Here's a post from another forum, the original poster was asking for some info on the 80 series as he was considering buying on, this was one answer:
Before you jump on the bandwagon of the 80 series cruisers read different forums relative to off-roading. (Ih8)Mud is an excellent forum for technical questions relative to simple (for some quite difficult) maintenance questions and how to do maintenance. There are very few "wheelers" on that site wheeling 80 series, the wheeler’s seem to be using the 40 series and a few 60 series. Most 80 series are grocery getters and quite a few of the 80 series drivers on that site think the 80 is the most “extreme” and greatest off-road vehicle made. It makes for interesting reading and a few good laughs. The 80 series are heavy beasts, require a lot of maintenance, get poor gas mileage, possess marginal ground clearance and are a little underpowered by today’s standards (the V6 inline is very torqueee, which is a good thing). I have a '95 Cruiser built by Slee and it was built for extreme off-road/expedition type wheeling - whatever that means in Cruiser language – my cruiser can go most anywhere my Tundra goes but it does so with “extreme” difficulty compared to the Tundra. I mean the Cruiser really takes a beating and literally plows over obstacles. I’m running 35” tires, lifted 5”, 4:88 gears, ARB lockers and armor everywhere. The front and rear custom bumpers, sliders and skid plates take solid hits, the exhaust gets beat to sh*t, the rear driveshaft often times takes a hit and has to be replaced at $125 a crack. It can’t vertical climb like my Tundra but that is a wheelbase thing. On extreme trails I have to use the winch often compared to very seldom with the Tundra – ground clearance issues there. My personal opinion of the “built” 80 series is they are expensive want-a-bees’. I’ll sell you my ’95 Cruiser with all the extra “maintenance” parts I have for a cool $21K and if you built it today the cost would be well over $28K and you would still have a 20 year old vehicle. (I’ll send pictures of it in action)
Now as a daily driver in adverse weather conditions, the 80 series is an excellent vehicle in my opinion if it has the center diff lock switch (CDL), which greatly improves traction in high range. IMHO, there are few vehicles on the road today that can match or exceed the 80’s safe performance in adverse weather conditions.
If you plan to build the 80 series into a formable off-road vehicle (to climb over rocks and carry you through mud patches) it will cost you an arm and a leg plus your 1st newborn. The same could be said about the cost of "building" the Tundra but you will have a newer vehicle that takes less maintenance, gets better gas mileage, has better ground clearance and is not underpowered.
There are better vehicles on the market that are better off-road capable vehicles that don't cost an arm and a leg to make into extreme trail machines and still keep as a daily driver than the 80 series or the Tundra. The Taco, 4Runner and Jeeps are but a few of them.
If you want to know more, just PM/E-mail me and I’ll answer any questions you have as best as I can.
Before you jump on the bandwagon of the 80 series cruisers read different forums relative to off-roading. (Ih8)Mud is an excellent forum for technical questions relative to simple (for some quite difficult) maintenance questions and how to do maintenance. There are very few "wheelers" on that site wheeling 80 series, the wheeler’s seem to be using the 40 series and a few 60 series. Most 80 series are grocery getters and quite a few of the 80 series drivers on that site think the 80 is the most “extreme” and greatest off-road vehicle made. It makes for interesting reading and a few good laughs. The 80 series are heavy beasts, require a lot of maintenance, get poor gas mileage, possess marginal ground clearance and are a little underpowered by today’s standards (the V6 inline is very torqueee, which is a good thing). I have a '95 Cruiser built by Slee and it was built for extreme off-road/expedition type wheeling - whatever that means in Cruiser language – my cruiser can go most anywhere my Tundra goes but it does so with “extreme” difficulty compared to the Tundra. I mean the Cruiser really takes a beating and literally plows over obstacles. I’m running 35” tires, lifted 5”, 4:88 gears, ARB lockers and armor everywhere. The front and rear custom bumpers, sliders and skid plates take solid hits, the exhaust gets beat to sh*t, the rear driveshaft often times takes a hit and has to be replaced at $125 a crack. It can’t vertical climb like my Tundra but that is a wheelbase thing. On extreme trails I have to use the winch often compared to very seldom with the Tundra – ground clearance issues there. My personal opinion of the “built” 80 series is they are expensive want-a-bees’. I’ll sell you my ’95 Cruiser with all the extra “maintenance” parts I have for a cool $21K and if you built it today the cost would be well over $28K and you would still have a 20 year old vehicle. (I’ll send pictures of it in action)
Now as a daily driver in adverse weather conditions, the 80 series is an excellent vehicle in my opinion if it has the center diff lock switch (CDL), which greatly improves traction in high range. IMHO, there are few vehicles on the road today that can match or exceed the 80’s safe performance in adverse weather conditions.
If you plan to build the 80 series into a formable off-road vehicle (to climb over rocks and carry you through mud patches) it will cost you an arm and a leg plus your 1st newborn. The same could be said about the cost of "building" the Tundra but you will have a newer vehicle that takes less maintenance, gets better gas mileage, has better ground clearance and is not underpowered.
There are better vehicles on the market that are better off-road capable vehicles that don't cost an arm and a leg to make into extreme trail machines and still keep as a daily driver than the 80 series or the Tundra. The Taco, 4Runner and Jeeps are but a few of them.
If you want to know more, just PM/E-mail me and I’ll answer any questions you have as best as I can.
him and his lame driving. I dont see how a IFS anything can come close to a cruiser with those mods. Now if it didnt have lockers that would make it a little more feasable.
