Need to make a decision soon to either sell, modify or trade my BJ74 (1 Viewer)

[deepseacruiser]

Quick back ground. I bought an 88 Bj74 about 10 years ago, PRE kids. Beside my Harley it has been my daily ever since. Well we recently had our 3rd and last kid so getting the whole family in their currently is not possible. (Not necessary YET either as full family trips occur in my wife's car) Being my daily and not being able to ride the motorcycle as much also meand I've got to keep it running and in have been deferring projects and maintenance other than fluid changes.
Also my son has gotten to the point that he still needs a car seat but even with the front seat folded forward his legs are scrunched.

Options I'm considering.
1. Pull the rear bench and direct bolt off-road seats further back to accommodate the big kids.

2. Buy a full size pickup as I do a lot of construction and often use the back as a pickup bed, and either sellt rade or keep the bj as a trail rig.

Option 3..... Thoughts?

FYI. I have the wide mouth rear bench seat that can not be mounted further back due to the wheel wells

This rig has been pretty good to me ove the years. Ive put a lot of time and money into it. So there is definitely nostalgic reasons to keep.


Thank you for any help or insight.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Sell the Harley. Organ donor with young kids who depend on you is a show stopper. Keep the BJ if you can. Buy a good used 4runner or Sequoia.

 

[bj70bc]

Lets see some pics of this beauty,
ill make you an offer

 

[prwillard2]

Sell the Harley. Organ donor with young kids who depend on you is a show stopper. Keep the BJ if you can. Buy a good used 4runner or Sequoia.

Agree with this. Get rid of the motorcycle. Too many people killed doing nothing wrong.

 

[coldtaco]

HZ77?

 

[Felde]

Hi
My 2 cents:
If funds and space permit: Keep the BJ.
You would regret selling it at some point.
In a few years, it will be a fun father and son project, as soon as your boy stretches his legs under the truck and not in the rear seat any more.
New usecases will come up as the kids grow up.
Not sure anyways you would get back the money you put in.
(That said knowing I can't get my hands on it anyways ).
Cheers Ralf

 

[lacalvette]

Sounds familiar to me, bought the cruiser 12 year ago but already had three kids then a fourth arrived! The condition of the truck was already going south and just didn’t have time and money. Thought of selling some time and finally parked it beside.
Now my youngest is 9 and the truck is currently in the garage for a « restoration »
I don’t regret keeping it, dreaming of going camping with it!
Even pass my motorcycle driver licence last summer and bought a 2011 small Suzuki dual sport…
For sure some of your projects will be postpone but if you can keep the cruiser you might have fun with your kids later!

 

[flx]

Could try to source a rear bench seat from a non-JDM 70 or 73 which gives more leg room.

 

[Felde]

Could try to source a rear bench seat from a non-JDM 70 or 73 which gives more leg room.

I had a rear bench from an LJ in my BJ73, which was bolted through the floor. Rear snap-in fixation for the folding sat at position of the rear floor crossmember (just befor the tank). Plenty of leg room.

 

[ATL Cruiser]

You can actually bolt the rear bench directly against the back doors, and it fits great:

 

[Gun Runner 5]

@deepseacruiser …. “Option 3..... Thoughts?”
———————————————————————————
Perhaps a 77 Series.

 

[FJBen]

I had to sell my motorcycle years ago when my kids were young. Everytime I would ride it, it was like multiple near death experiences. I decided it wasn’t worth the risk anymore and sold it. Still have my license and miss riding but just not worth it.


That said, if you have the means to keep it, keep it. Prices have only gone up and have priced me out of buying again if I had too. As for fitting 5 people, that’s tough, even just kids it’s a tight fit. My son who just turned 14 is 6’3” and fits in the back, but it would suck for long drives.

There is some benefit of a non-jdm rear seat (which mine is an aussie version so maybe that’s why I have more room? It’s not much.

My question is if you were to trade/sell for an hzj77, just how much more room is there in an hzj77 than a non-JDM rear seat?

I think moving the seat back/different rear seat would be the cheapest/easiest way to get room. I would also look into a custom rear roll bar for protection/seat belt mounts. Also could be a way to mount that seat securely.


Also, the sequoias can be had cheap, are reliable and have tons of room. Way cheaper than a tundra. You could buy a sequoia and trailer for well less than even first gen tundra.

 

[Rigster]

This really depends on your priorities, and where a land cruiser fits into that list. Is getting out on the road on the hawg higher on the list than the LC?

If not, sell the damn bike, and take that money and start looking to trade the 73 for a 77 or even a 76 next year. Once the kids are older, get another bike down the road. I have not ridden a bike since my middle son was 2 (he is now 15, 6'4" and loves land cruisers (and supra's) and just helped me replace the clutch last weekend.)

As much as it sucks, make that list, see where things land. Sleep on it. Adjust the list from there and make a choice. Though, I suspect you probably have already done this (at least internally) and reaching out to the community was a check my sanity kind of thing before pulling the trigger. All the best with whichever way you go!

@FJBen - where the heck are our kids getting all their height from??? Mind boggling! Maybe stop feeding them??

 

[Gun Runner 5]

@FJBen ….. “My question is if you were to trade/sell for an hzj77, just how much more room is there in an hzj77 than a non-JDM rear seat?”
———————————————————————————————————
I know longer own a MWB Cruiser to do a definitive comparison but my guess is that you are not gaining anything with seating capacity with a 77 Series but are obviously gaining a boatload of cargo capacity which may or may not be important.

 

[Rigster]

@FJBen ….. “My question is if you were to trade/sell for an hzj77, just how much more room is there in an hzj77 than a non-JDM rear seat?”
———————————————————————————————————
I know longer own a MWB Cruiser to do a definitive comparison but my guess is that you are not gaining anything with seating capacity with a 77 Series but are obviously gaining a boatload of cargo capacity which may or may not be important.

True... but that extra space does give you options. Like installing a 3rd row like @ATL Cruiser did, or obtain some fold downs for the very back like I did. Now I have capacity for 7 and the bigger kids love to sit in the very back for the novelty of it. That is my next project in my "free" time, getting those seats installed...

 

[Gun Runner 5]

True... but that extra space does give you options. Like installing a 3rd row like @ATL Cruiser did, or obtain some fold downs for the very back like I did. Now I have capacity for 7 and the bigger kids love to sit in the very back for the novelty of it. That is my next project in my "free" time, getting those seats installed...

I just throw everyone in the bed of the truck and tell them to hold on tight (and duck if you see a cop).

 

[bj70bc]

@deepseacruiser …. “Option 3..... Thoughts?”
———————————————————————————
Perhaps a 77 Series. View attachment 3292349

Thats a nice truck.... a lot more options for seating, storage, sleeping etc, time to trade up for your family....
might have to get one of them one day

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Thats a nice truck.... a lot more options for seating, storage, sleeping etc, time to trade up for your family....
might have to get one of them one day

It belongs to a friend and will be on the market soon.

 

[ATL Cruiser]

It belongs to a friend and will be on the market soon.

He's selling it???? Please tell him to message me.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Number 2.