[Cruiserdrew]

Once you factor in that you want a low initial price, an 80 is the obvious answer. There are lots of excellent trucks out there and are super capable out of the box. You could easily build an "expo" 80 for under $10k, and put the rest towards fuel for your expedition. All you need is a stock 80 and an OME heavy (2.5) lift. Add tires and go on any expo you want.

A 60 would also be a decent choice. It's slower, older, but easier to understand and work on. A lot depends on you. If you like classic Land Cruisers, the 60 feels more like a bush taxi. The 80 feels like a luxury car and the 100 IS a luxury car.

It's also much easier to do a diesel swap on a 60 (check out the 4BT swaps). For me personally, if I could only take 1 cruiser on a 2 year trip, it would have to be the 60. I like the manual tranny, and it is significanly more economical than my 80. It's also way easier to work on The 40 is too rough and too small for extended travel.

As long as your off roading goals were modest, a 100 would make a fine expedition truck. The down side is that it's difficult to lift, hard to work on, and has a fragile front end. Not to mention that the buy in will be significantly higher. Still not a bad choice.

Where do you see yourself going?