Back to cruisers?? From an unlimited.

[norville]

Hello all, after a few years of being out of the Cruisers scene I ended up with a very clean 2000 LC. Ive owned a 40, 62, and my last Cruiser was a 1994 80. I sold the 80 to get a Rubicon LJ. A few years later and I'm driving a 2008 Sahara Unlimited as a "fun " 3rd vehicle. I have 513 gears and 35 inch tires on a mild lift. It's about as perfect as you can get IMHO.

I picked up this silver 2000 Land Cruiser off the original owner I got, what would be considered , stealing of a deal on it. Dealer maintained and very well-documented. No surprises and the only issue I can find on the interior is the seem on the driver side bolster is a little split. Previous owner even had the frame sandblasted treat it and then undercoated . It has about 140,000 miles on it. The third row of seats looks untouched and it has WeatherTech floor liners throughout. . The owner kept the wheels in this pic but gave me the original sixteen's I couldn't negotiate those 18s as he was buying a new 2017 Cruiser and wanted them for a Winterset. I did get an aftermarket set of wheels and tires but nothing to write home about.

Originally we purchased it for my 15 year old son to use as a first vehicle but after driving it I'm not sure if I can actually do that. I'm working on the wife now to trade in my unlimited. I'll take a few bucks for some 33 inch tires and a few other items like Bluetooth stereo and backup camera and just keep the cruiser for myself.

Has anyone here made the switch from a Jeep Unlimited to a cruiser and regretted it? I love my Jeep , it looks great but I know its limitations I would without a thought drive across the country in this Cruiser but I would not drive further than two or three hours in my Jeep.

So am I being foolish? This would be my secondary vehicle for daily driving and the golf course. As I have 5.7 crew cab Ram. I know this is a cruiser forum and I'm surely going to miss the top off jeepin. To be honest last year I didn't even remove the top. Never the right time, only on certain occasions where I know I'm going, to and from same old same old when owning a Jeep. My wife and I left we didn't even take it to the beach because of a lack of storage and jeeps are hot with the top off!

So please chime in, thumbs up thumbs down any input is fine.

 

[Ramathorn15]

I used to work at a Jeep specific shop and owned a really nice TJ on 35" with a lot of work done. That was actually my first car. After years and years of working on the thing, I switched to an 05 Tacoma. up until that point I assumed it was normal to constantly have to wrench on your car if you wanted to use it off road at all. After driving the Tacoma to 150k miles only replacing maintenance items and one wheel bearing, while doing similar trails to my TJ, I decided I would never own another jeep.

While not totally specific to your situation, the main things I do not miss in a Wrangler are the crappy driving characteristics and constant fear of breaking down (happened SO much until I sold it at 100k).

Things I miss, being able to crawl over most anything and having a removable top.

Since I now more enjoy offroading in search of adventure vs. offroading to see if I can get over certain objects, I MUCH prefer the Land Cruiser. It truly is the ultimate vehicle for expedition style travel.

The absolute only way I would ever get back into a Jeep is if I buy a beat up one to transform into a non-street legal rock crawling buggy.

 

[jLB]

So what's your son going to drive now, after your change of heart?

 

[norville]

That's his problem. Haha JK, the deal with our kids is you can borrow one of our cars if you don't have one or if it's a convienance to us. With stricter rules and at our discretion, if you buy your own you get more freedom ect... the deal with this Cruiser was for him to come up with half the cash (monthly payment) plus 50 a month for insurance and he buys his own Gas and necessities... but it was always up to him he has money saved up, I think he thinks it's a "mom van"

 

[sean2202]

Nice find. Put an ARB fridge in with a few other "mud" mods and your son will soon have a change of heart about the "mom car"

 

[fjfj60]

I'd like to find one of those "mom vans". Have been looking on Craigslist and nothing is coming up locally.

 

[FROverland]

Answering your question as someone who previously owned a 2015 JKUR, and now owns an '03 LC - zero regret getting rid of my JKUR.

Nothing against the JKUR, it was a fun Jeep to drive and did wonderful off-road. Like you, the top never came off the JKUR despite having both a soft and hard top. Biggest concern I had in the JKUR was being in an accident (of any kind). The big pig of an LC gives me much less concern.

If you ever change your mind on the LC, no doubt you'll sell it easily.

/first post for me, will do a proper intro later as time permits.

 

[87warrior]

I cannot compare the LC to a JKU, but I can compare it to a 03 TJ Rubi.... There is no comparison. They are different tools for different jobs.

