What is a good small 4x4 pickup?

[MossflowerWoods]

Do you mean the Ranger and Tacoma are bigger than what you want, you dislike them, or you are leaning toward the Civic / commuter car?

I really don't think the Nissan P/Us and SUVs are worth anything. I'm surprised Nissan is still in business. They aren't terrible but the competing vehicles are head-and-shoulders better and the Nissans aren't really cheaper (new.) Used, who knows, maybe you will find a good Frontier for cheap. My $0.02.

Jeffsw,

For small trucks, I will only buy a ranger or a tacoma. No other trucks made the list. I will consider a civic or something, and hate it every day...

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

How about a Samurai View attachment 266446View attachment 266447 found this one with a Kubota diesel

The one with the 'Bota engine I would totally do.

My question is are the Suzuki motors etc any good? I'd be open to one for a good price.

Many, many years ago I was out elk hunting in Oregon with my step-dad and little brothers. We were watching this canyon with a rutted up destroyed old logging road and all of the suden out of the bottom a samurai like little 2 door mini 4x4 comes out and just climbs right out. We would NEVER have taken dad's blazer down there, and this was a Dodge Raider, rebadged Mitsubishi. At the time I was shocked at how good it was as a 4x4. we talked to the driver for a good 40 minutes and he loved it. a few years later in 1995 I was in Japan for work and they told me Mitsu was like Jeep in Japan...

But Mitsubishi has never been mentioned here.

I don't want something that will not run. I see a gazillion rangers on the road working and driving here in DC area, I do not see samurais...

In my book if I cannot get personal referrals that something is good, I skip it...

David

 

[clemsonfor]

The one with the 'Bota engine I would totally do.

My question is are the Suzuki motors etc any good? I'd be open to one for a good price.

Many, many years ago I was out elk hunting in Oregon with my step-dad and little brothers. We were watching this canyon with a rutted up destroyed old logging road and all of the suden out of the bottom a samurai like little 2 door mini 4x4 comes out and just climbs right out. We would NEVER have taken dad's blazer down there, and this was a Dodge Raider, rebadged Mitsubishi. At the time I was shocked at how good it was as a 4x4. we talked to the driver for a good 40 minutes and he loved it. a few years later in 1995 I was in Japan for work and they told me Mitsu was like Jeep in Japan...

But Mitsubishi has never been mentioned here.

I don't want something that will not run. I see a gazillion rangers on the road working and driving here in DC area, I do not see samurais...

In my book if I cannot get personal referrals that something is good, I skip it...

David

Suzuki motors were ok. The problem why you dont see many of them is that they did not sell varymany. The ones now are HIGHLY coveted by the 4x4 market. They make rock crawlers and mud trucks out of them. Many guys put dana axels or toy axles under them with different motors for more power. Some still run them stock. But becuse Dateline or 20/20 did those rollover tests and killed their sales after it aired. The things are tuff, my buddy has one he Wheels and he tipped it over once when he still had the Zuk motor in it. tipped it back over and drove it back home. Now its be fram extended has toyota axles for it and he rebuilt a Toy 4 cy to go into it. There cool and the guys want them cause of the short wheel base which makes them almost impossible to high center so the rock crawlers love them. The trail guys love them casue there so nimble and the mud guys cause they float on like 35s across the mud. Oh and they use to be cheap, their prices are holding and folks who know what they have make you pay for it now.

 

[Diamondpilot]

The one with the 'Bota engine I would totally do.

My question is are the Suzuki motors etc any good? I'd be open to one for a good price.

Many, many years ago I was out elk hunting in Oregon with my step-dad and little brothers. We were watching this canyon with a rutted up destroyed old logging road and all of the suden out of the bottom a samurai like little 2 door mini 4x4 comes out and just climbs right out. We would NEVER have taken dad's blazer down there, and this was a Dodge Raider, rebadged Mitsubishi. At the time I was shocked at how good it was as a 4x4. we talked to the driver for a good 40 minutes and he loved it. a few years later in 1995 I was in Japan for work and they told me Mitsu was like Jeep in Japan...

