Backcountry Vehicles

jaydendyck1 said:
I used to have a 1997 ram, 8ft box with a 5.9 gas and locking differentials front and rear. It used a ton of fuel but could go anywhere you wanted. I now have a plain Jane 2dr jeep wrangler sport. Even without locking diffs it can hold its own.
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I'm right there with you on the 2 dr jeep. I haven't had problems getting anywhere yet, other than if I end up somewhere without access to gas that can be an issue. I think I need to get some gas can mounts on the bumper. Because of the mileage issues the Jetta TDI goes a lot of places that it really shouldn't. I have replaced several belly pans on that thing.
 
Traded in my 1998 Honda Accord for something a little more fun in the dirt and the snow. My 2016 4x4 Renegade has been killer in the snow all season. Excited to take it out in the Uintas and Southern Utah this summer!

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You jeep (wrangler) guys - how are those things as a daily driver? I need to replace my truck next year and I'm up in the air between a grand cherokee (which I owned once before 15 years ago) or a rubicon.
 
Wanderlust073 said:
You jeep (wrangler) guys - how are those things as a daily driver? I need to replace my truck next year and I'm up in the air between a grand cherokee (which I owned once before 15 years ago) or a rubicon.
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I love it as a DD. Of course, I've been driving some kind of Jeep for the last 15 years, so maybe I'm used to it...
 
Wanderlust073 said:
You jeep (wrangler) guys - how are those things as a daily driver? I need to replace my truck next year and I'm up in the air between a grand cherokee (which I owned once before 15 years ago) or a rubicon.
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My 2 door wrangler is a 99 and I don't use it as a daily driver. For that I have a Jetta TDI, the difference in mileage is quite dramatic. Also depending on the setup you end up with for your jeep they can be really loud, but saying all of that they are fun.
 
I thought about getting a used one like that for a weekend toy, but damn do they hold their value.
 
I was in Moab hanging out in front of Dave's drinking an espresso when this weird-looking rig pulled up - I thought it was kind of ugly. A guy got out and we started talking. Toyota had several new and unreleased FJ Cruisers in Moab where prof. drivers were testing them out, plus doing some PR. He asked if I wanted to go for a test drive. Who could resist that?

I drove it all the way around Fins N Things and when we got back, I said I'm buying one of these, which I did when Toyota finally released them. It now has over 200k mies on it, many which are off-road, and the only repair I've made to date is a new alternator (went out on Malad Pass after driving all the way to AK) and new struts.

It has so many desert pinstripes that the other day a Fedex guy scratched it and came to the door to tell me what he'd done and that he'd pay for it. When we went out to look at it, he couldn't figure out which scratch he'd made. I told him he had to prove he'd damaged it before I would take his money. :)

It will go anywhere and got me in trouble one time when I was pulling a trailer and took off up a rough road out by Hurricane, thinking I could just go wherever I wanted. When the road turned into an ATV trail, it took me an hour to get turned around, and I later sold the trailer. I sleep in it comfortably with 3 dogs and have it outfitted with screens and good camping stuff (foam mattress, etc.). I know it's going to die someday, and when it does, I hope I'm someplace way out there, like the Canol Road in Yukon T. where I will lay it to rest with the old rusted construction vehicles used to build the Alcan. (I love it but still think they're kind of ugly, and I'm on my 3rd broken windshield.)

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Wanderlust073 said:
I thought about getting a used one like that for a weekend toy, but damn do they hold their value.
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If you are just looking for a weekend toy, keep an eye out for some of the older ones with rebuild titles. That is how I picked mine up at a fairly decent price a few years ago. Just be sure to have a really good look at it because those rebuild titles can be anything from some kind of minor crash to rolling end over end down a mountain.
 
swmalone said:
If you are just looking for a weekend toy, keep an eye out for some of the older ones with rebuild titles. That is how I picked mine up at a fairly decent price a few years ago. Just be sure to have a really good look at it because those rebuild titles can be anything from some kind of minor crash to rolling end over end down a mountain.
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I've seen quite a few at or less than $7500 that seem to be solid. They have 125/150k miles but apparently that's nothing for a jeep?
 
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I can't really testify to the longevity. Mine is a 99 but since we don't drive it much it only has around 80,000. I have never had to do anything other than routine maintenance. That is of course excluding replacing the top and getting the bike rack installed and eventually some other goodies. I was lucky the one I picked up already had a lift. The cost of a jeep can vary dramatically once you start modifying it from stock.
 
