Jeeps, 4WD, and trannies

[Firefly]

Yeah I wanna know more and don’t give two figs about Proud Boys.

Shower me with knowledge and help me pick another Flymobile that isn’t too crazy expensive for SR-25 and SP1 Outdoor Adventures.

Also sound system discussion is welcome because I gotta have my high tech sound


VROOM VROOM

[Todd.K]

What kind of off-road are you looking to do?

[THCDDM4]

Well, you didn’t really give enough info to accurately answer, however my initial recommendation is to stay away from anything Jeep.

If you elaborate on what type of off-roading you intend to do, if this will be dual purpose everyday driver as well, budget, etc we could help you out better.

[lowprone]

Flatfenders are too cool, but limited to secondary roads, most people here in western S.Dakota have gravitated to side by side UTV type vehicles
for hunting and trail riding, and we have thousands of miles of trails.

[Firefly]

Well, you didn’t really give enough info to accurately answer, however my initial recommendation is to stay away from anything Jeep.

If you elaborate on what type of off-roading you intend to do, if this will be dual purpose everyday driver as well, budget, etc we could help you out better.

Going to shooting land and or mountains. Nothing crazy like mud bogging. Won’t be a daily driver. Would like an open air vehicle. It will be a toy so $5kish.

My DREAM vehicle would be like this but for tall people.

[Red*Lion]

5K? That is not going to get you anything that you will want to drive or likely be able to drive without it taking a dump on you.

You could try to find a military surplus Cucv or HUMVEE either through auction or seller such as....

https://www.smartmotorguide.com/cars...hevrolet-m1008

About 25 years ago, you could show up at the Naval Air Base in Duluth MN for a surplus auction and walk away with 4 Cucv M1008's for $2,000. Those days are long gone.

[THCDDM4]

Going to shooting land and or mountains. Nothing crazy like mud bogging. Won’t be a daily driver. Would like an open air vehicle. It will be a toy so $5kish.

My DREAM vehicle would be like this but for tall people.

$5K will be tough. If you want to stick in the $7K range you could actually get a good but worn in lates 90’s 4runner. The gen 3 4runner is a good truck. Not open air top, so if that’s the most important aspect, you gotta go another route.

However, you can find them with high 200’s low 300’s miles range for $7K and they will keep going with some love.

If you really want an open air top vehicle with reliability you could search for a first gen 4runner, they are hard to find though.

If you get a Jeep in the $5-$7K range, or any Jeep really- be prepared to wrench on it or find a cheap mechanic who does good work and you can trust.

The new Bronco looked swell in photos. It’s pretty disappointing in real life in my opinion. Time will tell, but my guess is like all other fords it’s gonna have transmission issues. So if you go that route, I’d suggest driving it to 75K miles and selling it before you get into transmission replacement time.

[Inkslinger]

For $5k, look for an old Tacoma or tundra off-road with probably 200,000 miles on it. Replace the timing belt and water pump and enjoy it for another 100,000. Or look for an old XJ and rebuild the engine.

[titsonritz]

I have a good friend who is a big Jeep freak (anything AMC really) but lately it has been all about his Can-Am off roading.

https://can-am.brp.com/off-road/us/en/

[utahjeepr]

So in your budget around here what you will find is gonna need work. Whether it starts as a project or not it's gonna take more money and time. I was all good with that in the past, but I'm not down for nearly as much these days.

Every once in a while you can find an awesome deal on a clean International Scout. Cornbinders just aren't as "cool" to a fair bit of the market. I've seen nice ones at very reasonable prices.

In all honesty I'd steer you away from old CJ jeeps. I love em, but these days they either need a lot of work, or they are really expensive. Sometimes you buy the spendy one and find it needs a lot of work as well. If you buy one it has to be a labor of love. The rectangular headlight YJ Wranglers can be cool, I'd look for 91 and later with the fuel injected 4.0L. The 4cyl had injection from the start (87) and you can sometimes find one that has been treated gently for a little less money. The 97-06 TJ Wranglers are awesome. They are also at a minimum twice(good ones 3x) what you want to spend.

XJ Cherokees, the little boxy ones are good options. Again you want the 4.0L. Avoid any with significant rust or if they have been wheeled hard, the unibody construction can suffer from either. I recall you mentioning being a taller type human, I'm 6'0" and while the wife's XJ is OK for me I pretty much max it out.

Toyotas can be much the same as jeeps, project or pricey. Being as I'm a jeep guy I'll let other speak to the yotas.

Full size Broncos and Blazers are also cool toys.

Good luck. Especially at your budget. I've put more than that into an axle, but that was for hardcore stuff.

I used to be manual trans guy, but rock crawling swung me to the slush box side. Unless you really prefer a stick, I'd go auto if you can.

On the other trans front, my experience is limited but Daisy Taylor gets a thumbs up.