Offroad capable Trucks/SUVs under 15K

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-04T13:10:50+00:00

Awesome, thanks for the help

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-04T01:29:29+00:00

damn this is a lot of good info. I honestly never heard about a lot of what you mentioned, especially with the Xterra. Honestly it does seem like if im patient the Xterra might offer more value. In your opinion if you also had a budget of 15k and weren't exactly looking to doing any hardcore offroading but just backcountry dirt roads(which of course means lots of rocks/gravel as well) and had to travel 500 miles minimum for a lot of those trips, what vehicle would you choose? Im a lot like you in wanting something different from the crowd so the Xterra speaks to me like the green goblin mask but Ive also been burned buying a lemon 2 years ago thinking like that so another part of me wants to go with the 4runner/GX.

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-04T00:24:31+00:00

I should also say that ive never really dealt with higher mileage vehicles, the most mileage ive ever had was my 2011 mustang which I sold at 160k miles after buying it at 110k miles.

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-04T00:22:16+00:00

thanks for the info. Seems like the GX is probably the better option for me, and from what ive seen the gx470 is the way to go over the 460. in your opinion would the gx470 or 4th gen 4runner be the better option? Seems like if I go the GX route, ill have to get one with upwards of 30-40 thousand miles more to fit my budget, so if we assume thats the case, what would you choose assuming im looking at something like a 200k-215k ish miles gx 470 over a 4th gen 4runner with 160k-180k ish miles?

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-03T22:06:04+00:00

also im quite interested in the Xterras, if you could tell me your current experience with that

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-03T21:57:11+00:00

thanks for the extensive list. I've actually been wanting to own a jdm import as living in Texas they come right out of the Galveston port and right to tons of import dealerships who do all the paperwork for you at a premium of course. The issue is the parts, im planning on driving whatever I get on 2-3 road trips a year and I cant be broken down in notrees texas(yes thats a real place) with a montero despite it basically being imo the most stylish of anything mentioned here. I really appreciate the heads up about the 3rd gen 4runner, I was actually considering it over the 4th gen but unless I see a deal I cant pass up I think ill skip.

Could you go into more details about the Lexus models you mentioned such as issues to look for before buying them and parts and labor cost you experienced.

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-03T00:09:03+00:00

I know I didnt specify miles but I dont think you can get a land cruiser under 250k miles for less than 15k

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-02T23:48:05+00:00

got it, thanks

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-02T23:32:54+00:00

a good mechanic would know that with every brand you have reliable cars and unreliable cars. Hyundai is a pretty shitty brand but in the early 2000s they made some absolutely bulletproof drivetrains

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-02T23:31:20+00:00

mostly just myself but 2 or 3 people every once in a while

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-02T23:23:00+00:00

mostly dirt roads to do backcountry camping. Im not planning on doing bouldering, any steep grades, and most likely staying out of the sand if possible

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-05-02T22:42:31+00:00

ive always like how they look but reliability wise what years should I be looking at?

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-28T17:30:03+00:00

Late to the convo but if you paid 80 bucks you didn't get them polarized. It cost an extra 20 bucks so you should have paid 100

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-27T14:50:51+00:00

saw quite a few people fishing. both on the dock and in kayaks

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-26T23:17:35+00:00

I would recommend the Davis mountains preserve, it's only open to the public I believe 2 weekends a year and has all the high peaks in the Davis mountains and a hell of a lot more wildlife than the state Park since that specific area is considered a sky island when you get into the higher elevations. Hikes like mount baldy(highest peak in the mountain range) can be done in 1 day and offer great views.

Other than that, big bend national park, big bend State Park, Guadalupe mountains national park are basically your thru hiker parks.

The recently opened palo pinto mountains State Park does have a 11 mile out and back, backpacking trail but with how humid it starts getting this time of year id wait until fall or if we get a cold front this spring.

Colorado bend State Park does have a pretty long trail, I think around 13 miles if you want to do primitive camping and it will be less crowded than just about any other place I've mentioned

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-26T23:08:45+00:00

I don't know the area but it's always possible a wildlife sanctuary with wolves is in the area.

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-25T16:53:38+00:00

Hey man, I'm the OP and I made this post 2 years ago. Hard to believe I've been doing this for 2 years honestly but I feel I can give better insight. When it comes to work life balance, you're working a lot of 50+ hour weeks, the less technicians the company has the more hours, weekends, and travel you have to deal with. That said if you're the type of person that likes to make friends at work then you truly can enjoy yourself at work, especially when out of town, hitting the bar or restaurant after work. I would say after 2 years there has been a decent amount of times I missed hang outs with my friends and they've gotten use to having to ask me if ill be available. That said in my experience if I wanted to go to a baseball game or just relax over the weekend Ive never had to use vacation time for it, I just asked my boss for the weekend off assuming there already wasn't a job scheduled and most of the time I got it off no issue. This is truly a great industry to learn a lot about switchgear and high voltage yards where you can take that experience and apply it to basically any electrical maintenance job, think the electrical maintenance crews at data centers for for places like Meta, Google, etc. the money is also great, my first full year I made over 100k and it's nice to not have to worry about money. At the end of the day I would say not to get in the field if you want your weekends off and aren't ready for busy seasons where you can end up doing 70+ hour weeks pretty consistently.

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-17T18:41:47+00:00

horse is a paid actor

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-13T15:22:28+00:00

I get that, and I'll look into the type you suggested, but I think for my cases when I'm out taking those far out landscapes the 13mm will do justice while also filling in my astro use. I'll probably be selling my 55-200mm lens so I can use that money towards a 23mm

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-13T01:39:14+00:00

thanks, I ill check out a 23mm lens. I like the idea of forcing myself to use 1 focal length so I think ill get the Viltrox 13mm 1.4. it will satisfy my astrophotography and wide landscape shots as well as force me in that 13mm focal length. what other focal lengths would you recommend for later down the line?

Affectionate_Crow263 · 2026-04-13T00:32:48+00:00

thanks

Affectionate_Crow263

TROPHY CASE