But Mitsubishi has never been mentioned here.

I don't want something that will not run. I see a gazillion rangers on the road working and driving here in DC area, I do not see samurais...

In my book if I cannot get personal referrals that something is good, I skip it...

David

Funny you tell this story. Back in college I drove a 1999 S-10 Blazzer 4x4. What a POS. Anyway, my roomate had Suzuki Samurai. We went mudding a few times and that thing of his would go anywhere any time with water up to the doors. My Blazzer got stuck and hung up twice and his little Suzuki pulled it right out. I was always impressed with its ability off road.

Now the down side was it was plain scary to drive 70 mph on the highway and you froze to death in the winter.

Chirs

 

[EE_Bota]

Good stuff. Interesting recommendation of chains at bottom of that page. Two winters ago I got stranded in my Element on my farm (along with a full sized 4x4 pickup). We were as helpless as babies. Steep gravel plus ice/snow equaled trapped. The next morning after a few phone calls I figured out the only thing that was going to get us out was a tractor with chains, a tracked vehicle, or percherons. That afternoon I remembered that my neighbor had snow chains for his Element (actually snow cables). So I gave them a try and the Element climbed out of snowmageddon and carved a path the truck could follow. I promptly went and bought my own chains. It is amazing what chains can do. And for what they can do, cheeeeeeep. I now also have a rear set for the Kubota. Didn't get to even install them this year, no winter!

Years ago, I had a 1978 Honda Civic with front wheel drive, and I had a set of chains that were essentially cables with round (cylindrical really) lugs over the cables to protect them from destruction. I got on one gravel road and the snow was deep enough that my bumper was pushing it, and the car was dragging everywhere on the snow, compressing it as I went. Those stupid cable chains got me anywhere I wanted to go...and I was pushing snow. I'd hate to think what a Subaru would do if it had those things all the way around. It might ruin it for all I know, but until it did, you could probably climb trees with it.

 

[EE_Bota]

Now I know why they are so expensive! Best deal I could find was $10K in SC for a 2003.

Good Grief, last July CarMax only gave me $5k for a smoking 2005 Jaguar Sport Wagon AWD with a 104k miles on it...

I'm back to the El Cheapo camp and the Baja just got crossed off the list...

David

Well, when I got started with Subarus, they were just odd little cars, and not much to look at, but I could find one anytime I wanted for $2000 with 100,000 miles plus on it, and I learned how to fix them. I stick to things I can sort of work on, so I have had them for decades.

But admittedly, they have gotten more popular, and the most recent one I helped a friend procure, we had to pay $5500 for a 2006 Outback wagon with 115,000 miles on it. It is immaculate inside and out, and first thing I (practically) made him do is a timing belt change and a valve adjustment.

The Outback is actually a better form factor than the Baja for most things. You can haul most things in an Outback. I hauled a Craftsman riding lawnmower once, but I had to take the steering wheel off.

I got the Baja but I may not have it forever, but getting it was part of a multi-year plan..I had four vehicles...a convertible, a VW diesel truck, a Subaru Legacy sedan, and a VW truck parts truck. Thinking it out with a buddy, we decided I needed to get down to only one vehicle, and break the truck paradigm by getting a trailer that would be a permanent fixture in my life so I could get off the fence about a pickup truck. In the future, all I need is a vehicle of any form factor that will accept a trailer hitch and have enough towing capacity to pull my trailer. The actual trailer is a 6 X 10 Aluma trailer made of all aluminum and stainless steel, and it weighs around 450 lbs, and it was picked so it can haul a BX tractor and stay under the 2000lb towing limit of the Baja, or a similar sized vehicle. I think a an Outback actually tows more, but I'd have to check that.

