Truck vs Suv PNW 4x4

So I am thinking of replacing my commuter with something I will use mainly weekends and start taking the bus.

Originally I was really hankering for a truck, because useful. Also because I want to start doing some camping and kayaking since moving up to the Seattle area.

I was looking at used trucks particularly diesels because I have always kind of wanted to do a veggie conversion and WVO is easily available for about 2.50 a gallon here filtered if you don't want to get and filter it yourself.

But then I got to thinking about a SUV because the interiors are nicer and in some cases they can be cheaper and still abused like a truck.

Right now the frontrunner is a 94-95 Mitsu Montero SR with the factory rear locker etc. I want to haul a kayak and be able to take 2 adults 2 kids camping etc.

My concerns over a full size truck would be if I would have issues fitting on some of the trails up here (not that we are talking rock crawling rig with the idea of travel and camping)

Jeep Cherokee. Done.

Yeah dude, up here you either have a lifted Scoobie or an XJ.

I don't know what age and price range you're looking at, but switching our old '91 F250 over to biodiesel freed up a bunch of sludge that had been (I guess) sleeping peacefully on the bottoms of the tanks. Different solvent qualities, I guess.

I ended up selling it cheap with one tank already replaced and full disclosure of its issues.

Not sure whether that's a normal thing or whether I got an abused truck, but it sucked a lot.

In reply to ransom:

That's fairly normal. A good, easily replaceable filter is recommended upstream of expensive injection parts.

ransom - Biodiesel does that. It's a great cleaner / solvent - with all the good and bad that comes with that.

Jaynen - take the bus a few times before you commit. I'd definitely check out the Montero or Jeep over a full size truck - unless you need a full sized truck.

I've taken the bus a couple times. The main issue is getting there in time to find parking lol

Ok. Same question, but two adults and three kids. All in seats.

No suburban or 4x4 vans to make it interesting.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

Pansie, you don't need 4WD. Get a Mazda5.

Seriously though, there's a reason they sell a bazillion Subaru's and AWD Volvo's up here. A Forester would do for midgets, an XC90 for normals.

Ill have 1 3yr old and 1 infant coming up in Jan. I'd like to see some of the more remote lakes etc so don't want to limit myself to what I think a Subaru can reach. I do love me some forester XT the boxy one.

I'd actually not mind a 4x4 van but building an astro to the point it can match a typical suv/pickup is a bit of a pain

So far the Montero is looking really nice because its not well known and therefore a lot cheaper but competes with the land cruiser internationally and can seat 7 in a pinch

Higher price, but I love our 4Runner. Can go anywhere in stock form (but with better tires than the crappy stock ones). Deadnuts reliable. Drives well on the street, the V6 gets good mpgs (mid-20s highway), and I've done several long tows of 4500lbs easily (averaging 15mpg while towing our racecar on an open trailer through the Appalachians, I might add). Plus it's smaller outside than many SUVs and can fit tight trails.

Not the biggest interior but we do trips with 2 adults, the 2 kids, and the dog in the backseat and all our cargo. We do have a roof box for extra cargo though.

I loved my XJ, but the 4Runner can do everything it did, but better and more comfortably.

The third kid really is tough. Riding three wide in the back seat is tough.

Javelin wrote: In reply to Fueled by Caffeine: Pansie, you don't need 4WD. Get a Mazda5.

I already own a rav4 with third row seat. Sure it'll work, but it's not convenient.

Don't go the truck route; there are too many truck guys up here and it doesn't make any sense. Most Subaru's see the trails more than the trucks anyway, and I feel that trucks are only useful if you carry "truck stuff" around all the time or have a yard that needs a load of top-soil. We see trucks with bike racks on the hitches in the NW... it's just weird out here.

We went for a Jeep Patriot FDII package, which is great for trails and average off-road (we have some rugged land in Eastern WA). We're getting mid to high 20's on the highway and haven't had a problem at nearly 90k miles. Oh, and we have an infant and a 4 year old so I can relate. I keep hearing that it might be discontinued, but we sure love ours. 4runner or Suby you can't go wrong either, although the Suby is way too Seattle... with a Mac sticker on the back window.

Hey, welcome to the NW btw! I moved out of Seattle a few years back and I'm now an hour north in Mount Vernon. I have a Miata, a Spitfire, a Jeep Patriot and I'm a Taurus.

-Hamid

Not cheap to run, (we got 17mpg) but plenty of power for towing, room inside, 3rd row to separate the billy lids, don't ignore the Expedition until you try one.

