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Thread: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas

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    Default Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    In the coming months I'm thinking of picking up a cheap vehicle that can be used as a daily commuter and also as a worthy trail rig. I'm figuring on staying low budget ($1500ish)

    Ideally I would like a K5 Blazer or 80's Suburban, but I'm afraid that it may end up being too thirsty to use as a commuter.

    I'm not looking for specific vehicles quite yet, as I do not have the money put together for one. Rather, I am looking for ideas on which models and year ranges of vehicles fit into this category and budget. I've only offroaded in a 91 Explorer, 02 Explorer, 75 K20, and a bit in my H3, so I'm not very knowledgeable about the capabilities of the other options out there like Cherokees, S10 Blazers, etc.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    the K5 and sub are waaay too thirsty for daily driver i tried for alittle bit with a 10 mile round trip daily and was spending alot every week in gas my cousin uses an S10 as both and it seems to work pretty well

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    I looked very seriously into the Jeep cherokees for a dual purpose rig. I really like how small and light they are. Plus they are simple to work on, get 20-ish mpg, and are easy to modify.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    Everything is a compromise. Can a Cherokee with 33"+ tires and a lift really get 20ish mpg? Maybe it can, I don't know.

    Personally, I like having one of each- a trail rig AND a commuter. You can get a 4 cylinder commuter for $500-$2500 and save probably a minimum of $40-$50 a month (with fuel savings and after insurance) instead of driving some kind of 4wd that gets 15ish mpg. Depending on how far you drive of course. I had a Saturn SL2 for awhile that was getting 32 mpg on a bad tank. Now I'm commuting in a VUE that gets 27. Still better than my explorer that gets 17. Plus I'm not wearing out expensive A/T tires on the pavement and having the second car allows me to perform projects that can scratch out over the course of several days/weeks instead of needing to finish before its time for work.

    You may also want to consider not only the capability but also the aftermarket support. As I'm sure you're aware, Explorers have horrible aftermarket support. Toyotas and Jeeps have support out the wazoo.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    One benefit that I like about the Cherokee is over the course of 17 years there was minimal changes making parts readily available. If you have the right gearing to match with tire size you can maintain stock fuel economy. For instance if your engine runs at 2k rpm at 65 mph with 29" tires, then as long as with 33" tires your engine runs 2k rpm at 65 mph you get same fuel economy. I agree with separate commuter vehicle. Nothing worse than breaking your rig on a Sun then having to worry how to get to work the next day to pay for repairs.
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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    XJs are the best deal in wheeling by far. More aftermarket than anything but a wrangler and everything is affordable. I agree with the daily driver, I have an old ford that I call The Zinc, it's like a sacrificial anode for my Jeep.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    Get 2 vehicles; I have a 91 Geo Tracker for wheeling. While it gets over 20mpg with 31's, its WAY too small & noisy for a daily driver. Besides, if it breaks I don't have to worry how I'm going to get to work.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    XJ seems to do the trick. My friend just bought a 96 for $800 he is averaging 19 MPG. It is stock, but stock xj's seem to do well on the trails.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    ExplorerTom previously posted:
    "Everything is a compromise. Can a Cherokee with 33"+ tires and a lift really get 20ish mpg? Maybe it can, I don't know.

    Personally, I like having one of each- a trail rig AND a commuter. You can get a 4 cylinder commuter for $500-$2500 and save probably a minimum of $40-$50 a month (with fuel savings and after insurance) instead of driving some kind of 4wd that gets 15ish mpg. Depending on how far you drive of course. I had a Saturn SL2 for awhile that was getting 32 mpg on a bad tank. Now I'm commuting in a VUE that gets 27. Still better than my explorer that gets 17. Plus I'm not wearing out expensive A/T tires on the pavement and having the second car allows me to perform projects that can scratch out over the course of several days/weeks instead of needing to finish before its time for work.

    You may also want to consider not only the capability but also the aftermarket support. As I'm sure you're aware, Explorers have horrible aftermarket support. Toyotas and Jeeps have support out the wazoo."

    My friend's Cherokee on 37s gets around 16mpg combined...

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    Sounds like an XJ is the way to go. Right now I'm driving the Hummer to work, so anything over 18mpg is an improvement in mileage. I don't mind keeping an extra set of stock size wheels and tires and swapping back and forth- I have access to shop air and a lift every day at work.

    As ExplorerTom said, there is almost no aftermarket for the Explorers, but there seems to be tons for the XJs. Now I just need to start hunting for a cheapo XJ. Ideally one with a good drivetrain but plenty of cosmetic issues to drive the price down.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    i got my XJ for $1,100

    but im a power flipper on CL and do a lot of trades

    it has 4.88 gears and 33's gets around 18 city / 22 hwy. when i add 1oz 91% alcohol for every 6 gal of gas i can boost up to 24mpg hwy


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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    Well i know not many people like rodeos, but mine is a great trail rig and an awsome DD, but not much aftermarket support.
    You can find them cheap, they do great off-road ( i would love to see what a locker would do), good gas mileage, 16 city and most of the time i get 20 highway.

    But as most would say it is an isuzu so prepare for the (its not a jeep) comments. lol

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    For the price the Cherokee would be a good option, the only thing I would say is that my K5 gets the same fuel economy as the 2003 Cherokee that I had. A properly maintained 5.7 gets the same MPG as those 4.0L (as long as you can control your right foot...)

