New to posting on this forum - recently posted pictures of my trailer build that will be complete in about a month: Utility Build
Here is the fairly brief backstory: I recently turned 30 and have been running my own business for about 7 years now in Texas. While I enjoy the work and want to continue to see the business grow, I also know I need to scratch an itch. I want to visit those places I read about every month in Outside, on the blogs, in this forum, etc. I realie there is an opportunity cost to embarking on something like this, but I feel that it's worth it. My plan is, that for the next few years (at least), I want to take regular 1-6 week 'sabbaticals' from work and pick an area to explore. I want to pack up all the stuff I love: my road and mountain bikes, my fly rods, my surf boards, my boats, my tent, boots, and anything else you can imagine, and head out without too much of an agenda. Move where the weather/interest takes me - be able to be flexible to extend or cut short trips depending on all the variables. I would bring along my phone and laptop to keep on some work duties as necessary (gotta keep the lights on back home, haha).
My ultimate goal would be to find a place/city/people that I really like, buy a few undeveloped acres and then procede to build or renovate a small, simple, clean house. Something I could get away to, or something that would be more permanent. While I dont have lots of overhead (not married, no kids, no mortgage), I do have a girl I love and want to share some of these experiences with her.
...so, on to the more technical of things - finding the right vehicle to kick this thing off.
So, what do I want from a vehicle?
- Be able to be a daily driver. I dont have a long commute - but I live in TX and 100+ degree days with no A/C or excessive road noise rules out a few rigs. To me, this basically means something from the past 10-15 years.
- Around town: I like to be able to put boxes/bikes/etc in my 4Runner - the back seats are rarely up unless I have to pick up extra friends, haha. The space of the 2010 4Runner has been fine and I think all the things I mentioned would work.
- Capabilities: I am not looking to crawl or so mega-serious stuff. I want to be able to get myself to some scenic places and then take out my bike or boots and get out there. Sure, I want to do some high mountain passes and I want to be about to get pretty far out there. Realistically, most new stock 4Runners, Tacos, FJs and LCs could likely handle 95% of what I am talking about. But I want something built tough and built so that I could have a good chance of getting myself out of trouble.
- Reliability: all the platforms I have mentioned are what I would consider reliable. They have their quirks from year to year, but I looking ot buy something that is fairly depreciated (ie, higher mileage) - dont mind doing regular maintenance, but I dont want to be doing heavy mods to keep it going (obviously this is often up to lady luck, but you get what I mean).
- Towing. I want to be able to tow the trailer I am building, which will serve as a base station for the adventures. I have yet to weigh it, but my estimate is that dry, it's going to weight in the neighborhood of 1500-2000LBS - I'll know more when I weight it after all the metal work is done in a few weeks. Add fluids, gear and sometimes a 400lb vintage xs650 scrambler build and you got some weight. Call it 3000lbs or so. That's not a ton of weight, but at altitude on a grade...you're going to notice it unless running a purpose build tow rig. Again, I am not planning on doing extreme terrain, but it is an off road trailer and forest roads, desert washouts and mountain passes will be encountered.
- Storage/Expo Rigging: I think all the vehicles I am looking at have enough aftermarket support and space to handle what I want. The GX would likely be the hardest to outfit, but there are overseas parts as it's on the 120 chasis and, as you likely know, called the Prado elsewhere.
Right now, I have a 2010 4Runner Trail w/KDSS, etc. It's a great tuck with a few mods and very capable on the sort of stuff I would want to do, but.....I am not sure I want to start hacking it up. It's pretty clean right now and still carries a pretty good resale value. For conversation's sake - let's assume I could get $30K for it...I could either add the $10K or so in parts i want to complete a build....or I could buy something used for about $15K-20K and then drop $10-15K into it. Effectively spending less out of pocket and on a vehicle that's already depreciated a bit more. I want to keep this car for a long time - but would plan on getting a stock commuter car should I remain in TX a few years down the road.
So, after all of that, would be great to get your opinion on what vehicle I should choose:
1.) 2nd Gen Tacoma - something like THIS rig would be awesome, haha. Nice storage, fairly good MPG, lots of aftermarket support, etc. Negatives would be fairly small cabin in comparison, smaller V6 - can anyone comment on how it would tow 3K? I know you can always drop new gears in there as the build in the link above did.
2.) GX470....man, I WISH I had been looking a few months ago, because that Bundu Gear truck is awesome. They have nice room, comfy drive, proven V8. Downsides would be the aftermarket support and the air suspension. There are bumpers and all that out there, but not as readily available as the other platforms.
3.) LC UJZ100/LX470: proven proven proven. Tons of knowledge and aftermarket support. Cons - heavy/big as hell - has the same V8 as the GX but tips the scales some 800lb more. Would make navigating small parking lots in town tricky, haha.
4.) 4th Gen 4Runner V8: I have had 3 4Runners and love them. My parents had a V8 4th gen and it has a pretty meaty engine that would tow fairly well. Decent aftermarket support. Cons: smaller cabin and out of the 4 listed...and I know this doesnt really matter, probably my least favorite aesthetically - though when fully built they can look mean.
For right now, I think that I can find and make all 4 types work in my budget (call it $40K max). Obviously the LX trades for more than a similar year Taco, but years/miles would vary to keep this build within budget.
Alright, if you are still reading...then thanks. If you have experience or want to chime in, then please reply.
