BajaNomad - What is the CHEAPEST and most reliable vehicle to buy, own and maintain for long term travel throughout Baja, mainland Mexico...

What is the CHEAPEST and most reliable vehicle to buy, own and maintain for long term travel throughout Baja, mainland Mexico...

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magentawave - 11-19-2012 at 06:40 PM

That is some seriously impressive stuff for a stock Toyota truck! Remind me to not buy that truck when your lease runs out though.

David K - 11-19-2012 at 07:10 PM

Oh, not to worry... I keep it totally maintained... oil changed every 3-4 thousand miles (never at or over the recommended 5,000 miles)... all scheduled maintenance performed (15,000 and 30,000 intervals). I have replaced the tweaked bumper from the Mission Santa Maria trip, as well.

Other than the light bar, and the second set of tires 1/2" taller than the original, the truck is pure stock, and performs the way Toyotas are made to.

Not to worry !! LOL ,, LOL

captkw - 11-19-2012 at 07:18 PM

David,david... you cant say that is the same as going to the 7/11 down the street !! are you ????? K&T :cool:

PS..that fool you towed up the hill has not learned about offroad...he just keeps spinning the wheels.."sigh" some folks just dont learn about traction control the old way !! take you foot OUT of it and "get a grip"...daved..why did you go with the cab setup you have ?????..... have heard of penis envie,, so I guess, I have pickup envie !!!!! LOL :lol:

sorry,,had to say it for the ladys !!!!

[Edited on 11-20-2012 by captkw]

David K - 11-20-2012 at 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by captkw
David,david... you cant say that is the same as going to the 7/11 down the street !! are you ????? K&T :cool:

sorry,,had to say it for the ladys !!!!

[Edited on 11-20-2012 by captkw]

The cab 'set up' is a four door that can seat 5 adults, or at least 4 comfortably... that is why. The bed is 5 foot, which is a foot shorter than my 2001 2 door 'xtra cab' Tacoma bed, however... the second generation Tacomas (2005+) are an overall larger truck, and the wider/ deeper bed size did not reduce what I could carry compared to the '01's 6 ft. bed.

More than a pickup, I have a comfortable 4 door SUV, with a pick up bed... the rear seat can fold down flat and provides dust free storage with doors if we don't have added riders.

DAVID K short bed

captkw - 11-20-2012 at 10:40 AM

does the seats allow sleeping arrangements ??? the bed on your billy goat looks way to short for sleeping ?? my old volvo has the best (for me) reclining front seats that lay so far back and really makes one of the best beds to sleep on !! K&T

David K - 11-20-2012 at 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by captkw
does the seats allow sleeping arrangements ??? the bed on your billy goat looks way to short for sleeping ?? my old volvo has the best (for me) reclining front seats that lay so far back and really makes one of the best beds to sleep on !! K&T

The front seats can recline way back for emergency sleeping, yes (we did coming out of Mission Santa Maria when Neal's tie rod finally gave up and we all were exhausted from pulling him up the mountain all night.

The bed is 5 ft. and when you drop the tail gate, you have more than 6 ft. of flat bed and I have had my mattress on it many times to sleep in the back. However, we usually sleep in a tent.

[Edited on 12-10-2012 by David K]

king/crew cab

captkw - 11-20-2012 at 11:56 AM

owned a few trucks but never a crew cab...thought having a bed in the back for sleeping would be the ticket with so many optains like the tents that mount or a light weight pop/up camper...so does that small bed limet those factors ??? K&T :cool:

Cypress - 11-20-2012 at 03:22 PM

Had a Chevy crew cab, think maybe it had a 442 in it, two gas tanks. A real gas guzzler, but it would pull a load. :yes:

442

captkw - 11-20-2012 at 03:38 PM

1968 olds 442...wish I never sold that bad a$$ detroit Iron !!

Marc - 11-20-2012 at 11:35 PM

not the cheapest,

magentawave - 12-9-2012 at 02:54 PM

Are parts for the Toyota 20R as available as the 22R's south of the border including central america?

rts551 - 12-9-2012 at 03:11 PM

Be careful magentawave, Toyota frames are known to crack...especially after rough roads or pulling a trailer. And while some will say so, its covered by Toyota, it would be a btch if it broke is Baja.

rts551 - 12-9-2012 at 03:15 PM

OK we know what vocal members of this forum rave about,,,, but what vehicle seems to be popular by the locals and why? maybe this is regional, I don't know.

805gregg - 12-9-2012 at 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K

Quote:

Originally posted by 805gregg

David you sell your trucks at 100,000 miles, a Yugo can go that distance, it's the after 100,000 miles that makes a statement. My 2000 Dodge has 350,000 and is still going strong, original auto trans and Cummins, can't a good diesel.

