Best Bang for Buck Overland Rig

[Jelorian]

The 4-runners are also VERY reliable, and I even have looked at buying one before but decided not to buy due to the aftermarket support, or lack there of and the parts are way more expensive.

Can you elaborate on the bold text in red? Are you seeing a lack of aftermarket for Toyota 4 Runners? With all due respect, I find this hard to believe. I agree parts more expensive, but with 4 runners being one of the most popular rigs out there, how can this be?

 

[MOAK]

May I pipe in here? why thank you then, I shall. Jeep Wrangler aftermarket parts, are in fact plentiful, as in, lots of manufacturers competing for the dollar. Just one example --- Want a front bumper for your jeep? There are at least 500 different choices and over 200 manufacturers in North America at your service. Order one today, and you will have it in 3 days. Front bumpers for 4 runners? You have only a few choices, ARB, Slee, Rockyroad, Shrockrock and a handful of others. My son-in-law ordered sliders 3 months ago. They will not ship until mid Feb, as he had to wait for the company to take enough orders to build a run of them. The same is true of my 80 series Landcruiser. I've used Slee, ARB & Frontrunner products exclusively. One thing for sure, with Jeep aftermarket products, buyer beware, there are a lot of very cheap, poorly made products out there that aren't fit to be on any vehicle. We don't have this problem with Toyota aftermarket products. Nearly everything available is top shelf.

 

[Jelorian]

May I pipe in here? why thank you then, I shall. Jeep Wrangler aftermarket parts, are in fact plentiful, as in, lots of manufacturers competing for the dollar. Just one example --- Want a front bumper for your jeep? There are at least 500 different choices and over 200 manufacturers in North America at your service. Order one today, and you will have it in 3 days. Front bumpers for 4 runners? You have only a few choices, ARB, Slee, Rockyroad, Shrockrock and a handful of others. My son-in-law ordered sliders 3 months ago. They will not ship until mid Feb, as he had to wait for the company to take enough orders to build a run of them. The same is true of my 80 series Landcruiser. I've used Slee, ARB & Frontrunner products exclusively. One thing for sure, with Jeep aftermarket products, buyer beware, there are a lot of very cheap, poorly made products out there that aren't fit to be on any vehicle. We don't have this problem with Toyota aftermarket products. Nearly everything available is top shelf.

I guess I'm just used to not having even a couple of manufacturers making things for my 03 Suburban so having more than a handful to choose from skews my idea of how much aftermarket support a given vehicle has. Compared to mine, a Toyota 4 Runner has many options...but you will pay for it.

I wholeheartedly agree with you, that the Jeep WRANGLER has a huge aftermarket. I would dare say probably the biggest for any off road vehicle in the world. If that is where your bar is set, then yes...aftermarket support for the 4 runner, or any other vehicle, pales in comparison. However, a Wrangler is not on the OP's original list.

I'm sure the Cherokee has a decent following of aftermarket parts as well and probably more so than the 4 runner, but I would think that they are more or less equal in what is available.

 

[Overland-Indiana]

I guess I'm just used to not having even a couple of manufacturers making things for my 03 Suburban so having more than a handful to choose from skews my idea of how much aftermarket support a given vehicle has. Compared to mine, a Toyota 4 Runner has many options...but you will pay for it.

I wholeheartedly agree with you, that the Jeep WRANGLER has a huge aftermarket. I would dare say probably the biggest for any off road vehicle in the world. If that is where your bar is set, then yes...aftermarket support for the 4 runner, or any other vehicle, pales in comparison. However, a Wrangler is not on the OP's original list.

I'm sure the Cherokee has a decent following of aftermarket parts as well and probably more so than the 4 runner, but I would think that they are more or less equal in what is available.

Just google winch bumper for Jeep XJ then google winch bumper for 4-runner. See which one turns up more results. My money is on the XJ. I have done extensive research into both vehicles before I decided on one. The XJ won hands down due to aftermarket parts and pricing on those parts.

 

[Jelorian]

Just google winch bumper for Jeep XJ then google winch bumper for 4-runner. See which one turns up more results. My money is on the XJ. I have done extensive research into both vehicles before I decided on one. The XJ won hands down due to aftermarket parts and pricing on those parts.

Not disagreeing with you. Just saying my view of aftermarket support for parts is jaded as there isn't much for my rig. Compared to mine...a 4 Runner has way more aftermarket support...an XJ even more so like you've mentioned. For standard OEM repair and replacement parts, you can find stuff for my rig anywhere and everywhere as it shares the same platform for 2000-2006 Silverado, Sierra, Avalanche, Tahoe, Yukon/XL, and Suburban. Aftermarket? Forget it.

