Cost of a rig?

[1freaky1]

Ok so after reading a few of my new magazine issues it got me to thinking about the total of money I have put into my rig so far and also curious as to what everyone else has invested in theirs? Can also include (if wanted) the Cost to purchase the rig.

So far with what all I have done I am just over to 4g invested and still have to do SAS, rear locker, better gears and finish the exo + 2 winches and headers. As for the price of the truck I am still paying on it. Which some won't think is a good idea seeing as I am building it up while financed.

[78bronco]

mine has cost me about 2g including the cost of the truck. and it doesnt even look like anything has been done to it

[Whitey Jr]

i am currently at about 4g but still need to get the full sized axles exo cage and a gigantic list of other stuff

[WINKY]

10g for the rig
5g invested
3g in repairs

[Roostercruiser]

Dodge Dakota
$29000 for truck and 1000 in upgrades

suburban
5000 for truck and 3000 in upgrdes and 3000 to go

Scout
375 for truck and 1000 for softtop and new borgenson joint

Wagon
$90 for car and $15 in repairs:D

[Medic-5150]

17k for truck, and after this week about 2k invested. I'm also still making payments :(

[Aaron]

Paid 5500 (this year)
2000 for lift, tires, etc.

[Haku]

My Samurai has gotten more aftermarket stuff then the Yota, but thats because the Yota largely came with everything I wanted already.

Samurai-

Initial Vehicle Cost - $2000
Hard Top- $1100 with shipping
New Carbs- Close to $1000 invested so far
Suspension- $800 or so all told
Tires- $700 or so mounted and balanced

Total - $4600

Toyota -

Vehicle Cost (which includes Dual Transfer Cases, SAS, Front and Rear Lockers, 35" tires and aftermarket rims, and other stuff) - $4500

New switches for the E-lockers- $289
8274 winch that needs rebuilding but everything works- $300 so far

Plans for the future for both rigs include a New fueling system of some sort for the Samurai, and a long list of stuff for the Yota, to include an Exo Cage, Front Bumper, and eventually doing link suspension instead of leafs. Might be a engine and tranny rebuild in the nearish future too, but they are both holding up for now. Might do an engine swap too, or possibly turbo the 22re (I know, too much work for no gain and all that) now that the geniuses that design the Megasquirt system now make a plug and play module for it.

JH

[gragravar]

in my experience, once you catch the modding bug, the extent of your mods are limited only by 1) your goals for the vehicle and 2) the depth of your wallet.

I have WAY too much money into my audi. (if you really want to know, we can talk about it in person some time) Is it worth it? well, to me yes. It is a one of a kind creation that is fast, comfortable, and quite the work horse too.

Despite knowing that I have spent way too much on the audi, I have friends that have more than 2x what I have spent in audi's mod costs invested in mods to their 4x4's. It is all relative.

as for the mods to the truck, my old rover cost me $1,500 to buy, then I put about $3,500 into it. I was able to sell it for $4900 (even if it did take me 15 months to find the right buyer).

The current rover - It is still mostly stock and to be honest I struggle with whether to mod it or to get another truck to dedicate to offroading. I did a quick analysis and to do everything I would like to to it would require about 18K. I think I will be holding off for a little while.

[Funrover]

Well... I am not totally sure.. Ihave all reciepts and could add it up.... But I don't know if I want too..LOL

[Hypoid]

I rest on the rights guaranteed to me by the 5th Amendment.

No wonder everyone I know is broke...

[Brody]

Almost everyone I know does the same thing I do when it comes to modifications: they start looking for deals, they start putting the word out to friends, they swap work or parts, they junkyard stuff off of something else that will work as well.....and still end up with a heap of money tied up.

I would personally rather spend the money or time to make something stronger so that it is less likely to break on trails that wait for a stock part to give up the ghost and leave me stranded.

I am not even going to try to figure out what I have in mine. Probably less than a new FJ Cruiser, though, including the cost of the truck...and this doesn't include any repair work...