You buried your reply inside of my quote, so I didn't discover it until now...

Tacoma #1 had 136,000 miles on it in almost 5 years.
Tacoma #2 had 102,000 miles on it in a little over 4 years.
Tacoma #3 has 45,000 miles on it so far at almost 3 years.

Toyotas are just 'warming up' at 100,000 miles!

#1 was a 2 door 'xtra cab' and only had room for two adults and two small kids for any distance... my kids out-grew it.

#2 (and #3) was a four door, second generation (bigger overall) Tacoma. room for 4 adults comfortably, and 5 if needed.

The trucks are on a 5 year lease (as they are used for both business and pleasure)... Toyota does not add any penalty for exceeding the annual 12,000 mile lease mileage if you trade for another Toyota... and since Toyotas last so long, the mileage deduction is not severe on dropping the value of the truck at the time of the trade in.

When I traded in my 2005 for the 2010, I didn't have to pay one cent, and the only change was $20 increase in the lease payment. Leasing is awesome if you cannot afford the payments of a purchase (don't have a large down payment), you want to deduct the entire cost of the truck from your business tax, and you want to have a new truck every 5 years or less. It was the only way I could get safe, reliable vehicles for my family and business.

Now, the negatives of leasing is that you don't want to do any major modifications, specially if they cannot be removed and used on the next truck (as I did with my light bar). Also, if you like the truck so much, that you want to keep it, then it will cost you more overall to have leased it for up to 5 years then purchase it... with a few more years worth of payments added.

You are just lucky, my sons Toyota needed a new engine at 110,000 miles, my neighbor across the street had a 2008 Rave 4 used 3 ouarts of oil every 6,000 miles. toyotas are not what they once were hence the 18,000,000 recalls.

J.P. - 12-9-2012 at 08:12 PM

I live in Baja Full time and have lived here for the last 10 years. The most people you see driving newer Toyoto's are American's The toyota is popular but most people cant afford one. you see a lot of old Ranger trucks but overall its more full size ford and Chevrolets because there is more of them avalible. I live in the Ensenada area And the more affulent locals drive a lot of Lincoln's or Ford Lobos.

willardguy - 12-9-2012 at 08:52 PM

it seems another very popular car down here is the Cherokee XJ, I suppose because there were so many made.
I went with a 3rd generation 4runner, my second choice would have been 98 or 99 XJ. once most of your hair has been pulled out sorting out the electrical issues those 4.0's are inexpensive and reliable

[Edited on 12-10-2012 by willardguy]

rts551 - 12-10-2012 at 07:59 AM

For cars, Toyota and Nisson. But for P/U, especially work trucks, Ford. When asked why, they say the parts are available and the truck lasts a long time. For family trucks the Toyota Tundra is starting to make its way into the market.

woody with a view - 12-10-2012 at 08:32 AM

the best truck....

[Edited on 12-10-2012 by woody with a view]

philodog - 12-11-2012 at 05:48 PM

This is as interesting as listening to RVers argue the merits of motorhomes versus fifth wheels versus trailers. As far as cheap and reliable and easy to maintain I see lots of Ford Explorers driven by the natives but have no personal knowledge of their reliability. Lots of older Cherokees too. I drove one several years for work, used it offroad everyday and was impressed by it`s toughness and reliability. Never let me down and pretty comfy too compared to a Tacoma. Personally I am a Toyota owner since `84. 2wd then 4wd standard cab Tacoma then 4wd king cab Tacoma and now a king cab Tundra. The Tacomas are plenty rugged and never left me stranded but I LOVE the comfort of the Tundra and the mileage with the 4.6 V8 is about as good as the Tacoma. And it will get you anywhere a Tacoma can get you in Baja if it doesn`t involve rock crawling. One thing I hated about the Tacomas was the small gas tank. The range sucks, less than 300 miles. I know the Tundra doesn`t meet the cheap requirement though. As far as 2wd versus 4wd I gotta go with 4wd if you`re travelling off pavement a lot. It doesn`t take much mud or sand to leave a 2wd stranded and that`s a bad feeling in the middle of nowhere. That said, if one doesn`t know how to use 4wd properly it probably won`t help much but that`s a whole other topic.

Hook - 12-11-2012 at 06:48 PM

How does one sleep in the back of that tiny truck bed, Woody?

I would guess the answer is.........you dont, eh? Those beds are only 5'5", right?

David K - 12-11-2012 at 06:50 PM

The second generation Tacomas (2005+) all have a 21.1 gallon (80 liter) tank. I have had a 2005 and a 2010 of this model.

