FJ or JKU

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Craig M

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I still regret [not] getting the Rubicon. Of course, for the year / mileage / price combo I was shopping in, going to a Rubicon bumped my price by almost $5k on average, which pushed it above my budget.
 
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OverlandingPapa

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Chili said:
I still regret getting the Rubicon. Of course, for the year / mileage / price combo I was shopping in, going to a Rubicon bumped my price by almost $5k on average, which pushed it above my budget.
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That's kind of problem I have every time I find a jeep that I love it's between 50 to 70,000 which is a lot of money!!


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If you're leaning towards a jeep look hard on the recon. It's got the real D44 vs the standard rubicon D44s with the smaller axle.

I'm not gonna lie the FJs are cool and want one but the jeep wins out for me as an overall family fun truck. It can be an overlander, rock crawler, cruiser, beach toy, and commuter of course any given day. You just gotta learn to live with the jeep jokes if you hangout in the overland crowd haha.


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Jeff Graham

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Jeepney said:
If you're leaning towards a jeep look hard on the recon. It's got the real D44 vs the standard rubicon D44s with the smaller axle.

I'm not gonna lie the FJs are cool and want one but the jeep wins out for me as an overall family fun truck. It can be an overlander, rock crawler, cruiser, beach toy, and commuter of course any given day. You just gotta learn to live with the jeep jokes if you hangout in the overland crowd haha.


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I totally agree with @Jeepney if you are still considering a JK, the best Rubicon ever produced is the Recon. It uses the Very Strong Dana 44 front axle, originally designed for the Military J-8. If you ever go to Israel, you will see many of the J-8 used by the IDF. This vehicle is Overland ready off the show room floor.
 
Jeff Graham

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Love the truck bed modification, is this the AEV built on the LJ. I'm in the market for an additional Overland vehicle. The rumors say, Jeep will release a Wrangler truck in 2018. It may even have a Diesel engine. If I can wait that long, it will be my next Expadition rig. Drop in: 8 Lug full floater Dana F/D60 R/D80 axles, ARB or AEV lift and bumpers, and an Australian style UTE tray, and I would be a happy camper (Overlanders).

 
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ASNOBODY

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I've owned and LOVED a handful of Jeeps. My FJ is the first Toyota I've owned. I'm very happy with it.

When I was deciding what to get I weighed all of these same options and choices. Yes there is ridiculous aftermarket support for Jeeps but lets be honest, there is still a shitload for the FJ. Another thing to consider is the availibility of shared Toyota platform products (wheels, control arms, shocks and on and on…). Unless you plan on dropping 50k into whatever rig you decide on, I would just think about it from the most base, practical angle you possibly can. Storage? Family? Long trips? Rock crawling? Camping? What are you REALLY going to be doing with it?

What tipped the balance for me was doing a 6k mile road trip with a friend in his JKU. Not the greatest if you have vast expanses of highway between destinations (especially lame if you have huge tires and a lift IMO). I did a 10k then a 12k mile trip last year in my FJ with a lot of highway / back country driving and was feeling great at the end of each :) Bottom line for me, the FJ handled better on multiple road surfaces with large tires and a lift.

Honeslty though, they both kick ass. You will be happy either way. The grass is always greener on the other side, UNLESS you tend to your own lawn.
 
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ASNOBODY said:
I've owned and LOVED a handful of Jeeps. My FJ is the first Toyota I've owned. I'm very happy with it.

When I was deciding what to get I weighed all of these same options and choices. Yes there is ridiculous aftermarket support for Jeeps but lets be honest, there is still a shitload for the FJ. Another thing to consider is the availibility of shared Toyota platform products (wheels, control arms, shocks and on and on…). Unless you plan on dropping 50k into whatever rig you decide on, I would just think about it from the most base, practical angle you possibly can. Storage? Family? Long trips? Rock crawling? Camping? What are you REALLY going to be doing with it?

What tipped the balance for me was doing a 6k mile road trip with a friend in his JKU. Not the greatest if you have vast expanses of highway between destinations (especially lame if you have huge tires and a lift IMO). I did a 10k then a 12k mile trip last year in my FJ with a lot of highway / back country driving and was feeling great at the end of each :) Bottom line for me, the FJ handled better on multiple road surfaces with large tires and a lift.