[1freaky1]

Well... I am not totally sure.. Ihave all reciepts and could add it up.... But I don't know if I want too..LOL

I love that answer Aaron, I am the same way with a lot of it too, Although I did buy the truck on Ebay for 10g +shipping cost of $600. That is one thing I liked about buy from Ebay was that they included all the cost of everything into the loan so no surprises at the end.


Almost everyone I know does the same thing I do when it comes to modifications: they start looking for deals, they start putting the word out to friends, they swap work or parts, they junkyard stuff off of something else that will work as well.....and still end up with a heap of money tied up.

I would personally rather spend the money or time to make something stronger so that it is less likely to break on trails that wait for a stock part to give up the ghost and leave me stranded.

I am not even going to try to figure out what I have in mine. Probably less than a new FJ Cruiser, though, including the cost of the truck...and this doesn't include any repair work...

And not to mention all the labor involved in it.

[Andrew]

Well I still make payments on mine lol.

I have spent probably about $5000 in modifications. Just added stuff up and can't quite believe it lol. Nuts! This does include new tires though. But even then I have probably saved around $2000 by getting used stuff, having some custom stuff built, and doing most of the work myself.

It's slowing down considerably though as it is close to where I want it. Just some odds and ends things - I want crawler gears and a rear ARB locker which are the two most expensive things left to do.

I need to talk to my friend and see if I can double up t-cases instead of doing crawler gears. I think that would be cool as then I can have the best of both - keep my current low range, and then have low-low for those descents and crawling. I'm not sure if it's doable, but we'll see. Have to get a new drive shaft though.

Oh I would love to fab up custom lower control arms and swap from torsion bars to coil overs, but would also have to go to some tube style UCA's to fit them. It would be cool though - I hate torsion bars. It would also fix the issue with the lower ball joints being a PITA to replace. Total Chaos makes a setup for this but it is $$$$$$$.

[colomil]

I am of the "keep it simple stupid" mindset so I have yet to do a mod for looks or that is not simple & functional. I am also a cheap *******! My army blazer has about 1k in parts and about 40hrs labor. My tuff truck has about 2k in parts and about 100hrs labor. The tuff truck would probably make an incredible rock crawler with the long travel suspension.

If I had a 4x4 shop do the work I would be bankrupt...

[Andrew]

Part of the issue with my rig is it's a Nissan...and there isn't nearly the aftermarket support for it as with other brands/models, so everything is more expensive, if it's even available.

[Haku]

I am of the "keep it simple stupid" mindset so I have yet to do a mod for looks or that is not simple & functional. I am also a cheap *******! My army blazer has about 1k in parts and about 40hrs labor. My tuff truck has about 2k in parts and about 100hrs labor. The tuff truck would probably make an incredible rock crawler with the long travel suspension.

If I had a 4x4 shop do the work I would be bankrupt...

I am finding the same thing as you mentioned in that last statement, which is why I am trying to spend money on tools to do the work, rather then parts or labor from other people. I bought a Ready Welder the other day, which should let me start getting into welding a bit and figure stuff. Eventually I'd like to get some other metal manipulation tools, like a band saw, plasma cutter, metal break, etc, but its gonna be a bit before I can really afford it or have space or it.

JH

[colomil]

Get the tools in this order of priority:
1) air compressor with impact gun & sockets
2) 4.5" angle grinder
3) 1/2" drill
4) Sawzall
5) 120v MIG (140 amp Lincoln or Miller)
6) Oxy Acetylene
7) Chop saw
8) Cherry picker
9) Bearing press
10) Big-ass vice

You would be amazed at what can be done with the above tools. The high-end tools are also great to have (Plasma cutters, tubing benders, band saws, etc...) but are pricey and sometimes require 3 phase power.

Tools are always a good investment in my opinion.

