4WD vehicle suggestion

[MrNiceGuy]

remember a land crusier has two solid axles. h2 has IFS, meaning very little articulation, yes it will have a little higher gound clearance in the middle because there isnt an axle but it just doesnt flex.

it also wontfit down any reall "off road" trails/roads, its just too damn wide.

Articulation is great for some rock climbing, but in other situations all of that extra hardware will get you stuck.
This is why both the H1 and H2 use independent suspension and great ground clearance.

They will both traverse "real" offroad trails, fairly well. The h1/h2 may not go everywhere a jeep wrangler could go, but a jeep couldnt go everywhere a quad could go, and neither can go places that you can walk. It all depends on how "real" we're talking about when you're defining offroad trails.

 

[motoman98]

Personal experience here. Bought a new Ford Ranger 4.0 supercab in 2004. 5spd manual and has the good differentials, 4.10, axles, etc. Has almost 90,000mi. on it now. NOTHING has broken: I've replaced the tires and the front shocks. BEST rig I have ever owned and will take you where you want to go. Tows a 16' cargo trailer stuffed with cabinets over the mountains and gets (on its own)18-21mpg on the road.
Great ride and good driver.

 

[java]

I guess its just preferences but id like a h2 alot better if it has a solid axle in the front 8k plus is a heavy associated truck for ifs to carry around on much more than pavement.....

 

[Redcap]

Compared to what?
The H2 atleast is a very competent luxury SUV.
Stock for stock, it will out off-road, or at least keep up, with nearly any SUV sold today, and it's loaded with luxury features.

In snow/sand they do GREAT. They have very nice 4wd systems and tons of ground clearance.
For the most part it's not a rock crawler, but they're fairly capable even when stock:
YouTube - HUMMER H2 at Durango
YouTube - HUMMER H3 at Durango

I dont know of a vehicle that gives you the amount of luxury that the H2 does while still retaining SUPERB off-road capabilities.

Compared to any older straight-axle vehicle, which you can often buy for well under 1/4 the price (for a REALLY nice one) of one of those H2/H3 buckets.

I don't look for 'luxury' in a vehicle I'm going to use hard. "SUPERB off-road capabilities"? Sure. If, by off-road, you mean a nicely manicured logging road.

I'll bet you dollars to donuts, however, that the old beater slickside '60s Ford that I use as a yard-donkey will run circles around either of them.

 

[Decker]

I'm just hoping that gas prices go up again so that people will be tossing their full sized truck out at bargain prices again.

-d

 

[Rix]

my audi will do as well as a h2 in sand and snow.....

remember a land crusier has two solid axles. .

Landcruiser has had IFS 1998.

But the landcruisers don't break like the h2/h3 thingies do. Talking offroad of course.
Both are too big for the PNW offroad scene. (talking 98+ l/c. 97 and older, with FACTORY lockers, there is no comparison, they will kick the snot out of any stock GM SUV offroad. they're still a bit big though.)
The H's are notorius for breaking in more serious offroad stuff. Very few people actually do any serious offroading though, so it's kinda a moot point.
In a bugout situation, it might or might not be a bad thing. Some might be headed for remote locations and try to forget civilization's skeleton, others might only need to navigate a road side, ditch, or embankment.

regardless of what vehicle, winch, good tires, some spares, some tools, and various extraction equipment should be a must.

 

[just dan]

despite being a fullsize SUV fan, and have previously owned a first gen pathfinder, straight axle 4 runner, and a couple others...
one of my favorites has been a POS suzuki samurai i had. bone stock under the hood, lifted on some BFG mud terrains. it went anywhere, great mileage, pretty fun to drive, never broke. it did plenty of off road excursions. not sure why i sold it, exactly... might have had something to do with being single and chicks not quite diggin' the samurai. the good ol' days...

 

[Rix]

yeah, the sami is just so SMALL.

 

[accurateone]

One of the best GOOD vehicles period has been sadly left out! In 1976 - 1980 Interntional Harvester made the Travelall & Scout II models with diesel motors. They quit production in 1980 but did a lot of special packages before they stopped. Note they used DANA front ends. The scout II with gas engine still took out 5 of the hardest desert race championships including the BAJA 1000 in 1982... two years after production stopped! The diesel engines were naturally asperated D33 nissans until 1980 when you could get a D33T (Turbo). They were not race cars... but are very adequate 4x4's not averse to EMP's and got about 20mpg in town & 30 mpg on the Highway. If the scout is too small there was an extended 2 dr. model, or the 4 dr. travelall, The scout also came as a diesel pickup. One of my friends had a 60's scout I, and everything rattled like shaking BB's in a tin can! YUK! PLEASE, don't confuse that with a late 70's or 80's model.
regards,
A1

