I've been reading this forum for over a year, searching autotrader and searchtempest, trying to find the perfect overlanding vehicle. Sure, I originally wanted a fully locked 80, but after reading so many posts about how great the 100s drive, I started looking more closely. One special vehicle 90 miles from me kept creeping down in price and I had to pounce. I've got a 1998 LX470 with 173k on the clock and I really like it so far. We started with a Frontier Pro4x, then a Wrangler, then a TRD Pro 4Runner, but they were all too nice (and too much owned by the bank!) to really put them through the paces. When my wife traded in the 4Runner, much to my dismay, for a Land Rover LR4, I knew I had to get a dedicated vehicle for really getting off the beaten path. There's not enough cool places in Illinois, but we travel a lot and plan on putting the LX through the paces. Will I miss the running boards after they're gone? I really like the AHC, but had been convinced I'd want to lift it, I guess time will tell.