Wanderlust073 said:
You jeep (wrangler) guys - how are those things as a daily driver? I need to replace my truck next year and I'm up in the air between a grand cherokee (which I owned once before 15 years ago) or a rubicon.
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I have a two Wrangler as my weekend car and I'm glad it's not my daily driver. You'll get a variety of opinions on this one, but the biggest thing for a Wrangler is what modifications you make to it and whether it's a 2 or 4 door. My two door is small and wouldn't work if I had to transport kids around or haul more than two people very often. The soccer mom version (4-door) is more practical as a daily driver. Once you add a lift and larger tires, the ride on the highway really suffers and makes it a troublesome daily driver, in my opinion. If you drive it stock, it's not that bad.
 
ridings82 said:
I have a two Wrangler as my weekend car and I'm glad it's not my daily driver. You'll get a variety of opinions on this one, but the biggest thing for a Wrangler is what modifications you make to it and whether it's a 2 or 4 door. My two door is small and wouldn't work if I had to transport kids around or haul more than two people very often. The soccer mom version (4-door) is more practical as a daily driver. Once you add a lift and larger tires, the ride on the highway really suffers and makes it a troublesome daily driver, in my opinion. If you drive it stock, it's not that bad.
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The other issue with the 2 door is that you have limited space to haul anything. Since it is just me and my wife we removed the back seat, but that means we can't haul anyone with us. Also because of the shorter wheel base the towing weight is listed as being quite low because if you go much over 2200 lbs the trailer can end up driving the jeep. ***Begin nostalgic rant.*** On a completely unrelated note to the usability of the vehicles I am slightly disappointed in the decrease in the perceived wrangler community once the 4 door models started coming out. It used to be that you would get a wave anytime you passed anyone else with a wrangler and people would just come up and start asking about your jeep or you could do that to someone else and it was just expected as part of ownership. That has really started to disappear with the soccer mom versions mentioned above. ***End of nostalgic rant.***
 
swmalone said:
The other issue with the 2 door is that you have limited space to haul anything. Since it is just me and my wife we removed the back seat, but that means we can't haul anyone with us.
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I can attest to this. My kids are in the back with most of our gear, except for my wife's backpack. It made for a cramped ride back to our other shuttle vehicle.

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swmalone said:
***Begin nostalgic rant.*** On a completely unrelated note to the usability of the vehicles I am slightly disappointed in the decrease in the perceived wrangler community once the 4 door models started coming out. It used to be that you would get a wave anytime you passed anyone else with a wrangler and people would just come up and start asking about your jeep or you could do that to someone else and it was just expected as part of ownership. That has really started to disappear with the soccer mom versions mentioned above. ***End of nostalgic rant.***
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This is also happening to an extent with Tacomas-- I was at the dealership the other day browsing and all the new Tacomas they had in stock were the 4 door crew cab models. That said I'd still get one, as they seem to be pretty capable and very dependable.
 
ramblinman said:

This is also happening to an extent with Tacomas-- I was at the dealership the other day browsing and all the new Tacomas they had in stock were the 4 door crew cab models. That said I'd still get one, as they seem to be pretty capable and very dependable.
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I have a Canyon, similar in size. Can't stand it on 4x4 roads in the mountains. The back end bounces around so much it makes me think I'm going to go sailing off the edge sometimes.
 
I bought my 04 Rubicon new in Aug of 03. I'm about to turn 90K. I hope I can keep it for the rest of my life. There is nothing better for exploring the wilds. A Rubicon will go anywhere you want to go. Jeep towing an original jeep trailer (M416) is my preferred exploration rig.
It is not a good daily driver. 16 miles/gal. Rough ride, especially for the passenger. As it gets older it gets a little louder. I bought a used Geo prism for my daily driver.

I always piece sign another jeep driver. I have found the more the jeep looks like it has been out in the dirt the more likely the owner will wave back.
 
Wanderlust073 said:
You jeep (wrangler) guys - how are those things as a daily driver? I need to replace my truck next year and I'm up in the air between a grand cherokee (which I owned once before 15 years ago) or a rubicon.
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I need to post a picture of mine (I have a 2010 JKU Sahara) but mine is my DD as well as off-road toy. In my opinion, I think as long as you do not turn that thing into a rock crawler or go with some serious lift it would be fine as a DD. I know some guys that put theirs on a trailer when they go on the highway because of all the modifications they have done that make it a nightmare on the highway.

I usually never drive over 75 in mine, though that is for gas mileage and not for handling. If i stick to that I can average roughly about 20 mpg and in flatter areas of the country as high as 22 mpg. I do not have overly big tires on mine either ( only 33" Mickey Thompsons) so that helps I am sure. I find it fits in all my gear easily (as well as up to a couple passengers if we all have gear), is quiet (unless the soft top is on and/or down), and a smooth ride.

Honestly unless I got a great deal on a Rubicon, I would find a lower priced one and do upgrades myself, but that is me.
 
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