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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:Wow that is awesome, I didn’t realize that you could rent a built off-roader. My travel boner for Moab just went from “go sometime in the future” to “wanna go now!” Do it! Moab is absolutely amazing, I went in September last year and had a blast. That was even with sticking to easier trails since I'd never driven a Jeep/done any off-roading before. I've already booked to go back in September this year for another three days with a Jeep and an extra day with a RZR.  
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Mar 23, 2019 01:12
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I'm thinking about organizing a DVNP trip towards the end of April or mid-May before it get too hot. I did some work to the Bitchin' Turquoise Rocky like add air conditioning so I think it's ready for an overland trip or two. Anyone interested?
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Mar 23, 2019 01:35
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DJ Commie posted:I'm thinking about organizing a DVNP trip towards the end of April or mid-May before it get too hot. I did some work to the Bitchin' Turquoise Rocky like add air conditioning so I think it's ready for an overland trip or two. Anyone interested?
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Mar 23, 2019 06:56
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DJ Commie posted:I'm thinking about organizing a DVNP trip towards the end of April or mid-May before it get too hot. I did some work to the Bitchin' Turquoise Rocky like add air conditioning so I think it's ready for an overland trip or two. Anyone interested? Maybe. How long a trip are you thinking of and what trails do you want to do? I've been to Death Valley many times, though only once with my own 4wd. I can definitely give advice on all the well known trails and locations. quote:April or mid-May before it get too hot It will be hot by then.
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Mar 23, 2019 15:02
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I feel like this thing makes me want to do stuff in order to get high scores/achievements: It also made me start googling it and the first thread I found said Raptors are rock solid stable at 30 degrees lateral angle, which I was a bit surprised by. I think the highest someone said they hit was 37 degrees but that's when a tire started coming off the ground. I don't know for sure but I'd guess I start making GBS threads my pants at 20 degrees. I grew up off roading en route to fly fishing locations with my dad and I always remember any kind of serious lateral tilt scaring the poo poo out of me. Good advice in situations if you start getting into trouble in that regard that might not always be obvious is: stay off the brakes, turn downhill, and even give it some gas if the situation warrants.
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Mar 24, 2019 00:32
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I'm with you on side hill stuff, especially in spots where you really don't have any way to power out of it if you do start going over.
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Mar 24, 2019 01:11
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IOwnCalculus posted:I'm with you on side hill stuff, especially in spots where you really don't have any way to power out of it if you do start going over. Yeah that's the way it was in the situations I'm used to. Turning downhill or giving it gas meant you're headed straight to the bottom of a ravine that you will literally never emerge from (one of the places we went regularly had a 70s Jeep at the bottom of it for eternity) but tbh it's probably still better to "drive" straight down to the bottom of the ravine then to roll all the way to the bottom.
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Mar 24, 2019 02:47
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So I'm going through major travel withdraws and am starting to look for a 4wd truck to replace my 2wd ram for most of my driving. Recent searches are looking at a tacoma. Preferably looking for a 4dr longbed for around $20k. What should I be looking out for and what should I put in my necessity list? Long term would be slapping a shell on it and building a removable interior sleep/storage system for me and the dogs.
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Apr 1, 2019 03:22
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Aquila posted:Maybe. How long a trip are you thinking of and what trails do you want to do? Ridgecrest to Badwater via Warm Springs/Mengel Pass/Butte Valley. Standard light-ish duty fare. Clever planning could find one of the cabins, though a tent trailer might work out best if someone has one (I might by then). DJ Commie fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Apr 2, 2019 |
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Apr 2, 2019 07:24
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Went on another trip recently, this time to the Lone Pine / Mt. Whitney area. Whole bunch of pictures for the thread  I'll start off with the mine money shot:  A famous mine in this are is sized nicely to drive down into for quite a while. It's pretty great if you like mines.    If you've been down mines often enough you know how light and sound seem to work completely differently compared to on surface. Driving through it is great and you can hear every squeak your vehicle makes. Here's a video of us leaving the mine: https://imgur.com/a/QPSrqd1 There were a bunch of other mines we looked around in but nothing spectacular. It's a popular area so anything risky is usually plugged.   We camped around Alabama Hills. Bit too crowded when we went, not a huge fan of that, but we found an area that all the bouldering hipsters couldn't get to in their Subarus and were pretty isolated from them.    Camp grub  We found an old station wagon that looks like a killer road trip mobile.   Closer to Whitney we got to the snow level at this time of year.    This road was coated with 2ft of snow and soon got a lot deeper. Going uphill in that level of snow is really tough. It got to the point where my Jeep, 10psi, 4lo, front/rear locked and momentum could only go 4ft at a time before I'd be stopped and have to reverse and try again, so everyone got bored of me trying to do this and we turned around and left the snow    We found some cool mars like sand dune stuff, I think dumped from some sort of mine or industry operation.   One other small fun thing we got to do was drag racing 2x JKs and an f250 on the abandoned Manzana ww2 air strip (getting sick pulls). And that's about it for cool pictures. It was a fun 3 days! tuna fucked around with this message at 08:08 on Apr 4, 2019 |
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Apr 4, 2019 07:38
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bird with big dick posted:
Fun fact: unimogs will side hill at 45*
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Apr 8, 2019 03:54
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Swapped out 30" tires and kmc wheels for 32" evo tires and aluminum beadlock wheels. Didn't really notice a drop in acceleration but I did notice I was doing probably 50mph in some really rough trail sections (sand woops) and didnt touch the skidpad at all like I was before.   