Honeslty though, they both kick ass. You will be happy either way. The grass is always greener on the other side, UNLESS you tend to your own lawn.
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Totally agree with everything @ASNOBODY said. The FJ is a better all round vehicles. The JK is a better off road vehicle. If the FJ had an solid axle, like the older FJ-80,60, etc.. it would be a different story. For a good daily driver FJ, for crazy off road performance JK...
 
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Jeff Graham said:
Totally agree with everything @ASNOBODY said. The FJ is a better all round vehicles. The JK is a better off road vehicle. If the FJ had an solid axle, like the older FJ-80,60, etc.. it would be a different story. For a good daily driver FJ, for crazy off road performance JK...
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Are you sure you are not referring to the 4runner :). I personally think the JKU is a better all around vehicle to the FJ from my experience.

There's a lot of 'bad' samples of modified JKs. A lot of modded jeeps gear towards making it better off road (or to make it look it can go offroad using lesser components) which will typically make it lesser on road. I hated a bunch of crawlers i rode in. However a stock or mildly modified JKU is fine on road, got 4 doors and so on -- it's the most SUVish a jeep can be and still be a Jeep (JK owners will disagree :))


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Jeff Graham

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Jeepney said:
Are you sure you are not referring to the 4runner :). I personally think the JKU is a better all around vehicle to the FJ from my experience.

There's a lot of 'bad' samples of modified JKs. A lot of modded jeeps gear towards making it better off road (or to make it look it can go offroad using lesser components) which will typically make it lesser on road. I hated a bunch of crawlers i rode in. However a stock or mildly modified JKU is fine on road, got 4 doors and so on -- it's the most SUVish a jeep can be and still be a Jeep (JK owners will disagree :))


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Both vehicles can be poorly modified. It really comes down to independent vs solid axle architecture. The independent front end will provide better on road manners. The solid axle will provide better technical trail performance.

I love the transformer like nature of my JKU. One day it's a beach cruising convertible, the next day it's ready to cross the Darien Gap. I drove Toyota 70 series for NGO's in some interesting places. Also love these vehicles. The 70 series, like the JKU: body on frame with solid axles. They suck on the road, but are great when the terrain gets technical. Neither of these would be my first choice to commute to work everyday. Its a personal balance we must all make, choosing a vehicle. Their is no wrong choices.
 
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Jeff Graham said:
Both vehicles can be poorly modified. It really comes down to independent vs solid axle architecture. The independent front end will provide better on road manners. The solid axle will provide better technical trail performance.

I love the transformer like nature of my JKU. One day it's a beach cruising convertible, the next day it's ready to cross the Darien Gap. I drove Toyota 70 series for NGO's in some interesting places. Also love these vehicles. The 70 series, like the JKU: body on frame with solid axles. They suck on the road, but are great when the terrain gets technical. Neither of these would be my first choice to commute to work everyday. Its a personal balance we must all make, choosing a vehicle. Their is no wrong choices.
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i guess it is a wash for me. The SFA is not much an issue for on road for me and I live in the state of frost heaves. In fact i find it more of an issue when off-road when trying to pretend I drive a Raptor. But you're right, the IFS will have better footing when you hit those bumps mid-corner. I was more referring to having 4 real doors, and better visibility that makes me think the JKU is a better soccer-mom vehicle.

Having said that, all my vehicles (current and past) ride stiff so my butt meter is probably off -- the JKU stock with its soft offroad springs is actually the cushiest vehicle i have until I put the AEV on it. But true enough, ride is subjective.
 
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Kevin108

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It's hard to make a recommendation for either without knowing your budget and intended use. A major pro with the JKU is the availability of the Ursa Minor top. That was the route I'd intended to go, but life demanded I replace my problematic XJ about 3 years before I was ready to buy anything new. As a result, budget requirements and my wife's encouragement led me to select an FJ. We love this rig and have no regrets. Every time I see an Ursa Minor or a Four Wheel Camper, I start mentally planning our next build. That will be delayed somewhat as I cannot use the FJ to help finance it. My wife insists we're never selling the FJ and whatever our next build is will be in addition to the FJ. That makes my heart swell and face grin. I love that girl!
 
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Mike W

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I am just going to get a reputation for injecting this into all these practical threads about vehicle choice....

How about a comfortable air-suspensioned, mile destroying, epic tow/payloaded, character packed, super capable Land Rover LR3/LR4?

I'll see myself out ... again.
 
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Kevin108

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He may not know that the FJ and 4Runner share a large number of components. There's really no reason to not get a 4Runner over an FJ, unless you simply want to own something obscure or strange-looking.
 
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