4runner v. Jeep
- Thread starter diver110
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FourEyedWilly
New member
Subjective and also correct at the same time. For me, there is something very raw, very pure, very indescribable wheeling my Jeep. You see, I have zero power steering, heck I don't even have disk brakes, drums all around. I have to shift two sticks, one for the tranny, one for the overdrive unit. It's kinda cool having six forward gears and two reverse gears. Even the carb acts up on the Rubicon which requires a little throttle management. Is that black 4Runner more capable, oh m'in f'in A it is!!
I'm running D44s with 4:88 gears and locked front and rear. So practical, not in any way shape or form. But, that's kinda the point isn't it?
I promise you sometimes I don't take the hardest lines. That's a VERY clean 1969 Kaiser CJ5 with 65K original miles on the chassis and about 8K on the entire drivetrain. I use it, abuse it a bit, but I don't kill it. Kinda like using a classic, but not destroying it. I've been offered 12K for it, but it ain't for sale, ever. It's one of those things that don't carry a price. Bought it in 1981 with my grandfather and dad. They are both gone now. Ah, memories. :hatsoff:
We are all out there wheeling, sharing trails, and having a good time. I've been rescued, come to the rescue, made fun of others, been made fun of. Rant off.
jlmilligan
Member
Ok, i have to comment on this one. Bring your infamous Jeep Rubicon to my house and I can prove to you that there are more off road capable stock Toyotas out there. I have everything you listed minus the roll cage. Oh ya, i do have 3 rows of leather seats, stronger HD axles, and nice road manners too.
Ok, now back on topic. Even when I buy new, there is one thing I like to do. If you are looking at a low mileage 2008 4Runner and a low mileage 2008 Jeep GC, then go try out a high mileage (100k or more) 2003 or 2004 of both types. That will be a good indication on how well they will hold up. Just because you may not HAVE to fix anything, doesn't mean it will ride like a new one. I have always been impressed in how well a high mileage Toyota rides. Less bumps, rattles, and squeaks then most low mileage American cars. But hey, what do I know, my truck only has 182,000 miles on it.
J
jlmilligan
Member
x2, i love the classics, toyotas or jeeps. When it is a passion, you don't mind the little things. Working on it is half the fun.
Thai
Elite Member
So, your STOCK Toyotas have 32" bfg mt, 4:1 transfer case, full lockers on both axles, RTI of over 800, and dana 44-hybrid axles?? And btw dana 44 is stronger than most toyota axles in midsize SUVs.
jlmilligan
Member
Your right, I concede. They do have better tires. :hatsoff: But who keeps stock tires anyways? Now if we are talking about something made in the last 10 years or something that is intended for the US market, then Yes, you are once again correct. But I still think (tires being equal) I could more than hold my own against a Jeep Rubicon.
FourEyedWilly
New member
I saw a lowered Jeep Rubicon on the strip early yesterday. It appeared to have at least 22 inch rims and anything that could be replaced with chrome, replaced. Incidentally, the i in Rubicon was scrubbed and replaced with a fancy Y. Yes the Jeep was red. Trail Ready baby!! RubYcon WTW!
:trophy: So Gay
Ha ha ha!
philromero215
New member
My axles are a hell of alot more than 1000$ each. My rear is a ford 9" with Arb, 4.88's, wilwood disc brakes, and 35 spline custom axles.... With the housing.... That thing is pushin 5k and the front is prob close to 3500$ with arb and land cruiser 80 series hubs... Not to mention the marlin crawler transfer case with 4.7:1 crawl...My truck is wayyyy over the top. But my point was that enough money And you can turn a newer model Toyota into a rock crAwler/ DD... In all honesty... My best friend has a rubicon with a 6" rubicon express lift on 37's. It is by FAR, the best wheeler out of the box. If I knew then what i knew now, i probably wouldnt have gotten the runner...if i had to do it again, I would have went with the rubicon. Is comes with Fr and rr lockers and a swaybar disco... And not to mention the straight axles. I got into wheeling after A year of having the truck. The jeep rubicon 4door is just the best platform to start with... U can buy everything in a kit. Just my opinion. But I do love my truck!
Thai
Elite Member
What vehicle do you have? Why keep us guessing?
To be honest, if i had a choice b/w a new Jeep Rubicon vs. a 10 year old Toyota with 200k miles, then i will gladly take the new car anyday of the week with full warranty. I would bet that my maintenance costs will be much less than a 10 year old vehicle.
I have never heard of any Toyota with 4:1 transfer case and RTI > 800. The stock value of the Rubicon is quite more than any Toyota. Now, you may say that a TLC80 with locked axles may be competitive, but what was the original MSRP (in today's money)? For that kinda of cash, one can mod the hell out of the Rubicon to blow away any Toyota.
