Which 4x4 to buy?

[landroner]

Hello everyone
I'm a Ron Thorey. I don't have much of experience in 4x4. Can anyone suggest me which will be good 4x4 vehicle for me I like to try rock crawling step by step. So I want this vehicle for recreational only, I will modify it later...Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Dopler174]

I would start with a first or second generation Expo Sport.

 

[Exploderpilot]

x2. A sport would be the perfect vehicle to start with. And will make a perfectly good daily driver too, until you have 38's on it.......Welcome!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum!

 

[WhiteLimited]

x3 I don't know a hole lot about rock climbing but I have see the pictures of the sports do it, pretty F**king cool! So I would say go with what they say...

 

[R.J.]

i have a firts gen sport and love it! (first gen meaning of the years 91-94. when they looked really square)

i would say a 91-94 two door would do pretty good. mines on 33 inch tires and takes me wherever i wanna go, and its also been my daily driver car for the past few months and does great on the road too.

if your good with tools anf fixing cars, you can probably find one for $500 with a blown head gasket. thats what i did

 

[jg09]

I, too, have an x1. The thing I like about it is that, while it's nice, it's also not a tradgedy if something happens to it.

 

[dewgod]

What vehicle

1st Gen Explorers are the best for offroading (in the Explorer family) followed a close second by the 2nd Generation. 3rd gen and newer were not built to be taken off road and would require a bank of money to make them capable. One thing I would look for is avaliability. I don't know much about what vehicles are avaliable in Western Austrilia, but I wouldn't buy some weird one of you can't get parts for.

 

[rookieshooter]

If the wheel base is shorter in the Sport, I'd go with that one for the rocks.
And what you said about "later" will happen sooner then you think. Like right after getting back from your first recreational run.

 

[Ritsui]

Honestly, for purely recreational use with future intentions to rock crawl, I would get a Jeep CJ, Samarai or old Toyota truck .

If you plan to drive it around town a lot also, then get a 1st gen Explorer sport.

 

[dewgod]

I agree, only I would go with the Jeep XJ, only because you can still get ones that are fairly new and there is a gizillion parts out there for them. Finding stuff for the Explorer is like finding hens teeth.

 

[Tbars4]

...i would say get a first gen (91-94) 4 door...you can haul alot of stuff, have plenty of seats, and easily sleep in the back of it when in the out back...

 

[TequilaSnrs087]

I have been happy with my 95 Sport. Even with the Auto 4WD, it never seems to miss a beat on the trails, and of course there is always low range for any tough stuff.

With a stock truck, expect some minor hang ups on the trails with the stock body parts. I don't really care about body damage with mine, so I'm a little less cautious about it, but I have ripped off my front valence and rear bumper trim on the trail. If you want the truck to look flawless, you need to be careful about hills and ruts.

 

[WhiteLimited]

Honestly, for purely recreational use with future intentions to rock crawl, I would get a Jeep CJ, Samarai or old Toyota truck .

I have a green Samarai and LOVE it!!! I saw a show few weeks ago and they made it into a climber and said they are one of the best!!!

 

[R.J.]

samurai's ranked number one in a magazine for best compact suv for offroading. (can't remember which magazine)

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome ron

 

[jg09]

samurai's ranked number one in a magazine for best compact suv for offroading. (can't remember which magazine)

Four Wheeler Mag a few months back. Jeep TJ got 2nd because of purchase price.

...easily sleep in the back of it when in the out back...

Trust me...in the outback ain't the only time that an X1's back seat comes in handy...

 

[R.J.]

hahaha oh that is true

 

[landroner]

Honestly, for purely recreational use with future intentions to rock crawl, I would get a Jeep CJ, Samarai or old Toyota truck .

If you plan to drive it around town a lot also, then get a 1st gen Explorer sport.

Thanks Dopler174, Ritsui, Danny, jg09, R.J and all friends for the suggestions you have given me...They are really valuable and would help me in buying a 4x4.... Jeep seems to be great but I wonder about safety for my kids...as I wish to go for easy trails with my two kids . Any websites I should check out?

 

[R.J.]

jeeps are good for safety, since they have a stock roll bar/cage