Nothing beats a 99’-06’ suburban. 4x4, lots of space, cheap to buy, cheap to fix, easy to find parts, plenty of aftermarket support, powerful enough, mod-able enough, comfortable, extremely reliable, can come with a locker, and american made
I think y'all need to mention the 4th gen 4runner(96-02) w/3.4. They are inexpensive, good aftermarket support, and very reliable. I got one for 3500, put 550 or so in tires and she goes where I want, when I what.
I spent a year looking for a XJ because there so cool. Prices where $15,000 or more for low mileage. Ended up buying a brand new Willys Diesel for about 36K early 2020. We have gotten a lot of use out of the Willys but I still lust after a XJ.
I was born and raised in San Diego, California and have been around off roading my entire life. My Dad used to take either my Mom and I, or just me, out off roading all the time, even when I was just a little baby. We would all, also always go out to the desert with other family members and friends. We would take our dune buggies, atv’s, atc’s, and dirt bikes out and we would all then camp out there and stay for the weekend or several days, up to a week long out there. I grew up having some pretty fun and amazing times with my family and our friends. I got my drivers license on my 16th birthday in 1990. And then about a year or so later, in 1991, I would buy my first ever 4x4 truck for only $500.00. It was a 1980 Datsun 4x4 that was silver in color but the paint was very faded and it was almost a gray, primer color. Even though the truck was only 11 years old, it had lived a very rough life before me. I bought it off of one of my youth leaders in the youth group that I attended at our church. He had owned the truck for several years but he even said that when he had bought it, that the truck was in rough shape even back then. I’m guessing that the original owner off roaded the crap out of it and then hardly ever took care of it. Even though the truck was in really rough shape, and it burned oil frequently and would backfire really loudly almost any time that I would ever shift, I totally loved that truck and learned how to off road in it myself. I took that truck everywhere and even though it was in pretty rough shape, it actually had some pretty decent off road capabilities. The truck wasn’t very fast but it was geared really low and as a result of that, anytime that I went out off roading anywhere in it, that thing was like a billy goat or a mountain goat and would climb over rocks and other obstacles with ease, and would never give me any kinds of problems at all, crawling up the steep side of any trail or mountain. Those were also some very good times that I had in that truck. The best of which was going out off roading with my Dad and showing him what I had been learning how to do! He would also, then either show me or give me pointers on how to go over obstacles and/or learn how to take the best lines available when out off roading so I could learn and know how to go all the way through a trail without damaging or breaking anything on my truck. My Dad was a long distance truck driver and so expertise driving was one of his many skill sets and he was extremely knowledgeable concerning any and every type of driving. My Dad used to always tell me concerning going out off roading, that what separated a truly skilled off road driver from someone who wasn’t was that a truly skilled off roader could go through a trail, know exactly what their vehicle could both do and not do, and that individual could take their vehicle right to its maximum capabilities, but could still accomplish that challenge and not so much as slightly rub any part of the vehicle on anything on or off the trail. Whereas an unskilled off roader would just go through a trail with the goal of simply going all the way through it and who either wouldn’t care what damage they occurred along the way, or who didn’t know how to go through the trail without having any damage occur on their vehicle. I learned so much from my Dad and still miss him every single day!
1988 - 1998 Chevrolet/GMC GMT-400 OBS pick-ups! They are cheap! They are reliable/dependable! They are everywhere! Junk yards, salvage yards, Craigslist, marketplace... OEM and aftermarket support everywhere... relatively cheap and easy to work on, lots of working room. They can take a beating from HELL and just keep going!
I have a Tacoma now as my off-road truck but my first truck was a 1990 Silverado. Reg cab short bed. I fixed it up nice as my daily then I got rear ended and insurance totaled it. I bought a new truck and made it my raise hell with friends on the weekends in the woods truck and man I beat on that truck so hard and it just took it. I would very commonly sink it to the bottom of the cab and the only problem I ever had was cv axles. It overheated one night and I kept driving it so I could get home and when I got home the block, manifolds and pipes were glowing all the way to the tips. Next day it started right back up. I used to neutral drop it back in fourth in gear trying to get it unstuck.
