Help me spend some money, new hunting vehicle

joey1919

Senior Member
I'm in the market for a new beat-around/hunting vehicle. Just bought a new pickup and don't want to wear it out on farm roads and hunting land. This vehicle will probably never go more than 10 miles from the house, I live on the farm and the hunting land is less than a mile. I use a 4 wheeler and kubota rtv when the weather is nice but I want a little suv for when I need it.

What ive been looking at, jeep Cherokee XJ, jeep grand Cherokee, nissan xterra.

The Cherokee XJs are getting pretty pricey when you find one thats not beat up bad. But its my favorite.

The jeep grand cherokees are pretty affordable. I'm finding they're the same price as a comparable XJ that are 5-10 years older...but I dont like them as well

Bringing up the rear is the nissan xterra, these seem to be really reasonably priced, I'm not sure of their off-road capabilities

Id like to stay around 5k, any suggestions? Any known problems with the above listed, years or motors to stay away from?
 

bilgerat

Senior
don't get a Xtrra, , I had one and it was a piece of junk and literally fall apart. also had more leaks than the titanic. I got tired of fixing things on it and traded it for a 4wheeler. their affordable because they are .... well I cant say what I want on here but you get the idea.
I had a old 4 runner and it was a good lil truck. put 300K+ on it and it would go anywere
 

shdw633

Senior Member
You're are probably going to laugh at me...but I would look into a Ford Escape 4x4. I had one in 2001 and 2009 and I ended up with an Edge in 2015 but wish I had gone back to the Escape. Get the older model, I think it's better then the newer body shape. That being said it is light and has plenty of space with the seats up or down. You can get them in your price range all the way to 2011 on CarGurus.com, though you will be over 100,000 miles to get it down to that price range. Just a thought as I hunted 3 different states every year with mine for 14 years and loved it.
 

joey1919

Senior Member
You're are probably going to laugh at me...but I would look into a Ford Escape 4x4. I had one in 2001 and 2009 and I ended up with an Edge in 2015 but wish I had gone back to the Escape. Get the older model, I think it's better then the newer body shape. That being said it is light and has plenty of space with the seats up or down. You can get them in your price range all the way to 2011 on CarGurus.com, though you will be over 100,000 miles to get it down to that price range. Just a thought as I hunted 3 different states every year with mine for 14 years and loved it.

I'm not afraid of high miles on a well maintained vehicle, like I said, no long trips in this rig. If it ever breaks down ill be close enough to walk home. I can't buy a ford, my daddy would disown me.
 

normaldave

GON Weatherman
I've seen the same with XJs, becoming a bidding war, and finding one unmolested is difficult.

This is outside the box, but often overlooked, extremely capable off road, a few maintenance gremlins to catch up on, but once that's handled, they can be great.

Locking center differential, 4.30 gears, 2WD, 4Hi/AWD, 4HlC, 4Llc on full size Montero. 2001+ Montero Sports have AWD, 4H, 4L, with locking center differential option, solid rear axle, decent articulation. Built in Japan, they are kind of a poor man's 4 Runner without the Toyota "tax" of high resale.

Maintenance issues are camshaft seals that leak, go unnoticed, oil gets low on top end, eventually damaging valve seals. Then you get the "ol' smoky" idle, making folks think the engine rings are gone. Far from it, properly repaired, Montero engines see 300K+ easy. Transmissions are Aisin, (before Aisin was cool).

Here's an example, looks like a GON member? XLS is power moonroof, fancy wheels, plus all the 4WD capability, and much nicer than an XJ for a lot less money. Another negative, is limited aftermarket support for mods, but you want a capable, reliable hunting rig. Rear seats, fold flat almost all the way to the front seats. Back seat bottoms hinged at front, lots of room for gear.
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/d/2001-mitsubishi-montero-sport/6594598578.html

Full size Montero, not Sport, are highly sought after, four wheel independent suspension, monocoque body/frame, 14 time Paris/Dakar rally heritage, lots of luxury inside. I have both, wife drives a 2WD Montero Sport Limited, won't accept anything else, I have a 4WD Montero Limited full size.