But, yeah, for DD and overall comfort, the Rubicon is seriously lacking.
x2. There is no beating a stock Rubi out of the showroom floor, bar none. But, because it lacks certain safety features i like along with adequate long distance comfort, i prefer Toyota body-on-frame SUVs.
Thai
Elite Member
So, are you saying that you've never seen a pimped out 4runner nor GX470? I would bet that the Rubycon that you saw can still hang with your GX off-road....
philromero215
New member
I'm a Toyota guy... But Cmon man... A gx hang with the rubicon?! No way bro. If u look at the package that come on the rubi, it $hits on the gx and it's wood grain and plastic body panels and leather. Stock 4runner or gx---- no 4:1 tcase, no Fr and Rr lockers, no swaybar disco, no mud tires... Leave the front straight axle out of it... The options listed on the rubi will hands down get further than the 4runner or gx.
U use a trac, get 35" mt's, 3.5" lift, plus bumpers ( help approach and departure, get rock sliders ( will tear up sides... Rubi has em stock) and then u will keep up with the rubi. I ran the rubicon in my Ifs runner before I SASd it.... But again, lots of money and mods in order to take a 4th gen thru the rubicon... I was on the rubicon when jeep corporate was taking the 2011 and 2012 jeep gc and wranglers thru( 250,000$ prototypes) they asked us to not take pics.... The Jeep gc was in pieces by the time it got to rubicon springs, even the wrangler took damage.... U take a stock runner thru or a gx ( have fun picking up plastic). Jeep can now slap the train sticker on em once they get thru. We spoke to the guide taking them thru and he took Toyota thru with the 5th gen runners u see in all the articles. He said they all took damage as well... But keep in mind, they put rock sliders on the 5th gen as well as mud tires... Neither of those come on the new 5th gens. I saw first hand what a stock wrangler can do with ABSOLUTELEY NO MODS. U take a STOCK 4th gen or 5th gen thru.... GOOD LUCK.
My best friend drives a rubicon at that time it only had the 3.5" lift and 35's. I had 4" of lift in the front and 5" lift in back with a 1.5" body lift. This gave me 5.5" in front and 6.5" of lift in back. I was on 35's. I had bumpers and a winch( which I used) as well as sliders. I didn't get a scratch. These trucks are very capable WHEN MODDED RIGHT. Some people will never wheel any harder than the rubicon. The rubicon is a wonderful test for vehicles and for some.... A milestone. I made it thru WITH IFS.... I've hit tons of trails with my Ifs but pushed it to its LIMITS and felt it was time to upgrade to my ridiculous beast.
All I will sAy is .... Jeep rubicon 4door is the best and cheapest platform to build up. I LOVE MY YOTA.
I think if u love toyotas, get one. If u HAVE THE MONEY, then SAS it! Or start with a good Ifs lift and build up from there... Who knows, a built Ifs rigmay be just what u need. If u want a new vehicle, and want the options that jeep offers, get one, cuz it would be the cheapest to turn into a wheeling beast.
GO YOTA AND SAS THAT &ITCH!!!!!
U use a trac, get 35" mt's, 3.5" lift, plus bumpers ( help approach and departure, get rock sliders ( will tear up sides... Rubi has em stock) and then u will keep up with the rubi. I ran the rubicon in my Ifs runner before I SASd it.... But again, lots of money and mods in order to take a 4th gen thru the rubicon... I was on the rubicon when jeep corporate was taking the 2011 and 2012 jeep gc and wranglers thru( 250,000$ prototypes) they asked us to not take pics.... The Jeep gc was in pieces by the time it got to rubicon springs, even the wrangler took damage.... U take a stock runner thru or a gx ( have fun picking up plastic). Jeep can now slap the train sticker on em once they get thru. We spoke to the guide taking them thru and he took Toyota thru with the 5th gen runners u see in all the articles. He said they all took damage as well... But keep in mind, they put rock sliders on the 5th gen as well as mud tires... Neither of those come on the new 5th gens. I saw first hand what a stock wrangler can do with ABSOLUTELEY NO MODS. U take a STOCK 4th gen or 5th gen thru.... GOOD LUCK.
My best friend drives a rubicon at that time it only had the 3.5" lift and 35's. I had 4" of lift in the front and 5" lift in back with a 1.5" body lift. This gave me 5.5" in front and 6.5" of lift in back. I was on 35's. I had bumpers and a winch( which I used) as well as sliders. I didn't get a scratch. These trucks are very capable WHEN MODDED RIGHT. Some people will never wheel any harder than the rubicon. The rubicon is a wonderful test for vehicles and for some.... A milestone. I made it thru WITH IFS.... I've hit tons of trails with my Ifs but pushed it to its LIMITS and felt it was time to upgrade to my ridiculous beast.
