Why do you drive what you drive off-road?

[sawtooth4x4]

So I'm curious what got you to drive what you currently drive.

I'll start.

Land Rovers

I'm a glutton for punishment, they are awesome offroad. I've driven lots of stuff, the suspensions on Land Rovers are amazing. Transmissions and transfercases are bomb proof. I like the sitting position. I love how big the windows are. They are pretty different than anything else out there.

I served my Mormon mission in England, I've been in 90's, 110's and 130's, Discoveries and Range Rover's. I love them, its hard to explain. They are a lot of fun to drive. Easy to work on.

I've owned Toyota's, Jeeps and even a Mercedes ML and tried all off-road. Its a sickness.

 

[jeeper]

Whatever I own at the time.. From the Hyundai to the jeep to the F350, and everything in between. Because that's what I owned, so I used it.
I'm pretty lame.
Maybe someday I will buy something intentionally to wheel.

 

[mesha]

I grew up hearing stories of my family doing jeep safari and Jeep posse and things like that. I knew I wanted an off-road rig, but wasn't set on a jeep. When I was buying my first car I knew I wanted it to be 4x4. I was looking at a blazer and drove past a 48 Willys that had a for sale sign in the window. I stopped by and drove it. I knew it was the one for me. I drove it all through high school. I still have it, though it currently isn't running. Now I usually have a jeep(or 5) to drive off-road, but it is mostly because I know them and have parts for them laying around.

I have had other vehicles to wheel and they were all awesome for different reasons. I don't care what you wheel as long as you wheel it!

 

[Noahfecks]

97 80 series

capable and comfortable, because I have a family in tow

 

[Gravy]

I've built a fair number of rigs. I have a TJ because they're awesome at a lot of different terrain and there's less body to smash.

 

[zmotorsports]

Personally, I've just always had a thing for Jeeps. In jr. high school while in shop class, I built a front bumper and towbar setup for my BIL's/Sister's CJ5 and then once we stored it on our farm for them for about a month before they came and picked it up. I was 14/15~ish and instantly fell in love with Jeeps and told myself one day I would build me a bad ass Jeep.

My wife and I started with an XJ because it was her daily driver and we needed a family vehicle, that led to a couple of ZJ's for the same reason as well as towing behind our coach. When the JK's came out in 2007 I fell in love with the Jeep all over again and told my wife one day I was going to build one of them. Took me a few years to get to that point because I refused to borrow for it. In late 2011 I purchased our current 2011 JKUR and commenced building it.

Absolutely love it.

Mike

 

[DAA]

Removable top and removable doors. Had a Scout for a long time, same thing.

I daily drive a LX 470, travel and wheel a lot in Tacomas. Have owned all kinds of 4x4's. When the weather turns good, if you can't take the top off, I don't care what it is, it sucks.

- DAA

 

[smfulle]

The only 4x4 I have ever owned and almost the only one I have ever driven is my 1948 mostly stock CJ2A. This jeep was my Grampa's hunting rig back when I was a kid in the 60's. I and my siblings and cousins went on may great adventures in this jeep without moving an inch as it sat behind Grampa's garage. I loved it and thought about it for years. After a military life of moving around the world we retired back to Utah and I discovered that the jeep was rotting away in a cousin's field. One day at a family Christmas party I said to him, "hey, if you ever decide to move Grampa's Jeep on, I'd like a chance at it." He said, "Come and get it. I've just been keeping it because I couldn't stand to scrap it. "
It's been the most fun I've ever had with a vehicle and my favorite hobby ever. I really didn't know anything about jeeps or off-roading until well past my 50th birthday. Now it's almost all I think about.

A deer hunting photo from the 1960's.




How she sat for years before I got her.



From our Moab adventure with RME4x4.com last Nov.

