Enthusiast III
Toyota Tacoma or Jeep Wrangler
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Enthusiast III
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I have a gladiator and love it. I've had no mechanical problems at all with it. Very capable vehicle.
Enthusiast III
Question: if I get sport, will be able to install differential lockers after market without impacting reliability or safety. Also, what will be the cost if you know?
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Toyota hands down. I’ve owned both, started with Toyotas back in 70s, then euro sedans and Ford pickups. Then Jeeps for over 15 years, so yea Jeep guys, I get the Jeep thing, I understand. Then, 9 years ago, bought a Toyota, sold the rubicon and have never looked back. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the Rubicon, very much. Sadly Jeeps require about twice as much maintenance than any Toyota. I’m referring to things like suspension bushings, drive shafts, front axle u joints, brake life,water pumps, starters, alternators, A/C units, etc etc. it is not unusual to find a Toyota with well over 250,000 miles that still has most of these things original. My Landcruiser actually has the original driveline ujoints. 2nd starter, 2nd alternator, original water pump, 2nd radiator original head, original valve train, 2nd head gasket because of leaking valve seals at 292,000. Now it has 345,000 miles on it. I just replace a valve cover gasket. Why? Because I made a mistake 40,000 miles ago and thought that a fel-pro gasket would be an upgrade. Do I sound like an advertisement? I hope not. The gladiator is certainly a cool vehicle, no doubt, but imagine if Toyota would have been exporting 70 series Landcruisers to us a decade or so ago. Peace out and good luck with your final choice.
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I have both; the Tacoma is (or was, until fuel prices started skyrocketing) my daily driver, the JKU is the camping rig. Both are stock suspension/ tire size. I like them both.
As MOAK said, Jeeps are not known for their reliability, but even the Jeepers joke about that.
A lot of your choice would come down to where and how you’re going to use it.
My decision to purchase the (used, 2017) JK two years ago was based on some personal logistical issues with using the Tacoma for camping and the fact that aftermarket support is a little better and (can be) a little less expensive than Toyota.
Last year I needed to make a delivery of a CJ8 hardtop I sold. I made a camping/ exploring trip of it on the way home. I discovered that for me and the type of exploring I like to do, the Jeep is the better option. Here in the mid-Atlantic area, trails can be narrow and tight with vegetation. Many of the forest service roads are gated in far enough to not see the gate, but too far to realistically back up. The Jeep is easier to get turned around in those situations. I also found I needed to engage 4wd in the Tacoma in situations I know the Jeep would have walked through in 2wd.
Anyway…. If you’re likely t be on wider and mild roads that aren’t too technical, I’d probably go with the Tacoma. If you have plans to modify the vehicle to do more challenging terrain, go with the Jeep. That’s my opinion and it’s worth what you paid me for it! lol
As MOAK said, Jeeps are not known for their reliability, but even the Jeepers joke about that.
A lot of your choice would come down to where and how you’re going to use it.
My decision to purchase the (used, 2017) JK two years ago was based on some personal logistical issues with using the Tacoma for camping and the fact that aftermarket support is a little better and (can be) a little less expensive than Toyota.
Last year I needed to make a delivery of a CJ8 hardtop I sold. I made a camping/ exploring trip of it on the way home. I discovered that for me and the type of exploring I like to do, the Jeep is the better option. Here in the mid-Atlantic area, trails can be narrow and tight with vegetation. Many of the forest service roads are gated in far enough to not see the gate, but too far to realistically back up. The Jeep is easier to get turned around in those situations. I also found I needed to engage 4wd in the Tacoma in situations I know the Jeep would have walked through in 2wd.
Anyway…. If you’re likely t be on wider and mild roads that aren’t too technical, I’d probably go with the Tacoma. If you have plans to modify the vehicle to do more challenging terrain, go with the Jeep. That’s my opinion and it’s worth what you paid me for it! lol
If you go Jeep, just go with the Rubicon package and get the OEM lockers right away. The Gladiator is hideous on the little sport tires, it needs at least the Ruby tires.