I loved ours for long distance and towing, we took 3 x 18 year olds to Florida in it, 2 were 6'4"

Oh and the best time we had in it was at Mid Ohio, first it bucketed down, we opened the rear hatch and enjoyed the race while everyone was scrambling for cover. Then, after the race, thousands of cars trying to return to their mundane lives, all lined up in the little alleys to get out. It was still raining hard. We just engaged 4x4 turned off the beaten track and went off-roading past all the 2 wheel drive cars, we pulled back into line about 300 yards from the exit. It was awesome

My experience living in the NW (not the PNW) and having owned multiple SUVs (mostly inherited) and now a pickup. I find the pickup to be more useful. SUVs like Monteros and XJs won't get significantly better mpg than a 1/2 ton truck especially if it's mostly highway mileage. You can't beat a truck bed for hauling camping and kayaking gear (hauling wood, gasoline, chainsaw, cooking on tailgate...). Sitting in the back seat of a T100, Tundra, F150, GM 1500 is on par with sitting in the back seat of an XJ or ZJ ime. I'd be curious to know how many trails there are where you can fit a Subie/SUV, but not fit a truck (thinking 1/2 ton extended cab varieties). Call me skeptical, but I don't think there are many trails that fit that description.

Top of my shopping list would be a T100 extended cab. I've seen high-mileage examples well under $5k. Or find an extended cab F150 or Silverado if you have more money to spend.

twolittlebroncos wrote: My experience living in the NW (not the PNW) and having owned multiple SUVs (mostly inherited) and now a pickup. I find the pickup to be more useful. SUVs like Monteros and XJs won't get significantly better mpg than a 1/2 ton truck especially if it's mostly highway mileage. You can't beat a truck bed for hauling camping and kayaking gear (hauling wood, gasoline, chainsaw, cooking on tailgate...). Sitting in the back seat of a T100, Tundra, F150, GM 1500 is on par with sitting in the back seat of an XJ or ZJ ime. I'd be curious to know how many trails there are where you can fit a Subie/SUV, but not fit a truck (thinking 1/2 ton extended cab varieties). Call me skeptical, but I don't think there are many trails that fit that description. Top of my shopping list would be a T100 extended cab. I've seen high-mileage examples well under $5k. Or find an extended cab F150 or Silverado if you have more money to spend.

Was the trail comment directed at me? If so, that's not what I was getting at... doesn't really compute actually. My only point was there are far more polished and jacked up trucks in the PNW that don't see dirt, compared to Subies out here. Sure, they can fit on the same trails, but you'll find more subies on logging roads than the fashion trucks IMHO. Trucks are certainly useful for folks like you! Sounds like the right vehicle for sure. While I hate SUV's most of the time, I'll admit that our Jeep has been one of my favorite vehicles I've owned to date. A truck would be a waste for me, and unless you get a big enough truck with back doors for the kids (as you said, extended cab), I wouldn't bother with a truck at all. But... I do have two little two-seaters so what do I know! There is a weird truck movement out here that is a bit laughable IMHO.

-Hamid

That movement is also popular in Arizona where they tow boats to lakes, or cruise malls in Socal.

I am kind of following stuff on expedition portal and the northwest overland group so I want to do things like the Naches Trail over to eastern washington etc or head up to Lake Gallagher (which I know a full size truck fit but it was fairly interesting terrain that I would not expect to see a subie on)

In reply to Jaynen:

Oh dude that sounds awesome. The difference between west of the Cascades and east is astonishing. Our little plot of land in Prosser in eastern WA (cheap wine country!!!) only gets about 10" of rain a year and the landscape out there is really pretty. In fact, my wife wanted to do a trip to Colorado initially, but I wanted to be cheap so I took her to eastern WA; we came back home owning 11 acres....

Taking a trail would be a really cool way to see the changes. Yeah, I've never owned a Subaru so I'm not sure on how they are in more off-road situations.

-Hamid

AMC Eagle..

As a WA resident I vouch for the Jeep Wagoneer with a 360 V8, i had a 1985 model. it was amazing off road, as comfy as a caddy, and with a 4bbl V8 it had the balls to fly up mountain passes at 80mph with ease, def much more comfortable roomier dependable and better off road than the montero from the 90s. i had a freind who had nothing but problems from his monteros he blew two motors in one from the 80s and had transmission problems with one from the 90s. he didnt even take them off road. Find the best preserved 1980s version wagoneer you can find, and enjoy the beautiful PNW.

Here's one in my town

http://yakima.craigslist.org/cto/4126099170.html