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Apr 8, 2019 04:01
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tuna posted:And that's about it for cool pictures. It was a fun 3 days! That looks like a super cool trip! Who won the drag race?
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Apr 13, 2019 16:08
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Just got a Chevy Colorado Z71 a few weeks ago. Looking for some local places to go around SoCal. This was on the way to Holy Jim, which is closest to me, and which is also closed still from last year's fire.  Trying to get out to Big Bear and Anza Borrego soon.
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Apr 22, 2019 00:57
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Astonishing Wang posted:That looks like a super cool trip! Who won the drag race? Sorry forgot to answer this, I had the best start by a mile because I held revs at the start + taller tires, but the fuckin F250 caught up by the end of the strip and overtook me somehow. Kinda crazy, I guess taller gears and a ton of torque lol. I've also raced against a TJ (auto jk / manual tj) before and lost that acceleration race in some salt flats. Drag racing Jeeps is just so stupid and dumb, I love it.
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Apr 22, 2019 01:30
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That is a real fuckin' nice dog you got there. Give it a pat for me.
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Apr 23, 2019 09:34
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I had to do a double take because of how similar that dog looks to my mom's. Roper by xzzy77, on Flickr
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Apr 23, 2019 14:19
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Her mother is an Australian Cattle Dog and her father is a Border Collie. I need to take her more places. 
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Apr 23, 2019 14:47
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Long shot, but I'll be at the MORE Offroad race this weekend if anyone is planning to be out there. If for some reason you don't know how fun they are, check these out: Krakkles posted:Been entirely too long since I've been to the desert: And details here: http://www.moreracing.net/races/mckenzies-500
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May 17, 2019 17:21
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Did the Gold Fever Trail - 3N16 through Holcomb Valley - in Big Bear. I drove this previously in a Subaru Impreza (harrowing) and a Ford Edge (not bad). It's mostly a decent dirt road, but has some sections where you need the ground clearance. It's pretty beat up right now from the wet winter, and no way I'd be able to do the far end now in the Impreza, and it would be difficult in the Edge. It was pretty painless in the Colorado. Still lots of snow on the north faces at some elevations  Never saw water here before  Rolled in the dirt to dry off  Also my wife thought the hill descent control was much better than my own driving
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May 19, 2019 04:19
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Nice! I used to camp in Holcomb when I was a kid, I’ll have to go back now that I have a 4x4. For my weekend, I took less pictures this time, but totally had fun: 
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May 20, 2019 00:13
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Cross-post from the Jeep thread. We took out the new Rubi yesterday for a few hours trail-riding in the Ahtanum State Forest.      The sway bar disconnect threw a warning after a couple hundred yards of trail, without ever having been engaged. I understand that these have been sketchy since they first came on stock JK Rubicons, but come on. Never used, busted.
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May 20, 2019 16:27
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I went to visit my mom in Oregon which means driving on beaches while she shrieks about how I’m gonna get stuck (I did not). 
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Jun 4, 2019 14:02
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What part of Oregon is that?
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Jun 4, 2019 14:41
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Pacific City, which is one of the few places it seems to be allowed though there’s one or two other places I’ve seen where you’re allowed to park on the beach in a small area but not really drive on it.
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Jun 4, 2019 14:49
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bird with big dick posted:Pacific City, which is one of the few places it seems to be allowed though there’s one or two other places I’ve seen where you’re allowed to park on the beach in a small area but not really drive on it. Ive not been up there. We used to go out by Florence at the South Jetty. There is quite a bit of beach driving allowed down that way.
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Jun 4, 2019 16:30
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I just realized there's not only good 4WD trails around my area, but an actual 4WD road from said trails to the only beach you can drive on in California. Anyone want to make a Touring to the Dunes kinda trip? Its a cool 3.5 hours from LA, and only a bit more from the Bay. There's some easy stuff, dirtbike stuff, and some black diamond rated things.
