What will make the cheapest trail rig to build??

So I think that I am going to keep the XJ as a street vehicle for my bride-to-be b/c it is paid for and is still in fairly good shape. Also I have come to the painful realization that its unibody construction is not the best for the kind of offroading that I want to do in the future.

So my question is what will make the cheapest/most capable trail-only rig. I want to do some hardcore rockcrawling and trail riding. The rig will be built tinto a VERY capable rock machine This is what I have come up with:

K5- can be found for cheap but too big and heavy for me
CJ/YJ- Can be found cheap but too short of a wheelbase for me
Samaurai- Too short of a wheelbase
SFA Toyota p/u- Cheap, reliable, and decent wheelbase

So far I am leaning towards the Toyota. Any opinions??

 

Either a Toyota or Zuk. I would build a toy, but im biased

 

that is exactly what I want!!! Wanna sell it??? What are the specs?? Got any action shots??

I like the zuks but have seen too many of them go on their lid b/c of the super short wheelbase. My fiance is not a fan of that

 

zuk or toy.
strecth or shorten the WB based on what you get.
i have seen zuk motors last better under abuse. they tend to like high RPMS better and really dont have any oil pressure injuries when flopped over.
toys are nice, but finding one with a good frame is hard.

 

I vote K5, sure they are bigger and heavier, but they are so much cooler. They have a real motor under the hood from the factory and running gear out of a 1ton pickup can handle nearly anything, are fairly plentifull, and are fairly cheap in comparison.

Plus, you have plenty of towrig to pull a trailered K5.

Or you could build yet another Cheep or Chevota...:stir:

 

The cheapest way to build it would be to buy someone else's mostly done project. IMHO. You never get out of it what you put into it.

Marc

 

I think that that is what I am going to do. It is so expensive to build one from the ground up and buying an already built one almost cuts the price in halfwaytogo

 

Go get a Toyota. I beat the Heck out of one for nearly 5 years in my younger days. Just buy it, wheel it, break it, upgrade the broken parts, and then go wheel it some more!

 

Wow $5k isnt bad at all!! I love the K5s but I am still hesitant due to their sheer size and weight. Ive wheeled in a fulsize before on a jeep sized trail and came out with every body panel but the roof dented:doah: What does a K5 typically weigh?? I want to buy a 7k GVW trailer due to the cost savings and I dont know if that will be enough for a fullsize.

 

Russ pretty much covered it. I would think you could get a K5 WELL below 5K if you eliminated street essentials.
Heck, my K5 weighs 5,260lbs and thats full street trim. I bet my stereo weighs 200lbs...meaning it's easy to lose weight.

In the end I think you will wind up with the same weight wheeler regardless of brand. Meaning....fullsizes wind up and just loose sheetmetal in place of tubing and compact trucks gain weight with Chevy parts like 1 ton running gear, V8's, and big transmissions. In the end they wind up nearly the same trucks if you go that extreme. They all wind up big tired, tubed up moon buggies.

A 7K trailer will work fine, especially if you make something lighter. A 5K truck, the trailer, and some gear is easily 7K, but people forget the 10% tongue weight that will be on the truck and not the trailer axles, thats 700lbs of breathing room.

I have hauled my K5 with our 7K utility flatbed, Russ has a 7K trailer, and many other people that trailer their fullsize.

 

Thanks for the input guys! I think that it is all going to come down to what I can find for a good price when the time comes. I like the fact that the k5 will work in 5 or 6 years when we start having kids. A toyota wouldnt be quite as roomy for 3-4 people as a blazer would...time to start pounding the classifieds!! Thanks guys!

BadDog- do you have any pictures of your truck hooked up to your truggy?

 

most extremely used trail rigs that go out alot will not last that long..... around here that woul dbe like an ancient rig.
my zuki has been around for almost 6 years on the trails. 4 years have had it really built, and really abused. its almost unheade of to believe i am still on the same truck that just keeps going and going. you can ask joez, abused trail rigs do not last very long before there is nothing left usually.

 

I agree with you Russ for the most part. IMHO, if you want to stay on a budget building a serious K5 is out of the picture. Now, buying it built, thats another story, but to me thats no fun. They do make a good dual purpose rig, and you can make 1/2 tons last if you stay under 35" tires, but even Rob is running alloy shafts front and rear now.

The reason i didnt build my K5 was simply due to money. I built my toyota bassically from the ground up (including purchase price) for less than it would have cost me to put 1-tons with gears and lockers, and a decent suspension under my K5, and it still would have been fat. On my toy im running 30-spline longfields, dual cases, spool rear/detroit front, highsteer, 38.5" boggers, and have quite a few more parts here at home waiting to be put in. And to be honest, here in the midwest where we deal with lots of trees, the toyota wheels circles arround my K5 on the same tires. The truck was too heavy, to fat, and had axles I KNEW I was pushing way to hard with the 36's.

Toy's and zuks can be built cheap, and just for the record, i can repair mine with junkyard parts just as easily as i could my K5.

 

For full size I would recomend a Bronco or F150 for something smaller I would say Ranger,Bronco 2 or Bronco.

 

Ummmm....No.....I hate Fordswaytogo :stir: That said:

I want something that I can wheel hard for not as much money. So I am thinking in this order...A Toy, K5, or Sami. I am least interested in the Zuki b/c of the small size. It will be a plus on the small trails but a minus on the steep hills here in Co and on the lack of space. I know with the toy that the stock axles will hold up to bigger tires and lockers which keeps it cheap.

I think it will end up coming down to what is available when I have the money in hand.

I do like the whole "build it dont buy it" idea but I have a Jeep that I have not yet "built" and Ive had it for 3 years. I know if I buy a built rig and then make the changes I want to like Russ said then I will actually have a wheelable rig.