Best choice for daily driver & off-road?

[wildcatgoal]

Ford's stupid cheapness on the rear seat makes it impossible for me to store a cased hunting rifle the same way as I could in the Tacoma, for example, and contain the rest of my equipment. I need the rear seat to turn into a platform. Trust me, I've gone to each dealer with my rifle cases, all the stuff I do not want in the bed even under a cover. The Tacoma easily won out, the ZR2 was workable just less preferred. The Ranger... I'd effectively have to remove them... a joke.

 

[buster]

I've got to admit that the Colorado ZR2 Diesel is an EPIC CHOICE. That is one superb truck. A friend has one and I've come to absolutely love it. This coming from me, a guy who has 3ea. F150's, 2 of which are high end 4x4's. Just don't expect it to be luxurious. It's not a luxury truck, although it is quite comfortable, it is an immensely capable and efficient truck.

It's really impressive.

half ton truck and a quad or side by side, maybe a dirt bike. Seriously, I’ve been all over the national forests in eastern WA, north Idaho, and west Montana in both a 1500 regular cab silverado with a truetrac and open front diff and a two door Rubicon, and I never went anywhere with the Rubicon that I couldn’t have gone with the Silverado. You’re limited as much by the physical size of the vehicle as anything. If a road is open for passenger vehicles, any 4x4 will do it. Otherwise, it will be a hiking or ATV trail only.

Any full frame 4x4 with e-rated tires, a tow strap, tire chains, and a chainsaw is my recommendation. Winches are nice but really the forest roads are maintained well enough you will never need one. A chainsaw and tow strap will save your butt when a tree gets blown down over the road, though.

All this assumes you’re going exploring and not just wanting to go to the off-road park to drive over obstacles. That’s a whole different deal, and I can’t see why anybody would take a new vehicle to do that sort of thing. But maybe that’s what you have in mind?

Have fun, be careful, if you go exploring by yourself, take an emergency beacon.

True. I don't necessarily need great capability, but prefer it. I have no intentions of rock crawling and going crazy with it.

 

[CheezWhiz]

It's really impressive.


True. I don't necessarily need great capability, but prefer it. I have no intentions of rock crawling and going crazy with it.

one thing the rubicon has that the others don’t - taking the top and doors off. if you haven’t driven a forest road in the north Idaho rockies with the top down, heat blasting, 50 miles from the nearest hard road at 11 PM, rockin’ with Dokken and sucking down a bottle of Malbec, you just haven’t lived, IMHO.

i’ll confess that i got some strange looks from the mule deer. judgmental buggers that they are.

 

[02SE]

one thing the rubicon has that the others don’t - taking the top and doors off. if you haven’t driven a forest road in the north Idaho rockies with the top down, heat blasting, 50 miles from the nearest hard road at 11 PM, rockin’ with Dokken and sucking down a bottle of Malbec, you just haven’t lived, IMHO.

i’ll confess that i got some strange looks from the mule deer. judgmental buggers that they are.

I did that 30 years ago in a Wrangler. Different state, different beverage. But Back For The Attack was in the CD player...

Now I need to hear a tune.

 

[mrtrueblue]

Hell no to the Jeep.

Of the rest, definitely choose whichever has ( in order of importance) the isn't a diesel, has most room in rear seat, decent payload and long bed.

There are just as many Toyotas awaiting warranty work as any other brand.

 

[mrtrueblue]

Nothing with a timing belt or light duty turbos if you plan on keeping it a long time.

Common rail diesel sounds epic until you run into any of the EGR and DEF nonsense, the fuel system breaks out of warranty or you throw a "killer flash tune" at it and the transmission pukes.

I've owned a CJ5 , CJ7, a couple Wranglers and an Unlimited Rubicon. Jeeps are a poor choice for daily drivers. You could get a nice used Wrangler as a second vehicle/toy for 10-15k, drive it a year or two before you get sick of it and then sell it for what you paid. I've done this more times than I care to remember...

I'm not trying to be a downer. I just don't want you to be disappointed after spending 30-40 grand.

Whoever mentioned a half ton (same money with more room, decent mpg and better resale) with a dirt bike in the back is a freaking genius.

 

[CheezWhiz]

Whoever mentioned a half ton (same money with more room, decent mpg and better resale) with a dirt bike in the back is a freaking genius.

that was me. i’ve been all over the northern rockies in both two and four door rubicons and a silverado 1500 with a dirt bike in the back, and it’s not a close call from my perspective. otoh you can haul or tow a dirt bike with almost anything. these are nice:

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i mean honestly a subaru and a rokon would probably be just as good ...