The best 4-wheel drive pickup for off-road for me in my opinion is the 90s Ford Rangers. Really, anything with the front twin Eye beams suspension, Like I said that is my opinion. I've owned many square-body Ford Rangers and a 92 Ford Bronco 2 They are great options. I also own the 1980 chevy luv 4 x 4 Which was very capable off-road also. I wish I still had that truck, Along with my Ford Bronco. Now I have an 05 Ford F150 I've had for Around 20 years It has the 4.6 l V8 Still Has the spark Plug stripping out but it does have the regular spark plugs and no camphasers. In due time I want to build it up to be an overlanding rig. But that will have to wait because I have a 1988 Lincoln town car I am going to put a Coyote and a 10-speed transmission in LOL. I'm getting the motor out of a wrecked F150.
And #1 is FZJ80 for the win!!! Free float beefy solid front and rear axles. reliable motor. coil springs on all 4. tons of aftermarket parts. shorter wheel base than any 4 door jeep. can but on much bigger tires we much work. Or the need to change to heavier axles. lots of interior room.
I have a Dodge Ram 2500 so obviously not on the list, they never get that cheap, but years ago I had a Jeep Cherokee Sport in Deep Amethyst Pearl Coat with a slight lift, the girls loved it and it would go anywhere, I loved that Jeep still regret selling it, after the Jeep Cherokee my second pick would be the Tacoma truck, had lots of friends with these and they are little work horses that built properly will go almost anywhere and look good doing it.
I’ll be the odd one out but if you don’t care what it is and just want to off road the first generation Kia Sorrento is a pretty capable off-road vehicle. They were a body on frame design and a couple of countries used the chassis for military vehicles. Only problem is aftermarket support isn’t like with the Jeeps and S10s. With that said the over in Europe that I know with them love them for the 4 wheel drive capabilities. They have a Hyundai quad cam v6 mated to an automatic transmission from Chrysler (not sure if it’s the same from a Jeep)
Hey man. Can you guys do a list of offroad vehicles that are decent on fuel cost? With gas prices skyrocketing it’s makin it harder for lower/middle class to be able to enjoy the dirt.
I'd like to see a list for under 5k with some more niche/alternative offroaders like Nissan's, Suzuki's and Isuzu. Well I guess that's just Japanese but you get it
Well ive got a 2000 dodge Durango 5.9 awd with a rear locker 2" torsion lift and 3"body lift with 33" Goodyear duratracs on front and 33 Goodyear mtrs on back ... shes pulled a 2018f250 4wd towing a 30 foot trailer out of a6' deep ditch in extreme mud .. yes I know its got ifs but its more comfortable on zee back ...
I agree.. they are underrated, shadowed by all the Lexus GX LX and LandCruisers. May be not for a rock crawler but for overlanding setup, it's even better than LandCruisers in certain aspect.
I have a friend of a friend who built offroader for fun as a sideline. I'm bringing him 10k for a built. I was wondering, a cool video would be what can you build for 10k (or less) for 4x4 or overland (i'm going the overland route).
Good luck getting a good Tacoma for under 10k nowadays I saw multiple with 300k miles, body and frame rust, and a list of mechanical issues for at minimum 13k
No 2nd gen Xterra love? Beat offroad suv you can get under 10k. Fully boxed frame, 280lb trq, limitless visibility, titan swap options, cheap parts, 1/3rd the price
@@TrailBuilt you’d just have to break down by capability levels becuase the Honda AWD crvs could go just about anywhere but rock crawling the 1980-2010 for off road every manufacture had serious off road choices and like 80% of them are under 10k now 😂
Um jeep yj.. Why isn't this on the list? Can be had for 3k.. You put 7k in it you have a rig with dana 70/front 60 combo,dana300 and 38's... Seriously what the heck
I want the Jeep Cherokee in 3 years and im going to swap the transmission and engine for a 4 cylinder Diesel engine for a nice sound out of a nagar a lol I love offroading
one year ago i bought a 1998 jeep gr cherokee 5.9 l for $3000. i have well over that in mods since then. i know where there is a 5.2 l gr cher for sale. the lady said name your price.
Nice , but honesly i got a gud 400 Euro 1996 Lada Niva 4x4 1.7 2121 and only took 1000 Euro for all neccesary off road modifications and mine is only 1400 Euro costed sooo i quess i got cheapest and best here ?
@@TrailBuilt well as lada owner for 4 and half months honesly if ya ever drove any type of old lada its all manual and thats what i prefer the steering is hard material hard to steer but in end it made my fore arms strong not to mention the shift can be smooth if you tread the lada gud , lada will respect you if you respect Lada the way Lada shut be which is Old School
I bought a 1998 jeep xj with 97,000 original miles on it from a 1 owner bout 3yrs ago and its been digging in my pockets since the day ive owned it,stays at someones shop more than it does my driveway,but the engine is die hard in it, body parts are sh**.