Crunching the numbers, it's not significantly cheaper to do yourself. And the OEM lockers and gears aren't terrible.
Crunching the numbers, it's not significantly cheaper to do yourself. And the OEM lockers and gears aren't terrible.
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I found the newer Tacoma’s lacking in space compared to the Gladiator, especially the back seat area and bed. The bed is a bit more narrow on the Tacomas.
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I would get a trim like the Rubicon or Mojave if you want lockers and such. Unless you’re that mechanically incline to do them yourself, you won’t be saving much. I got a JTR because it will everything I wanted s truck to do out of the box, and more.
As for reliability, I the Gladiator is as reliable as a Tacoma these days. Yes, I said that. There many stories of people switching from Tacoma to Glads because of the problems they were having. Some people have already driven their Glads 100k-200k miles in just a couple years without issues. I had a 98 Tacoma for almost 20 years. Great little truck. Didn’t have problems with it either. I switched because I wanted something different. No regrets.
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Wow. Shows my ignorance for the Jeep products. I'd still go Toyota. I'm retired from the parts business and Jeep parts outnumbered Toyota 10/1. That's why I bought one. I sold mine because of $30k for a $25k truck. LOL
Zim
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200000 miles? Even a 3 year old truck which they are not, would have to average over 5,000 miles a month. Wow! Hats off to them. LOL !!
Wrangler is an SUV, Tacoma is a pickup.
Wrangler is tougher but the Tacoma is a smoother ride.
Wrangler doors and roof are removable, Toyota No.
Either one will go to the same places. After mardket is huge for both.
I prefer the Jeeps solid axles. Some prefer the Tacoma independant front suspension.
And I really prefer the tall seating position in the Jeep over knee caps in your face Toyota position. Honestly I've hated sitting in Toyota since the 1970s.
But pick the one you like. Fanboys from each side will swear the competition is crap but that is not true. Toyota vs Wrangler. The differences are kinda subtle. Either could be a good choice.
PS, if you want lockers and want to crawl slowly, the Rubicon has no competition. Selectable Lockers front and rear and a 4:1 transfer case let you Tread Lightly with ease.
I do about 24K miles a year with my 2006 Rubicon, it is not expensive to maintaian. Over 240K miles om my 2005 Rubicon, still on the stock suspension, no bushings worn out, no slop.
Brake pads, shocks, u-joints are just routine maintenance. Jeep parts are cheaper than Toyota parts but maintemance and parts are really not an issue. If you use it and maintain it most any 4x4 will make a good overlander. There is no free ride,
Buy what makes ya smile.
Wrangler is tougher but the Tacoma is a smoother ride.
Wrangler doors and roof are removable, Toyota No.
Either one will go to the same places. After mardket is huge for both.
I prefer the Jeeps solid axles. Some prefer the Tacoma independant front suspension.
And I really prefer the tall seating position in the Jeep over knee caps in your face Toyota position. Honestly I've hated sitting in Toyota since the 1970s.
But pick the one you like. Fanboys from each side will swear the competition is crap but that is not true. Toyota vs Wrangler. The differences are kinda subtle. Either could be a good choice.
PS, if you want lockers and want to crawl slowly, the Rubicon has no competition. Selectable Lockers front and rear and a 4:1 transfer case let you Tread Lightly with ease.
I do about 24K miles a year with my 2006 Rubicon, it is not expensive to maintaian. Over 240K miles om my 2005 Rubicon, still on the stock suspension, no bushings worn out, no slop.
Brake pads, shocks, u-joints are just routine maintenance. Jeep parts are cheaper than Toyota parts but maintemance and parts are really not an issue. If you use it and maintain it most any 4x4 will make a good overlander. There is no free ride,
Buy what makes ya smile.
