times coming up hills and needing to make a tight turn the rear wheels wanted to spin.
jcbrandon
Explorer
Get out and go
My recommendation:
Just go out and start doing stuff. Go camping. Visit some places. Invest your time and some money in acquiring skills, experiences, and camping equipment. All of those will be very valuable and useful no matter what sort of vehicle you have.
After a summer of some great adventures, evaluate the vehicle. How often did you have to get unstuck? How many times did you turn around before reaching a destination? Were you able to haul all the stuff and people you wanted to bring along?
If the truck does what you want it to do, it is the perfect vehicle for you. If it just needs a few very minor upgrades or enhancements to complete the mission, then they are easy to justify.
If it just can't do the job, get something else. You can modify virtually anything to add capabilities. But at some point it becomes an overwhelming strain on your wallet and your time.
I drove a 2000 Dakota 4x4 for eight years and 180,000 miles. I had some great trips and gained a lot of experience. Eventually, I moved up to a full-size truck to get more payload, towing capacity, and interior room. But I'm still using most of the gear I bought when I was traveling in the smaller truck.
My recommendation:
Just go out and start doing stuff. Go camping. Visit some places. Invest your time and some money in acquiring skills, experiences, and camping equipment. All of those will be very valuable and useful no matter what sort of vehicle you have.
After a summer of some great adventures, evaluate the vehicle. How often did you have to get unstuck? How many times did you turn around before reaching a destination? Were you able to haul all the stuff and people you wanted to bring along?
If the truck does what you want it to do, it is the perfect vehicle for you. If it just needs a few very minor upgrades or enhancements to complete the mission, then they are easy to justify.
If it just can't do the job, get something else. You can modify virtually anything to add capabilities. But at some point it becomes an overwhelming strain on your wallet and your time.
I drove a 2000 Dakota 4x4 for eight years and 180,000 miles. I had some great trips and gained a lot of experience. Eventually, I moved up to a full-size truck to get more payload, towing capacity, and interior room. But I'm still using most of the gear I bought when I was traveling in the smaller truck.
Nick02
Member
There's more 2wd lift kits then for a 4x4 and they come with the stronger 9.25" rear end; it so happens to have bigger axleshafts then a rear D60.
The 3.9l is bulletproof, you can use the intake as a lavatory and call it a 150k maintenance interval. It wont hydro-lock and bend a rod like the 4.7l or newer jeeps do.
If you want to jump into crazy offroad stuff and want a 4x4 to wheel, go to moab, good after-market support, etc get a tacoma.
If you want to get into over-landing and expedition stuff stick with it, with a locker, winch, 32-31" tires I can guarantee you can fit/go more places then an earthromer can.
Eventually, when you reach the limits of a 2wd, get a 4x4 dakota and easily carry all your stuff over.
Moast overland gear is custom made anyway(racks,shelves, storage, fridges flippac etc..) and kennesaw mtn makes bumpers, 10+ company's make shell's , you'll have no problem finding gear like that.
Anyways for what you want to do, get a 2" lift kit from the link below and throw some 31" BFG all terrains on it, look on CraigsList for a cap and custom make or go without skidplates. (i've never needed em, only hit my frame/tranny x-member,front x-member, drive-shaft, and diff area.... knock on wood)
http://www.doetsch-shocks.com/17.asp
you'll be amazed what the 31" tires and lift make the truck feel like, it'll be like the rush owning a new truck that you can go do stuff with. After-all you cant make a 5-lug Tacoma into a "prerunner" tacoma with just bolt ons.
If you want to go crazy get the 3/2" kit and some 32's
here's what mine looked like with that combo, more then capable.
look at the diffrence
Oh and if you keep it, and use a stock mintsubishi montero as the daily driver and parts pickup vehicle.:hehe:like it rightfully deserves to be:smileeek:
The 3.9l is bulletproof, you can use the intake as a lavatory and call it a 150k maintenance interval. It wont hydro-lock and bend a rod like the 4.7l or newer jeeps do.
If you want to jump into crazy offroad stuff and want a 4x4 to wheel, go to moab, good after-market support, etc get a tacoma.
If you want to get into over-landing and expedition stuff stick with it, with a locker, winch, 32-31" tires I can guarantee you can fit/go more places then an earthromer can.
Eventually, when you reach the limits of a 2wd, get a 4x4 dakota and easily carry all your stuff over.
Moast overland gear is custom made anyway(racks,shelves, storage, fridges flippac etc..) and kennesaw mtn makes bumpers, 10+ company's make shell's , you'll have no problem finding gear like that.
Anyways for what you want to do, get a 2" lift kit from the link below and throw some 31" BFG all terrains on it, look on CraigsList for a cap and custom make or go without skidplates. (i've never needed em, only hit my frame/tranny x-member,front x-member, drive-shaft, and diff area.... knock on wood)
http://www.doetsch-shocks.com/17.asp
you'll be amazed what the 31" tires and lift make the truck feel like, it'll be like the rush owning a new truck that you can go do stuff with. After-all you cant make a 5-lug Tacoma into a "prerunner" tacoma with just bolt ons.
If you want to go crazy get the 3/2" kit and some 32's
here's what mine looked like with that combo, more then capable.
look at the diffrence
Oh and if you keep it, and use a stock mintsubishi montero as the daily driver and parts pickup vehicle.:hehe:like it rightfully deserves to be:smileeek:
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