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[thewickedjester]

Alright, so I live in Denver and we just had this bigass blizzard come through, dropped about 3 feet of snow on us. That makes me snowed in even a week later because of how low my car sits, the only roads I can drive down are the major ones (this makes it hard to get to work and out of my neighborhood).

So, I need to find a 4x4, bit of a beater vehicle, I'm a college student and such (my dad has offered to help a bit because he'll use it as well) so money's tight. I was thinking something like an older Toyota truck. Needs to be a 4x4, and a pickup because in the summer I'll use it to haul my bike down to the Pueblo track to do some track days, and I don't feel like putting a hitch back on the Impala.

[StrictPuppet]

You usually cant go wrong with a Toyota. Expect to find a lot of rust in the rear wheel wells, if your budget is low, as they usually have a fairly high resale value if they are in good condition.

If you didn't need a pickup box, I would recommend a Tracker/Sidekick.... hell I am gonna recommend that anyway.  Throw a hitch on it and pull your bike on a trailer.  They look a bit girlie but they are fun to drive and much roomier inside than a pickup.  Cheap on fuel and can be found for a reasonable price.  A little low on power, but drive it like its stolen and its a good time.

[thewickedjester]

I'm not worried really about rust, as long as the drive-train is still solid and the body isnt falling apart rust wont bother me, its not a show truck and its not a daily driver, its something to tide the days when theres to much snow to drive my car and its a bike hauler.

The only reason I don't want an SUV is because a trailer doesn't really work for what I want, I also have a dirt bike and my main reason for not really riding it is that its hard to get a SUV and trailer into the mountains. But that doesn't mean I'm totally closed to it, as an SUV is also better for taking people up into the mountains for a day of snowboarding.

[Lemon Crevice]

if ur getting that much snow ur gonna need something more then a sidekick or a tracker, a toyota would be good, but i think you might wanna find a truck with some kind of locker for the tough stuff, even if your higher off the ground that doesn't mean you won't get stuck. id suggest an older chevy pickup with a front locker or maybe something with posi. Just cause when your stuck it doesn't help if you've got your two tires with no traction spinning, that would just create more headaches.

[rms2001]

I’ve gotta suggest a Jeep (puts on the flame suite). A Jeep was my first vehicle and I still have a Jeep today. Awesome in the snow, and looks great too. You can pick up a Wrangler fairly cheap. They will pull a trailer with out a problem, just make sure you get one with a six cylinder and not the four banger model.

You should be able to find an older Grand Cherokee pretty cheap too. Most came with four wheel drive. Easy enough to peek in the window and see for sure, or just look under it. Again, the six cylinder is king, the V8 is nice, but the six works just fine as long as you’re not hauling a huge boat or some thing.

My first Jeep had 220k miles on it before I got rid of it. Ran great, didn’t burn or leak oil. More than I can say about any damn Toyota. A Jeep will run circles around a Toyota on and off road.




I personally wouldn’t recommend a locker to some one. Unless he/she knows what they are doing with it, it’s a quick way to snap and axle shaft. Posi in the rear will work just fine, or get a set of BFG A/T tires, or a set of chains (or both). No locker. Not to say I don’t like lockers, I love’em but unless your out plowing though the mud or climbing rocks, theres no need for one.

[thewickedjester]

rms2001: I dont discount Jeep's, I've liked them for quite awhile. The problem is that I want a pickup, not an SUV, I know Jeep did make a pickup and I'm looking around for those but at this point, if its not a pickup, I'm not really interested.

[rms2001]

QUOTE(thewickedjester @ Jan 2 2007, 12:49 PM)

rms2001: I dont discount Jeep's, I've liked them for quite awhile. The problem is that I want a pickup, not an SUV, I know Jeep did make a pickup and I'm looking around for those but at this point, if its not a pickup, I'm not really interested.

Thats cool. The Jeep pickup or “Comanche” is a decent vehicle. All though I’ve never owned one my self, I’ve driven one a few times (was a company truck). It did fairly well in the snow. The one I had was a standard, not sure if they made any with autos or not. Again, if you find one, make sure it has the I6 engine in it, the 4 is kinda worthless, just like all other four bangers out there.

[twistedsymphony]

Toyota FTW



I also agree with rms2001 about getting some BFG A/T tires, that's what I've got on my truck now (not when this picture was taken) and I love 'em

[mike96sc2]

You can get a '80-'90's S10/S15 / Blazer / Jimmy w/ the 4.3L V6 and 4WD and it will be a hard to kill vehicle. I've owned many and never babied a one and they always started and ran. You can usually find one well under $1000 too. I currently have a '92 I got free for parts (2.8 v6 w/ blown head gasket) and an '89 4.3 v6 I paid $325 for and it's been the most dependable vehicle I've ever owned. Ugly as fuck but dependable as hell.

[Rylinkus]

How bout a Nissan? Mine took a severe amount of abuse.