Was waiting to see the gen 3 Ford ranger in there after I saw the s-10. I would much rather have an old ranger. Those s-10's have all kind of trans and engine issues.
Nothing beats a 99’-06’ suburban. 4x4, lots of space, cheap to buy, cheap to fix, easy to find parts, plenty of aftermarket support, powerful enough, mod-able enough, comfortable, extremely reliable, can come with a locker, and american made
I think y'all need to mention the 4th gen 4runner(96-02) w/3.4. They are inexpensive, good aftermarket support, and very reliable. I got one for 3500, put 550 or so in tires and she goes where I want, when I what.
Agreed the 4runner was strangely absent from the list. Honestly they could have swapped the s10 off the list for it
You meant 3rd gen 4Runner. Yes on all the above !
3rd and 4th are good picks
7b
How many miles did you get it at? I'm guessing 200k+
I spent a year looking for a XJ because there so cool. Prices where $15,000 or more for low mileage. Ended up buying a brand new Willys Diesel for about 36K early 2020. We have gotten a lot of use out of the Willys but I still lust after a XJ.
I was born and raised in San Diego, California and have been around off roading my entire life. My Dad used to take either my Mom and I, or just me, out off roading all the time, even when I was just a little baby. We would all, also always go out to the desert with other family members and friends. We would take our dune buggies, atv’s, atc’s, and dirt bikes out and we would all then camp out there and stay for the weekend or several days, up to a week long out there. I grew up having some pretty fun and amazing times with my family and our friends.
I got my drivers license on my 16th birthday in 1990. And then about a year or so later, in 1991, I would buy my first ever 4x4 truck for only $500.00. It was a 1980 Datsun 4x4 that was silver in color but the paint was very faded and it was almost a gray, primer color. Even though the truck was only 11 years old, it had lived a very rough life before me. I bought it off of one of my youth leaders in the youth group that I attended at our church. He had owned the truck for several years but he even said that when he had bought it, that the truck was in rough shape even back then. I’m guessing that the original owner off roaded the crap out of it and then hardly ever took care of it.
Even though the truck was in really rough shape, and it burned oil frequently and would backfire really loudly almost any time that I would ever shift, I totally loved that truck and learned how to off road in it myself. I took that truck everywhere and even though it was in pretty rough shape, it actually had some pretty decent off road capabilities. The truck wasn’t very fast but it was geared really low and as a result of that, anytime that I went out off roading anywhere in it, that thing was like a billy goat or a mountain goat and would climb over rocks and other obstacles with ease, and would never give me any kinds of problems at all, crawling up the steep side of any trail or mountain. Those were also some very good times that I had in that truck. The best of which was going out off roading with my Dad and showing him what I had been learning how to do! He would also, then either show me or give me pointers on how to go over obstacles and/or learn how to take the best lines available when out off roading so I could learn and know how to go all the way through a trail without damaging or breaking anything on my truck.
My Dad was a long distance truck driver and so expertise driving was one of his many skill sets and he was extremely knowledgeable concerning any and every type of driving. My Dad used to always tell me concerning going out off roading, that what separated a truly skilled off road driver from someone who wasn’t was that a truly skilled off roader could go through a trail, know exactly what their vehicle could both do and not do, and that individual could take their vehicle right to its maximum capabilities, but could still accomplish that challenge and not so much as slightly rub any part of the vehicle on anything on or off the trail. Whereas an unskilled off roader would just go through a trail with the goal of simply going all the way through it and who either wouldn’t care what damage they occurred along the way, or who didn’t know how to go through the trail without having any damage occur on their vehicle.
I learned so much from my Dad and still miss him every single day!
Sounds like your Dad was an awesome guy! Thanks so much for sharing your story JR. We appreciate it!
1988 - 1998 Chevrolet/GMC GMT-400 OBS pick-ups! They are cheap! They are reliable/dependable! They are everywhere! Junk yards, salvage yards, Craigslist, marketplace... OEM and aftermarket support everywhere... relatively cheap and easy to work on, lots of working room. They can take a beating from HELL and just keep going!
Long live the c/k's!!!
@@camerons6028 yessir!
I have a Tacoma now as my off-road truck but my first truck was a 1990 Silverado. Reg cab short bed. I fixed it up nice as my daily then I got rear ended and insurance totaled it. I bought a new truck and made it my raise hell with friends on the weekends in the woods truck and man I beat on that truck so hard and it just took it. I would very commonly sink it to the bottom of the cab and the only problem
I ever had was cv axles. It overheated one night and I kept driving it so I could get home and when I got home the block, manifolds and pipes were glowing all the way to the tips. Next day it started right back up. I used to neutral drop it back in fourth in gear trying to get it unstuck.