[Patrolman]

In regards to my 4Runner, I kept myself to a strict budget and knew exactly what it was going to turn out to be. A nice road trip expedition vehicle. I have $800 into the initial purchase, and I think about $1,700 in total mods. That includes tires, small lift, wheel spacers, 90 amp alternator, 12,000 winch, ARB bumper, rear swing bumper/carrier, roof rack with pull-pal and 60" hi-lift, ARB compressor, rear e-locker, gears, and 2nd fuel tank, aluminum radiator. Needless to say, I got a LOT of good deals!

My truck was already sort of built when I got it for $600. Sold the topper and front bumper for $400. Then put in a new clutch, used trans/t-case, different topper, different bumper, 8274 winch, 33" used tires on rims, CB radio, 90 amp alternator, PS pump rebuild, PS hose. I think total, I have $850 into it including the purchase price. I keep it minimized as it is just a "drive-it-till-it-dies" work truck.

My Scout is simple. Paid $1,000 for it. Spent about $100 in gas to get it here. All the mods were already done. Sold some of the spare parts that came with it for about $200. Can't beat $900. :)

[Haku]

Get the tools in this order of priority:
1) air compressor with impact gun & sockets
2) 4.5" angle grinder
3) 1/2" drill
4) Sawzall
5) 120v MIG (140 amp Lincoln or Miller)
6) Oxy Acetylene
7) Chop saw
8) Cherry picker
9) Bearing press
10) Big-ass vice

You would be amazed at what can be done with the above tools. The high-end tools are also great to have (Plasma cutters, tubing benders, band saws, etc...) but are pricey and sometimes require 3 phase power.

Tools are always a good investment in my opinion.


I have 2 thru 4, and have two different electric impact guns, one battery powered and weak but great for most engine work, and one big Dewalt one that will take all the hard to get stuff off. I kind of have that Mig Welder, but battery powered and portable. Does have the ability to do Gas, and can weld just about anything with the right setup and wire spools. Should do me for a while. The other stuff is on the list for sure, though I would probably go with a manual chain hoist over the cherry picker, mostly due to storage restrictions right now.

JH

[Patrolman]

I bought a Ready Welder the other day, which should let me start getting into welding a bit and figure stuff.

JH

You are going to love the Ready Welder as long as you aren't doing a HUGE project. I have used it on bumpers and stuff. It out performs my 110v welder, but you can only go as long as the batteries hold out.

When I figure in the cost of the tools into my projects, I am in WAY over budget. But the tools generally last years and years. It is rare that I have to buy something now. Very good investments.

[Haku]

You are going to love the Ready Welder as long as you aren't doing a HUGE project. I have used it on bumpers and stuff. It out performs my 110v welder, but you can only go as long as the batteries hold out.

When I figure in the cost of the tools into my projects, I am in WAY over budget. But the tools generally last years and years. It is rare that I have to buy something now. Very good investments.

Yeah, definitely only planning on using it for small stuff. No welding an entire exo cage for me in one day. The Ready Welder website says that with batteries fully charged and in good condition, 45 minutes of actual welding should be doable when welding 1/2" material single pass. Its probably a bit lower then that, but you can get a lot of welding done in that amount of time. They also say that for smaller stuff, it will last up to 4 hours, so thats a good thing too. The one downside is that you mostly control current delivery via wire speed, since its constant voltage, so you don't get quite the control that you would from a MIG with power settings. That said, I've heard many people say that having that direct DC power from a battery, plus the smooth delivery of the "spool gun" style MIG welder, makes for some high quality welding.

JH

[Rob]

A few thou on the FJ Cruiser (and still making payments) but I have everything I absolutely need. It has other needs, but they can wait till the wife's employed again. The 40's a different story. I've added a few odds and ends, but it needs leaf springs (with 2.5-inch lift), front shackle reversal and bigger tires to get it trailworthy. After that, it'll be fix, replace and mod as needed. I think I could easily spend more on the 40 than the Cruiser, and I'm not even thinking full resto yet.