Looking for suggestions on Baja beater

how many people and how much gear do you plan on taking with you, would you prefer economy to power or the other way around? more information please

mac davis wrote:

Good questions!

Usually just my wife and I.. if we have company, we'll still have the 99 ram QQ with sort of a back seat..

I don't think economy is an issue... gas is about a buck a gallon less in Baja and town is 7 miles away... Depending on what vehicle we end up with, it could also go on shopping trips to the "city", which is 120 miles away, but the Ram will do that ok... paved "highway" all the way.. I see it mostly as a "to the beach and back" thing with a few short trips into the (nearby) desert or towns....

As to power, I really have no idea what's best.. my only 4x4 knowledge is what I've learned here... I don't see us rock climbing or roaring across dunes, but enough power to get out of it's own way would be nice... unlike the Mazda pickup I used to drive with 85 HP.. *lol*

Mainly, I guess we want a 2nd "car" that has a better chance of standing up to dirt roads and high heat than the average sedan or pickup..

Mac

Good point, peter, thanks..

We looked at a real basic one yesterday but my wife wasn't into it at all...

it was a 66 CJ that they were asking $3,500 for... VERY basic.. I saw a light switch and 2 unlabeled toggle switches and that was the dash... lol

No heat, AC or much of anything, but it was cool looking.. *g*

If we were looking for something to just play in, I'd of made an offer, but I don't think we'd survive down there with no AC... Ok, we're wimps.. Mac

San Felipe... on the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez, about 130 miles south of Calexico/Mexicali..

Even in january there are a few days that it's nice to have AC.. usually 75 during the day and 55 at night during the "winter"..

I find it sort of interesting that I posted in both the Dodge and 4x4 Chevy groups and several dodge guys suggested early CJ jeeps, older Cherokee or Toyota land cruisers, but nobody in the Chevy group mentioned suggested anything, not even the blazer, blazerII or a burb...

Damn... should have bought my kid's blazer when it blew the oil line and it was at my house for months.. *g*

Mac

El Wed, 26 Jul 2006 07:13:51 -0700, mac davis escribió:

You might do well to limit yourself the makes, models, and years that local mechanics are comfortable with and can locally obtain parts for. When I lived in Nigeria I think I had the only Ford in a nation of 80 million. When it ran, which was most of the time, it was sweet, but even something as simple as an oil filter had to be sent from the States via diplomatic pouch.

You and your future neighbors would know better than I, but I seem to recall seeing a lot of GM and Ford trucks there, and a fair number of Nissans.

Thanks for the heads up.. something to think about, for sure..

Besides a herd of dune buggies, sand rails and atv's, you see a lot of Burbs, Exploders, pathfinders, etc... tons of Ford pickups and some jeeps..

We're in sort of a yuppie/gringo area, not exactly the boonies but 120 miles away from the nearest real city..

Mac