If you are still interested here's a forum with more information.
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/mitsubishi.94/

Edit: here's a good example of a full sized Monero Limited like mine, 7 passenger seating, leather, giant moonroof. 5 speed select shift trans, rear heat/air conditioning. 4 wheel disc brakes. If it has good service records, then don't let the miles bother you.
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/d/2002-mitsubishi-montero/6597364847.html

If you can, drive an XJ, then follow up with a full sized Montero Limited, you'll be amazed, at the difference, ride, comfort, and capability. Heavily modified, the XJ wins offroad, but up to a point, I think there is no comparison overall.
 
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Dirtroad Johnson

Senior Member
I'm in the market for a new beat-around/hunting vehicle. Just bought a new pickup and don't want to wear it out on farm roads and hunting land. This vehicle will probably never go more than 10 miles from the house, I live on the farm and the hunting land is less than a mile. I use a 4 wheeler and kubota rtv when the weather is nice but I want a little suv for when I need it.

What ive been looking at, jeep Cherokee XJ, jeep grand Cherokee, nissan xterra.

The Cherokee XJs are getting pretty pricey when you find one thats not beat up bad. But its my favorite.

The jeep grand cherokees are pretty affordable. I'm finding they're the same price as a comparable XJ that are 5-10 years older...but I dont like them as well

Bringing up the rear is the nissan xterra, these seem to be really reasonably priced, I'm not sure of their off-road capabilities

Id like to stay around 5k, any suggestions? Any known problems with the above listed, years or motors to stay away from?

I've been doing what your talking about for years, I also use atv or utv a lot in good weather messing around the farm but when the weather is nasty - cold whatever I go to little Geo tracker to beat around in. I use it like my utv, I keep the miles down on my good truck & don't use it for rough stuff (too expensive). I enjoy the tracker & that heater feels mighty good when its cold & rainy, I just use it here around the farm & don't use it for long distances. It also has the feel of a utv sorta with the compact size & short hood.
 

joey1919

Senior Member
I've seen the same with XJs, becoming a bidding war, and finding one unmolested is difficult.

This is outside the box, but often overlooked, extremely capable off road, a few maintenance gremlins to catch up on, but once that's handled, they can be great.

Locking center differential, 4.30 gears, 2WD, 4Hi/AWD, 4HlC, 4Llc on full size Montero. 2001+ Montero Sports have AWD, 4H, 4L, with locking center differential option, solid rear axle, decent articulation. Built in Japan, they are kind of a poor man's 4 Runner without the Toyota "tax" of high resale.

Maintenance issues are camshaft seals that leak, go unnoticed, oil gets low on top end, eventually damaging valve seals. Then you get the "ol' smoky" idle, making folks think the engine rings are gone. Far from it, properly repaired, Montero engines see 300K+ easy. Transmissions are Aisin, (before Aisin was cool).

Here's an example, looks like a GON member? XLS is power moonroof, fancy wheels, plus all the 4WD capability, and much nicer than an XJ for a lot less money. Another negative, is limited aftermarket support for mods, but you want a capable, reliable hunting rig. Rear seats, fold flat almost all the way to the front seats. Back seat bottoms hinged at front, lots of room for gear.
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/d/2001-mitsubishi-montero-sport/6594598578.html

Full size Montero, not Sport, are highly sought after, four wheel independent suspension, monocoque body/frame, 14 time Paris/Dakar rally heritage, lots of luxury inside. I have both, wife drives a 2WD Montero Sport Limited, won't accept anything else, I have a 4WD Montero Limited full size.

If you are still interested here's a forum with more information.
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/mitsubishi.94/

Edit: here's a good example of a full sized Monero Limited like mine, 7 passenger seating, leather, giant moonroof. 5 speed select shift trans, rear heat/air conditioning. 4 wheel disc brakes. If it has good service records, then don't let the miles bother you.
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/d/2002-mitsubishi-montero/6597364847.html

If you can, drive an XJ, then follow up with a full sized Montero Limited, you'll be amazed, at the difference, ride, comfort, and capability. Heavily modified, the XJ wins offroad, but up to a point, I think there is no comparison overall.

