Not so cheap off-road vehicle

Had a friend with a supercharged Xterra, he complained of the poor milage and went F-150.

Posted by: heckler

Had a friend with a supercharged Xterra, he complained of the poor milage and went F-150.

Good to know the xterra drinks more than an f-150. Thirst is a big consideration for me hence wanting to go light with something like a little 4 banger ranger. I owned a little regular cab 4 banger ranger for about two years that I paid about a grand for and I loved the shit out of it until it died. A less beat up 4wd version of that tiny truck would be the dream. There are still quite a few of the older generation ones kicking around and I would be willing to spend more for low mileage like this example (would definitely lowball the listed price tho) :

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van/cto/d/vancouver-1999-ford-ranger-xlt/7601474197.html

I'm not planning to tow anything. The most I'd ever haul with it would be a sofa canoe, or patio furniture set whatever.. my main motivations are access to more wildlife management units while carrying a bit of gear while spending as little as possible.

Generally on my adventures I won't be carrying more than I can carry on my back as I would be parking places and doing a lot of wandering on foot with a hiking pack and a rifle.

Posted by: switch

Lifted, oversized tire Suzuki SX4.

Interesting. I like the idea a lot

Posted by: three-sheets

Jeep cherokee

I could see myself going this route if a really good deal was available. Are they thirstier than xterras?

06+ Grand Vitara with the 2.4L might be worth a look. Has a proper 4wd setup but the suspension leaves a lot to be desired.

I've had my 4.0L 6spd Nissan Frontier for 7 years. Dash reads 13.3L/100km currently. Does better in the warmer months, worse in the cold. Lots of fuel but on the upside it's needed fuck all else. My old 4 banger Toyota's weren't as thirsty, but not far off.

Posted by: Fast-Orange

Aren't those cheap because multiple expensive things on them are about to break? I'm not really into anything German. So far I like Adam West's xterra suggestion best.

They're cheap because they're a 20yr old luxury vehicle that people who buy $80K luxury vehicles have no interest in any more. The ML320's are decent too, about the same price. I've had my ML500 for a couple years, it cost me $3K and it's now got 265K km's on it and it runs well. I knew it needed a few things and would need a few others down the road (suspension), but they are reliable vehicles. The niggles they have are well documented and pretty easy to fix like I said with lots of tutorials. It was just a thought.

Seeing you later qualified your comment as wanting to use this as a hunting truck I would just get an old 4x4 ranger with a solid motor/trans and spend money to redo the suspension, put new tires on, do other consumables like brakes/belts/etc if they haven't been done, put a front mount hitch on and get a hitch mount winch set-up that you can put on the front or rear to get yourself out of trouble should the need arise. Should be under $10K. If you're going to camp and hunt a pick-up will better suit your needs. I first thought of a Grand Vitara, but you'll actually spend more money on those - better fuel mileage but way smaller inside and I know you're a taller dude which is why a US/German vehicle would be nice because you're not crammed into a shoe box. Whatever you get have fun with it and post pictures.

Edit: I say this as I went through it all a few years ago. I was wanting to spend less than you, but I looked at the Liberty/Nitro, CRV, Vitara, Escape/Tribute, etc and found the deal on the Benz which was by far the best vehicle available at the time.

Posted by: Fast-Orange

Posted by: three-sheets

Jeep cherokee

I could see myself going this route if a really good deal was available. Are they thirstier than xterras?

Any 6 cylinder suv is going to be compareable in fuel mileage. Even the tiny liberties get simillar mileage.. 

Considering what you are wanting to do and the places you want go fuel mileage should be well below proven reliability in your list of priorities.

Theres only a handful of vehicles that I know well enough to have the confidence in to take me to the most remote regions of the island by myself but if you want to go cheap and small I'd get a tracker or a sidekick.

If you want something bigger a 4 runner or xterra is the way to  go. The components are far beefier and better desigend for handling off roading  compared to the tall car architechture of the other smaller SUVs

I had a 4 litre auto, not too bad on fuel. Fairly capable off road, cheap parts, easy to work on and lots of dead ones in the wreckers

Posted by: three-sheets

I had a 4 litre auto, not too bad on fuel. Fairly capable off road, cheap parts, easy to work on and lots of dead ones in the wreckers

I only have second hand experience with xjs. (Went on a road trip with a modified one once and created a montage of all the times the hood was up on the jeep) but id think if you bought the right one it would be worthwhile.. id also give this guys opinion a little more weight than the next guys..

