Same thing that happens if you tear up a new vehicle on the trail. Lots of unintentional trail carnage videos are new vehicles. The videos of 20 year old vehicles are people trying to kill it for fun.
What old SUV to buy
- Thread starter samven
- Start date
Throw a bicycle in the back, huff it back to town.
how is vehicle inspection in your state OP? I wonder if anything with enough ground clearance would work. FWD can go many places… if you don’t care about doing so twice. I wonder if a clapped out Subie would work.
You could almost tow a 14 foot jon boat with a bicycle.
Get the cheapest running car that you can. The simpler, the better.
Get the cheapest running car that you can. The simpler, the better.
you can get an old 4-runner for like 50k nowadays. May want to look for one of those....
2009 Saturn Vue with the 4 cylinder. I use mine to tow a jetski. Ultra reliable and you can still find them with low miles for cheap.
Annual state inspection is not bad, just safety stuff, brakes, lights, wipers, tires, No emissions test. My main concerns are the really large potholes and deep ruts that run across the road. That and I fully expect that any old truck/suv will have issues, after all thats probably why its for sale. I dont mind putting some money into it to get the reliability up I am just trying to avoid those models and years that are really dogs and I would much rather have to do work on the engine than an automatic tranny. The tranny would have to go to a shop for anything beyond fluid, pan, cooler issues. A manual trans would be great but it seems nobody wanted manual for the last 30 years so there are very few out there. And of course any model they made a million of will have parts available used and new so I am shying away from exotics that nobody understands and cant get parts for.
I would love to find an old Toyota with low miles but thats like asking where to buy Unicorn tears and I wont pay original sticker price for a 20 year old vehicle. Besides just wanting something I dont mind getting beat up I was also staying old because it seems the last 10+ years SUV's have the mid size moniker but are actually larger than old full sized models.
I would love to find an old Toyota with low miles but thats like asking where to buy Unicorn tears and I wont pay original sticker price for a 20 year old vehicle. Besides just wanting something I dont mind getting beat up I was also staying old because it seems the last 10+ years SUV's have the mid size moniker but are actually larger than old full sized models.
If fishing or camping I personally don't like tents, and prefer the slight safety margin of sleeping inside my vehicle if I have to. With this in mind, here are a few interesting options, that will tow your boat all day long without breaking the bank.
1st or 2nd generation Honda CR-V with AWD and 5-speed manual. 1st generation is 1997-2001, 2nd is 2002-2006. They will do great for your pulling needs, while offering great fuel economy. There is also a Honda Element with AWD and 5-speed.
1st and 2nd gen CRV have seats-to-bed function. Element rear seats fold to the side (like old school Range Rovers and Land Cruisers) or fold flat into a bed.
1997-2001 Honda CRV bed seats
2002-2006 Honda CRV "bed" seats, although not as bed-like as 1st gen
Honda Element seat configurations: to the side or fold-to-bed.
1st or 2nd generation Honda CR-V with AWD and 5-speed manual. 1st generation is 1997-2001, 2nd is 2002-2006. They will do great for your pulling needs, while offering great fuel economy. There is also a Honda Element with AWD and 5-speed.
1st and 2nd gen CRV have seats-to-bed function. Element rear seats fold to the side (like old school Range Rovers and Land Cruisers) or fold flat into a bed.
1997-2001 Honda CRV bed seats
2002-2006 Honda CRV "bed" seats, although not as bed-like as 1st gen
Honda Element seat configurations: to the side or fold-to-bed.
eljefino- I had one of those Astro vans in the 90's. It was actually a company car but no AWD, it was actually a nice van one of the few RWD mini vans at the time. Thanks for the reminder.
Vladiator-That first gen CR-V looks comfy. I dont really camp anymore either but with that I could go to the lake the night before and be ready to launch first thing in the AM. Is there a preferred engine or do they all come with the 2.0.
Vladiator-That first gen CR-V looks comfy. I dont really camp anymore either but with that I could go to the lake the night before and be ready to launch first thing in the AM. Is there a preferred engine or do they all come with the 2.0.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I'd personally try and find a 5.0L Explorer, the 302 is bulletproof, it gets backed with a better trans than the V6 ones and the interiors aren't bad at all!
You win. Astro van is the correct answer.
We towed a ~3500 lb ATV trailer with ours and it did well. The rear suspension was a bit soft.
And if the engine or transmission ever blow up you can swap in virtually any chevy truck engine from like 1990 up to 2013
They all come with the 2.0L B20. The good ones are 1999-2001, as they have 147hp. 1997-1998 come with 126hp. Not a powerhouse either way, but tons of fun on forest trails and softroads. Just make sure to stay on top of timing belt (every 90k-100k miles) and valve adjustment (every 30k miles, or they burn exhaust valves.)
I just remembered about another great option. Looking online, and prices are still under $5k for some 200k-mile+ examples. 2003-2010 Toyota Sienna AWD. Tons of interior space and pulling power. That 3.3L is one smooth engine... And will outrun most V8 SUVs in same price range. Journey's Off Road makes a lift kit for these Siennas. They also make lift kits for Astro/Safari vans.
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We have a 2005 Jeep GC Laredo. It’s a short wheelbase with about a 3500 pound towing capacity. It’s AWD and sits reasonably high for an SUV.
just my $0.02
Most all mainstream SUVs from the 1990s are pretty darn good. The only thing I can think to avoid is maybe the Kia Sportage and that probably won't be an issue.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Until you said midsize I was going to suggest like a Tahoe or Suburban I see tons and tons of those things from pretty much the last 4 or 5 generations. They run forever and the parts are out there. I’ve got two Mazda B2200 one 1989 and one 1990 I’d try to find something like that mine are great I love them. It’s kinda weird the 1990 doesn’t have power steering but the 1989 does other than that I wouldn’t trade them for anything. For being as old as they are I have had minimal problems with them. Also look into an old Ranger or something like that. Those squared off Explorers I see a lot of too and that’s my favorite body style.
1993 White Ford Bronco
Fourth Gen Ford Explorer 2006-2010
We put 190,000+ miles on a 04 Trailblazer that was a rugged 4wd that had few problems. This vehicle had a relatively low center of gravity which made it very stable on the road yet good off road.