 

[Bart]

I've had a thing for Jeeps ever since riding and hunting in my grandpas 53 CJ2a. I have had many rigs, 2 CJs, 3 XJs, 3 YJs, 5 TJs, 5 comp buggies, and a couple of full sized rigs. I built my current CJ to be able to do BFE trails, including Upper Helldorado, and Pritchett and still be able to drive it on the road when I needed to. It's a work in progress and gets better every year.

 

[DaveB]

I learned to drive off road in an old 59 Chevy Apache that we bought from the forest service. My dad had a 48 Jeep that they bought new. I love to build/restore off road rigs and have had a 72 K20 Chevy, 77 CJ7, 84 CJ8, 96 ZJ, 02 WJ, and a 73 Commando. Still drive the last three. The rest of my family has a mix of XJs, TJs, LJs, and an MJ. My dad still wishes he had his old 48, the one that started it all.

 

[smfulle]

I learned to drive off road in an old 59 Chevy Apache that we bought from the forest service. My dad had a 48 Jeep that they bought new. I love to build/restore off road rigs and have had a 72 K20 Chevy, 77 CJ7, 84 CJ8, 96 ZJ, 02 WJ, and a 73 Commando. Still drive the last three. The rest of my family has a mix of XJs, TJs, LJs, and an MJ. My dad still wishes he had his old 48, the one that started it all.

My other rig. Not 4wd. 59 Chevy Apache 3100

 

[Homefryy]

I needed something for weekend camping trips in Utah and prefer to stay out of popular areas so I needed something that would be able to get me into the more remote areas away from crowds of people. Given the terrain we have in this state I needed something fairly capable off road. My Forester did fine but ground clearance was becoming a problem as I ventured further off the beaten path. I looked into lifting it (can't really go more than 2") and getting skid plates but at that point it seemed to make more sense to get a more purpose built vehicle. I already had the biggest all terrain tires that would fit on it even if it was lifted due to interference with the spring perch on the coilover shocks.

My first choice was to try to get a 3rd gen 4Runner hopefully with the factory E-Locker but after many months of looking the only ones in my price range had insanely high miles, major mechanical issues and/or really beaten up interiors and they were still on the high side of what I wanted to spend.

I always liked the boxy look of the XJs. In my mind any curves or slants on a car just mean you are wasting valuable interior space. A box maximizes interior space for a given footprint. After I started researching the XJ more and seeing how much more reasonable the prices on them were I decided it may be the perfect fit. Ended up buying mine last summer and I love it. It spun a rod bearing 3 weeks after I bought it which sucked but everything is so simple on it pulling the engine wasn't a problem. I love the simplicity of everything on the XJ. After having the engine remanufactured and doing some other work I probably spent enough money to have gotten a decent lower mileage 4Runner but if I had to do it over again I would still go with the XJ. The only thing I wish it had was more interior storage room. If I didn't have a wife and 80lb dog and sometime friends along it wouldn't be a problem but fitting all our gear can get tricky. The plus of it being so small is it can fit in small places and has a surprisingly tight turning radius. I don't think I would want to sacrifice those things just for more storage space.

 

[Hickey]

@smfulle that's freakin awesome. All I got from my Grandpa was a tailgate from his new 68 F250.

Removable top and removable doors. Had a Scout for a long time, same thing.

I daily drive a LX 470, travel and wheel a lot in Tacomas. Have owned all kinds of 4x4's. When the weather turns good, if you can't take the top off, I don't care what it is, it sucks.

- DAA

Dave pretty much nails it for me. The only thing I could add to it is, I like small rigs.

I started with a 76 Chevy half ton 4x4 and moved on to Blazers from there. I hated how huge they were on the trail, even with the top off. I switched to a CJ5 around 2001 and that sold me on the platform. I'll be the first to tell you how much Jeeps suck, but I love the stupid things.

I would absolutely love a Tacoma or a 4runner, but the top only comes off once on those.

 

[Herzog]

I think mine is the way it is because I enjoy building more than driving. But I also love driving it. So, I guess it all works out?

