All Things Ski Cars

[Muleski]

We have a lot of Land Cruiser discussions. My brother is on his 4th. Going back to his first 80. His daughter and her husband have a Sequoia in there Montana garage, with about 150K on it. Looks and runs like new.

Here’s my favorite on. Our neighbors son is a former Special Ops officer. Many tours in Afghanistan. He was leading a group of sniper teams and he had a driver. Needed reliability. Vehicle was a LC, black, with if I remember correctly….900K plus miles on it.

As my son jokes, “official vehicle of the U.N.” As my mechanic says “build for a service life of 600K+ miles.”

They last!!! Great build quality. During our LC experience, we have had Suburbans, a Tahoe, Explorers, etc. With problems! Left stranded more than once.

 

[dan ross]

The Longest-Lasting Cars, Trucks and SUVs To Reach 250,000 Miles and Beyond - iSeeCars.com

The average vehicle has just an 11.8 percent chance of lasting 250,000 miles, but the latest iSeeCars.com study identified the 23 longest-lasting models...

www.iseecars.com

Note the percentages.

Toyota figured out something long ago : if you want to sell cars to the vast majority of the world ( I.e. third world, no real dealership network, lower per capital income) you had to build a bulletproof, reliable, car or truck . The Toyota Hi-Lux pick up truck is ubiquitous in S.E. Asia, Africa and almost everywhere there are things resembling roads.
Same to a lesser degree with the Land Cruiser. There’s a guy here in LA who specializes in Land Cruisers of all vintages and he sees them with 350k plus with no engine rebuild all the time , just regular maintenance.

 

[crgildart]

Good to see I'm not alone. Pretty much everything I've done with the Forester since it rolled off the lot has been what most would classify as routine.. Belts (inc timing), coolant, brakes, filters, oil.. now bearings.. however it has always sucked a LOT of oil. Original head gasket and still not any noticeable coolant loss. Maybe 2-3 oz per year tops.. I only run the 100K super coolant and add the conditioner every 30-40K. I suspect that running regular antifreeze might be part of what has killed head gaskets in this engine but don't doubt they also can fail no matter what kind of coolant is sloshing around in there.

I kinda feel like I've dodged the bullet there since it made it this far without any coolant issues.

I'll be majorly bummed, but not shocked if I can't eek another 40K out if this thing and trade it in around 175K. But if it doesn't I already know what I'll go after next... AWD Challenger! Mostly done with family ski trips.. me, my kid, 2 pairs of skis inside on a day trip or weekender is all I need going forward.. Sweet looking 2 door vibe for grocery getting and work transportation..Yep 2 door AWD couple I can get low miles and under $30K.. That will be my next "sometimes" ski car.

 

[Peakviper]

What is the function of the scoop on the roof of the cabin?

Cabin ventilation. Inside there are nozzles pointing at the face of the driver and codriver. I installed it after I deleted the AC.

 

[Peakviper]

Isn't this a ski car thread? Where do the skis go?

Back seat pass through.

 

[Peakviper]

So the added front hood opening allows the airflow through the radiator to leave the engine compartment. And then is sent into the intercooler scoop to heat it up!?
Something wrong here...

Good call. Since I never converted from top mount intercooler to a WRC front mount the hood vent was blocked by a removable insert.

 

[Tom K.]

Anybody else tempting fate traveling long distances with bad weather potential in ski cars well over 100K miles?

We're at ~120k and not worrying about it.

But that's on a Toyota, so maybe only qualifies as "nicely broken in"?!

Seriously, we DO wonder about this, and 100k had always been our new ski car point, but the non-removable second row seats in the new Sienna killed that.

Probably go with a new ChryCo AWD minivan sometime in the next few years, but not in any hurry. The Sienna's snow tires have two or three more winters in them!

 

[Doug Briggs]

My '02 Tacoma is about to turn 150K and I don't even think about service as an issue. The price of gas and mileage, ya.

 

[crgildart]

My '02 Tacoma is about to turn 150K and I don't even think about service as an issue. The price of gas and mileage, ya.

The wheel bearings were the thing I wasn't expecting to be a problem. Belts, including timing, brakes, filters sure... Our other cars have a timing chain instead of a belt.. way more bombproof. Oh also had a ball joint replaced... potholes suck..

 

[dan ross]

My '02 Tacoma is about to turn 150K and I don't even think about service as an issue. The price of gas and mileage, ya.

I ended up getting upgraded to a 4 runner rental last year and was surprised how poor the gas mileage was. Yes, it’s not a small vehicle but the mpg seemed like something from the 1980’s.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I ended up getting upgraded to a 4 runner rental last year and was surprised how poor the gas mileage was. Yes, it’s not a small vehicle but the mpg seemed like something from the 1980’s.

I get 15 around town, 19 highway. My friend has a '20 4 Runner and gets just under 20.

 

[dan ross]

My ‘14 Volvo XC 70 AWD weighs about 400 lbs less than the 4 runner can tow nearly its own weight and gets about the same gas mileage in town. On the highway though , I can exceed 30 mpg .

 

[Doug Briggs]

My ‘14 Volvo XC 70 AWD weighs about 400 lbs less than the 4 runner can tow nearly its own weight and gets about the same gas mileage in town. On the highway though , I can exceed 30 mpg .

I'm not bragging, just saying what I'm getting.