Ill definitely keep those on the radar, I wouldnt mind either of those
 

transfixer

Senior Member
From a mechanics point of view, any of the Mitsubishi 4x4's and the Geo Tracker 4x4's can be found fairly cheap, and aren't too difficult to work on if need be, I probably wouldn't trust one to drive cross country, but for what you will use it for it will do just fine. I would stay away from Gran Cherokee's , they are plagued with electrical issues a lot of times, and really don't have that much room in them anyway, definitely avoid Jeep Liberty's, Suzuki Samurai's are great for what you want, but are hard to find that haven't been molested, they are popular with the rock climbing crowd.
 

normaldave

GON Weatherman
Ill definitely keep those on the radar, I wouldnt mind either of those

Mitsubishi 4x4s: You would need to be able to handle basic repairs yourself, or find a guy that speaks fluent Mitsubishi. Not much dealer support, and often times you will want to order OEM parts, from an online discount dealer. Timing belts at 60K, leaky valve covers if overtorqued. Coolant bypass system leaks often mis-diagnosed as bad head gasket.

Last year's snowstorm found my brother had slid his Ram 4WD Quad Cab, off the downhill side of a steep uphill gravel driveway. He had given up, waiting for thaw, and mud to dry, and still thinking a call to AAA and a wrecker was the only way out.

Well you know I had to try... When I got there, it was quite worse than described. I setup my Erickson 30' strap and bridle to my factory rear recovery points (full sized Montero), gave specific instructions to my brother to drive in gear, just above idle after I set tension. No way was this going to be a snatch recovery, uphill, snow, gravel, heavy Ram truck. I explained that we probably wouldn't be successful considering the conditions, but I'd try anything once. I setup, 4 Low lock center, eased off the brake, got close to the length of the strap, then rolled on a touch, I swear the 4 wheels spun about a 1/4 turn in that snow and gravel, gripped, then off we went, I pulled that truck up the embankment, onto the drive, and up the hill into the clear, (yes with the Ram assisting a touch). I could not believe it, nor could the folks watching. My brother quite relieved, just got out grinning and shaking his head. The little engine that could.

With all that said, if you get one, when the fellas rib you about it, just be polite when pull past them in the mud, don't be too hard on them when you end up doing their recovery.
 

joey1919

Senior Member
From a mechanics point of view, any of the Mitsubishi 4x4's and the Geo Tracker 4x4's can be found fairly cheap, and aren't too difficult to work on if need be, I probably wouldn't trust one to drive cross country, but for what you will use it for it will do just fine. I would stay away from Gran Cherokee's , they are plagued with electrical issues a lot of times, and really don't have that much room in them anyway, definitely avoid Jeep Liberty's, Suzuki Samurai's are great for what you want, but are hard to find that haven't been molested, they are popular with the rock climbing crowd.

I was just about to ask about jeep libertys. The size and price fit the bill but I dont want something ive got to fight to keep running
 

rospaw

Senior Member
I think older isuzus Trooper should be on the radar. They do real well off road and light. They have lots of head room and the doorway is easy to get in/out when geared up for the hunt. They run then all over the world in countries with trails verses roadways.
 

joey1919

Senior Member
Well I went and looked at a Montero at a small dealership in Newnan. I called before I made the two-hour Drive pulling a trailer and ask about body damage or mechanical issues. The dealer said there was "nothing that stood out". well there were a lot of things that stood out to me. The little salesman was giving me the pitch about the little old elderly couple that had owned it and traded it in and how they got all the services done at the dealer but how he forgot to get any of that paperwork from them . he shut up when I got down and crawled under the vehicle , he was very quiet while I pointed out all the problems with the truck . The driver seat rocked back-and-forth, it was missing a windshield wiper, there was body damage on nearly every panel ,it had two different headlights, missing the third row seating, Sun roof didnt work, the glove box has been broken into and wouldn't latch, the air conditioner didn't work, there was significant rust on the brake lines and other underbody components, there was a loud roaring sound when the transfer case was in 4 Low, it had a severe engine oil leak that dripped directly on the exhaust so anytime you stopped there was smoke coming from under the hood. There was oil and grit caked in the passenger side fender well and all down the underside of the truck that let me know this had been going on for a while.

