MattP

2 friends of mine are in the process of building trucks and we've been tossing around the idea of taking backroads from Vancouver, BC as far north in Alaska as we can and if that goes well, possibly down to the southern tip of Argentina. I'd like to drive a truck up there as well and not sit shotgun the whole way, but I need some advice for where to start.

Right now, I've got a bone stock 91 4runner, with the 3VZE that's currently my daily driver. I have another car I'm working on, but I'm not sure at this point when that will be able to take over as a daily.

Assuming a budget of around 5k, max of 6k to get it trail ready, of the three trucks in the title (2nd gen 4runner, 60 series or 80 series LC), what would make the most sense? The 4runner is certainly, for me at least the best daily. Far cheaper to run than either LC and enough creature comforts to keep me happy.

We wouldn't plan to do any crazy wheeling along the way, so reliability would be the number one factor. Can I hope to get a solid 80 series trail ready for $5000? A 60 series would certainly be the most capable of the three under my budget but pretty rough to use as a daily and a pig on fuel.

If I chose to keep the 4runner, I'd probably look at a ~3" lift, rear locker, 33's and weld up some tubular bumpers/rock sliders/belly pans. That should give me more than enough wheeling capability but are the Land Cruisers actually going to be significantly more reliable? Interested to hear some opinions about it!

Pic for the hell of it
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35403828@N04/5818019435/http://www.flickr.com/photos/35403828@N04/5818019435/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/35403828@N04/, on Flickr

94toy22re

a 80 with lockers is the best choice, routine maintenance, new tires and some armor and its ready to go.

whokrz

I would go for a locked fj80 if it is in your price range and the trail isn't going to get to bad.
I wouldn't consider a 3VZE to be reliable due to possible head gasket issues.
Also I see people sell built trucks and 4runners with a 22re for 6k. SAS, big tires, low gears, etc.. the power sucks and they are not to luxurious though.

JBurt

For 5k you could take your 4runner, do bumpers, sliders, skids, lift, 33's, front and rear lockers, and a 3.4 swap. That's if you don't mind doing the work yourself. Then you would be golden. Labor of love.

Crimson Yota

I agree.

dsal_86Yota

I 2nd it. 4runner is great base plus u have it already.

JBurt

Depending on what gear ration you have you might want to do gears too.

Philly4runner

Skip the lift and go with 31's and dump the rest of your money in to making the rig more reliable Avoid the engine swaps and anything too crazy.

This should be your formula.

1 Reliability

2 Tires

3 Locker

4 Armor

5 Recovery

It would suck trying to fix your rig in another country.

rhill

Or just sell your 4runner, take that money plus the 5k you have a buy a nice used 3rd gen. If you're just doing fire roads do you really need all those upgrades? A stock runner with good tires is surprisingly capable.

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

Bingo. For a lengthy out of country trip follow the KISS (keep it simple stupid) philosophy. You don't want to be looking for custom or modified parts in unfamiliar territory. The 4runner will be fine. If your runner hasn't had HG issues in the 20 years it has been on this earth, it is unlikely to happen tommorow. You also have the advantage that you know the runner and how you have treated for the time that you have had it.

A 80 series is tempting since it is such a "world car" but you are right that they become a fortune to maintain and operate. If you buy a LC with an unknown history it could be fine... or maybe not.

Toyota 4x4s are good out of the box for basic off roading which is really all you are going to do, you'll just be doing it in really cool places. As Philly mentioned: Go fully through your truck for basic maintenance, belly skid, locker (and I would go ARB with the full size compressor so you can air up without carrying a whole seperate compressor. Sure it's slow but are you in a hurry?) Start out with new tires in a basic size that you can get anywhere. I would even consider 30's. Winch and a really good well thought out recovery kit (probably the most important thing)

What are your friends building? It would be really good for the group to be driving the same thing. This way you can consolidate alot of things. For instance, if you are all driving IFS Toyotas of the same level of build the group can have 3 spare tires that will fit each others vehicles. If everyone carries a spare CV axle wired to the frame of the truck the group has 3 spare axles. You will only need to carry 1 54mm socket. Your parts will all interchange. See where I'm going with this? It'll be harder with a Toy a Jeep and a full size 3/4 ton with different lugs, tire/wheel sizes, tool requirements, etc.

Good luck. Sounds like fun.

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

Mmm. Forgot to mention, since you already have that nice tailgate mounted spare you could consider getting the Aux gas tank that fits in the spare spot. Pricey but it would be a good bit of peace of mind knowing you have 25-30 gallons of fuel instead of 14-15 plus whatever you can figure out to carry. Then you don't have to fiddle with jerry cans etc. or have heavy crap strapped to the roof.

MattP

Wow, thanks for all the replies!

The two other trucks being built are an 89 Ford Ranger and a 63 International Scout, both with Cummins 4bt swaps, so interchanging parts isn't going to happen

I've actually heavily leaning towards a 60 series Land Cruiser now, due to the simplicity and how bullet proof they are with stock parts. It would definitely be locked in the rear; either ARB or Detroit. Better tires and maybe a SOA as well. Eventually I'd want some form of diesel in it but not right away. After that, just some bumpers/sliders and lots of preventative maintenance