Utility vehicle Alternative

joes_427_vette · Jun 26, 2008

Looked at the RTVs, gators, rangers, ect and noticed a quite alot of money for the machines. No doubt alot of engineering and aluminun castings ( which in themselves are quite pricey ) are involved. Need something to check the back forty and a couple stream crossings.
Ended up with a 94 Jeep Wrangler for 600 dollars. Has a hard top and half doors ( plus half canvas for the top ). My wife wanted side by side seating, a roof, and a heater. The top comes off with several bolts for the nice days and it has a small back seat. It has a set of newer BF Goodrich winter style tires. A set of wide rims and aggressive tires would be the answer to soft locations and stream beds.
Not being in the big money I think this will fill the atv slot being useful and fun to operate.

Double Orange · Jun 26, 2008

Had a 1980 CJ here on the farm for 6 years. Did everything I needed +.
Had a flood and my creek which is usuallky only 30-50' wide expanded out to about 250'. I couldn't resist the urge to cross it.

Not to sure what happened to it.....All I remember saying is..
Here hold my beer!

workhorse · Jun 27, 2008

$600 for a Jeep?! Holy smokes! Considering the price of scrap iron, that isn't much more.

I've got a 94 Wrangler and I hate to think my baby is the same vintage as one only worth 600 bucks!

texbaylea · Jul 3, 2008

joes_427_vette said:
Looked at the RTVs, gators, rangers, ect and noticed a quite alot of money for the machines. No doubt alot of engineering and aluminun castings ( which in themselves are quite pricey ) are involved. Need something to check the back forty and a couple stream crossings.
Ended up with a 94 Jeep Wrangler for 600 dollars. Has a hard top and half doors ( plus half canvas for the top ). My wife wanted side by side seating, a roof, and a heater. The top comes off with several bolts for the nice days and it has a small back seat. It has a set of newer BF Goodrich winter style tires. A set of wide rims and aggressive tires would be the answer to soft locations and stream beds.
Not being in the big money I think this will fill the atv slot being useful and fun to operate.

What kind of mileage does a 94 Wrangler get? My primary vehicle is a 2002 Suburban which I need and will keep but there are times something smaller would do us.

Vernon

AchingBack · Jul 4, 2008

Double Orange said:
Had a 1980 CJ here on the farm for 6 years. Did everything I needed +.
Had a flood and my creek which is usuallky only 30-50' wide expanded out to about 250'. I couldn't resist the urge to cross it.

Not to sure what happened to it.....All I remember saying is..
Here hold my beer!

I'm almost certain I saw that jeep when I was ploughing the Bermuda Triangle.

ultrarunner · Jul 4, 2008

Suzuki Samurai is my Utility Vehicle of Choice...

I bought it used about 10 years ago and it has not had a single issue... runs great and the most dependable vehicle I have ever owned.

EddieWalker · Jul 4, 2008

I consider myself a pretty big Jeep fan. I've owned a 73 CJ5, 89 YJ, 98 Cherokee and currently a 42 GPW. The one thing that is always consistant with any Jeep is they require more maintenance then any other vehicle that I know of. When running good, they are allot of fun, but that never seems to last. My guess is the guy who sold it for $600 just got tired of it nickle and diming him to death and wanted to get rid of it quickly. Of course, that's a give away price and shockingly low for a jeep that runs.

I want a side by side that can sit four people. The Mule's sell for $5,000 in worn out condition to $9,000 new. Club Car has a nice 4 seater that I liked, but prices were the same as the Mule. I figured that I could build a reliable, running flat fender jeep for a few grand that will do what I want it to.

So far I'm on budget, but it's slow going with months passing by without anything getting done.

My neighbor has an early 90's jeep that he runs around his 240 acres with. He's made all sorts of trails through his land just to have fun driving around. His main complaint after the money it takes to keep it workng is that it lacks a proper bed to haul stuff in.

Eddie

Skipholiday · Jul 4, 2008

x2 excellent little vehicles.

ultrarunner said:
Suzuki Samurai is my Utility Vehicle of Choice...

I bought it used about 10 years ago and it has not had a single issue... runs great and the most dependable vehicle I have ever owned.

joes_427_vette · Jul 9, 2008

Have no idea on fuel mileage. I bought it for cruiz'n the back forty and don't intend on registering it for the road, at least now. It has a few rust areas which is common I guess. I removed the body from the frame. Sandblasted it and fixed a couple holes near the rear spring shakles. Installed a 1" lift with new body mounts. Some wiring needs attention but for a low dollar ATV I think it will fit the bill.
I wanted some hard doors with roll up glass in place of the fabric upper doors but most places want more than I paid for the Jeep. Turn the heater up one more click in cold weather I guess for now.

kude · Jul 12, 2008

I had a 1978 Jeep CJ 7. It was nice when it ran. It rusted out horrible. Properly equiped I could see it as a utility vehicle. Going around the yard and house, NO. It's not compact enough for yard work, field work, yes.