 

[Overland-Indiana]

Not disagreeing with you. Just saying my view of aftermarket support for parts is jaded as there isn't much for my rig. Compared to mine...a 4 Runner has way more aftermarket support...an XJ even more so like you've mentioned. For standard OEM repair and replacement parts, you can find stuff for my rig anywhere and everywhere as it shares the same platform for 2000-2006 Silverado, Sierra, Avalanche, Tahoe, Yukon/XL, and Suburban. Aftermarket? Forget it.

I feel your pain... I used to have a 95 S10 Blazer. Talk about no aftermarket support. :(

 

[VDawg1115]

I feel your pain... I used to have a 95 S10 Blazer. Talk about no aftermarket support. :(

OutfitterDesign does some stuff for The S10 blazers. But not much else out there. You win!

 

[Tahoe]

I would have to agree that for price point and available mods and people that can work on them, a mid 90's or so Jeep Cherokee is a probably can't go wrong deal. Any toyota will just be more expensive in the shorter and longer run. Of course I would never sell my LC for a cherokee... but that's not the point now is it?

 

[Tahoe]

you could have added it to the list :-)

I guess I'm just used to not having even a couple of manufacturers making things for my 03 Suburban so having more than a handful to choose from skews my idea of how much aftermarket support a given vehicle has. Compared to mine, a Toyota 4 Runner has many options...but you will pay for it.

I wholeheartedly agree with you, that the Jeep WRANGLER has a huge aftermarket. I would dare say probably the biggest for any off road vehicle in the world. If that is where your bar is set, then yes...aftermarket support for the 4 runner, or any other vehicle, pales in comparison. However, a Wrangler is not on the OP's original list.

I'm sure the Cherokee has a decent following of aftermarket parts as well and probably more so than the 4 runner, but I would think that they are more or less equal in what is available.

 

[MOAK]

I'm taken aback that a jeep would be chosen because of "aftermarket" support/availability. I had a jeep. and there was plenty of aftermarket support, in fact way too many aftermarket choices. After researching and eliminating all the junk it boils down to 3 or 4 companies offering well built products at reasonable cost. Which is exactly what we have with Toyota, 3 or 4 companies offering well built products at a reasonable cost. I sold my jeep when it had 120,000 miles on it for a nice price. It had been maintained perfectly all of it's life. I spoke to the owner recently and even though he continued with religious maintenance practices he was swapping in a new engine at 180,000 miles. The bearings had spun out. My cruzer has over 280,000 on it now and still going strong. I've confidence that we will hit the 350 mark or more before major surgery. The really cool part? Our Landcruiser is worth several thousand more than we paid for it. For the long term, a jeep just isn't a good investment vehicle.

 

[Dakeg218]

I'm going to throw the Land Rovers in here and not just because I've owned a couple. You can buy a Disco II in good shape for 3-5k and an 05-06 LR3 SE 6-8k. The capabilities of these vehicles stock is absolutely amazing and will be more than enough to get you in and out of some sticky situation. No, you will not build a rock crawler out of at and will ruin it if you try, but they are built from the factory with center locking differentials, available rear locking differentials, terrain response, adjustable lift, and can wade through 30" of water. As long as your working on them yourself the repair bills are comperable to any other vehicle.

I've had my frustrations with them and their quarks, but wouldn't have anything else if I was taking it off into the wilderness then to the highway back home.

 

[old_man]

I have a 1985 Jeep Cherokee that I have had for 22+ years. I would hate to have to count the number of nights I have spent sleeping in the back while doing trails all over Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. The wife didn't ever really get into the camping thing so most of my time was spent solo. It has gone from a bone stock 2.5L carb'd 4 banger to a 4.7L Stroker on 35's running locked Dana 44's on both ends. I designed and fab'd all the bumpers, skids, boat sides, and even the roof rack. It was actually a trailer queen for a long time, but I have gotten tired of breaking stuff so I have migrated over to more expedition with mild/hard trails mixed.

A pix from the Way Back Machine...here it is with a 3" budget boost on 31's on the infamous Black Bear switchbacks:

Here it is later that afternoon on Immogene Pass:

I wheeled it pretty hard. Here it is on Moab Rim Z turn. My power steering gear froze and I flopped it just feet from a 500 ft drop off:

I rolled it back on its wheels and ended up driving it 400 miles back home. I fixed the body work and wheeled it for probably 4 more years before the body started doing a "taco", with the spot welds failing and the body folding in the middle.

I got a donor and completely stripped it, did cut, folded, and painted it. I put them side by side in the driveway and took 4 days to completely move everything over. At the same time I took a Dana 44 from a 78 F150 and moved it over after rebuilding and modifying the radius arm suspension.