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Jul 17, 2019 00:12
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DJ Commie posted:I just realized there's not only good 4WD trails around my area, but an actual 4WD road from said trails to the only beach you can drive on in California. Anyone want to make a Touring to the Dunes kinda trip? Its a cool 3.5 hours from LA, and only a bit more from the Bay. There's some easy stuff, dirtbike stuff, and some black diamond rated things.
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Jul 17, 2019 04:00
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DJ Commie posted:the only beach you can drive on in California Pismo? Be sure to laugh at the hilarious tow trucks advertising their overpriced services constantly as they roam the beach looking for
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Jul 17, 2019 04:20
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DJ Commie posted:I just realized there's not only good 4WD trails around my area, but an actual 4WD road from said trails to the only beach you can drive on in California. Anyone want to make a Touring to the Dunes kinda trip? Its a cool 3.5 hours from LA, and only a bit more from the Bay. There's some easy stuff, dirtbike stuff, and some black diamond rated things. I mean the last thing I should do is a road trip in the TJ, but, drat. Tempting.
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Jul 17, 2019 05:41
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Better go to Pismo before the NIMBY's shut it down, join the associations and groups fighting to keep it open. It was touch and go last week but the conservation board got a huge outpouring of support to keep the OHV access open from local businesses and 4x4 clubs and residents so the board decided.. for now.. to keep things open for another year. We almost lost Pismo Beach access. It was that close, now it's a yearly renewal thing because the pro-closure people wasn't expecting such a big fight. And if it goes you'll have to drive up to Eureka area or Oregon to find a OHV accessible beach. :/ On another note, For 13 years I've driven my H1 all over the place, in through narrow canyons, between rocks and managed to avoid body damage to the truck with all the trips I took. Until a few weeks ago, the Texas DMV requires a safety tag inspection. All it took was a sticker inspection tech in a suburb. Who drove my truck into the garage and missed by 1 foot and basically rammed my Hummer into a concrete barrier and into the side of the garage. Truck still passed safety with the damage, and the garage said they would cover everything 100% to get repaired but its a pain in the rear end so far. I need a new brush guard that's out of production and a new hood assembly and a few small odds and ends. But it turns out that the garage chains insurance policy was goofed up.... and was only for one location and not all of them, the insurance policy was corrected but they are waiting from higher-ups [nationwide] from corporate to determine if the shop has coverage in this case or not... so I'm in a holding pattern. Their adjuster was already out to see the truck but he can't get authorization to cut me a check yet. The tally right now is about roughly $4000-ish in parts.. not counting R&R/paint/touch up. What a pain. Big K of Justice fucked around with this message at 14:38 on Jul 17, 2019 |
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Jul 17, 2019 14:36
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YouTube is telling me that Pismo is a bunch of inexperienced people driving unsafely in crowded conditions, rolling their vehicles, jumping their trucks and destroying the frames and suspension, or burying themselves to the rockers. And doing all of this while towing 40' trailers.
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Jul 17, 2019 22:41
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This is correct. Source: I've been at Pismo, one time, in like 2007
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Jul 17, 2019 23:16
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Just looked. Jesus gently caress these people have no idea what to do in sand. Up here in WA, we have beaches we can drive on as well. However, no ones mobbing around with lifted trucks and trailers doing 50 through foot deep salt water. We generally stay out of the water, and dont make a mess of things. The fact that there are specialized 4x4 ambulance rigs just to cart off the many injured people blows me away. I've driven dunes and whatnot in Oregon and WA; after seeing these videos; I am not driving in CA sand lol.
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Jul 18, 2019 00:14
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IOwnCalculus posted:I mean the last thing I should do is a road trip in the TJ, but, drat. Tempting. I drove from Chicago to South Dakota to Denver back to Chicago in my TJ. It suuuuucks. Do it!
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Jul 18, 2019 03:35
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6 Deaths so far this year at Pismo, two since the judgement last week for another year open. Its probably closing, and though it sucks, its an absolute shitshow there any weekend anymore. I grew up here, and own offroad vehicles and never go down there. Its like Glamis but more Fresno-Bakersfield-Merced people.
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Jul 18, 2019 05:55
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Wasn't there also a shooting in May?
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Jul 18, 2019 13:18
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wilfredmerriweathr posted:Wasn't there also a shooting in May? I know a guy who goes out to Pismo a lot, and he seems to love it, but ... that's just too many people for me, honestly. I love Moab, but I wouldn't go during Easter Jeep Safari, either.
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Jul 18, 2019 16:00
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Someone school me on older toyotas. I am casually looking at land cruisers and 4 runners to make in to a diet overland vehicle. What is the good and the bad? Any years or options to avoid for sure or to look for?