First Gen Tundra tops them all. Bullet proof V8. Bank vault tough truck. Body doesn’t rust. (But make sure to treat the frame!)
Jimnyyyy, 1st gen 4runner, 1st and 2nd gen ranger, and other Japan Bois out there
why not 3rd gen ranger?
The best 4-wheel drive pickup for off-road for me in my opinion is the 90s Ford Rangers. Really, anything with the front twin Eye beams suspension, Like I said that is my opinion. I've owned many square-body Ford Rangers and a 92 Ford Bronco 2 They are great options. I also own the 1980 chevy luv 4 x 4 Which was very capable off-road also. I wish I still had that truck, Along with my Ford Bronco. Now I have an 05 Ford F150 I've had for Around 20 years It has the 4.6 l V8 Still Has the spark Plug stripping out but it does have the regular spark plugs and no camphasers. In due time I want to build it up to be an overlanding rig. But that will have to wait because I have a 1988 Lincoln town car I am going to put a Coyote and a 10-speed transmission in LOL. I'm getting the motor out of a wrecked F150.
And #1 is FZJ80 for the win!!! Free float beefy solid front and rear axles. reliable motor. coil springs on all 4. tons of aftermarket parts. shorter wheel base than any 4 door jeep. can but on much bigger tires we much work. Or the need to change to heavier axles. lots of interior room.
I have a Dodge Ram 2500 so obviously not on the list, they never get that cheap, but years ago I had a Jeep Cherokee Sport in Deep Amethyst Pearl Coat with a slight lift, the girls loved it and it would go anywhere, I loved that Jeep still regret selling it, after the Jeep Cherokee my second pick would be the Tacoma truck, had lots of friends with these and they are little work horses that built properly will go almost anywhere and look good doing it.
I hit myself a lil 93 pathfinder xe for under 1k ... hope i can build it up
I’ll be the odd one out but if you don’t care what it is and just want to off road the first generation Kia Sorrento is a pretty capable off-road vehicle. They were a body on frame design and a couple of countries used the chassis for military vehicles. Only problem is aftermarket support isn’t like with the Jeeps and S10s. With that said the over in Europe that I know with them love them for the 4 wheel drive capabilities. They have a Hyundai quad cam v6 mated to an automatic transmission from Chrysler (not sure if it’s the same from a Jeep)
I’ve had 3 Cherokees my favorite was my 87 amc 5 speed with the 4.2 and 3 wranglers. My 14 jk is my daily now
My buddy has a 5.9 Limited and that thing is a beast off road!!
I used to have a '99 with a 5.9 and it could not be stopped.
Hey man. Can you guys do a list of offroad vehicles that are decent on fuel cost? With gas prices skyrocketing it’s makin it harder for lower/middle class to be able to enjoy the dirt.
Get the electric hummer. Perfect for what you’re looking for!
4th gen 4 runner should have been on this list.
I'd like to see a list for under 5k with some more niche/alternative offroaders like Nissan's, Suzuki's and Isuzu. Well I guess that's just Japanese but you get it
Well ive got a 2000 dodge Durango 5.9 awd with a rear locker 2" torsion lift and 3"body lift with 33" Goodyear duratracs on front and 33 Goodyear mtrs on back ... shes pulled a 2018f250 4wd towing a 30 foot trailer out of a6' deep ditch in extreme mud .. yes I know its got ifs but its more comfortable on zee back ...
No Nissan SE-V6 hardbody??? Wild! Still some decent choices.
I just found a 93 Cherokee limited v8 with 172k in great shape for 2k, should I pick it up? Not very familiar with jeeps in general
Not a bad price for what you are getting! Milage might be pushing it but its definitely not terrible!
1st gen Toyota Sequoia with the 2UZ-FE million mile motor!!
I agree.. they are underrated, shadowed by all the Lexus GX LX and LandCruisers.
May be not for a rock crawler but for overlanding setup, it's even better than LandCruisers in certain aspect.
Cool collection 😎
What about chevy lumina wagon/holden commodore wagon 4x4?
I have a friend of a friend who built offroader for fun as a sideline. I'm bringing him 10k for a built. I was wondering, a cool video would be what can you build for 10k (or less) for 4x4 or overland (i'm going the overland route).