Before:

After

After wheeling a lot of years (200k miles) and getting tired of sleeping in the back of the Cherokee I started designing an offroad teardrop. I started, not with a trailer, but a pile of steel tubing on the garage floor:

Here it was on the maiden voyage:

 

[S4SQTCH]

A weak chassis is a known issue on the XJ series. Mine had so much flex in the body that I wore the paint off the corners of the doors and parts of the body because of the rubbing. At one point I tried to open the door while flexed only to find it jammed shut until I got on more level ground.

I still think the Xterra is the best bang for the buck. They rival Toyota for reliability, they are tough, capable, and often overlooked. Plus you can find clean pavement queens everywhere for under $7,000. With a little looking you can pretty easily find one with a rear locker and the newer Pro-4X also comes with roof lights. I have 155k+ on mine, and they were not kind miles. I could jump in it tomorrow and head out for a week with complete confidence that it will get me there and back without a hiccup.

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

My vote would be for a Grand Cherokee. They can be had for less than $5k in good shape with decent miles. Only down side is finding one with the NP242 tcase. The NP 249 isn't a bad tcase, but no 2wd option. That'll kill mpg's and sucks the power out of the 4.0 in a hurry. I have a 4.7 and love the power it offers with the 249. Aftermarket is somewhat limited, however there are a few companies that offer a bit of what you more than likely will need. The Cherokee is a solid choice as well, but it has the leaf sprung rear. Coil springs are nice, but so is the "luxurious" aspect of the GC. I can't really speak for Toyota's as I've never owned one, but rig choice should depend on your needs and wants out of a rig, as well as the intended usage, which might also dictate the needs and wants.

 

[old_man]

A weak chassis is a known issue on the XJ series. Mine had so much flex in the body that I wore the paint off the corners of the doors and parts of the body because of the rubbing. At one point I tried to open the door while flexed only to find it jammed shut until I got on more level ground.

I still think the Xterra is the best bang for the buck. They rival Toyota for reliability, they are tough, capable, and often overlooked. Plus you can find clean pavement queens everywhere for under $7,000. With a little looking you can pretty easily find one with a rear locker and the newer Pro-4X also comes with roof lights. I have 155k+ on mine, and they were not kind miles. I could jump in it tomorrow and head out for a week with complete confidence that it will get me there and back without a hiccup.

There are easy and fairly cheap fixes available.

 

[Charles_Alarie]

A weak chassis is a known issue on the XJ series. Mine had so much flex in the body that I wore the paint off the corners of the doors and parts of the body because of the rubbing. At one point I tried to open the door while flexed only to find it jammed shut until I got on more level ground.

I still think the Xterra is the best bang for the buck. They rival Toyota for reliability, they are tough, capable, and often overlooked. Plus you can find clean pavement queens everywhere for under $7,000. With a little looking you can pretty easily find one with a rear locker and the newer Pro-4X also comes with roof lights. I have 155k+ on mine, and they were not kind miles. I could jump in it tomorrow and head out for a week with complete confidence that it will get me there and back without a hiccup.

Xterra all the way! I love my 2012 pro 4x.

 

[Smileyshaun]

A lot of vehicle selection has to do with how many people you take with , where you travel ,what country you are in and how much you need to bring with you .

For me personally with the gf and 2 kids anything smaller then a full size suv is just out of the question , my vote would be a 1991 or older 3/4 ton suburban , dirt cheap , parts are available everywhere , super simple and reliable and with a 2-3” lift they ride super smooth .

 

[Smileyshaun]

I had a grand Cherokee and really loved its off road ride with its RE superflex kit but it was just to small for us

 

[S4SQTCH]

There are easy and fairly cheap fixes available.

But why would you intentionally buy a vehicle with a weak chassis, only to bolt/weld a band-aid to it, which adds weight and reduces your load carrying? It makes more sense to buy a vehicle with a strong chassis to begin with.

Weight is a major concern when kitting out a rig, a weak chassis when empty can become a major problem when loaded. Adding a bunch of steel to the body will add weight even faster.

 

[old_man]

But why would you intentionally buy a vehicle with a weak chassis, only to bolt/weld a band-aid to it, which adds weight and reduces your load carrying? It makes more sense to buy a vehicle with a strong chassis to begin with.

Weight is a major concern when kitting out a rig, a weak chassis when empty can become a major problem when loaded. Adding a bunch of steel to the body will add weight even faster.

Why would you buy a more expensive less capable rig when an easy fix is available. The chassis only becomes an issue when you beat the snot out of it for multiple years. The level most people on here push their offroading to is well within the capabilities of the vehicle. In all my rears of real rock crawling, I have never run into an Xterra on the hard trails, while they have been filled with Cherokees. I am a well know XJ guru and have been providing technical support on NAXJA.org for nearly 20 years with over 15,000 posts helping people.

I'm not saying an Xterra isn't a good overlanding vehicle, but your comment on frame weakness on XJ's is comparing apples to oranges.