All I will sAy is .... Jeep rubicon 4door is the best and cheapest platform to build up. I LOVE MY YOTA.
I think if u love toyotas, get one. If u HAVE THE MONEY, then SAS it! Or start with a good Ifs lift and build up from there... Who knows, a built Ifs rigmay be just what u need. If u want a new vehicle, and want the options that jeep offers, get one, cuz it would be the cheapest to turn into a wheeling beast.
GO YOTA AND SAS THAT &ITCH!!!!!
FourEyedWilly
New member
Haha, okay North of $5K per axle. I think just the diamond axle housing alone is $1200 and that's empty right? Your Toyota is something out of lore. Impressive is an understatement.
Yeah, but he would scuff up his rims. :sobbing: I didn't get my GX for it's off road capabilities. It ain't going there. I have the Jeep for that. I live in Las Vegas so I NEEDED the 4WD GX for all the incliment weather we get. :flipoff:
Of course I'm making fun of myself here. It's fine. And Thai, I already swapped my rims with 20's. First time I ever went that route. Ohhhhh pimp zone here I come. :banana: Getting older and enjoying the charmin experience. When I need a dose of reality, I take the Jeep out.
jlmilligan
Member
Please read my signature line :bigok:
In todays money, not sure. But in 1997's money, it was just north of $53k. Now, for the record, i was just saying that there are/were some very nice toyota vehicles that come stock with some VERY nice goodies that makes it VERY capable straight off of the showroom floor. Well, minus the not so mud terrain Michellin LTX tires.
I like the new Cherokee, but they are so expensive. For the same price you can get the 4runner which will most likely last you twice as long from what I have read. I just made the decision to get the 4runner due to it having the third row which can help me haul around my family of 5. I could give ya my review in a year or so, though I doubt that will really help in this dilemma.
4 runner no contest!
Just got into a 96 SR5 from a 02 Grand Cherokee Overland..
Absolutely extatic to be rid of that P.O.S! :bluejump:
ONLY thing good about that truck was the motor...
If you want a truck you can get in to and expect everything to work get the 4runner because the jeep will let you down, maybe not stranded but totally frustrated!!!
Just got into a 96 SR5 from a 02 Grand Cherokee Overland..
Absolutely extatic to be rid of that P.O.S! :bluejump:
ONLY thing good about that truck was the motor...
If you want a truck you can get in to and expect everything to work get the 4runner because the jeep will let you down, maybe not stranded but totally frustrated!!!
FourEyedWilly
New member
The new GC is much different than the old GC. I had a 2001 and got 180K on it before I sold it, no issues. Regular maint. I'm hoping the new GC is even better. I paid 32K and had the second one sold in Nevada. My wife fell in love with it. It's got the Hemi, all leather, and very NICE fit and finish.
I can't talk toward the longevity. I go about 10K per year these days. So if I have this thing in ten years I'll post the results. I don't keep my cars very long. I will say, if you don't keep them too long, the GC is FAR FAR FAR nicer on the inside. My wife went from a Lexus IS to the GC. She test drove the 5th gen and HATED IT. She had no love for my 4th gen either. She claimed it was cheap. She thought when I got my Lexus GX that she might want to trade, but she still loves her GC more. I'll tell ya what, that V8 is potent! OH! and pretend this is gas in this glass :beer: Gas piggy! 15MPG in town. So if that is a concern, go V6. Just drive them both, ask yourself how long you plan on having it, and choose what puts a smile on your face.
My new to me GX does just that. In love with it. Wife is in love with her GC. We just look like dorks, shes got the Blackberry color, and I've got Meridian Blue Pearl. Never would have thought there would be two blue SUVs in the garage.
I can't talk toward the longevity. I go about 10K per year these days. So if I have this thing in ten years I'll post the results. I don't keep my cars very long. I will say, if you don't keep them too long, the GC is FAR FAR FAR nicer on the inside. My wife went from a Lexus IS to the GC. She test drove the 5th gen and HATED IT. She had no love for my 4th gen either. She claimed it was cheap. She thought when I got my Lexus GX that she might want to trade, but she still loves her GC more. I'll tell ya what, that V8 is potent! OH! and pretend this is gas in this glass :beer: Gas piggy! 15MPG in town. So if that is a concern, go V6. Just drive them both, ask yourself how long you plan on having it, and choose what puts a smile on your face.
My new to me GX does just that. In love with it. Wife is in love with her GC. We just look like dorks, shes got the Blackberry color, and I've got Meridian Blue Pearl. Never would have thought there would be two blue SUVs in the garage.