That will take you 336 to 420 miles (16-20 mpg) unless you are four wheeling, and then it will drop to under 300 miles. When the gas warning light comes on, you still have 4 gallons in the tank... and when the needle is on E you have 3 gallons remaining.

My 2001 (1st generation) was about the same, 20 gallon tank as I recall, but they may not have been universal like it is now with all models..

The V-6 gets 16-20 mpg and the I-4 gets 25+ mpg from what I read from those guys who drive them. My range city-hwy. is 15-19, but I have a slightly taller than stock tire, so the numbers are one lower.

magentawave - 12-19-2012 at 01:22 PM

What do you think about the reliability and availability of parts in Mexico and Central America for the 4 cylinders that were in the 85 Nissan 720 pickup trucks (pre-hard body)?

mtgoat666 - 12-19-2012 at 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by magentawave
What do you think about the reliability and availability of parts in Mexico and Central America for the 4 cylinders that were in the 85 Nissan 720 pickup trucks (pre-hard body)?

this thread is about "reliable" vehicles. a 30 year old vehicle is not "reliable," it is just a hobby project! way back in 1985 didn't they still call them "Datsuns?"

my memory of old datsun pickups is that they were great if you were no taller than 5"11" :lol:

and seat padding was about 0.5 in iches thick atop springs, and after a few years the springs were all bare and poking thru seat :lol:

re parts, you can probably find some junk yards in most every town in mexico and c. america

David K - 12-19-2012 at 02:05 PM

The Patrol (their 'Jeep') was called a Nissan Patrol, while all other Nissan vehicles sold in the U.S. were called Datsun...

magentawave - 12-19-2012 at 06:22 PM

Yes I know this thread is about "reliable" because I'm the one that started this thread, but there are tons of old 22R's, 20R's, and Nissan 4 bangers that are still reliably chugging along out there because those were some of the best motors ever made. I already know the old Datsuns were good but my question was if parts for them are as readily available south of the border as the old Toyotas are.

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

and seat padding was about 0.5 in iches thick atop springs, and after a few years the springs were all bare and poking thru seat :lol:

re parts, you can probably find some junk yards in most every town in mexico and c. america

willardguy - 12-19-2012 at 06:30 PM

I gotta tell ya, that nissan patrol looks sweet. whats the deal, were they not big sellers here? anybody own one???

monoloco - 12-19-2012 at 06:40 PM

They still make Nissan Patrols, although they don't sell them in the US, you see them all over Central America.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/195899/2013-nissan-patrol-pricin...

J.P. - 12-20-2012 at 04:41 PM

A used Nissan would be a good buy for Mexico and South America. They built a plant in Mexico in 1964 and are responsible for bringing a very good no frills car to the mexican people.

[Edited on 12-20-2012 by J.P.]

Barry A. - 12-20-2012 at 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

this thread is about "reliable" vehicles. a 30 year old vehicle is not "reliable," it is just a hobby project! way back in 1985 didn't they still call them "Datsuns?"

I still have a 1969 six-cyl Ford F-100 Pickup that is running strong (goes 70mph), has not been in for repairs in probably 20 years, and has never given me any problems. Original engine, too. (240 cc six)

Take care of them, and they last forever.

Barry

magentawave - 12-21-2012 at 11:31 AM

Those are good engines. I've owned a few over the years. What kind of MPG are you getting?

Quote:

Barry A. - 12-21-2012 at 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by magentawave
Those are good engines. I've owned a few over the years. What kind of MPG are you getting?

Quote:

It now gets around 16 on the highway, 14 around town and the ranch. The truck has big fat tires & wheels, beefed up suspension, and a 4-speed tranny rescued from a wrecked Ford dump truck, so much heavier than stock. Best it EVER got was 17 consistantly when stock many years ago------worst was with a 1000 lb. cab-over steel framed Callen Camper on the back and got about 10. The 240 six has always run like a sewing machine---seems to be perfectly ballanced. It has close to 200K miles on it-----burns no oil between changes every 3000 miles.. Best vehicle I ever owned, and my son has it now in Owens Valley (eastern Sierra).

Barry

bkbend - 12-21-2012 at 04:42 PM

I'm late into this discussion and have no new suggestions that haven't already been put out for consideration but I would like to mention that the original request is for cheap and reliable which tend to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Vehicles known to be reliable will be sold at a premium and won't come cheap. It's also a good idea to budget for extra work if you end up with an older rig. That 22R engine may still be running but a lot of the truck around it will be showing its age. Timing belt, regular belts, hoses, water pump, sagging springs, dead shocks, rotten tires could come with the package.

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