Topic: Dual purpose??

[Metal Head]

I've struggled a lot in the 4x4 game and currently have a Samurai I am about to drop some money into. I've already collected a bunch of parts, air shocks, tires, H1 beadlocks, heims, new wheels centers etc. and then a deal came up where I could maybe trade my '91 Chevy 4x4 1/2 ton (my tow vehicle) for a '92 Toyota 4x4 truck, visions swirled in the vast emptiness of my brain for a dual purpose rig. I could hear the voices "forget the truck and trailer and all that expense, drive your stuff to the trails and drive back". I'm getting a bit older (40) and don't think I'll really be hitting anything really extreme, I get as much enjoyment from camping and hanging out as I do wheeling. I figured with the parts pile I've already gathered I could incorporate what I was going to do with my Samurai and mold it into a sick daily driver/trail rig i.e. this Toyota pickup.

Then there is the tire factor with driving locked diffs on the streets, and possibly breaking miles from home, and the other issues that come with driving a built vehicle daily. So you guys who drive your rigs daily, do you like it, is a tow rig and trailer a better option in the long run? I could keep my Chevy 1/2 ton and my trailer and haul my Samurai buggy around but I'm so limited on $$ I'm wondering if just a solitary vehicle is really the route I want to go. 

Save me! -faints-   

[Dingman.]

I have a 2nd gen 4runner that was my dd for a long time. It always stressed me out because if i broke something on the weekend i had to fix it to drive to work/school during the week.

One thing to think about is who do you wheel with?  It is nice when all your friends have toyotas And the spare parts can be used by/divided amongst everyone.

If you and all your buddys run toyota axles then you can all try to carry parts that everyone can use.
If you all have 22res, etc.....

I live close enough to where i wheel i just drive the toyota eventhough i have a diesel (no trailer though anyways)
I have driven to moonrocks to go wheeling but i would have been able to trailer home if i broke bad enough.
I towed out to rubicon when i went, because it was easier...

[Metal Head [OP]]

I haven't actually wheeled in about 6-7 years. There seems to be quite a few Samurai's around here. My Samurai is in no way able to be street legal again. Way too much work. One issue is I already have about 3g's in this Samurai and there is no way i could sell it for that. Getting the Yota would be like starting over again.

[1985CRAWLER]

dingman said it perfect, who do you wheel with and what do they have and where do u usually wheel? thats a biggie because u are gonna need to know that truck like the back of your hand if u end up breaking out on the trail and u have to repair it on the side of mountain between some huge boulders it pays to know how to do it rather then asking one of the jeep guys if he can lend a hand lol.

i daily drive my rig which is a 1st gen 4runner with a 22re and put alot of miles on it weekly, its on 37s,locked,dual cased and leaf sprung,. the comfort factor isnt really there nor is the power going up steep hills but it gets great gas mileage and everything works the way i want it too. driving with a locked rear isnt that bad if its not a spool,just takes some time to get used to..

i drive it to the trail, wheel it hard,then drive home after i check for loose bolts and top off the fluids if needed. If major breakage happens far from home which hasn't happened yea to me i will just call a tow or try and limp out the trail if possible..CARRY SPARES OF EVERYTHING IMPORTANT.......my rig has never been trailered and sometimes i wish i could for the long trips but it gets me there, i just wont be in front of the pack, ill be lagging up the hills like on hw 80 or hw 50 but itll get there.
breaking on a weekend wheeling trip always is bummer but if u can get it fixed before monday morning that just makes u that much better wrenching on it in a hurry which is what u really want to be good at if u wheel a daily driver.

another thing to keep in mind is keeping it street legal, u want to keep all the lights and blinkers working and make sure itll pass smog,thats the whole purpose of keeping it a daily.
when u tow ur wheeler u can smash the headlights out and taillights and not have to worry about it til next months paycheck.
cant do that when u have to drive it to work or school the next day on public roads.

sorry for the long reply,just wanted to get my  in.

there are others that say trailering your wheeler is the only way to go and driving a built up toyota on big meats on the street is dumb but its user preference and ultimately up to u the route u wanna go.

[emsvitil]

You should be able to tow the Sami with the Toyota.............

That way you could wheel whatever you feel like at the time (or both)

[Dingman.]

Put sammy in bed of toyota..

"Yo dawg we heard you like wheeling so we put a wheeler in your wheeler.  So you can wheel while you wheel."

[Metal Head [OP]]

You should be able to tow the Sami with the Toyota.............

That way you could wheel whatever you feel like at the time (or both)

I don't know if I'd want that Yota as a tow vehicle. I have no doubts it could pull a Samurai but stopping it would be a whole other matter.

[THEMAN]

My daily driver is my avatar going over V rock at bald mountain.  It has lockets front and rear that don't really bother me while driving on the road, except in the rain it tends to want to break traction easier than without a locker but no biggie just slowdown a bit.

[Metal Head [OP]]

Thanks for all the input guys, I have made the decision to keep and build my Samurai and not part with my Chevy as a daily driver/ tow rig. I cannot do a lot of the work on a rig by myself (no shop) and having my daily driver down while having it modded will not work for me.

[Metal Head [OP]]

...or not... looks like I came to a different agreement and will be getting the Yota after all. Trading my Chevy for it and selling off my Samurai project and a bunch of collected parts and going with the Yota as a daily driver for awhile until I can get back to work and get stuff sorted out.