well..ive decided neither my smallblock s10 or moneypit vw are gonna cut it..so im gonna sell both of them and look for something 4wd. It gets old getting stuck on small hills in parking lots and such when it snows out.

So right now im looking for something 4WD...that will be driven daily and taken occasionally into the trails and mud...but nothing too hardcore...just enough to have some fun every once and awhile and get the truck dirty.

I also commute 50+ miles on the highway once or twice a week...so something that gets 10 miles to the gallon wont cut it..so no big block stuff here (or at least til i start a project).

So im leaing towars possibly either a ford ranger or a jeep Cherokee...with some slightly bigger tires on it for the time being and maybe exhaust of some sort. Im just looking for opinions on what to do. I did own a bronco II at one point..which was a blast but it was rotted completely through..so i pretty much just beat the piss outta it til the rearend gave up. Ive been into import cars mostly...so be gentle on me if i seem like a complete newb :laughing:

never wheeled a ranger but all the cherokees iv seen have bad overheating problems. get a toyota, i just picked a 87 runner with new motor, and tranny for $1400 and it wheels better than my fully locked 83 and my old 79 f250 on 40s.

pickup a ranger with dual ignition, my buddie has one and he loves it. if i had the cash id be getting one but my 78 is hogging all the money right now

toyota, get one, don't question. they are tough as hell, get good gas millage. and will take abuse of 4wheeling, while still being able to make it to work on monday. then you can build it from there.

I had a 87 ranger with 33's (baja ta's) and took out 3 front diffs (broke the case twice)one set of rear r&p and partsavailablity probs in my little slice of hell.(needed a hanger bearing ford dealer here said my truck didn't have one even with the thing sitting right in front of him) I'd never own another ford. Dont flame me it's my 2 bits:smokin: :beer: :skull:

Toyotas are nice but if you want something newer then your stuff with IFS.

IMO, old Toyotas, 85 and down and Jeeps are great first time 4wd vehicles. Either or are great trucks. I own a Jeep but love old Yotas.

i have 3 to choose from first is a 92 golf gti 16v that has been trough mud past the bumpers and has caught more air than a 747 , than i have a 92 4runner with a slight motor problem (runs but wont idle) v6 but every thing else is great , then finally a 92 jeep wrangler w/3 inch body and 3 inch suspinsion lift sittin on 33 in M/T MTx's ( great for mud and street)

i have 3 to choose from first is a 92 golf gti 16v that has been trough mud past the bumpers and has caught more air than a 747 , than i have a 92 4runner with a slight motor problem (runs but wont idle) v6 but every thing else is great , then finally a 92 jeep wrangler w/3 inch body and 3 inch suspinsion lift sittin on 33 in M/T MTx's ( great for mud and street)


and that has what to do with the price of rice in China?


anyhow... if I had it to do, I'd go with the Toys... they seem like the next best thing to a fullsize chevy, but they get good mileage and can run forever... plus if you've been working on tuners, you're gonna understand the toyotas better....

jus trying to free up my yard!

If you feel like paying shipping from Hawaii, my neighbor has a 88 Blazer on
44" boggers and half ton axles for $2500 obo. :smokin: PM me for details.

I've got a 1-Ton'd '76 Chevy as a DD so I can tell you...get a 'Yota if you want something that doesn't require dual 20 gal. tanks. Small, light, capable, tough, and economical. Sounds perfect for what you want. I've never had a Toyota truck, but I'm ashamed to say that I have owned not one but two Corollas and you absolutely can't kill those little motors. The trannys (5-spd.) took a dump in both of 'em but the engines were indestructable. The second had 260k when I got rid of it and still ran perfect. And that's after it had been driven around for about a year with no 4th or 5th gear! Many miles were put on it at 80 MPH down the interstate in 3rd gear and she just didn't care. I would avoid the Ranger if you are actually going to use the 4WD. JMHO.

Toyotas are nice but if you want something newer then your stuck with IFS.


Good point. I'd say get an older one then but I guess I'm a little biased.

See sig. line.

as far as the cherokee's having overheating problems, that's true but it's not hard to correct the problem. Over on the offroad.com forums there's a great bunch of guys that really know thier jeeps. But my vote would be for a Toyota, just got my first one and I love it already. I had a ranger...it was ok but the Yota is WAY better!

Go with Yota. Excellent durability across their entire model line. But I'd stay with the earlier first or second generation trucks. The newer models got a bad case of "socker mom".

I agree the toy is the best option, another would be to straight axle your s-10 you already have, mileage, and dependability, wont be the same as a yota. The ifs toys are good for minimum style play off-road, and great daily drivers.

as far as all the "fullsize is better than a toyota" comments here are a couple pics http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d183/fenderbmxer86/centenial_2_007.jpg

sold that and bought this

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d183/fenderbmxer86/flexin5.jpg

then sold that and now i have a 87 runner that im sas with 44/60

I had a 87 ranger with 33's (baja ta's) and took out 3 front diffs (broke the case twice)one set of rear r&p and partsavailablity probs in my little slice of hell.(needed a hanger bearing ford dealer here said my truck didn't have one even with the thing sitting right in front of him) I'd never own another ford. Dont flame me it's my 2 bits:smokin: :beer: :skull:
That's cuz you had a '87. Later ones (91-'97) are much sturdier.

I like my Ranger. I also bought a BroncoII and been wheeling the piss out of it without any issues also (has the later Ranger frontend and an Explorer 8.8" rearend in it).

The Toyota & Jeep do enjoy a much wider aftermarket for bolt-on rockcrawling goodies though, but if you can fabricate things yourself, this matters much less :D

toyota pickup any year is a good pick... i own 3 83's and they all treated me well, the only reason they broke was driver issues... and i know many other people who drive toyota's from different years, and once you go yota you don't go back.

now that iv owned a 83, 84, 85 and a 87 toyotas i would get the 85 or below because of simplicity. i prefer my 87 but it takes alot more work to get it to crawler status.