"Better off" is pretty subjective. I'd be better off with a plug-in hybrid on a day to day basis because 90% of my drives could be powered off the grid. If I got one of those plug-in Rav4s, I would be fine for regular camping as well... and if I bought one and parked it next to my 80, I'd probably wind up driving the 80 more often than not.
Should I sell my 200 for an 80?
- Thread starter duganrec
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Yeah, perspective is an important part of this question for many of us. Before my FZJ80-wreck-replaced-by-a-LX450, my last Land Cruiser was a FJ55....when you come from a BJ74, an HDJ81 feels like a 200
Devils Paw 80 has a good point also. You don't have to drive fast with a trailer and an 80 is good at keeping that from happening. Hitching up the M101 CDN automatically lowers my need for speed by at least 10 mph. I just slack back and let those NATO red triangle reflectors do their thing.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
Fixed for you
Honestly, for what they're charging for them, I couldn't afford the shoes to kick myself in the nuts with.
Ig it is just for a fun toy then maybe. But as a daily and towing with a family i dont think so. And this is from a guy that loves his 80. My 80 is my DD and only vehicle other than motos. It sits at 366,xxx miles and i drive it every day. But being realistic, i think a 200 would work better unless it was just as a trail toy. Sorry but my opinion.
Also, things are getting tricky for the 80s. Some parts are getting tricky to find. A rock chip in my headlight was a real pain (and expensive) to find a used oem headlight that was in good shape. If you get a mint one are you going to want to wheel it and get it full of dirt? How are you going to feel on a mint truck when you break somthing small like a door handle and cant find a replacement?
For me it doesnt matter as much. My truck is old and beat up. I love it and maintain it. But if some small trim peice brakes i can take my time finding something that works. It stays full of fly fishing gear and moto gear and caked in trail dirt. I have accepted that is what this truck is for to me.
Also, things are getting tricky for the 80s. Some parts are getting tricky to find. A rock chip in my headlight was a real pain (and expensive) to find a used oem headlight that was in good shape. If you get a mint one are you going to want to wheel it and get it full of dirt? How are you going to feel on a mint truck when you break somthing small like a door handle and cant find a replacement?
For me it doesnt matter as much. My truck is old and beat up. I love it and maintain it. But if some small trim peice brakes i can take my time finding something that works. It stays full of fly fishing gear and moto gear and caked in trail dirt. I have accepted that is what this truck is for to me.
This has some good points. Before i moved to Montana i would drive my 80 from Atlantic to Montana and back for work every year. Pulling a really small motorcycle trailed with dual sports and the truck loaded camping gear was a chore. It was fine on the flats, but add head winds or even gradual incline and the speeds dropped fast.
Now that i live in Montana i drive a lot of open hiway and mountins. Its slow but i am ok with that. On open flat roads with no wind it will run down the road at 75 pretty good. Maybe even 80 if i pat the dash just right and say nice things. But it still requires two hands on the wheel and focus which wears on you over a long day. It is happier at 70-75 mpg which is pretty slow out here.
Add in head winds or croas winds and it can be way more work. Not really a handfull but you really do have to "know the truck". Gust side winds and i will say it is a handfull.
My truck probably could be a little tighter but the suspension is basicly in good shape. Nothing is brand new but basicly everything has been replaced during my ownership, a lot of parts twice as milage goes by. All bushings, wheel bearings, brake disks, calipers, master, booster, swaybar links and tie rods with oem. Only a 2" lift, Radflo remote res shocks, 35" toyos, proper caster plates and proper caster numbers. Also has high and low range transfer gears so it pretty spot on for 35" tires. It could be better but it isnt some 6" lift with crap shocks and caster numbers. The steering box could probably use a rebuild. Its fine without wind on a open road but can get tiring compaired to anything new. Even without wind it still demands some attention.
My wife has a 15 year old honda fit with 250,000 miles on it. Even that runs down the hiway at 85mph with finger tips on the wheel.
30 year old truck is a hobby more than a vehicle. Not the 4WD hobby that you already have obviously, this will be a new hobby in addition to that. Do you have time, money, and mental space for a second hobby?
Excellent post.
I have both, and respect their differences.
I purposely bought my 80 to rebuild because I wanted to do the project and have a "new" old beast. I did everything (drive train wise) replaced parts that were still working because I wanted full confidence in it. That Was 35+k miles ago. ODO reads 419k today. Not exactly a cheap deal, but I figured at 30 grand where else could I get a comparable beast? Especially since I know it inside out.
Think hard about your use case.
Enjoy the journey
I love my 80 but i would do unspeakable things to get into a V8 2Hundy
COYS
SILVER Star
Don’t meet your heroes as they say.
@duganrec If you end up going the route of having both, I have an 80 series I’ll be listing soon that might interest you. I actually have a built 200 and I don’t really have the time/need for a second truck right now (back surgery coming soon). I’m in North Salt Lake, it’s a clean Cali truck that’s been in garage since coming to Utah.
- Thread starter
- #53
for real!
- Thread starter
- #54
Yeah man reach to me for sure!
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
There's guys in the 200 section that would like to take you . . .
Er, camping!
-allegedly
If you can swing it, have both obviously! I don't own a 200 but I own a 100(LX) and 80. I imagine the 200 takes what the 100 does and does it even better as far as power and refinement.
For context, the 100 became my dd a few months ago, but last week my wife returned her lease so now its hers, and I get to dd the 80. I commute about 30 miles roundtrip in Los Angeles.
The 100 is a great dd and it has seen trails ranging from mild to black diamond with no problem, snow wheeling in big bear every winter, long road trips (~1k miles). Objectively it's a far better vehicle unless you are doing some serious crawling.
Once my wife gets a new car, (waiting for Toyota to figure out the bearing recall situation) I'm considering a 200 as dd and would be selling the 100. The 80 is loud, bumpy, anemic, super low tech and old school, missing an arm rest and a lot of creature comforts. I bought it over 1 year ago after selling the previous toy ( had a 2nd gen F body for about 20 years) and spent a lot of money baselining/pm and I don't see an end in sight, which I expected for an almost 3 decade old vehicle. But it's a product of a bygone era and they will never make anything like the 80 again, and I can't imagine selling it anytime soon. Yes it's all emotional.
If you can't have both, and don't do the really tough trails, and don't want to spend all your time wrenching, the logical thing to do is keep the 200.
For context, the 100 became my dd a few months ago, but last week my wife returned her lease so now its hers, and I get to dd the 80. I commute about 30 miles roundtrip in Los Angeles.
The 100 is a great dd and it has seen trails ranging from mild to black diamond with no problem, snow wheeling in big bear every winter, long road trips (~1k miles). Objectively it's a far better vehicle unless you are doing some serious crawling.
Once my wife gets a new car, (waiting for Toyota to figure out the bearing recall situation) I'm considering a 200 as dd and would be selling the 100. The 80 is loud, bumpy, anemic, super low tech and old school, missing an arm rest and a lot of creature comforts. I bought it over 1 year ago after selling the previous toy ( had a 2nd gen F body for about 20 years) and spent a lot of money baselining/pm and I don't see an end in sight, which I expected for an almost 3 decade old vehicle. But it's a product of a bygone era and they will never make anything like the 80 again, and I can't imagine selling it anytime soon. Yes it's all emotional.
If you can't have both, and don't do the really tough trails, and don't want to spend all your time wrenching, the logical thing to do is keep the 200.