We tried our best to calculate how often I would likely haul a tractor, even if I got into tractors as a sideline, and the outcome was that I should help some hauler or construction folks better afford their truck by hiring them to do the hauling. But the current reality is I have access to a 4 wheel drive dump truck and heavy trailer through my brother for now. I do repairs on his tractors, and he makes that rig available to me if I want to use it. I have never used it yet, but the offer has saved me thousands. It got me off my path to buy a 3/4 ton diesel truck that I wanted and still want, but can't justify.

My wants are funny...if I buy something and don't use it enough to justify having it, it pains me. For now, I'd rather live with the want than the pain.

 

[foreman Etexas]

The one with the 'Bota engine I would totally do.

My question is are the Suzuki motors etc any good? I'd be open to one for a good price.

Many, many years ago I was out elk hunting in Oregon with my step-dad and little brothers. We were watching this canyon with a rutted up destroyed old logging road and all of the suden out of the bottom a samurai like little 2 door mini 4x4 comes out and just climbs right out. We would NEVER have taken dad's blazer down there, and this was a Dodge Raider, rebadged Mitsubishi. At the time I was shocked at how good it was as a 4x4. we talked to the driver for a good 40 minutes and he loved it. a few years later in 1995 I was in Japan for work and they told me Mitsu was like Jeep in Japan...

But Mitsubishi has never been mentioned here.

I don't want something that will not run. I see a gazillion rangers on the road working and driving here in DC area, I do not see samurais...

In my book if I cannot get personal referrals that something is good, I skip it...

David

I was just thinking about them cause my brother is finished with mine(clutch,motor overhaul) and I should be getting it back this weekend. Its mostly stock but going to add alittle lift and 31in.tires nothing big just for the farm. I would think if you went with a hard top it would be better in winter...

 

[IslandTractor]

Well, when I got started with Subarus, they were just odd little cars, and not much to look at, but I could find one anytime I wanted for $2000 with 100,000 miles plus on it, and I learned how to fix them. I stick to things I can sort of work on, so I have had them for decades.

....

My wants are funny...if I buy something and don't use it enough to justify having it, it pains me. For now, I'd rather live with the want than the pain.

I am fascinated that Subarus are popular outside the snowbelt. They are almost a religious cult in Vermont and very popular with the crunchy granola set in New England. As with most Japanese cars they are very reliable but what stands out is how simple they are to maintain. Lots of people rebuild old Outbacks and they hold their value very well. They never win styling, handling or electronics awards (WRX excepted) but their anti macho ordinariness is part of the cult charm. The only real knock on them is that they don't get particularly good gas mileage considering their modest power and weight. They are certainly every bit as capable in snow on roads as any other AWD vehicle I've ever owned and I only had all season tires on mine.

I kinda regret selling my 1998 which only had 67,000 miles on it (inherited from mother in law) but then again it was the fourth car and spent its life parked in the driveway taking up space. Sold it for $5500 to the first guy to come by a couple of months ago.

 

[RobertN]

That is not surprising at all. Look at the size and layout. Can you say Bantam or Willy's? They are about the same size and ground clearance as the original Bantam, and the Willy's MB/Ford GPW.

We were doing stuff like that when we got our first bone stock Ford GPW(WWII contract for additional "Jeep" production). My Dad got that in '68. Mark Smith and crew were running Rubicon in the 50's in bone stock flatfenders.

When we got a '70 CJ5, it was basically the same size. Went anywhere, even stock. In the late 60's and thru the 70's, we didn't know what a lift kit was, and never heard of anything bigger than 11.50x15 tires...

Needless to say, I'd take a Jeep

Many, many years ago I was out elk hunting in Oregon with my step-dad and little brothers. We were watching this canyon with a rutted up destroyed old logging road and all of the suden out of the bottom a samurai like little 2 door mini 4x4 comes out and just climbs right out.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Needless to say, I'd take a Jeep

Yeah but the get terrible mpg...

My best ever 4x4 and the one I wish I could buy back was a 1973 Ford Bronco 302 with pto winch... I miss that rock hopper...

Someday I will have another one...

David