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Trail Blazer III
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Mohammad , asking on a forum "Which is better" especially when it comes to Jeep and Toyota always gets the troops riled up...lol No matter what you buy, they are all chock full of computerized electrical goodness that does tend to prove itself fairly reliable until it isn't. Unlike the good old days where you could fix most anything on the trail with duct tape, baling wire and WD-40, these new machines can all be taken out of commission completely with one bad sensor. Assuming that most manufactures do not actually produce their own electronics and sensors, they likely come from the same place with the same quality. Toyota has a great record of reliability, and I have owned several over the years, and would own one again if it fit my needs. There are also two Jeeps in my driveway that have well over 200k with only routine maintenance and wear parts being replaced so far. In my opinion any vehicle is only as good as the maintenance and care it receives over its life span. We just spent months looking for a new rig, narrowed it down to the Tacoma and Gladiator, both super capable vehicles with the major deciding factors for us being the driving position was way to low in the Tacoma, and you can not flat tow it behind a motorhome without major modifications. Add in that the Jeep's top and doors come off and the win went to Jeep for us, (Well Jeep halfway won, since we decided that spending 60k+ on a brand new rig that we were going to play with in the dirt was not justifiable so we purchased a used wrangler at a much more reasonable price)
If you do go Jeep, which trim level to buy in my opinion depends on what you will ultimately do with it. For someone who will only drive forest service roads, any Jeep will do that with no worries, If you want to spend all of your time on trails like Pritchett Canyon and will end up on 40" tires with one tons, a Rubicon would be a waste since you will end up replacing all the good parts with aftermarket. For us the Rubicon made the best sense as its very capable and we wont go over 35 inch tires so will not be overstressed.
The aftermarket is so huge on Wrangler/Gladiator that upgrading a sport with lockers and other goodies is not a huge deal, and you can often find low mileage take off parts from Rubicons that are being upgraded for a good price.
If buying used, go for the Rubi, in this market not that much difference in used prices from sport to Rubi.
I suggest you make a list of what you want to do with the vehicle, and based on that, go to the dealers and drive some of each model you are interested in, then make a list of pros and cons for each. Should be easier then to see which would be a better fit, and hopefully that matches up with which one you enjoyed driving the most.
If you do go Jeep, which trim level to buy in my opinion depends on what you will ultimately do with it. For someone who will only drive forest service roads, any Jeep will do that with no worries, If you want to spend all of your time on trails like Pritchett Canyon and will end up on 40" tires with one tons, a Rubicon would be a waste since you will end up replacing all the good parts with aftermarket. For us the Rubicon made the best sense as its very capable and we wont go over 35 inch tires so will not be overstressed.
The aftermarket is so huge on Wrangler/Gladiator that upgrading a sport with lockers and other goodies is not a huge deal, and you can often find low mileage take off parts from Rubicons that are being upgraded for a good price.
If buying used, go for the Rubi, in this market not that much difference in used prices from sport to Rubi.
I suggest you make a list of what you want to do with the vehicle, and based on that, go to the dealers and drive some of each model you are interested in, then make a list of pros and cons for each. Should be easier then to see which would be a better fit, and hopefully that matches up with which one you enjoyed driving the most.
Enthusiast III
I would like to have LandCruiser 80 series, but I am worried of not be able to provide the time to maintain it specially I am new to the country.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Enthusiast III
Enthusiast III
Thanks, do you know what will be the cost of installing after market air or electric lockers?
Enthusiast III
Thanks a million, I will buy what makes me smile :) direct to the point
Advocate III
[/QUOTE]
200000 miles? Even a 3 year old truck which they are not, would have to average over 5,000 miles a month. Wow! Hats off to them. LOL !![/QUOTE]
Yeah, the guy on the Gladiator forum that’s put that many miles crisscrosses middle America following big-rigs carting windmill parts for work. It was definitely impressive to hear his mileage after that first year.
200000 miles? Even a 3 year old truck which they are not, would have to average over 5,000 miles a month. Wow! Hats off to them. LOL !![/QUOTE]
Yeah, the guy on the Gladiator forum that’s put that many miles crisscrosses middle America following big-rigs carting windmill parts for work. It was definitely impressive to hear his mileage after that first year.