Posted by: Fast-Orange

Posted by: heckler

Had a friend with a supercharged Xterra, he complained of the poor milage and went F-150.

Good to know the xterra drinks more than an f-150. Thirst is a big consideration for me hence wanting to go light with something like a little 4 banger ranger. I owned a little regular cab 4 banger ranger for about two years that I paid about a grand for and I loved the shit out of it until it died. A less beat up 4wd version of that tiny truck would be the dream. There are still quite a few of the older generation ones kicking around and I would be willing to spend more for low mileage like this example (would definitely lowball the listed price tho) :

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van/cto/d/vancouver-1999-ford-ranger-xlt/7601474197.html

I'm not planning to tow anything. The most I'd ever haul with it would be a sofa canoe, or patio furniture set whatever.. my main motivations are access to more wildlife management units while carrying a bit of gear while spending as little as possible.

Generally on my adventures I won't be carrying more than I can carry on my back as I would be parking places and doing a lot of wandering on foot with a hiking pack and a rifle.

Sounds like you're kinda wanting an old 4 banger Ranger. Went out for a 4x4 ramble in my brother's beater Ranger over the weekend. Always liked rhem-smooth ride, good mileage, plenty of clearance for a pretty gnarly trail. He's got 3 now lol. Last one was $200 and needed one day's worth of transmission work.

My Dad was a huge off-road enthusiast, his philosophy after a lifetime of 4x4 was no-lift, moderate size wheels to preserve power, aggressive tread, high torque V8 gas guzzlers though. CJ's of various types were his go-to for years, then a couple of older Rangers. Watched him conquer some ridiculous terrain.

Ranger or a mazda b4000 (same truck) definetly a good choice as well, if you can find one.

Ford shut down the Ranger line in 2011 and it was pretty much the last of the small PU's, becuz despite everybody posting on-line we needed a small diesel hilux, according to sales figures nobody buys small PU's so the sales figures had dropped year after year

so post 2008 meltdown in the USA , Ford cuts the price on a 2010 by 6600 $ making an excab/ 4x4/ 4L/dual range gearbox/ rubber floor mats/ hand crank windows (but AC !)  mags/ just over 19K ( 18K with a costco membership) so I bought one, a great truck, other than a few colors and auto or 5spd I think they were all spec'd exactly the same

which likely makes ^^ this new ranger ... the ol ranger you were thinking about

Altho we havent yet had the call to resurrect a mid 90's Toyota pu

I still think some of you are missing a decade

Posted by: Madman

05+ Xterra, Frontier or Pathfinder with the 4.0L.

I can't support the Pathfinder here - our other car is an 08 Pathfinder 4.0L, and I can only describe the wheel articulation as "shockingly bad" but otherwise it's a great vehicle. The complete lack of ability to drive on pretty much any uneven terrain would be a major negative. Too bad because on the road it's incredible in snow and on gravel. The other two Nissans there have solid rear axles and could be OK.

Given that list and to be compatible with hunting, I'd go Frontier or Ranger. Nice to be able to carry things outside.

Posted by: Adam-West

Posted by: Fast-Orange

Posted by: three-sheets

Jeep cherokee

I could see myself going this route if a really good deal was available. Are they thirstier than xterras?

Any 6 cylinder suv is going to be compareable in fuel mileage. Even the tiny liberties get simillar mileage.. 

Considering what you are wanting to do and the places you want go fuel mileage should be well below proven reliability in your list of priorities.

Theres only a handful of vehicles that I know well enough to have the confidence in to take me to the most remote regions of the island by myself but if you want to go cheap and small I'd get a tracker or a sidekick.

If you want something bigger a 4 runner or xterra is the way to  go. The components are far beefier and better desigend for handling off roading  compared to the tall car architechture of the other smaller SUVs

You make a good point I just have kind of a mental block when it comes to mileage lol. I guess it comes from living right in the middle of the city and knowing I'll have to do several hours of driving before I even get to the roads I need the vehicle for. Obviously reliability and capability should be the top priorities.