 

[sheepdip]

91, 92, 93 dodge diesel 4x4, find one an old codger has with low miles, check his maintanence records. most guys are proud of their rig and wont hesitate to show their records. might be what could be considered a little spendy for the year. look them over closely or have a pro you trust do it. GOOD pickups

 

[Redcap]

One of the best GOOD vehicles period has been sadly left out! In 1976 - 1980 Interntional Harvester made the Travelall & Scout II models with diesel motors. They quit production in 1980 but did a lot of special packages before they stopped. Note they used DANA front ends. The scout II with gas engine still took out 5 of the hardest desert race championships including the BAJA 1000 in 1982... two years after production stopped! The diesel engines were naturally asperated D33 nissans until 1980 when you could get a D33T (Turbo). They were not race cars... but are very adequate 4x4's not averse to EMP's and got about 20mpg in town & 30 mpg on the Highway. If the scout is too small there was an extended 2 dr. model, or the 4 dr. travelall, The scout also came as a diesel pickup. One of my friends had a 60's scout I, and everything rattled like shaking BB's in a tin can! YUK! PLEASE, don't confuse that with a late 70's or 80's model.
regards,
A1

The early Scouts (80/800) and and some Scout IIs were tough, but the Dana 30 frontend was a weak link. The Scout IIs from late '74 on came with Dana 44 frontends. Don't overlook the gas motors either. The SV series are heavy, but very durable and torquey motors...though not known for their fuel conservation. The Nissan diesel powered ones are fairly rare. The extended wheelbase Scout II is the Traveler. The Travelall is the size of a Suburban and International Harvester made one he.ll of a pickup right up until the end. However, the bodies were highly prone to rust.

A little reading if you desire one: http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout/faq/getscout_part2.html

 

[sheepdip]

an uncle of mine bought a new international 4x4 pickup about 1970 or so, what a pile of crap that thing was. corners of the bed broke out within the first year and a half, tailgate turned to crap almost immedietly, bottoms of front fenders rotted out, burned oil from day one. back in the day of the 12 month/12,000 mile warranty

 

[Redcap]

an uncle of mine bought a new international 4x4 pickup about 1970 or so, what a pile of crap that thing was. corners of the bed broke out within the first year and a half, tailgate turned to crap almost immedietly, bottoms of front fenders rotted out, burned oil from day one. back in the day of the 12 month/12,000 mile warranty

There are lemons with every brand. I had a mid-90s Toyota pickup that was a complete steaming pile.

 

[derrickd95]

My daily driver is my fave suv its a M1009 military blazer with a 6.2 diesel and rear locker with no frills plus the black out lights are fun. You can buy one from government liquidation and you can buy the engines all day long for around $300 - $1000 and some times in lots of three or more.

 

[djm68]

My daily driver is my fave suv its a M1009 military blazer with a 6.2 diesel and rear locker with no frills plus the black out lights are fun. You can buy one from government liquidation and you can buy the engines all day long for around $300 - $1000 and some times in lots of three or more.

I looked at the CUCV's as they certainly are cheap but I thought the 6.2 diesel is problematic -- cracking main webs leading to total engine failure?

DJM

 

[just dan]

My daily driver is my fave suv its a M1009 military blazer with a 6.2 diesel and rear locker with no frills plus the black out lights are fun. You can buy one from government liquidation and you can buy the engines all day long for around $300 - $1000 and some times in lots of three or more.

they still have the blazers on govt liquidation? if ya don't mind me asking, about how much $ and from where... i'd been interested in one in the past... and i'm a fan of the 6.2.

 

[Redcap]

I looked at the CUCV's as they certainly are cheap but I thought the 6.2 diesel is problematic -- cracking main webs leading to total engine failure?

DJM

Among other things. The 6.2 is a boat anchor.

 

[wsu 5.9er]

Among other things. The 6.2 is a boat anchor.

This. Axles are good to swap onto other vehicles but that 6.2 is junk.

 

[just dan]

gotta say... the 6.2 has a lot of people that hate it. not the greatest diesel ever... but not the worst.
had one in a suburban. abused the **** out of it. not the quickest thing by any means, but sorta decent mileage for a suburban, torquey and never had an issue. well, not a major issue, anyway

 

[busboy1]

A really under rated rig is the tracker newer 4 doors are not neerly as small and the older 4 door hard tops are selling fairly cheap 2 inch coil spacers and 28 29 ibch tires your goos to go