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Author: Subject: What is the CHEAPEST and most reliable vehicle to buy, own and maintain for long term travel throughout Baja, mainland Mexico...
magentawave
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[*] posted on 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. :P
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David K
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[*] posted on 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.




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[*] posted on 11-19-2012 at 07:18 PM
Not to worry !! LOL ,, LOL


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

[Edited on 11-20-2012 by captkw]
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[*] posted on 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: 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::lol: 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.




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captkw
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[*] posted on 11-20-2012 at 10:40 AM
DAVID K short bed


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
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[*] posted on 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]




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captkw
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[*] posted on 11-20-2012 at 11:56 AM
king/crew cab


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:
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[*] posted on 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:
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[*] posted on 11-20-2012 at 03:38 PM
442


1968 olds 442...wish I never sold that bad a$$ detroit Iron !!
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[*] posted on 11-20-2012 at 11:35 PM


not the cheapest,
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magentawave
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[*] posted on 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?
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[*] posted on 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.
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[*] posted on 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.
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[*] posted on 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.
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[*] posted on 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.
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[*] posted on 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]
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[*] posted on 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.
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[*] posted on 12-10-2012 at 08:32 AM


the best truck....



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




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[*] posted on 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.
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[*] posted on 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?




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