I see a lot of Cherokee hunting rigs this year. They are a great buy on the used market and make a great basis for a mild off roader. I even saw a nice Grand Cherokee Limeted with a baja build. My ex's dad had one of those when they came out and they were ridiculously nice. All leather ,infinity sound system and top of the line everything. They are practically giving them away now.
I have a nice 97 GMC Sierra 2 wheel drive pik up with a 305 and an auto. I would much prefer a standard but they are very hard to find in new trucks especially with a good engine. I would have preferred a 350 but it is basically the same engine and gets better mileage and I have a tranny cooler for towing. It is perfect as a winter truck and for hauling the quad and other stuff. have had 4x4's and found I don't use the option enough to justify the extra expense and complication.
If I needed or wanted a good 4x4 I would not want it as a daily driver. Instead I would find a old diesel blazer or similar and cut the body to fit big tires with no lift and add a detroit locker. Full time 4x4 would also be OK because it would be strictly to the trails
or in bad storms. No lift and cut body with big meats means great clearance with the stock suspension and a much lower centre of gravity. Makes for a much much better handling and better looking truck. Body lifts SUCK ,suspension lifts suck less.
Not having to live with a truck as a daily driver means you can build a very capable off roader much cheaper. Lockers and full time 4X4 are not that bad for short trips on the street and can lower your cost by thousands of dollars.
2 wheel drive trucks can make good off roaders. Most prerunners are 2 wheel drive.
A 80's 2 wheel drive F150 with a beefy suspension ,a mild but healthy 351 ,a 5 speed
31 inch tires or a bit bigger with cut fenders so you have lots of travel and some good home built brush guards and under armour makes a fantastic bush truck that can do everything but rock crawl and is even easy to live with. You can't have an open rear diff though and a good winch is a must.
Either of these builds is well under 10 grand if you can do basic mechanical work and run a welder.
One both of these you sacrifice something ,the first on road drivability ,the second
4 wheel drive.
IFS trucks are great but they are not good candidates for big lifts or serious off roaders.
Upgrade some parts ,fit slightly bigger tires and cut out the inner fenders and your good but they just are not the right choice for a radical build.
I like my mild pick up with a quad.
The KFX450 sips gas ,feels like a Lamborghini of quads has the coolest 450cc 4 stroke DOHC EFI single ever with electric start and reverse.
One thing I really like is how light it is. 350 pounds means I can throw it around ,load and unload etc easily. I don't worry about it rolling on me or getting it stuck.
An extra bonus of EFI is the much lighter throttle spring which means no thumb ache. My only issue is there are not enough trail aftermarket parts for it. There are a few race ones but not many even because it is new but i would bet more are used on the trail like the Raptors than raced because of the electric start and reverse.
Someone asked about armor?
What some merc companies do is make an armored box that drops in the back of a standard 1ton and mounts usually a Soviet 30 cal belt fed.
Having a guy who can return a lot of fire and can't be taken out by small arms makes even the guys up front a hell of a lot safer even if they don't have armor. The fact they drop in a stock 1 ton makes them relatively cheap.
We up-armored several of our HMMWV's in Iraq and the weight was unbelievable and the stress on the suspension (even after upgraded) was way too much. A couple of motorcycles could really get you out of tight spots and through terrain most 4X's wouldn't make it. Another option is a compact 4X with a good brushguard...keep it light, fast and maneuverable (and it would get much better gas mileage as well). Escaping urbania during a major crisis is going to be nearly impossible if you attempt when the masses are all gunning for the hills. Best advice is to leave early or hunker down until the masses exterminate themselves and if the government doesn't come in to save you, you could E&E with a much less crowded environment, but probably just as or more hostile...just make sure you have a plan and place to evac to.
