Alright I took the 86 (truck) out wheeling again today just like I do every weekend only this time I had a buddy along in an 05 Rubicon. I went some places he couldn't go due to me having a little lift and he went alot of places I couldn't go due to dual lockers/lower t-case gears etc. The biggest problem I had was the longer wheel base of the truck. Now I have the 89 4runner sitting out back and it's got a rebuilt motor and runs a lot better than the truck, well it feels like it had more power at least, so it would be a great candidate for a build.

So here is the deal. I don't have the money to build the runner unless I sell the truck. I don't want to sell the truck unless I have to. I can see dropping 5000$ into the runner and making it a much better trail rig/DD than the truck is but then I wouldn't have a vehicle to haul things.

So far the truck has all the stuff in my sig as well as some other little goodies.

Now I can easily do all the work on the runner to lift it, lock it front and rear, re-gear, tires, bumpers, dual cases etc. But I had the good fortune when building the truck to have about 3000$ in "free" cash to drop into it, with the runner I won't have that option unless I sell the truck.

I guess the bottom line is this. I either need to put the truck up for sale to build the runner (if I can find that stupid battery drain issue) or sell the runner and just be happy with the truck.

Be honest. What would you do?

 

If you're building a 'wheeler, I would do the truck. Maybe even swap the motors if the one in the runner is so much better.

The reasons why I would build the truck:
- lighter (by quite a bit)
- much easier to cut for larger tires
- a lot more potential options for the rear suspension
- lighter
- more room to carry "stuff" (as opposed to carrying people)

 

id sell the truck and build the 4runner

 

Were it me...
... I'd move as many as possible of the mods from the truck to the 4Runner (nearly everything should be an R&R type operation, no?)- you could even swap the whole rear axle over instead of dealing with pulling the third if I'm not mistaken. Then sell the truck to finance more mods and maybe a small trailer for carrying things, though personally I don't carry enough around to need a truck and am rather fond of the enclosure over the rear.

 

If it was me, I'd want to keep the truck. Less room in the cab means friends ride with someone else=my car doesn't get trashed. But that's me.

 

I'd keep the one that is in the best mechanical shape.

 

Yeah almost everything I've done to the truck is a direct swap into the 4runner.

I too realized I don't carry around as much stuff as I thought I would once I learned how to pack it into camping boxes and do like the enclosed rear for sleeping if I need to bed down in there.

I hate making this kind of choice, it's like picking which child in the family is killed off to feed the others.

 

Yeah if one of them had a big issue that'd be an easy answer. The truck leaks nothing at all and burns about a half quart of synthetic every 3000 miles or so.

The runner has a rebuilt motor (it kind of pisses me off that it's faster off the line and better at holding highway speeds with 31's and 4.10's than my truck is with 31's and 4.56's.) and no other wet spots or leaks anywhere. The front end is tight, steering is great etc.....

The only things about the 4runner is some odd little things in the inside that irritate me. Faded sticker over the heater/ac controls, busted console, door retainer thingy on the pillar is busted off, drivers side door hinges welded on (WTF?), sterring wheel is cracked.... just cosmetics.

 

Ah, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence! In today's rocky economy just sit tight and be happy with what you have and enjoy it. Wait and see if you have a job this time next year or not.
Believe it or not one does not always need bigger, better, newer, faster. We are just bombarded with media that tells us we do need it.
Get a cap for the truck and you have your enclosed dry space for supplies and sleep for very little money.
Hang onto the runner until this uncertain future becomes a whole lot clearer than it is today.

Dave

 

Cosmetics are not necessarily for function. Mechanically solid IS necessary for function.

I cannot tell you how many customers I have had who spent a ton of money on lift, tires, armor, lockers, etc and then their engine went kaput and they were stuck with a nice lifted rig that didn't move and they were too broke to fix it.

All the mods are irrelevant if the truck isn't mechanically solid.

 

I'm not going to be one of those folks. I didn't even consider doing anything to the truck until I had it running as good as possible.

Yeah I've seen the big lifted locked rigs sitting in the back yard with a busted motor or tranny while the owner tries to save money to get it fixed, makes no sense.

 

Sounds like you will be fine with either then. Pick which one is purtiest.

 

its nice to have a trail only rig.. you can make it more functional that way too..
andnothing beats a clean dd that always works..

but if you can only keep one id build what ever one you want with the parts you have,. and part the rest out for top dollar.

 

werd... getting my truck to to teh best mechanical being was the first thing on my list.. whats the point of having everything else then having something big go out on you

good post

 

i dont see how switching to the runner will help, they are basicly the same, but the runner has more seats and is heaver

 

keep the truck, rob parts off the 4Runner then sell it. Swap out the motor if you need to. JUST BE HAPPY.

 

For pure 4x4 ability, the truck will be better and be easier to build. In my 4Runner I dread off-camber situations. I would own a truck if it wasn't always rainy and cold here- I camp a lot in the back of the 4Runner- its brilliant for that, and it has a heater, but the COG is too high, the gas tank hangs too low, the gas mileage is worse and its heavy (and thus slow). Also, its a pain to have to clean mud out of the interior because I put my snatch straps in the back after a mud pull.

 

stop trying to talk yourself out of it: all you say are the down-sides of the 4runner (off camber, fuel tank, blah blah.)
to which I reply: "like the fuel tank on the runner hangs down all that much farther than the one on the truck"
and then you say: "... it gets worse gas mileage and is slow... "

... wait, that was Matt16...

and then YOU said "it kind of pisses me off that it's faster off the line and better at holding highway speeds with 31's and 4.10's than my truck is with 31's and 4.56's."

leave me alone... I'm going off to find that crack you're on.

 

My two cents.
Anything you can haul in the truck you can haul in the runner. I once pulled my topper and roll bar and hauled a 1982 yamiha maxima 750. 4Runners are bad as heck. The only reason I sport a pickup is for sentimental reasons. My wife sports the 4Runner

 

WTF? Seriously, isn't that why 1st gen runners are sick?

Take off the top and it's a truck. Keep the runner. :p