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Bench building a family crawler / Sunday driver

WoodburyZuk

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2021
Member Number
3939
Messages
255
I’m getting to the point where my samurai buggy is too small for my family (wife and 2 boys currently 7 and 4). Samurai only seats 2. My wife wants a jeep but she doesn’t want a raisin’d crimped up rig. 4 door JK would be cool, easy to fit 37s, but then I’m looking at a d60 front.

Looking for something that is extremely capable but still can go get ice cream with the family. I like Toyota stuff but I’m not married to it. I was thinking a 4 door track/kick would be sweet on something in the 37-42” range. Something that I can trailer to field and forest, but also drive to local trails and explore and camp.

Maybe an OJ Simpson bronco for the sake of easily swapping tons into it… don’t really know what to start with.

How would you do it?
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So either a full size or jeep, or maybe a tiny zuk on 37s or maybe 40s or 42s?:flipoff2:



As far as the 4 door JK/JL, I don't see why you'd need a D60 for 37s unless you want to drive like a tard. JK44 fronts aren't bad with a truss/sleeve and decent axle shafts. Those guys think they all need 1 tons because they like to make their jeeps wieght 8k lbs either bolting shit to it or bringing every amenity under the sun.

Appeal of the jeep like you said, is basically bolt on 37s with some trimming and maybe a coil spacer.

Toyotas have gotten so over priced for both the used rigs/parts and aftermarket stuff, it's hard to justify anymore.

A 4 door track/kick on some 35/37s would be a lot of fun and pretty capable due to the small body size. One issue with them is they came with 5.12s on 27" tires. So going to a 37 and only 5.29/5.38s, it's going to be pretty gutless. You can do a Sami tcase or build some 9" axles to help with this.

Fullsize bronco is cool, but obviously limited on wheelin capabilities due to its size if you don't want to wrinkle it up.


If you want bang for you buck, I'd be looking at Jeep ZJ's or XJ's. 8.8 rear, beef up the front, throw 35s on and have a blast for 1/2 or less the price of anything else. If you have any doubts of what they will hold up to, look up Dex Jeeps or just Dex it on you tube :laughing:
 
I have 2 boys as well 8 & 4 and have pondered this same issue and why I got rid of my samurai.

High level what's a good fit depends on what trails you are going to hit, notice I didn't say "want" to hit.. we tend to have more fun on easier stuff since there's less to worry about and you spend more time moving than waiting for everyone else to get through an obstacle or fix broken stuff.

Toyota- dumb $$$ for what they are, I have a raisin'd 2nd gen 4runner on 37s that is a really good fit for harder trail rides. Lots of room for all the stuff kids bring along and still has a dry clean A/C'd area to keep everyone content but not great for highway travel. Also an FJ cruiser on 33s, we take 95% of the time, still runs some decent trails but no tow rig/trailer to deal with, explore/camp with it regularly. For 37's+ you're still looking at D60s.

Jeep- 4 door JK obviously checks alot of boxes with higher buy in, easy to mod but.. Jeep.. I could see day tripping in a CJ/YJ but space for everyones stuff camping will run out quick.

Track/Vtara- When into Samurais this seemed like a great family rig. Tcase gearing is less easy to work around, but options are there. Pretty much committed to a big build to run the tire size you're looking at and won't have much HP to run on the road loaded for camping.

FSB- Attractive for all the space and removable top but going to get raisin'd faster than other options and needs a D60 for most anything fun.

I vote 2 rigs 😅
Toyota for crawling
Fool size for camping/exploring

For 1 rig:
A 3rd/4th gen 4runner would be a cool start, some decent prices on v6/v8 ones pop up here and there. Ubiquitous 4 door Jeep, crew cab mid size pickup etc.. probably no profound new information but you get what you pay for.

Now the 1 rig I'm currently building for kiddo wheeling/camping is a 1UZ powered 2nd gen 4runner on FJ80 axles for 37s. Seemed like a good compromise on comfort/power/capability.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
So either a full size or jeep, or maybe a tiny zuk on 37s or maybe 40s or 42s?:flipoff2:
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This

How about a budget range?

ETA - and how about acceptable fab / “project” level range? Bolt on, or chopping frames and building off box tube and motor swaps?
 
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Bolt on and cheap - ZJ or XJ as suggested. I’d go newer ish - 95-01 for the slightly updated interior if that’s what your family likes.