Much Thanks!
Here is the fairly brief backstory: I recently turned 30 and have been running my own business for about 7 years now in Texas. While I enjoy the work and want to continue to see the business grow, I also know I need to scratch an itch. I want to visit those places I read about every month in Outside, on the blogs, in this forum, etc. I realie there is an opportunity cost to embarking on something like this, but I feel that it's worth it. My plan is, that for the next few years (at least), I want to take regular 1-6 week 'sabbaticals' from work and pick an area to explore. I want to pack up all the stuff I love: my road and mountain bikes, my fly rods, my surf boards, my boats, my tent, boots, and anything else you can imagine, and head out without too much of an agenda. Move where the weather/interest takes me - be able to be flexible to extend or cut short trips depending on all the variables. I would bring along my phone and laptop to keep on some work duties as necessary (gotta keep the lights on back home, haha).
My ultimate goal would be to find a place/city/people that I really like, buy a few undeveloped acres and then procede to build or renovate a small, simple, clean house. Something I could get away to, or something that would be more permanent. While I dont have lots of overhead (not married, no kids, no mortgage), I do have a girl I love and want to share some of these experiences with her.
...so, on to the more technical of things - finding the right vehicle to kick this thing off.
So, what do I want from a vehicle?
- Be able to be a daily driver. I dont have a long commute - but I live in TX and 100+ degree days with no A/C or excessive road noise rules out a few rigs. To me, this basically means something from the past 10-15 years.
- Around town: I like to be able to put boxes/bikes/etc in my 4Runner - the back seats are rarely up unless I have to pick up extra friends, haha. The space of the 2010 4Runner has been fine and I think all the things I mentioned would work.
- Capabilities: I am not looking to crawl or so mega-serious stuff. I want to be able to get myself to some scenic places and then take out my bike or boots and get out there. Sure, I want to do some high mountain passes and I want to be about to get pretty far out there. Realistically, most new stock 4Runners, Tacos, FJs and LCs could likely handle 95% of what I am talking about. But I want something built tough and built so that I could have a good chance of getting myself out of trouble.
- Reliability: all the platforms I have mentioned are what I would consider reliable. They have their quirks from year to year, but I looking ot buy something that is fairly depreciated (ie, higher mileage) - dont mind doing regular maintenance, but I dont want to be doing heavy mods to keep it going (obviously this is often up to lady luck, but you get what I mean).
- Towing. I want to be able to tow the trailer I am building, which will serve as a base station for the adventures. I have yet to weigh it, but my estimate is that dry, it's going to weight in the neighborhood of 1500-2000LBS - I'll know more when I weight it after all the metal work is done in a few weeks. Add fluids, gear and sometimes a 400lb vintage xs650 scrambler build and you got some weight. Call it 3000lbs or so. That's not a ton of weight, but at altitude on a grade...you're going to notice it unless running a purpose build tow rig. Again, I am not planning on doing extreme terrain, but it is an off road trailer and forest roads, desert washouts and mountain passes will be encountered.
- Storage/Expo Rigging: I think all the vehicles I am looking at have enough aftermarket support and space to handle what I want. The GX would likely be the hardest to outfit, but there are overseas parts as it's on the 120 chasis and, as you likely know, called the Prado elsewhere.
Right now, I have a 2010 4Runner Trail w/KDSS, etc. It's a great tuck with a few mods and very capable on the sort of stuff I would want to do, but.....I am not sure I want to start hacking it up. It's pretty clean right now and still carries a pretty good resale value. For conversation's sake - let's assume I could get $30K for it...I could either add the $10K or so in parts i want to complete a build....or I could buy something used for about $15K-20K and then drop $10-15K into it. Effectively spending less out of pocket and on a vehicle that's already depreciated a bit more. I want to keep this car for a long time - but would plan on getting a stock commuter car should I remain in TX a few years down the road.
So, after all of that, would be great to get your opinion on what vehicle I should choose:
1.) 2nd Gen Tacoma - something like THIS rig would be awesome, haha. Nice storage, fairly good MPG, lots of aftermarket support, etc. Negatives would be fairly small cabin in comparison, smaller V6 - can anyone comment on how it would tow 3K? I know you can always drop new gears in there as the build in the link above did.
2.) GX470....man, I WISH I had been looking a few months ago, because that Bundu Gear truck is awesome. They have nice room, comfy drive, proven V8. Downsides would be the aftermarket support and the air suspension. There are bumpers and all that out there, but not as readily available as the other platforms.
3.) LC UJZ100/LX470: proven proven proven. Tons of knowledge and aftermarket support. Cons - heavy/big as hell - has the same V8 as the GX but tips the scales some 800lb more. Would make navigating small parking lots in town tricky, haha.
4.) 4th Gen 4Runner V8: I have had 3 4Runners and love them. My parents had a V8 4th gen and it has a pretty meaty engine that would tow fairly well. Decent aftermarket support. Cons: smaller cabin and out of the 4 listed...and I know this doesnt really matter, probably my least favorite aesthetically - though when fully built they can look mean.
For right now, I think that I can find and make all 4 types work in my budget (call it $40K max). Obviously the LX trades for more than a similar year Taco, but years/miles would vary to keep this build within budget.
Alright, if you are still reading...then thanks. If you have experience or want to chime in, then please reply.
Much Thanks!