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Jul 28, 2019 01:18
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Atticus_1354 posted:Someone school me on older toyotas. I am casually looking at land cruisers and 4 runners to make in to a diet overland vehicle. What is the good and the bad? Any years or options to avoid for sure or to look for? I wrote this back in February but I think it mostly holds up and is applicable: There's Toyota trucks for all budgets... If we're talking a weekend warrior sort of non-daily driver, I think you're looking at things like the following: <$3k? You can probably find either a IFS 1st gen 4runner with a 22RE or the 3.slow, or possibly a 4wd 3rd gen (96-02 I think?) with a 3.4 and a pile of miles that probably doesn't need much more than tires and fluids to go bash around with other folks for a summer. $5k gets you nice-ish examples of either of the above. Generally speaking avoid 2nd gen 4runners, they're kinda the ugly ducklings of the lineage unless there's a 3.4 swapped in but then you're buying someone else's project. In my opinion for $5k or less you can't really go wrong with a 3rd gen 3.4 v6 4runner. You could drive it for years and wheel it and it might even appreciate. Avoid the 2.7 4cyl. From here on you can probably DD any of the following with simple maintenance, with a few exceptions like planning for head gasket failure on 1FZ-FEs in the 80 series etc. $5-10k gets interesting as you have a lot of decent options; if you want an SUV, you can find old 100 series (98-02 typically) that may even have some bolt-ons already, can definitely find high-mileage GX470s (120 Prado series frames - essentially dressed up 4th gen 4runners with a guaranteed V8) as well as 4th gen 4runners themselves that may be either V6 or rarely V8s but will probably have a premium on them because 4runners. $5-10k can also get you into a few earlyish Tacomas if trucks are your thing. $5-10k can also be 95-97 80 series niceish Land Cruiser or LX450 territory. That's kind of an acquired taste as they're super drat slow, the I6 does have its foibles, and most will have 200-300k miles on them, BUT, there were triple-locked examples of those out there, so again can be a good way to get into something with an immense amount of capability even on the factory axles and gearing. Stay away from the 90-94 trucks especially in this price range (overpriced), the earliest of them had I think the 60-series' 2F? I6 which is murderously, dangerously slow, and then the early versions of the 1FZ-FE are also very slow. $5-10k will also scare up a few LX470s; these came factory with a hydraulic suspension that offroaders tend to spend $$$$ replacing for traditional coilover/shock lift kits. While I like some aspects of an LX470 be aware you'll spend a decent chunk of change to do this conversion and/or be repairing the hydraulic suspension over time. Beyond $10k is a different discussion because you get a lot more options. $10-15k can get you a nicer late-model (03-07) Land Cruiser if you look hard enough; truthfully most will be in the $15-20k range but personally I don't think that's a good value. At $10k, a '03+ gets you a much-needed 5 speed auto versus the earlier 4 speed slushboxes that just don't give a 2uz-fe enough to work with especially once you put them on larger tires. Also later years (don't quote me, but maybe 05-07?) got some VVT upgrades and made more HP. One word of caution, the tail-end of the 100 series Land Cruisers ALSO had (I think an option but it may have been standard) the same hydraulic suspension setup as the LX470 so there's added complexity and cost there if you're going to lift it and wheel it. Either way - tbqh - I kind of feel like this is a no-mans land where you'll also find high-mileage 4th and maybe 5th gen 4runners, etc. and if it were my money I'd find a high-mileage GX470 for <$10k and spend an additional $5k building it. $20-30k: 200 series, hands down. Even an early truck (08-11 - FYI, there's no 2012 model year LC or LX570 in the US or maybe globally) - this is a LOT of truck especially at the low end of the price range. In my biased opinion a 200 is leaps and bounds better than a 100 in almost all ways, but chiefly because ~380hp/390tq in front of the 6 speed auto is WAY more drivetrain. The interior is nicer, the infotainment while super dated is also slightly nicer - bottom line is they're great trucks. Our 200 is by far my fav and I'll be sad when it gets back from hail repair and I sell it. I personally am a bit more hesitant to recommend LX570s in this price range if you're looking for a wheeling truck not because they aren't capable - they are - but again suffer from the more-expensive hydraulic suspension system (that in the case of the 200 CANNOT be removed and replaced, at least at this time, with a coilover lift - no one has figured out how to do this) and have crappier approach/departure angles due to bodywork, etc. 200 series LCs do hold their value better as well which both makes the barrier of entry slightly higher, but also at the end of the day leaves you with a higher resale value if you decide to get out of it. I'll stop there as there's more that can be said about '13+ 200s (that's what I have) which get you things like HID projector headlamps, a better infotainment system, all options standard, etc. but that's an even-more considered purchase. Purely $0.02, I'm sure I'm forgetting viable 4wd Yotas (for example I don't know much about later GX460s with the smaller V8, etc) but as I have had a 1st gen 4runner, 3rd gen 4runner, 80 series, 100 series, and 200 series, I have at least a bit of exposure.
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Jul 28, 2019 03:02
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