Cheap and fab/project - v8 explorer with SAS. V8, a frame, XJ/ZJ size, and the cheap Jeeps aren’t as cheap any more. V8 explorers I’ve seen for $1,500-2,500 around me in California in decent condition. You could still probably go HP D30 and 8.8 with 35s if you don’t drive like a rock bouncer

Bolt on and expensive - JK/JL

Expensive and fab/project - whatever the fuck you want :flipoff2::flipoff2::flipoff2::flipoff2:
 
I looked at a lot of different vehicle combos after building my 2nd gen 4runner. FJ80, 100 series, JK/JL/JT, 4 door dakotas, durangos, grand cherokees, 4 door tahoes, sequoias, etc... They all have their pros and cons. I was looking for more power, more storage space, but still sierra trail wheelable. The 100 series, tahoes and sequoias were all too large for the trails I thought. The JK/JLs have less storage space than my 4runner. The JT is long, but does work well off road, but the lack of covered storage made it difficult with the family. The only vehicle that really stood out to me was the FJ80, but they are still stupid expensive and land cruiser peeps are kinda weird. Came to the conclusion that I should just keep my 4runner and enjoy it.
 
We had a WJ grand Cherokee with a V8. It was great for a family of 4 and took us all over wheeling and camping. We also have a Jeep Liberty for wheeling and camping. It has a lot less power and has a large body with crappy interior space so I wouldn’t recommend. Now we have a third child so I built an offfroad trailer that follows on the trail surprisingly well, it’s not really practical for some of the more difficult trails, but it can be chained up back at camp if needed.

If I had to do it all over again I would start with a 4 door pickup like an S10, Nissan frontier, Tacoma, Dakota etc. You would have slight wheeling limitations because of the wheelbase but tons more room for storage and easy to pack for long camping trips. Plus room for a spare tire.


XJs, ZJs, and 4Runners have all been mentioned and are great building platforms.
 
Home_brewd said:
We had a WJ grand Cherokee with a V8. It was great for a family of 4 and took us all over wheeling and camping. We also have a Jeep Liberty for wheeling and camping. It has a lot less power and has a large body with crappy interior space so I wouldn’t recommend. Now we have a third child so I built an offfroad trailer that follows on the trail surprisingly well, it’s not really practical for some of the more difficult trails, but it can be chained up back at camp if needed.

If I had to do it all over again I would start with a 4 door pickup like an S10, Nissan frontier, Tacoma, Dakota etc. You would have slight wheeling limitations because of the wheelbase but tons more room for storage and easy to pack for long camping trips. Plus room for a spare tire.


XJs, ZJs, and 4Runners have all been mentioned and are great building platforms.
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I agree that a small 4 door truck is better all around than an suv. More carco space, but without the vulnerable D pillar and rear window.

Can add a shell if you are doing longer more mild trips, or a bed cover for cover storage.

Easier to shorten the overhang if you need to.
 
I vote for the smaller 4 door trucks. Which one depends on what you want. Bilt on go popular, but more expensive. I have an 03 Dakota Quad cab. Fits the family of 5 comfortably. But I built everything as nothing is available. Cheap to get into. V8, manual if you want. Throw your choice of axles under it. Mine works great on tons and 40s. But it also has 140" wheelbase. So that's a limitation. But I can also drive it down the freeway at 75 and flat tow it behind my motorhome. So it does everything pretty good.
 
Domer said:
I vote for the smaller 4 door trucks. Which one depends on what you want. Bilt on go popular, but more expensive. I have an 03 Dakota Quad cab. Fits the family of 5 comfortably. But I built everything as nothing is available. Cheap to get into. V8, manual if you want. Throw your choice of axles under it. Mine works great on tons and 40s. But it also has 140" wheelbase. So that's a limitation. But I can also drive it down the freeway at 75 and flat tow it behind my motorhome. So it does everything pretty good.
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Looks cool AF to boot. :smokin:
 
4 door sas trackers are cool until you need to hit speed with them. 35/yotas are great, but anything past that size, they suck getting up to speed.

X2 on kind of trails you want to run.
The 360 Dakotas are a bear to do transmission work.
All the 4dr colorados and s10s are rusted out in my area, but cool.
 
Frodo said:
If you're looking at putting one ton axles under it and a V8, why not just start with a F-250?
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Because they're huge? :laughing:

A 4 door superduty would be a sweet adventure type rig, but if you care about the body, it would be tough to go the same places as a small jeep or whatever.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Because they're huge? :laughing:

A 4 door superduty would be a sweet adventure type rig, but if you care about the body, it would be tough to go the same places as a small jeep or whatever.
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They are pretty big. I have no idea where he wheels though, and it would simplify building a lot, so I thought I would throw it out.
 
I'd do a JK on 37s with built OEM axles. It'll be totally fine for a family rig and you can put it together in less than a month with off the shelf parts.
 
What's the budget look like for this? JK is easiest, but most costly. WJ is currently the sweet spot for new enough/cheap enough/good power, but you're gonna have to replace everything from the transfer case and down.
 
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