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    Yeah but a K5 is about as wide as an H1.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    Interesting that everyone is preaching that two vehicles is the way to go. I really would have to disagree. Unless you plan to wheel beyond your/your vehicle's capabilities on a regular basis then the economies don't really make sense. If you can find a vehicle that meets 90% of both your on and off road needs then you will save the most money by reducing the fleet.

    It definitely comes down to your needs though. If you need a rig that can handle the trails rated in the 8-10 range then you are probably better served with a trail rig and a separate daily driver. But if you want to take weekend camping trips up the 6 and under trails then I see no reason why that can't be had from a daily driver.

    Of course as Tom and so many others have mentioned, if you break it then you're SOL. However, I can only think of a couple of times in all of the vehicles I have owned that a rig that I depended on was out of commission for more than a day.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    We're trying that out now Jared. Our DD is the 4Runner and we don't forsee any problems with it as used in a variety of situations from grocery getter to off-road to trailer hauler. I know if I had another truck just for trails it would become a never ending build so this also saves money since additional mods would be counter productive.
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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    Back when I had my SL2 I was keeping track of fuel savings. At the time, with the distance I drove (25ish miles a day) and the price of gas (about what it is today) I was saving $75 a month in gas alone. Add on $30 worth of insurance and the monthly savings is cut to $45 a month- that's $540 a year. People switching to GEICO save less than that. Seems to make sense to me. And that's not factoring in that I could buy a set of tires for the SL2 for the cost of 2-2.5 tires on my Explorer. I don't need all-terrain tires to get me to work (it's paved the entire way). Plus a FWD car has less fluids to maintain.

    Plus that one time when you're up to your elbows in grease and you've got your rig spread across the garage and you need to run to the store because you need a tool or a new part, that second car is now worth it's weight in gold.

    I will always have a commuter and a trail rig separately. I use to have a commuter and track car when I lived in KS.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    just look for a good mechanically sound rig dont go one way or another. Go test drive get a feel what fits you. I like my wife's jeep but its not for me i couldnt have one. Good rig but not for me. For around 1500 to 2k u can get a decent rig for three if u can swing it u keep ur eyes open ull find a great rig for that price that been maintained properly. Good luck on your search.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    So from my perspective I have never been in a genuine one-vehicle situation. When I lived at home with my parents I always had one of their vehicles I could fall back on. When I was in college I had room mates that would help me out, and now I have my wife's car if mine is out of commission. So I can concede Tom's point about the broken rig issue when there are no other vehicles available. It would be tough to decide to do much to my truck without backup transportation.

    As far as the cost savings go. I am an on-again-off-again motorcycle rider, and I have tried commuting on my motorcycle to save a few bucks. I found that the money saved in fuel was spent on an extra vehicle's maintenance, upkeep, insurance, and registration (plus it took up valuable space in my garage). However, my commute was only about 6 miles each way, and 12 miles a day takes a long time to add up to much. So at 25 miles or more each way, I could see the fuel savings adding up.

    But I digress. I don't mean to send Kelly's thread off on a tangent.

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    Default Re: Cheap Trail Rig and Daily Driver Combo Ideas



    There is nothing overly wrong with the idea of daily driver trail rig combo. It can be done, but it is very hard to do on the cheap.

    From my personal experience, anything in the $500-$3000 range is going to be a project almost right out of the gate. Most things in that price range that are 4x4 are already at least 10+ years old, and many of them have 150k+ miles. Finding one where all of the maintenance has been kept up on, can be an all but impossible task. But lets say you find one, where the owner did do the basic stuff like oil changes, plugs, wires, battery, breaks. That still leaves things like U-Joints, differential fluids, transfer-case fluids. transmission fluid(if its an automatic, and in the 150k range, unless the filter was regular changed, with the drain and fill method, it could very well be on its way out in some cases) ball joints, tie rods, suspension components and not to mention things like rubber hoses with heat rot, or even oil leaks. Sure the rig runs fine now, but now you take it off road, and haven't gone through the rig 100% and this use and abuse takes it toll and now your rigs broke. With nothing else to get you to work, you have to be fairly mechanical minded, or have some awesome friends and hope you can pull an all nighter to get back up and going, so you can keep making your daily commute. Not trying to discourage you, but these are things you need to keep in mind when trying to use a rig for both off road and daily driving. Even if you fix all of these things, the wear and tear on your new components going to have to be watched, and it will be more stressful than if the vehicle was just used for a "sole purpose".

    The trend on the forum to me, seems most of the people who are using there rig as both a DD and Rec vehicle, do one of the following. They either have an old rig, that they have been going through, and over with a fine tooth comb making it more and more reliable, all while keeping up on all the other aspects of the rig, or they driver a newer rig that hasn't seen years of abuse and neglect, and are still keeping up on the issues as they arise, and not letting them compound on to themselves.

    There are some very nice rigs in the 4-7K range, that have been gone through, and made to be usable as dual purpose rigs.

    However it all comes down to you, what you want, what you want to do, and how you plan on using the rig. Just trying to help keep some things in prospective.

  21. The Following 3 Members Say Thanks to Fordguy77 For This Post:

    Chris (March 26th, 2013),scout man (March 26th, 2013),Tom (March 27th, 2013)

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