Best 4x4 / daily driver! Opinions wanted

v-stone

Registered User
Whats the best 4x4/ daily driver for you and why. I have been a jeep fan since I was a little kid, but after I graduated from school I bought a sami do to cash at had. In just a short while I became a huge suzuki fan and have wheeled zuks for 4 years now. I just sold my last zuk and am looking at different 4x4 and wanted to know what other people liked, YJ, TJ, scout... Please be specific.
 

TheJeepGuy

Active Member
Location
pleasant grove
I have had just about every (except CJ-10, CJ-2a,2b,6) Jeep that was ever made and I would have to say I love my 2009 JK the best so far. I can do 80mph down to Moab run pritchet, cliff hanger, etc... and drive home and drive it to work every day. I have ran the snakes several times without any problems. I saved the 10K and built it myself instead of buying the Rubi. Just my two cents!
 
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Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Location
Smithfield Utah
95.5-04 Tacoma TRD or 4runner. Powerful and very reliable engines (v6 or 4cyl), optional factory electric locker, very reliable, very capable, great fuel mileage, huge aftermarket support, etc... etc...

Best bang for your buck imo. If I could pick one vehicle to do it all it would be one of these.
 

TheJeepGuy

Active Member
Location
pleasant grove
ANYTHING TOYOTA thats all I have to say:D

if you have a lower budget then go with a toy and build as you go, if not then buy a Jeep that is ready to go out of the box. :) (with a lift)

And for the guys that are going to feel the need to disrespect the Jeep please try to remember the heritage of your Toyota and the heritage of the Jeep that helped give you the country you are living in and the freedom you enjoy!
GO Marines! Hoorah
 

Panos

12Volt Specialist
Location
Salt lake City
if money is a issue deffinatly build a earlier toyota, you can basicly build a full on rockcrawler for cheap!!! and still drive it on the road. check out places like low range offroad, hybrid racing, and marlin crawler for parts. you can use all stock parts and have a ton of fun.
 

SLC97SR5

IDIesel
Location
Davis County
95.5-2004 Tacoma or 97-99 4Runner.
If I didn't have my '97 4Runner it would definetly be a 4 door 2004 TRD Tacoma.
Budget?
Plan on getting married or having kids?
 

Silly Willy

Well-Known Member
Location
American Fork Ut
I would say I like my 96 XJ. Hasn't really cost much to make it fairly capable. I plan to upgrade to an 8" lift here in the next little bit ans Rustys offers fantastic deals on all jeep stuff pretty darn cheep.

On a limited budget I would defiantly recommend an XJ
 

Grim

Well-Known Member
Location
Roy, UT
05 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon. about 3" over stock , 33x10.5 . i drive 61 miles a day M-F, and anywhere i want on the weekends. i just rolled 61,000 miles , its been a great Jeep.
 

TheJeepGuy

Active Member
Location
pleasant grove
I would say I like my 96 XJ. Hasn't really cost much to make it fairly capable. I plan to upgrade to an 8" lift here in the next little bit ans Rustys offers fantastic deals on all jeep stuff pretty darn cheep.

On a limited budget I would defiantly recommend an XJ

Very true about XJ's, I have had two of them and currently own one and I am amazed at how well they do with very little work and you can get a good starter one for under 2k usually. parts are very easy to come by also
 

Houndoc

Registered User
Location
Grantsville
Unanswered questions make this tough. Of course the budget, how much highway driving (and just by you or is it a family rig), how tough of trails will it run, how mechanical are you vs wanting newer, reliable rig etc etc.

Depending on your exact needs, be willing to think outside the box (Jeep, Toyota).

I drive an 03 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, 2" lift and 33s. Comes stock with 4.90 gears, 31 spline shafts, 9.5" rear and can fit 32s unlifted.

My rig is far from a hard core rock crawler, but it has run Kane Creek and Poison Spider Mesa among others. It is also my commuter (85 miles/day).

I am nearing the 140K mile mark with no major problems, gets about 17 mpg highway and is comfortable to drive for both me and my wife. Reasonably comfortable back seat for my three kids (ages 9-14), although the prefer the room of our Ram 2500 quad Cab.

So, it has made a great wheeler/d.d. combo. Downside is lask of aftermarket support (no larger lifts sold in U.S., only locker option is ARB, although they finally offer rear as well as front.)

That said, as soon as budget allows I want to get a 4door JK as my next rig.

Anyway, real point is to 1) narrow down your needs. 2) be open to less commonly wheeled rigs.
 

jackjoh

Jack - KC6NAR
Supporting Member
Location
Riverton, UT
I loved my old Scout ll and would probably go that way if I got a reprieve on old age. My 95 Jeep ZJ has been a reliable more or less easy runner in old age. At your age I think a used 4 door Jeep JK or 4 door Toyota Tacoma that you can modify to suite your needs over the years.
 

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
...And for the guys that are going to feel the need to disrespect the Jeep please try to remember the heritage of your Toyota and the heritage of the Jeep that helped give you the country you are living in and the freedom you enjoy!
GO Marines! Hoorah


If by "Jeep" you are referring to an actual wartime Jeep product ie Bantam GP, Ford, or Willy's (later Willy's Overland sued and won name rights to the Jeep, which later became Kaiser-Jeep later AMC). However if you are referring to "Jeep" that was later purchased by the french Renault (1979), or the German conglomerate Daimler (1998), its a pretty hard sell to attach just a 'name' to patriotism :p

BTW, the Land Cruiser as we know it was loosely based on the Bantam GP, the US government actually sent the specs for a Toyota built "Jeep" for campaigns in Asia, while Toyota had already built military models (AK10, etc) this led to production of what was dubbed the Land Cruisers, now the longest running

If you want to speak in modern terms, our military is using more Toyota than Jeep ;)

All that aside, I think its hard to beat an XJ or WJ/ZJ for a solid daily driver and weekend wheeler on a budget. Hence my question on dollar budget. $5k and under the Jeep may make more sense. If you have $10k'ish a modern Land Cruiser (FJ/FZJ80) can be a great choice. $15k+ and I would look at the JK or 100 Series Land Cruiser platforms depending on intended uses, towing needs, family needs, etc.
 

SAMI

Formerly Beardy McGee
Location
SLC, UT
God, Jeep guys are so whiney.. :)

(post i'm refering to got deleted... FWIW)
 
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TheJeepGuy

Active Member
Location
pleasant grove
God, Jeep guys are so whiney.. :)

(post i'm refering to got deleted... FWIW)

I deleted my post because I realized I was just wasting my time and starting something that was going to get way bigger than intended.
Mr.Cruiser dude can beleive whatever he wants and I wont be able to change that no matter what real facts I present.
 
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