Side by Side vs. Jeep/Suzuki Samurai/Trail rig

[MT. CAT]

Hey guys i'm in the market for a new toy. Cant decide between the Teryx/Rhino or a nice trail rig. Definitely need 3 passenger seating. Love the Teryx/Rhino stuff. It would be the easiest, quickest way to get going. Downside is the 8-10k price tag. Other option buy jeep or samurai cheap and have a ton of cash to build it to my needs. Im no stranger to a wrench. Done my share of time under the hood, so I would pretty much do everything myself. Downside is time to get it up to my off-road standards. I need some thoughts and opinions from both sides of the fence. Seems like everyday I change my mind. Thanks

[azhuntnut]

I started off with a samurai that I totally tricked out for offroad and ended up not liking it. I then bought a new ranger and completely enclosed it, and full cage, lift, tires and wheels, plus a bunch more. I eventually got tired of eating a bunch of dust and towing it everywhere. So 2-3 years ago I bought a suzuki grand vitara 4 door for $2500 bucks and put a small lift on it, as well as some km2s. It is by far the best hunting and offroad vehicle I have ever owned. I can drive it wherever im hunting with all my equipment in the back and back home with the ac running or the heat to keep me warm. Plus I stay nice and dry. It is a v6 auto with plenty of power and great fuel mileage. Mine is a 1999 and it came from the factory with a front air locker. One of the best things I like about it is how quiet it runs. I have driven right up on antelope, deer, elk, coyotes, and pigs without them ever knowing I was there. And it looks totally innocent, so I can park it anywhere and not get hassled by he anti's. All I need now is a hiking shack sticker in the back window and I would blend right in. David

[AZHUNTER05]

I have a teryx 4 and absolutely love! The side by sides are the way to go in my opinion. You can travel a lot faster and they don't beat you to death on rough roads.

 

 

[oz31p]

Side by side but I'd stick with arctic cat.

[scoutpylot]

Jeep Wrangler (1997 and newer) or Grand Cherokee(1996-2004) would be my choices. These can be found in very good condition for $6k or less.

 

I've been in plenty of side by sides. I don't like the noise or the dust. Limited use, and getting more so every day. Most of unit 10 won't allow for the side by sides.

 

Jeeps as described above are cheap to put a little lift on. Sway bar disconnects for the real twisty stuff and you are golden. Nice to have heat, a/c, radio etc. Also nice not having to trailer them most of the way there to use them.

 

There's my 2 cents. PM if you want more info. Glad to share my learnings.

[bonecollector]

My thoughts are you can tow a side by side home on the trailer you brought it with if it breaks down after beating it up all day. Other vehicles that is your main transportation to get back home in.

 

I sometimes think about getting rid of my rhino and getting a jeep or something else.

[MT. CAT]

azhuntnut what didnt you like about the samurai? They look good tricked out but I bet its a bouncy ride.

http://s989.photobucket.com/user/jrmartin1979/media/DSC01440.jpg.html

 

oz31p I own a 2003 arctic cat 400 4x4 that I have modified a little. I love it, never let me down, can climb anything. Probably be going for sale on here shortly.

 

This vehicle will be a trailer queen, no need to worry about beating it up and getting home. Maybe a mid to late 80's toyota 4x4 w/ flat bed???

http://s107.photobucket.com/user/toyotadad/media/005.jpg.html

[azhuntnut]

I didn't like a few things about it. I made the springs so soft that it caused the rig to sway alot when offraod. It had a five speed, so I had to worry about shifting all the time and got tired of it. I had to trailer it everywhere since it wasn't built for the road. If I were to buy another one, I would leave the stock suspension and put on some mud tires. Mine was heavily modified running 33 in tires. My Vitara has never broke down or left me stranded. I use it for my guide service and put at least 3k a year just offraod. If it fits, I can take it where all the side x sides go and just as fast. i should know, since i had a polaris ranger before this one. I just recently got a tow bar for mine, so now I can pull it behind my truck, unhitch and go. Try to find a grand vitara with the v6 and front locker and auto trans and you will be set. Mine also has leather so its easy to clean up when you get the seats dirty. David

 

Here you go

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/cto/4342762876.html

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/4351243557.html

[Drummond Lindsey]

I bought this little Toyota about a year and a half ago and its been an outstanding truck for me. I have had it in Sonora for 2 seasons and it has performed flawlessly.

This is the day I picked it up in AZ…

This was last season in Sonora…

Crossing the border last month…

And this is the truck all cleaned up 2 weeks ago…

[Becker]

Man tough choice as they all have their pluses and minuses. I have a couple friends with the Samys. They all have said the same thing. Try to buy one with everything that you want in it already. You will save not only time but money! Seems to me you can get a tricked out rigg for 4 to 6K if you are willing to shop a little and wait for a good deal. I have a side by side. I like it, but it is dusty and noisy but sure beats driving down crappy dirt roads in my dodge. I have been looking into getting a full cab for it to cut down on the dust and am getting ready to tear the back end off and make a custom one for all my gear to combat those issues.

[izquik72]

_{What kind of mileage do you get in the suzuki?}

 

_{I myself have debated getting rid of the 1st gen tacoma for a sxs The price is tough to justify. But i am needing more room as my 2 sons grow}

[Drummond Lindsey]

Here is my next project. I bought the 4Runner for $1500 and I am in to my little red truck for less than $4000. I have a detachable tow bar for the red Toyota that connects to the ARB bumper so I can flat tow it to and from my hunting areas and I will be able to drive the 4Runner to and from where I hunt and fit 4 people. I know that the 4Runner is a lot bigger and it takes more time to get around but I like the price tag of those compared to $15k for a fully outfitted UTV

[azhuntnut]

"What kind of mileage do you get in the suzuki?"

 

I run down to Gila Bend alot and get 21.5 per gallon running a 2in kit, 225x70 km2 tires, and all my hunting equipment in back. With the AC runnin. Up to Flagstaff I get about 19.5 per gallon. David

[Mountainman99]

I just sold my samurai after about a year of having it. I traded it for a arctic cat prowler. Good things about a samurai were kept you out of the elements and warm and it would probably go anywhere although I always felt like I was going to tip over in it. Bad things I was always fixing something, it was slower than molasses, it was rough riding unless you aired down your tires so you spent a lot of time airing up and down, and my wife thought it was a death trap but that's besides the point she's kind of a chicken :-) if you do decide on a Sammy don't get a carbed one I hated mine until I put fuel injection on it. I had a 1.3 stock engine and unless you plan on staying close to home you either need a lot of patience cruising speed around at 55 or get the bigger engine in it. I decided that for long distances it wasn't practical on top of it being slow I was worried about it breaking down on me so I was either going to have to trailer it or tow it. If that was the case I would rather haul a sxs around. As far as dust with sxs you do get dirtier but unless it's cold out and you have the Windows rolled up the samurai vacuumed in the dust quite a bit as well. Now the sxs isn't all roses. I traded for a used one and I've had to do a fair amount of work on it as well. It's cold in the winter. The sxs not only gets me around to hunting spots but also has a certain amount of fun factor to it which is why I switched. Does 55 down dirt roads like nobody's business not just on the pavement, power slide around corners, jump it, haul my kids around in the bed with bench seat, smooth ride down dirt roads. My two cents are if you are looking to put put around the woods staying warm and hauling gear Sami is for you (don't get me wrong I know some guys that do crazy things in their samurai but I think most find them selves in situation described above). If you want to do some recreational riding and hunting I chose the sxs. When its cold and raining I just stay in the truck. Got to have a reason to justify the truck anyway :-)