in article 2KednevIf5yN_avZRVn-ug (AT) comcast (DOT) com, twaldron at
thomasOBVIOUS (AT) rubicons (DOT) com wrote on 4/7/06 5:50 AM:

Hah! Gotcha.

Nah... I traded my TJ a few months ago and have been very busy in the
meantime. Not paying attention to Jeeps. I've been skiing my ass off on
my days off! (thought of the day: big thigh muscles are like big tires;
they make the tough stuff soooo much easier!)

One thing this V6 thing DOES do for me, is set a time limit on buying my
next TJ. I learned from the first one that I don't want one as a rig that
sees much street time, or at least commuting or long trips, I don't want to
tow a trailer with it unnecessarily, and I don't want to haul my kids around
in it. In other words, I want it to be my toy. So... for what I want, a
used one is fine and one with about 70k miles would be perfectly
serviceable, and half price. So... that means I've got about six years to
buy a nice clean '06 with records and low miles AND THE I6 ENGINE!


One question on the Tundra,
Aren't they just making it bigger? That's not better as far as I'm
concerned. For me, it was between the Taco and Tundra. The Tundra was on
the large side of what I needed. And I was not after the ultimate
heavy-duty truck to pull a large boat over mountain passes at 80 mph or
anything. I do use it as a truck; at 3000 miles it has several dents in the
bed and I was down to bare metal in a couple bad scrapes (but I got a
bedliner sprayed on yesterday)... got it stuck for the first and second
times last week hauling firewood out of my woods... etc. The hardest this
truck will work is big loads of firewood (4 cords so far this year) and
gravel, and hauling a bunch of stuff and a small trailer full of oak
firewood to elk camp every year. My Wrangler did OK with that the last few
years and I hope the Tundra will do better. Other than that I wanted a
pleasant commute 3-4 days a week into town a half hour each way. The Tundra
and XM radio fit the bill!! Smooth, crazy quiet, fun to drive, great power
when I get an excuse to pass somebody on the country roads...

But to directly answer your question, the styling on the Nissan ruled it out
for me. I'm not a chest-pounding kind of guy. I don't even know why the
Nissan is supposed to be better? More power? The Tundra hauls ASS and that
4.7L engine is a marvel. More payload? Tundra is the biggest truck I've
ever had (my third) and hauls more than I care to load/unload. Looks? See
above. Towing? Anything my Tundra won't tow I don't want any part of.

I think also the whole... I dunno.. the whole "Toyota" thing bears on the
decision too. We have a '95 Land Cruiser that is just an amazing vehicle.
Talk about a capable, dependable, confindence-inspiring vehicle. Everyone i
know with Toyota's loves them. My last truck was an '86 Nissan that I
bought with 45k miles on it and it died at 177k miles (and still has more in
it if anyone wants to put an engine in it) and I used it HARD. I have no
beef with Nissan; if the Titan wasn't trying to look so tough-guy puffed-up
I would've considered one. But it's hard to argue against a Toyota.

-jeff

I think you're on the right track for your next TJ. The I6 in the 97-06
seems to suit your needs better. You just can't fault it for offroad fun.

As far as the Titan/Tundra thing...yes, I was refering to
bigger/stronger as to being "better", that depends on how you use the
truck, of course. My needs/thoughts were different than yours, so I
leaned toward the Titan (towing 6000#+, carrying gear & passengers).
Current model performance aside, Toyota is my first choice (miss my
4Runner) and they are truly competing with the Nissan Titan next year.

I definitely see why you chose the 7/8ths Tundra for your needs. The new
Tacoma would probably work for you too, weaving around trees (a bit
larger than the tiny previous Taco...I was too tall to sit in the old
one). Styling goes to Toyota, I agree, but I think Nissan had to make a
splash with the first viable real workhorse Japanese pickup to gain
respect. To compete with the Dodge, Ford and Chevy in selling to the
"puffed up" US workman, they had to lose that under powered, too small,
'tin can' image. I believe they did that and Toyota seems to be
following suit. This is a good thing.

I was just curious, thanks.

tw
______________________________________
2003 TJ Rubicon * 2001 XJ Sport * 1971 Bill Stroppe Baja Bronco

"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase')
A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80" wheelbase, 1/4-ton
capacity and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in World War II.
__________________________________________________ ___________________

Jeff Olsen wrote:

Just FYI, the Titan's tow rating is up to 9,500 lbs. It has a really
strong boxed frame (the Toyota's frame is c-channel) and its 5.6L engine
has more torque than any other truck in its class. When I buy a truck,
it's going to be a Titan.

Jerry

twaldron wrote:
--
Jerry Bransford
PP-ASEL N6TAY
See the Geezer Jeep at
http://members.cox.net/jerrypb/

Yes, 9500#...my personal needs are closer to 6000#+. Funny, it's got
more HP than any car I've ever had, including Mustangs, Firebirds/TAs,
Vets, Camaro, etc.
__________________________________________________ ___________________
2003 TJ Rubicon * 2001 XJ Sport * 1971 Bill Stroppe Baja Bronco

"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase')
A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80" wheelbase, 1/4-ton
capacity and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in World War II.
__________________________________________________ ___________________


Jerry Bransford wrote:

Jerry,

A channel frame isn't any better or worse than a boxed frame of the same
same stiffness. You might consider the fact that over the road trucks, like
the one that will haul your Titan to the dealership, use channel frames.
Boxed frames have the weaknesses that they can rust from the inside, there
is no way to rust proof or even clean the rust out of them, and that big
rust flakes can even block the drain holes. This can never happen with a
channel frame.

What are you thinking anyway, a truck of foreign manufacture?

Earle

"Jerry Bransford" <jerrypb (AT) cox (DOT) net> wrote

Mfg'd in good ole USA, employing thousands of Americans.

tw
__________________________________________________ ___________________
2003 TJ Rubicon * 2001 XJ Sport * 1971 Bill Stroppe Baja Bronco

"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase')
A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80" wheelbase, 1/4-ton
capacity and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in World War II.
__________________________________________________ ___________________


Earle Horton wrote:

http://www.roadsideattractions.ca/titan.jpg

Where all the moneys go to our enemy, unless you thing the man
hours equal ten, twenty thousand from the start of the assemble line to
where it drives off.
God Bless America, Bill O|||||||O
mailto:LWHughes3rd (AT) aol (DOT) com http://www.billhughes.com/

twaldron wrote:

Many American families depend on Americans buying the Titan.

tw
__________________________________________________ ___________________
2003 TJ Rubicon * 2001 XJ Sport * 1971 Bill Stroppe Baja Bronco

"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase')
A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80" wheelbase, 1/4-ton
capacity and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in World War II.
__________________________________________________ ___________________


L.W.(Bill) Hughes III wrote:

And how more American families are staring to death, because we
don't support America?
God Bless America, Bill O|||||||O
mailto:LWHughes3rd (AT) aol (DOT) com http://www.billhughes.com/

twaldron wrote: