Why Jeeps?

Tacoma and an FJ. Best of both worlds IFS and SAS!

 

Jeeps look badass and I considered one before I settled on a taco. I just wanted the versatility a truck offers. I'm just surprised by how many suburban soccer moms drive Jeeps considering all of the "quirks."

 

Whoever is responsible for marketing Wranglers is a genius.

 

It depends on the *type* of off-roading. For fast desert stuff, you want IFS, but for slow rock crawling, solid axle is def the way to go, as long as you don't mind a shitty highway ride. SAS's (solid axle swaps) are quite popular for Toyotas, but that's really just for the serious rock crawlers. The other 95% of us work just fine with IFS.

But if you want to talk STOCK performance, I'd put a toyota up against a jeep any day, it's all about driver skill, anyway. I've seen more than my share of nearly stock Yotas (maybe a lift and 33's) keep up with (or surpass) Jeep rigs with $15-20k in mods.

The other thing I think about is the Rubicon vs. TRD Pro "thing". Which one is "better" for off-road? They both claim to be the "peak" of off-road performance.

Well, personally, they are both over-priced hunks of metal, with more "show" than "go" - IMO more of a status symbol. Neither truck really comes with stuff that either isn't available on other "lesser" models, or just doesn't come with the stuff you actually "need" for off road (bumpers, rock sliders, recovery gear, etc...). I would rather take a lesser model like an SR5 or Wrangler and drop the money I would have spent on bumpers, sliders, and recovery gear, than pay upwards of $50k for a TRD Pro where I still would need to buy that other stuff anyway.

 

Those are really good points. I think the reason some people go Pro or Rubi is because they want the performance right out of the box. I agree doing your own upgrades gives you a superior vehicle, but mods aren’t for everyone.

 

I'm of the opinion that if the Pros and Rubis are to be marketed to the true off-road enthusiast, they should come equipped with winch bumpers and rock sliders at a minimum, instead of cool looking mud flaps, shifter knobs, and of course: stickers. So, IMO, the "out of the box performance" you're getting from them isn't as "performancy" as the salesman tells you it is, at least from an off-roading perspective. The performancy stuff ins't always exclusive to the ultra expensive models, either, like A-trac and decent control. The locker is really the only performance piece that you get exclusively with a TRD.

I guess I just don't understand why an "off-road" truck would come equipped with low clearance plastic bumpers. Do you realize how bad-ass a factory steel bumper would be? Most aftermarket bumpers are pretty limited because of the modern bodywork, unless you do a bunch of cutting... A factory steel bumper could be any shape you wanted, and certainly not limited to a bunch of 3/16" plate welded together with square edges. That's a $800 option I'd pay for (unlike the $800 running boards that were available for my 4Runner, lol).

Maybe that's one of the reasons I like the 1st gens so much more: no plastic bumpers.

 

Regarding the Rubicon that isn't all entirely accurate. They come with Dana 44s front and rear, a 4:1 transfer case, and lockers front and rear. The current Rubicon comes stock with rock rails. And historically they have had upgraded axle shafts too. Maybe still do. And the approach and departure angles on the current model are something like 42 degrees and 35 degrees respectively.

 

To be fair, I was mostly refurring to the toyotas in my rant, but my FIL recently was looking at the rubicons, ended up with an oscar mike edition because the rubicons were redonk expensive, not to mension totally overkill for the kind of off roading he does.

The rubis certainly do a better job at equipping them for true off-road, as they have a LONG history off-road. Though I do wonder what % of rubi owners have engaged the rear locker, let alone the front, or even use the 4wd... same is true I think of the TRDs, too, tho. As I said esrlier, the stickers on the side are more a status symbol than anything.

That said, you’re still looking at a very expensive vehicle for which you immediately take off road and bash it up (and likely void some part of the warranty). I just can’t stomach that, lol. I have my 1st gen Tacoma that I love, and is long since paid for, and I don’t mind pin striping it or gettig it dirty since it hasn’t had that new car smell for at least a decade, lol.

Imo, you’re still better off (finantially) buying a lesser model and equiping it as you see fit.

 

Totally agreed. My '04 non-Rubicon LJ has Currie Rock Jock D44s, lockers front and rear, 4:1 case, Currie Antirock, 488s, chromolly shafts, Genright longarm lift, Genright Crawler fuel tank, tummy tuck, SYE, full skids, sliders, Warn winch, Undercover Fab bumpers, KM2 35s, Rhino Liner tub, etc etc etc and I'm into it all of $20K. Thing is a bullet proof beast that drives like a dream at 75 on the highway. Like I said earlier in the thread...I don't know why anyone would ever buy a JK or JKU.