Off Road/Daily Driver Beater Under 6,000

[Sn95Snake]

Hello Everyone,

I am currently looking for something that can serve a couple different purposes. I am looking for something that I can off road and daily drive. I have been considering things like Jeep CJ5s, Jeep Wranglers, Rangers, Tacomas. I am trying to keep a very open and broad horizon so feel free to let me know any suggestions or opnions on any of these. The budget is 6,000 or less, I can budget more if the vehicle is something I really want. I would just prefer to stay under 6,000.

Now just keep in mind it would only be taken off road 7 or 8 times a year when I take the dirt bikes out so it doesn't have to be a crazy off road vehicle, but hey crazy is always fun.

***Cliff Notes-
Daily Driver, off road worthy, under 6,000

***Requirements
Seats 4+ somewhat comfortably
Reliable
15+mpg preferably 20mpg

***Options (would be nice to have but not required)
A/C + Radio
Manual


Let me know your experiences with any off road car and if it would be even somewhat suitable for off road, (not picky on ride quality and comfort)

Thanks!

 

[nxhappy]

A Bronco would be pretty bad ass. But you are not going to get 15MPG.

 

[Torch10th]

Late 90's Tacoma.

I picked up my 97 Tacoma for $6000.00 in 2004. It was an LX V6 model, so just one step below the SR5 TRD packaged pickups. Even with 160,000 miles on the clock it was stone reliable. I got 18 mpg out of it on regular unleaded no matter how I drove it. Off-roading it was very capable for a stock pickup. All it had was a set of BFG all-terrain tires. It wasn't a rock crawler, but I never hit a trail it couldn't overcome.

I sold that pickup 4 years later with 185,000 on the engine for $5000.00.

It does seat 4 people, but the two seats in the back are of course fold downs, so they aren't the most comfortable on long hauls. Doable for sure though.

The only thing you really have to watch for on these pickups is the frame. Make sure it's either had the recall performed or that it's checked out and doesn't have internal rot in the rails.

 

[Gravik]

XJ Cherokee. It will go anywhere you ever want to go. 4.0 will run forever. Mine has a 3" lift on 31's and I avg 15-17mpg depending on how I drive.

/thread

 

[Mentos]

XJ Cherokee

/thread

^this

 

[sunburned]

XJ Cherokee. It will go anywhere you ever want to go. 4.0 will run forever. Mine has a 3" lift on 31's and I avg 15-17mpg depending on how I drive.

/thread

Agreed. Don't know why people keep asking this question when XJ is always the answer. A Tacoma would be awesome too, but good luck finding one for under $6k. I picked up my '98 XJ a few years back for $5k and it was spotless with a 3" lift and 32's, 92k miles.

 

[Formula93]

Any of those jeeps or an 87-91 K5 blazer/jimmy. 15 MPG can be had from the K5. The K5 has tons of options for making it a great offroad rig.

 

[Zemedici]

Jeep as stated above. Done deal.

 

[ImThatGuy]

I would say a 79 CJ7 jeep with a 304 V8 or a 360 cu in swap. Mine wasnt bad on gas and turned some 36x13.50x17in IROK Super Swampers no problem. I paid $3500 for it. Had A/C and heat. The removable hard top was nice for off roading days, and mud slinging.

 

[Sn95Snake]

I would say a 79 CJ7 jeep with a 304 V8 or a 360 cu in swap. Mine wasnt bad on gas and turned some 36x13.50x17in IROK Super Swampers no problem. I paid $3500 for it. Had A/C and heat. The removable hard top was nice for off roading days, and mud slinging.

What would you say your mpg was?

 

[Sn95Snake]

XJ Cherokee. It will go anywhere you ever want to go. 4.0 will run forever. Mine has a 3" lift on 31's and I avg 15-17mpg depending on how I drive.

/thread

I really like XJ's, but I like Wranglers and CJs more. How would the two compare?

 

[ImThatGuy]

I couldnt really give you a hard number on the MPGs as I just put gas in it, went to work, and tore up mudholes/trails, but that 360 drank a bit more gas than the 304 did. Noticeable but not a major difference, and didnt tear a hole in pocket. Got better gas mileage than my F150 with 35s.

 

[Sn95Snake]

Ah ok, how well did it do in the trails?

My only worry about getting a CJ from after 1975 is I have a feeling most won't pass smog in CA.

 

[Spyderbell]

Cherokee would be my vote. I had one for 8 years and was never nice to it. Had to put a battery and starter in it. Change the oil and keep up with the obvious stuff and It'll just go

 

[JetmechF16]

I've had a couple of 4x4 S10 Blazers, both 2 and 4 door. The 1998 2 door got me through a couple of Delaware winters and the 1995 4 door was decent in the beach sand down in Galveston. Easily got 18+ mpg in both and they are as cheap as dirt. With your budget I would get a ZR2.

 

[RedRocketMike]

2005+ Xterra.

 

[10splaya22]

I vote XJ as well. You can find tons of them for under your budget and still leave some room in your budget for mods. Very cheap on parts. Can fit 4 people easily and tons of parts to make them offroad worthy. I can get about 19 on the highway and 14 or so just in the city.

Don't know a ton about wranglers but I know they are much more expensive (better resale) and better offroading.

 

[bluebosss197]

Bronco II

 

[Ibleedblue13]

XJ Cherokee. It will go anywhere you ever want to go. 4.0 will run forever. Mine has a 3" lift on 31's and I avg 15-17mpg depending on how I drive.

/thread

This x100000000

I have one setup like this back at home. Got it as my first ride in high school with 144k for 1800 bucks, it now has 220k and it has been beaten on every mile of the way but still runs like the day it left the factory. With a 6k budget you could build the ultimate daily driven XJ and be a happy man OP. I don't know what it is about them but they're a blast to drive, it's unexplainable lol. The 4.0 is bulletproof and there are plenty of options if you want more power. Mine was consistently driven hard off road, with the right setup they are nimble and very controllable in all sorts of conditions.

Typing this out makes me want to ship my XJ down to Florida now lol

 

[Ibleedblue13]

I really like XJ's, but I like Wranglers and CJs more. How would the two compare?

As someone else said wranglers are much more expensive. With your budget you could setup an XJ that would handily outperform almost any wrangler in your price range