I definitely couldn’t agree more! 🤌🔥
3rd gen 4runners or the 4th gen v8 (v6 isnt a bad choice either)
These are the best choices
3rd gen 99 / 2002 Toyota 4Runner hands down the best 4×4 for under 10 grand
It's a great car. If you lift it, put massive off-road tires and a supercharger on it you have a helluva car!
Good luck getting a good Tacoma for under 10k nowadays I saw multiple with 300k miles, body and frame rust, and a list of mechanical issues for at minimum 13k
300K miles for 13K that is not a deal! 😫
There out there it just takes some time to find one
No 2nd gen Xterra love? Beat offroad suv you can get under 10k. Fully boxed frame, 280lb trq, limitless visibility, titan swap options, cheap parts, 1/3rd the price
Very valid points! Might have to get a part 2 going!
@@TrailBuilt 😂 I'm about to start a list of why it's the best 4x4
Honestly a under 10k reliable list this video could be 20 hours straight the 90s early 2000s had so many good options lol
Right, something like that would have to be split into multiple episodes 😂
@@TrailBuilt you’d just have to break down by capability levels becuase the Honda AWD crvs could go just about anywhere but rock crawling the 1980-2010 for off road every manufacture had serious off road choices and like 80% of them are under 10k now 😂
Um jeep yj.. Why isn't this on the list? Can be had for 3k.. You put 7k in it you have a rig with dana 70/front 60 combo,dana300 and 38's... Seriously what the heck
I want the Jeep Cherokee in 3 years and im going to swap the transmission and engine for a 4 cylinder Diesel engine for a nice sound out of a nagar a lol I love offroading
one year ago i bought a 1998 jeep gr cherokee 5.9 l for $3000. i have well over that in mods since then. i know where there is a 5.2 l gr cher for sale. the lady said name your price.
I got a 2005 Jeep Rubicon for $10k even. Hard to imagine any of these being as good off road.
Why there are no Toyota or Lexus suvs? like GX or LC100 ?
Because of incredibly insane bias.
Because he said under $10k
83 ford ranger xlt 4x4 single cab 6 foot bed
Hey algorithma I live in europe! These cars consume galons not liters😮
Nice , but honesly i got a gud 400 Euro 1996 Lada Niva 4x4 1.7 2121 and only took 1000 Euro for all neccesary off road modifications and mine is only 1400 Euro costed sooo i quess i got cheapest and best here ?
I would say so! With it being a 96 how does it drive?
@@TrailBuilt well as lada owner for 4 and half months honesly if ya ever drove any type of old lada its all manual and thats what i prefer the steering is hard material hard to steer but in end it made my fore arms strong not to mention the shift can be smooth if you tread the lada gud , lada will respect you if you respect Lada the way Lada shut be which is Old School
I can't afford a G Wagon so I am here haha
😂😂
Suzuki Samurai. Can park it in the bed of my Ram 2500.
3rd gen 4Runner come one now.
I bought a 2010 kk and modified the living shit out of it, no regrets.
1997 gmc reg cab short box z71 5.7L manual or auto.
Me in my 04 tacoma watching this video because I want to do offroad shit: "interesting"
Silver-Aydo
SIL-VER-AAHHH-DOH.
A 20 year old tacoma is like $15,000-$20,000
I bought a 1998 jeep xj with 97,000 original miles on it from a 1 owner bout 3yrs ago and its been digging in my pockets since the day ive owned it,stays at someones shop more than it does my driveway,but the engine is die hard in it, body parts are sh**.
Was waiting to see the gen 3 Ford ranger in there after I saw the s-10. I would much rather have an old ranger. Those s-10's have all kind of trans and engine issues.
Finally someone who mentions chevy had 2 half tons haha
NISSAN XTERRA, Enthusiasts manifest
I'd take the Nissan Frontier over the F-150
I can no longer trust your judgement we don't talk about the 5.4 triton and good in the same sentence
So is that how you're supposed to pronounce Sliverado "Sliver-ay-doh"
Bro forgot the ranger
List is crap without the R50 Nissan Pathfinder/Infiniti QX4. Those can easily be had for under $5K.
Ford has Lincoln to compete with gmc
That’s to compete with Cadillac, GMC isn’t luxury
Those are literally the worst year Ford f150 .would be way better off with the last rangers ..
f-150?😂😂😂have you not heard about cam phasers and the price of a replacement used engine?
Ford ranger 🤣
NO TRIPLE LOCKED FJ-80??? Dafuq man this is the pinnacle of off-roading! *laughs at jeeps axles*