*chuckle*
Doesn't look like this will get too deep.
What I already own.
1st Gen Tacoma Extra Cab. Of all of the vehicles I have owned and driven...hands down my favorite.
I do have money set aside for a new truck (just a touch more than that $20K budget) but it works, pure and simple. Has everything I want out of 4WD, manual trans/t-case, good mix of simple mechanical & electronic do-dads, like EFI, power windows/locks, cruise control. Easy to work on. Small in size will squeeze into some tight out of the way camp spots, which also comes in handy in urban environments for the daily driver grind.
Already built. ARB bumper, mix of Camburg/OME suspension, Wildernest. (do you need much more than that?)
Costs me on average $1500-2000/ year to keep it going. $20K buys 10-13 years of repairs. My only
real gripe, is that it is old and has high miles. But it is tight...I keep up on repairs, anything that breaks or is looking worn I fix it immediately and go a little beyond what it needs. I am "since it is apart lets fix this too" type of guy.
So instead of a new[er] or different truck, I just take money out of my stash and keep on fixing what I already have.
Do I get bored with it? Yes...but I get compliments on it from time to time, so that makes me think...maybe I just hang-on to the ol' gal.
Ok...a little deep thought. My wife leaves for Thailand/Burma in a couple weeks for work to help film a documentary on
Burmese refugees living in Thailand on the Thai/Myanmar[Burma] border. We have been researching these people nearly a year. The atrocities that they have went through and continue to do is mind numbing. I can't even imagine....and here we are in this forum arguing over 1st World problems...maybe that is why I get on here so much to ****************, to try and forget how messed up things are out there.