But I drove it anyway, and it drove and rode good, had good power and is exactly the size I'm looking for. The 4 wheel drive system worked really well. The Dealer's back lot was not paved and covered with crusher run. I put the truck in 4 high and you almost couldn't make the tires spin it grabbed and went.

They seem to be hard to find but I think I'll keep looking for one a little nicer for a while, I'm not in that big of a hurry
 

Crakajak

Daily Driveler News Team
I have a 2001 F-150 crew cab 4x4 that I retired to the farm with 334,000 miles on it.Maybe a 4x4 short bed with a camper shell might work also.
 

normaldave

GON Weatherman
Well I went and looked at a Montero at a small dealership in Newnan. I called before I made the two-hour Drive pulling a trailer and ask about body damage or mechanical issues. The dealer said there was "nothing that stood out". well there were a lot of things that stood out to me. The little salesman was giving me the pitch about the little old elderly couple that had owned it and traded it in and how they got all the services done at the dealer but how he forgot to get any of that paperwork from them . he shut up when I got down and crawled under the vehicle , he was very quiet while I pointed out all the problems with the truck . The driver seat rocked back-and-forth, it was missing a windshield wiper, there was body damage on nearly every panel ,it had two different headlights, missing the third row seating, Sun roof didnt work, the glove box has been broken into and wouldn't latch, the air conditioner didn't work, there was significant rust on the brake lines and other underbody components, there was a loud roaring sound when the transfer case was in 4 Low, it had a severe engine oil leak that dripped directly on the exhaust so anytime you stopped there was smoke coming from under the hood. There was oil and grit caked in the passenger side fender well and all down the underside of the truck that let me know this had been going on for a while.

But I drove it anyway, and it drove and rode good, had good power and is exactly the size I'm looking for. The 4 wheel drive system worked really well. The Dealer's back lot was not paved and covered with crusher run. I put the truck in 4 high and you almost couldn't make the tires spin it grabbed and went.

They seem to be hard to find but I think I'll keep looking for one a little nicer for a while, I'm not in that big of a hurry

Ouch. Well nothing ventured, nothing gained. Now you know what to look for.

First one I checked out was trashed. Found another on a small used car lot, ridiculously high price. Finally, curiosity got the best of me, I called because I wanted to know what was so special about their truck to command such a high price? The owner had been driving it as a daily, in inventory too long, they cut the price over $ 2,000 because I was one of the few that called that knew anything about the vehicle. Well, I'm driving it today, and it continues to serve me well.
 

joey1919

Senior Member

Ive had wranglers , cj5, and an old school fj40. Wish I still had the fj but a wranglers not really what I'm looking for right now.

I have a 2001 F-150 crew cab 4x4 that I retired to the farm with 334,000 miles on it.Maybe a 4x4 short bed with a camper shell might work also.

Loved my tacoma with the camper shell but the resale on quad cab 4x4 pickups is pretty good, pushes the decent ones past what I want to spend, id go higher for a the right one but i think I'll get more for my money with the suvs.

This right here. Don't be afraid of the mileage. These inline 6 engines ARE bullet proof and its got lockers to boot. If I had the extra cash I would snatch this thing up in a hurry.
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/cto/d/toyota-land-cruiser-fzj/6602654652.html

That ones a little rough but worth considering, I may give them a call.

Ouch. Well nothing ventured, nothing gained. Now you know what to look for.

First one I checked out was trashed. Found another on a small used car lot, ridiculously high price. Finally, curiosity got the best of me, I called because I wanted to know what was so special about their truck to command such a high price? The owner had been driving it as a daily, in inventory too long, they cut the price over $ 2,000 because I was one of the few that called that knew anything about the vehicle. Well, I'm driving it today, and it continues to serve me well.

Yeah, not in a hurry so I'll hold out for a better one
 

JSnake

Useless Billy Bouncer
It sounds dumb but I would try out a 2002-2009 Kia Sorento 4wd.

Slap the biggest Hankook Dynapro AT's that will fit in the fenders and get after it. It doesn't sound like you're mudding or crawling, just cheap, relatively capable 4WD that gets from A to B to A and can haul some stuff. Fits the bill.

I don't think it would be to hard to find a pretty decent one for cheap. Something like this

https://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/d/2005-kia-sorento-44/6576389034.html
 
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