After finishing up grad school and moving back across the USA, I am in search of my next rig. I don't want to spend a ton- my rough budget for the initial purchase is <$20,000. I had in mind an FJ Cruiser or a 4runner, and those are certainly still in the running. I have also considered Jeep Wranglers- I am partial to the TJs and there is a low milage LJ available nearby, but I'd like it to be a hard top and since I am not going to be rock crawling, I am shying away from some of the overdone (for my needs) Heeps. I have my eye out for a Tacoma, but generally speaking they are either old and used up or out of my price range by quite a lot (4 door and 4x4). I am looking for something for some back country exploring, hunting and fishing, snowboarding... I don't think I need a full size truck, but for me, I'd probably be partial to an F150. The rig will be my daily driver and I need it to be reliable- when I am on call I need to be at the hospital within 30 minutes. So what do you say? Keep looking for a FJC? Xterra? Looking for your thoughts and input. Thanks.
expedition Portal can be a great source.... I use Search Tempest for Craigs list searches....given your location I'm guessing you can put a radius of 3-500 miles and find some nice options....
reliable? daily driver? on call Hospital response? mild trails and camping? Ford F150 Eco-Boost. parts available ANYWHERE, even small rural towns with a single garage...... Ford parts are CHEAP ($). Toyota parts not so much........ long range fuel capacity, proven eco boost engine. a gazillion aftermarket parts and add ons suppliers in the USA, Mexico, South America, Canada easy to turn into a trail /overland rig. huge cargo bay, good towing capacity every wrecking yard in North America has F-150s readily available for even cheaper parts and body panels. tough transmission and transfer case.
and just to whet your appetite, here are some F150 overland builds https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/f150-overland-build.1276/page-3
I'm a Toyota guy, but he speaks the truth. My 01 Taco is not the easiest on the wallet in the parts department. Fortunatley it doesn't break very often. 190k and I'm about to take it 3,700 miles to AZ and then a month later to Maine. A buddy of mine has an 01 XJ 60th anniversary edition with a small lift and it's pretty dang capable. Plus the parts are dirt cheap. He put a new radiator in for $75. Now, this seems to counter my argument, but he also had to a new motor in it, I swear it was weird circumstances, and he did it for like $1,500 for a new crate motor.
toyotas are the best, but like it's been said a zillion times here - they are expensive. i second rick's comments re: the XJ. i was an XJ only guy for the longest time, and i never met one that i could kill. i put over 250k on one of them, plenty of it off road on some easy stuff and some very hard stuff. the only issue i had was that it started showing signs of the unibody coming apart in a few key areas. easily solved with some bracing, however. if you want cheap, reliable, and capable, the XJ is the way to go.
We have a FJ crusier. The 4Runner would be my choice if I could go back and do it again. The cabin is designed better. My next vehicle will probably be a used F-150. They are everywhere up here. There’s times I miss having a pickup.