 

[Kevin B.]

I would absolutely love a Tacoma or a 4runner, but the top only comes off once on those.

It ain't the same thing and I know it, but rolling around in the Wiferunner with the back window and sunroof open and windows down goes a ways towards scratching the same itch on a warm spring day. Still, when I get the chance I'm going to jump on an old CJ or something. No top = best top.

 

[Hickey]

I'd love to trade down for a really clean CJ5. JK'S are just too big.

 

[ID Bronco]

My crawler was an early Bronco because I shoveled snow for an elderly couple as a kid who had one and I drooled over it every day. I loved the size, the v8, the top and doors off and the coolness I felt while driving it. Now, my 4x4 needs to be a tow rig, camping, fishing and hunting rig, so my pickup does well for that. When I get a few kids out of the house, I'll get another smaller crawler. I am very tempted to sell my extra truck and get a 4 door Jeep. We'll see.

As a younger guy, my first love was a Ramcharger. 1983 318, 34" tires and a lift. It was a great High school rig. Then, 1989 shortbox Dodge pickup which I loved. It was a manual and had a great first gear! Good times for sure.

 

[rholbrook]

I was starting to get older and decided that it was time I bought a little bit of a project to work on with my 14yr old son at the time so we bought a rough TJ that hardly ran and was so full of cigarette butts, coffee, coke and dog hair that it should have been condemned. I bought it cheap, pulled everything out of it and drove it to the car wash for a good douching. We put some new interior pieces, seats, carpet, stereo and took it to moab with 32" BFG AT and open diffs. We actually did Poison Spider, Gold Bar Rim, Hell Revenge, etc and had a riot. We beat the piss out of it with a Dana 35 in the rear and a Dana 30 on the front. We came home and put a lift on it, 33s and a locker in the rear. Went back and beat the piss out of it again. We did this about every other weekend in Moab that year. We finally broke an axle shaft on Cliff Hanger. Went and bought a new better shaft from the parts store, put it in and when we got home, called and got four new shafts and put in it. I was still polishing the turd as I later found out so I bought a used Dana 44 for the rear an before I put it in, sold it and bought an LJ. My son left on a mission and it sat in the garage because my youngest son liked riding dirt bikes over jeeping. When my oldest got home from his mission, we bought a new JKU and thats what we have now. I think I will always have a jeep but I do have one eye open for an old Bronco or Scout to build.

 

[Pike2350]

I wheeled a '96 Isuzu Rodeo. I bought my first Rodeo in 2000 about the time I graduated college. I DD and weekend wheeled that for 14 years. In 2009 when I ran I to an Isuzu busy whip was done wth his Rodeo and just wanted to get rid of it, I bought it. For $750. Already SAS'd with lockers, air socks and only 92k miles I just couldn't pass it up. I worked on updating it for a little while. Then, after dumping more then I wanted to in it, my Green DD was getting to the point if needing some more major work I retired it and sold it off and started driving the SAS'd '96. I drove it for almost 2 years until I found my pickup to be my DD.

I am still tweaking the Rodeo because of how it was built... but it's getting there. I now have kids and it's nice having the "large" size for them.

The old Green '97 Rodeo. wheeled and DD for 14 years

the '96 SAS'd Rodeo. Wheel still and DD for almost 2 years

 

[Houndoc]

Main vehicle is an 08 Xterra. Also have 2007 Sierra 2500 Duramax that has done its off-road duty in the deer hunts.

Like the Xterra since gives me a nice little daily driver with locker and was heck of a lot cheaper than a Wrangler! Still needs a lot more trail time than I have given it. Would happily trade it for a Wrangler LJ for extra style points.

The truck serves as my wife's daily driver and our horse hauler (tows the boat too, but is overkill for that role.) Hopefully soon can be retired to farm truck status. Since we have decent dirt roads where we hunt, the space is great for hauling gear and the rare kill.