What's your hunting rig?

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Alan

Alan

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Let's see what everyone's driving to trailheads. I want to hear about the vehicles that just won't quit. Drop your make, model and mileage below. Bonus points if you've got a story about it getting you out of a bad situation
 
1. Don't hunt anymore for medical reasons. Rig WAS a 1985 Toyota SR5 P/U with 325K on the odometer! Current rig (BEST I've ever had) is a 2019 Toyota 4Runner SR5 with 50K.
2. Both rigs have driven through whiteouts, blizzards, dust storms, mud-holes, etc. The P/U took me up a badly washed out road on the backside of Mt Wilson in SoCal and boulder crawling in Utah on a deer hunt. P/U on many a muddy farm road and Army base pig hunts!
3. The best endorsement actually came from a bad experience! We were traveling to SoCal on Hwy 97 and turned East to Hwy 395. Power train died on the 4Runner! Pulled off, bad burning smell, stuck in gumbo! Tried to pull out using just the front axle (back wasn't going anywhere!). Wife hitched a ride to a phone and the guy who picked her up knew the tow-truck operator in Alturas (about 40 miles away). He tugged us out, we went to his office and got AAA's "OK" for a tow to Klamath Falls (135 miles). Made it to the dealer 1/2 hour before closing. Turns out, the last oil change @ Valvolene they had left the filler cap off the rear diff. Fried the axle so bad it welded to the pinion! Had to wait until Monday to get a rental. While there I met a fellow veteran and I told him what was wrong and he laughed and said "4Runners just DO NOT break down !" Valvolene paid for the repairs!
 
I drive a 2012 Ram with a ton of miles on it. It even pulled my buddy and me out of a mud pit once back in the day
 
We hunt our own land so are on foot. But if I want to get up on top I'll take my 2005 JD Buck ATV (Bombardier Traxter) because it would be too far to drag something by hand. The wife calls it a motorized couch....
 
BearBio said:
1. Don't hunt anymore for medical reasons. Rig WAS a 1985 Toyota SR5 P/U with 325K on the odometer! Current rig (BEST I've ever had) is a 2019 Toyota 4Runner SR5 with 50K.
2. Both rigs have driven through whiteouts, blizzards, dust storms, mud-holes, etc. The P/U took me up a badly washed out road on the backside of Mt Wilson in SoCal and boulder crawling in Utah on a deer hunt. P/U on many a muddy farm road and Army base pig hunts!
3. The best endorsement actually came from a bad experience! We were traveling to SoCal on Hwy 97 and turned East to Hwy 395. Power train died on the 4Runner! Pulled off, bad burning smell, stuck in gumbo! Tried to pull out using just the front axle (back wasn't going anywhere!). Wife hitched a ride to a phone and the guy who picked her up knew the tow-truck operator in Alturas (about 40 miles away). He tugged us out, we went to his office and got AAA's "OK" for a tow to Klamath Falls (135 miles). Made it to the dealer 1/2 hour before closing. Turns out, the last oil change @ Valvolene they had left the filler cap off the rear diff. Fried the axle so bad it welded to the pinion! Had to wait until Monday to get a rental. While there I met a fellow veteran and I told him what was wrong and he laughed and said "4Runners just DO NOT break down !" Valvolene paid for the repairs!
Click to expand...
That’s an incredible history. Those Toyotas earned their reputation the hard way, I am glad it wasn’t a true failure and that Valvoline owned the mistake
 
Haven said:
I drive a 2012 Ram with a ton of miles on it. It even pulled my buddy and me out of a mud pit once back in the day
Click to expand...
Those Rams can be workhorses. Any truck that can self-extract from a mud pit earns permanent respect, especially when it saves a hunt and friendships.
 
Unshaven2897 said:
We hunt our own land so are on foot. But if I want to get up on top I'll take my 2005 JD Buck ATV (Bombardier Traxter) because it would be too far to drag something by hand. The wife calls it a motorized couch....
Click to expand...
That’s the best nickname I’ve heard. If it gets you uphill and saves your back on the way down, the “motorized couch” is doing its job perfectly.
 
Alan said:
That’s an incredible history. Those Toyotas earned their reputation the hard way, I am glad it wasn’t a true failure and that Valvoline owned the mistake
Click to expand...
Saw a series on YouTube about these guys who took Toyotas (a Land Cruiser, "Taco", & 4RUnner) as far North as you could=all the way to the Arctic Ocean. Three years later, they traveled all the way to the tip of South America. While in Baja, they took desert driving instructions from Ivan "Iron Man" Stewart. The head designer for TRD (Toyota Racing Development) was there also. He said something I thought was VERY true. He said "Most 4-wheel drives are built for the 90% who never use them off road; Toyota builds for the 10% that use them seriously!"

My uncle Kenny (Second from left in the picture below with Mickey Thompson at Bonneville the day they broke 406 mph!) was crew chief for Mickey & Dick Cepek's crew at Baja for a couple of years).

1766248568948.webp


My cousin, Trina, got a Stroppe Bronco for a wedding present!

1766248713982.webp
 
I have a '74 FJ40 Land Cruiser. It won't hunt anymore. Every time I use it instead of going for a tractor I break a front axle. Darn positaction. Gears. Scares the heck out of people at 5mph. Has a locker in the rear. And narrow swampers.
It's only a Chevy 250 6. It will climb steeper than the carb works.
 
Unshaven2897 said:
I have a '74 FJ40 Land Cruiser. It won't hunt anymore. Every time I use it instead of going for a tractor I break a front axle. Darn positaction. Gears. Scares the heck out of people at 5mph. Has a locker in the rear. And narrow swampers.
It's only a Chevy 250 6. It will climb steeper than the carb works.
Click to expand...
I've had 2 FJ40's: an '83 and a '69. Couldn't get the '69 to run (was a retirement project) and the '83 had smog problems (#$%^&* California). Had a pre-Taco SR5 that went 325K miles and still sold for $3K.
 
I think the std gas engine in the FJ40 was good and tough but there were some version problems. Like you mentioned: pollution junk+. I ended up putting a Chev 250 6 in it. And a bunch of other stuff. It was my ultimate hunting rig.
 
Unshaven2897 said:
I think the std gas engine in the FJ40 was good and tough but there were some version problems. Like you mentioned: pollution junk+. I ended up putting a Chev 250 6 in it. And a bunch of other stuff. It was my ultimate hunting rig.
Click to expand...
My '69 had a 327 Chevy in it with a 3-speed on the column. With a bad leg (twice-broken left knee cap), handling the clutch was a bit much. Just had to let it go! The standard 6 cyl in the 83 would top out at 70 mph: uphill, downhill, up the side of a tree if I tried hard, it didn't matter! Learned to ignore 1st gear; I was shifting to 2nd by the time I got across the sidewalk from a red light!
 
I have a 2002 GMC Sierra 2500HD 6l. I’ve had it 23 years. Used it for my camper, now my toy hauler. I also use it to tow my boat. It’s been excellent over the years. Very few repairs. The gas mileage sucks so I only use it when I need it. It has a 4:10 rear end in it for towing but doesn’t help gas mileage. I usually take my 900 RZR trail to camp and use it to bang around in.
 

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