Life comes at you fast, and it's time for a new truck
I have been driving a 3rd gen 4runner (my second) for the past 4 years. We bought it in a pinch and got it for cheap; we just wanted something to use to get out of the city in during the pandemic. We've beat the absolute hell out of it, and it's treated us great, but due to some mounting issues (brakes, valve cover gasket, rust, and it's just ugly as hell and only 2WD), it's time to stop dumping money into it and move on to something else that will be a bit more permanent.
We both want our forever truck to be an 80 series cruiser, but it will be a while before we can afford one of those in 'forever truck' condition. We have some time sensitive trips planned that we need a vehicle for, and so instead are looking for something in the sub-10k range. Mostly for roadtripping, but we're big on getting out in BFE, so 4x4 is a must and lockers a plus. We pushed the 4runner to its limits on tons of trails from MO to TX, which despite being 2WD, were pretty far! Only got stuck once (deep sand in Utah).
Right now we can scrounge up 9-10k, and I'm trying to figure out what we can get that will do what we want it to and not be a total s***box. I'm thinking aobut another 3rd gen 4runner in better condition, but would like a bigger truck ideally. So I'm checking out some 100 series cruisers, as well as some Monteros. But the Monteros freak me out a little bit as there doesn't seem to be as much of a parts market or culture for them; although I could be wrong. Ideally I'm looking for something that's nice on the highway, as we live out east and go out west twice a year. I believe we put about 10-20k roadtrip miles a year on our last truck.
I'd love to hear any suggestions for a ~5 year or more permanent truck for our situation; thanks in advance
I have been driving a 3rd gen 4runner (my second) for the past 4 years. We bought it in a pinch and got it for cheap; we just wanted something to use to get out of the city in during the pandemic. We've beat the absolute hell out of it, and it's treated us great, but due to some mounting issues (brakes, valve cover gasket, rust, and it's just ugly as hell and only 2WD), it's time to stop dumping money into it and move on to something else that will be a bit more permanent.
We both want our forever truck to be an 80 series cruiser, but it will be a while before we can afford one of those in 'forever truck' condition. We have some time sensitive trips planned that we need a vehicle for, and so instead are looking for something in the sub-10k range. Mostly for roadtripping, but we're big on getting out in BFE, so 4x4 is a must and lockers a plus. We pushed the 4runner to its limits on tons of trails from MO to TX, which despite being 2WD, were pretty far! Only got stuck once (deep sand in Utah).
Right now we can scrounge up 9-10k, and I'm trying to figure out what we can get that will do what we want it to and not be a total s***box. I'm thinking aobut another 3rd gen 4runner in better condition, but would like a bigger truck ideally. So I'm checking out some 100 series cruisers, as well as some Monteros. But the Monteros freak me out a little bit as there doesn't seem to be as much of a parts market or culture for them; although I could be wrong. Ideally I'm looking for something that's nice on the highway, as we live out east and go out west twice a year. I believe we put about 10-20k roadtrip miles a year on our last truck.
I'd love to hear any suggestions for a ~5 year or more permanent truck for our situation; thanks in advance
