Going camping Wed-Saturday and I can’t decide which one to take. The place is 4+ hours away over hill and dale. Once we get there its going to be dirt roads ands trails. Both will happily handy the trails.
GX470
PROS:
Tows the trailer like champ
Quieter
More comfortable both on the road and trail
More stable and confident towing
CONS:
Not as cool
Needs things before the trip...which might be hard.
New tires (ones I have are in dry rot and cupped)
New battery...the one I bought to replace the old one leaked all over and stripped paint like crazy on the inside of the bay.
New driveshaft u-joints. Pretty sure the clicking I have is bad u-joints.
Nothing is attached. I would want to move over my awning and fridge which requires some effort.
Land Cruiser 80
PROS:
Its the family adventure machine
Its ready to go with awning, fridge, tools, gear etc.
Much cooler
Has a CB, which will allow me to contact a friend also going to the same place but not together.
CONS:
Hates towing the trailer. It gets on just fine but it’s much less stable and works much harder. Where I would go 80 in the GX no problem (on 80 mph roads) I would go 75 in the cruiser.
Less comfortable on the trails and road. A little bouncier and a lot noisier.
Maybe more prone to breakdown? Its twice the miles of the Lexus, even though everything is pretty up to date.
Gas mileage is about the same for both, with the caveat that the GX needs premium towing in the heat, where the cruiser don’t care.
Which would you take?
(Trailer is a 19 foot popup trailer that weighs about 3300 lbs fully laden. Both vehicles have electric brake controllers)