I've had my 03 Rubi since 03. I cannot and will not part with it. I bought it stock with a blown motor (hydrolocked with two rods through the oil pan) and have been building it ever since (now with 5.13's and 35's) and 130k miles. I love this Jeep even though I no longer use it for what it was built for. You have a Jeep so there is no reason to talk about their benefits and weaknesses.

I added my 99 100 to the stable last year. I began traveling a significant amount for work and wanted a comfy cruiser, no pun intended. This vehicle has 270k miles on it and drives/rides better than my wife's Acadia with 50k miles. We drive the Cruiser when we go to Colorado and it has replaced the Jeep as the Colorado trail rig. I really am enjoying the Cruiser. It has performed perfectly on the trail and easily chews through 13 hours of highway. The longer/wider stance, weight, and soft suspension makes it feel far less nimble than the Jeep. I really notice this on slow, tight corners. Folks say parts are expensive for the 100, but I haven't noticed.

Having both the 100 and TJ has been both a blessing and a curse. Some days I want to drive both, some days I want to peel off the top off the Jeep, and some days I want smooth, comfortable and solid. If I had to pick only one, I would choose the 100. It is a practical vehicle that does everything I need with no fuss.

 

[LX470Mack]

Hello all, after a few years of being out of the Cruisers scene I ended up with a very clean 2000 LC. Ive owned a 40, 62, and my last Cruiser was a 1994 80. I sold the 80 to get a Rubicon LJ. A few years later and I'm driving a 2008 Sahara Unlimited as a "fun " 3rd vehicle. I have 513 gears and 35 inch tires on a mild lift. It's about as perfect as you can get IMHO.

I picked up this silver 2000 Land Cruiser off the original owner I got, what would be considered , stealing of a deal on it. Dealer maintained and very well-documented. No surprises and the only issue I can find on the interior is the seem on the driver side bolster is a little split. Previous owner even had the frame sandblasted treat it and then undercoated . It has about 140,000 miles on it. The third row of seats looks untouched and it has WeatherTech floor liners throughout. . The owner kept the wheels in this pic but gave me the original sixteen's I couldn't negotiate those 18s as he was buying a new 2017 Cruiser and wanted them for a Winterset. I did get an aftermarket set of wheels and tires but nothing to write home about.

Originally we purchased it for my 15 year old son to use as a first vehicle but after driving it I'm not sure if I can actually do that. I'm working on the wife now to trade in my unlimited. I'll take a few bucks for some 33 inch tires and a few other items like Bluetooth stereo and backup camera and just keep the cruiser for myself.

Has anyone here made the switch from a Jeep Unlimited to a cruiser and regretted it? I love my Jeep , it looks great but I know its limitations I would without a thought drive across the country in this Cruiser but I would not drive further than two or three hours in my Jeep.

So am I being foolish? This would be my secondary vehicle for daily driving and the golf course. As I have 5.7 crew cab Ram. I know this is a cruiser forum and I'm surely going to miss the top off jeepin. To be honest last year I didn't even remove the top. Never the right time, only on certain occasions where I know I'm going, to and from same old same old when owning a Jeep. My wife and I left we didn't even take it to the beach because of a lack of storage and jeeps are hot with the top off!

So please chime in, thumbs up thumbs down any input is fine.

View attachment 1398931

I made the switch from a 2013 JKU AEV enhanced Wrangler to a 2004 LX470. People thought I was mad. The Unlimited only had 40'000kms on it too. In the 3 years I owned it it needed a new power steering pump, new waterpump and a valve job on the 3.6 penta-s*** engine. The roof leaked like a siv and it was just a poorly made vehicle.

Have had to do a lot of work to the LX but it isn't a flimsy piece of s***. They were worth the same too which speaks volumes.

 

[yeti in ga]

Whenever I get to thinking " boy it would be fun to drive a lighter , removable top jeep "... I then go and read about issues or complaints on the new JKU. Dam .... there are a lot of those .. The worst ones facing engine replacement with in 60K... out of warranty...

The only thing that sucks on the 100s is gas and I have added one other CV axle boots...

 

[norville]

Thanks all for the input. Honestly I'd get rid of my truck first if I could. Not that I don't like the ram,but I only need the truck to tow the camper.

The wife isn't pushing me in any way, I just don't want to commit any of my fun money into the cruiser if I'm not going to be driving it. Im dieing to pull the running boards , the fake wood grain, swapping gold for silver em lems, bluetooth and adding 285s.

It really comes down to fun vs comfort. No doubt the wrangler is fun to drive but more times than not we choose to drive either the truck or the honda. I love driving the cruiser as to me it drives like a much smaller vehicle with the comfort of a Cadillac...