Off-Road Master

Hi All, I recently found out I'm going to be a daddy. I can no longer just have a 2 seater for the wife and me. I have about 1 year before needing to have a trail worthy rig that will hold all 2 adults, baby, and 2 dogs. Any ideas?

My wife has a 98 4Runner right now that is only a 2WD...boy would I love to make that the family Rig with a SAS and Atlas II, but I might be better off just getting something already designed as a 4WD.

Not ready to give up the sport, so please help with ideas.

Thanks

scuba

Your on the right direction...a 3rd gen would be perfect for what you want IMO.
If you can stomach selling the 2wd just use that money and buy a nice 4x4

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

You are the 'Off Road Master' and are asking for recommendations???

As a dad having dealt with screwing around with car seats i would recommend you still with a 4 Door like your current 4runner. Search the Classifieds, there have been several nicely done SAS 90-97 4runners lately. You could probably pick up one reasonably...

crolison

3rd gen will be good, well if your gonna be adding a different tcase and then swapping it you can start off with the 98 2wd.

Belize Off Road Team

4th gen 4Runner, Sequoia, Highlander, Land Cruiser. Those are the best Family 4WD's. 1st-3rd gen 4Runners are more off road oriented.

Wardamneagle

Buy a 1996 or 97 FZJ80. You should be able to get some great deals on them right now. Leave the wife's 4Runner for on road.

83

Congratulations! Does it need to be newer? I like the station-wagon style Land Cruisers, 80's and 90's. 4 Runners are great too. Definitely need a back area for the dogs. If you don't have crazy budget restraints, what about the older Tacoma quad cabs?

scuba

Sorry those are actually all reserved for me

Yes, congrats on the news.
And let us know what you decide to do vehicle wise

tc

What kind of 'wheeling? Camping?

4Runners don't have much room for "stuff" left after you get the child seat and dogs in the back seat.

I would look at a double cab Tacoma if I were you...

toyNG

I personally love the FJ60 and FJ80 land cruisers. It seems like the FJ80s are going pretty cheap these days too. And if you can find one with factory lockers...

yotasavg

i second the DC Taco idea. get a nice 4wd with a locker....maybe blown.... that would be perfect.

algranger

I agree, i would go for a 90's FJ80 they have sfa's

See here its, a nice family vehicle


The axle's already there so a little modding and building and you've got a mean trail rig

tc

Ummmm ... ActionJackson - the builder of the second pic had more than a little modding into his rig... and he eventually sold it anyways.

khoopes

I have 3 boys (2, 3, and 4 years respectively) and we all load into our 1st gen runner. Not as bad as I thought it would be, two doors with rear sliding windows..

I have had 2nd and third gen runners.. Don't offer that much for me over the 1st gen. In fact, first gen is more compact and less wasted weight. The only thing that was really handy on third gen was the liftgate.. all the others had tailgates that you have to roll the window down on.

The Land Cruise is a great option but they are huge. Feel heavier than my 2wd Suburban did with less power. I decided against the cruiser due to mileage and power. If any vehicle every needed a small block chevy, its the cruiser. Unless maybe you could put a nice turbocharger conversion on it...

The real answer is you need to get out and drive them all. They all handle differently and the one you will like can only depend on you. One child is not that much more for travel, but when you camp it is like twice as much stuff... playpen, walker, stroller, 5 changes of clothes.... etc etc.. By the time it is two this will get much easier though cause it won't need as much stuff.

I think I would not modify your 4 runner if you can afford a third vehicle because it is a nice family ride and gets good gas mileage. If you are on a limited budget sell the truck and buy a trail family ride...???? You can always buy a small trailer to do those "truck duties".

Off-Road Master

Wow....thanks for all your advice guys. All these options are awesome!

Most of the wheelin' we'll probably be doing from now on will be more camping trips to the desert and Sierras.

I'll start looking at your recommendations of:

4Runner 4X4
Land Cruiser
Tacoma Double Cab

Prices on the FJ80 are actually pretty good right now, considering it was once a $40K+ vehicle.

We'll probably keep the 2Runner for a while; she's been good: 180K and still going strong.

habanero

My 3rd gen will hold gear for a family of 5 for a week of camping. Barely. If the dogs won't walk all over the kid it could work. If you are wheeling with a kid you'll need head support. I've also got a car seat thread around here somewhere, the one I'm using is wide enough for the kid but one of the narrowest seats around. Two oversized adults can squeeze back there on either side of the kid without too much pain.

tc

Wow - you need to teach Molly what and how to pack a rig I guess! We're lucky to get the stuff for a couple nights camping in ours! (although we both carry our spare tire in the back currently)

904_runner

thats the problem tc!

its all aboot the swing out carriers!
I can get a good amount of stuff into mine, now, making all that stuff not rattle or slide around is the key!