If this video does well I have another one planned for different price points. Also each comment enters you to win a patch. Giving away two.

I always wondered why the Sequoias weren't more popular. Those things go forever. I don't think I've seen one with less than 300k miles. But to avoid the Toyota tax, the Nissans are underrated. I would even go as far back as the 1st gen Frontier/Xterra and spend the extra money to restore it. The first gens look tired on the outside nowadays, but they are super tough little trucks. They are full-box-frame and have a manual transfer case. That means find one with a manual transmission and you have one of the last old-fashioned "fully" manual rigs ever made.

I’m a Tacoma guy, but I’ve always loved the 1st gen Nissan Pathfinders they’re super reliable and are basically SUV versions of the 80s-90s hardbody pickups.

I've had my Trooper for 17 years, never let me stranded and I've taken it deep into the woods. It's rare I see another one out on the trail but that's a bit why I love it. It's a stand out in the sea of Yodas and Jeeps.....

Absolutely love my 2005 Xterra. It's the Off Road trim, which is the same as the pro-4x in the 2010+ models. Manual transmission. factory e-locker. It's climbed everything I've thrown at it and cost half what comparable 4Runners were going for, and it's just really fun to drive

last thing. A VW Touareg is literally the same thing as a Cayenne and they're way cheaper. The Cayenne was just a rebadged Touareg and the VW is really cheap. Like 3k cheap. You can get them in a diesel too

Sequoia, H3 and XTerra are DEFINITELY great choices and i'm seeing more of them built for overlanding in the mountains here in BC, Canada! I was blessed with very successful parents and now blessed with a very successful husband, so we could always afford the vehicles we wanted. However when friends look at our overland built 5th gen 2021 4Runner, and my husband's gen 1 and 3 F-150 Raptor, thet always say "It must be nice... I wish I could afford to get into overlanding too"... My husband and I always recommend several of the rigs you have here and recommended this video and videos like it! It is actually smarter to use an older rig, however, I like my modern comforts and eagerly awaiting the 2024 GX 550😁

I can vouch first hand for my 1st gen Xterra. Has all the DNA from the 90s pathfinders and Navara from Australia. I've built mine up to 33s, skids, sliders, front locker, and most modern comforts with everything except a rear locker and reduction gears for about 5k total (including buying the vehicle). I have done all of it DIY though, paying someone else it would have easily been 8k-10k. Hope to see you out on the CO trails, keep up the good work!

Great list. One that I never see make this list is the tahoe and suburban from the same era. Never owned one, but that 5.3 is still being used in new models today. And the g80 auto locker was available even back then.

Gen1 Titans! Esp Pro4x comes with 10.7” STOCK ground clearance!! Super VK56DE reliability Great vid. Happy to see the sweet Xterra and overlooked R51 Pathfinder get recognition. Talked my friend into a Pro4x Xterra when his 2009 4Runner rusted out

Great video, very informative. I'd love to add a Montero to my stable one day. Seeing the Isuzu Trooper brought back such great memories of my high school days!

Would be awesome to see MPG stats too. With gas prices not really moving anywhere up up, that category has become a lot more important to me (and potentially many others).

Great list! A few of our friends have some of these very vehicles. 🤘🏻😀

Jason, I just got a (new to me) 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, the old 2004 Grand Cherokee finally gave up the ghost. Love to off road and trying to decide what mod to first. All of your videos are informative and entertaining, keep up the good work!

Great video! Appreciate the details and your time putting this info together. Had a QQ, looking at turning my 2000 Ford Explorer V8 into a overland vehicle ... what are your thoughts?

Great video man

Hey Jason very nice list. Out of those 4x4 I think I would go with the Xterra, always been a fan:). I was hoping the Commander made the cut haha. But those 10 are worthy to be there

Excellent video man! Thanks for including some of my video clips in the video! All of your suggestions in this list are fantastic choices. I think it is important for people to remember when buying an offroad rig that they also need to leave a good chunk of their budget for offroad modifications and upgrades. If you go out and spend all your money on a brand new vehicle and have to make monthly payments on it, you are most likely not going to have any extra cash to start adding modifications right away and at the end of the day you are going to have a less capable vehicle and will be less prepared on the trail. Buying something cheaper and putting the necessary modifications is just a better move in my opinion. I am really glad you chose to include the H3 in this video because almost nobody gives it any attention. When you think of Hummer, you always think of the H1 but the H3 often gets overlooked. Its smaller size is definitely an advantage if you are in any kind of forest setting compared to the H1. All in all, great video man! 😀😀😀

Hey Jason, love the content i just traded my 2017 Jeep Wrangler to a 2022 4runner TRD offroad premium and have been a big fan of the channel! Keep doing what your doing brotha!

Was not expecting to see a local offroad Porsche on here! But I will always have a soft spot for those Xterras and XJs, currently have a '22 Subaru Forester Wilderness that I've modified even further for overland use. Surprisingly capable for what it is, definitely not budget, but way closer to budget than the new proper 4x4s on the market.

I think the Cayenne is underrated for real. Nice to see it in this list. Relatively cheap to pick a used one up and they are pretty luxurious SUVs. They are fairly compact for an SUV too. People discard them pretty quickly as too expensive to fix and own or as being too old (if the owners are kinda rich) so shouldn't be too hard to find regardless of your country.

Love your channel. Hopeful for the patch!

My first car that I had in HS and college was a 2001 Isuzu Trooper. Great vehicle, in the 6 years i owned it , i put roughly 45k miles on it, and the only issue it ever gave me was starter blew. No leaks, just an ultra dependable SUV. Sold it to by a LX570 when i finally had big boy money, didnt want to but it had one fatal flaw…..it was the 2WD model. Now I do lot of camping and off roading, but due to friends coming with me and not having a capable car, I bought an 05 Suburban Z71. But if i see a 4wd 01 trooper with the 20 year package, im hopping on that asap

A great addition to this list would have been a first or second gen Ford Explorer with either the 4.0L OHV V6 or the legendary 5.0L V8. They are also based of basically the same frame and power train as the Ranger.

I think I'm with you with the when it comes to the Porsche and the Toyota they're both underrated awesome good vehicles and honestly would be so cool to be like going down a trail with a Porsche

Interesting, I like your perspective. A more in depth pros/cons of the Porsche would be cool.

Nice list. Got a 4th Gen 4Runner earlier this year with the V8 for $12K. Love it.

Pretty great list

I love my 1995 XJ. Solid and running strong at over 300,000 miles.

Porsche… hmmmm… sounds awesome!!

I said this in the live chat, but it seems to have disappeared. Great list buddy! I still think I’m going to surprise people with how good the Jeep liberty is off-road and it’s definitely a budget rig 😉

Something to add on the frontier is they made a nismo edition that is the early pro4x that you can find for around 10k depending on miles. Has e locker and solid platform to start. Downside is the vq40 is known for weak timing chain guides, but if they are maintained and preventative done they’ll keep rocking

I love my GMC Yukon 2001 ! I beat the hell out that old SUV. It doesn’t give up!!!!!

Good list

You forgot a Jeep WJ! You can pick a decent one up for $3K, Straight Axle, Comfortable, and decent aftermarket support

Thanks!@Oxfoot, Jason greatly appreciate your time and effort to bring us your videos and reviews 👍🤙✌👊

I have a 04 Nissan Xterra and love it it goes anywhere we want has even pulled a f150 out of the mud with ease and all the bystanders in jeeps were shocked

Man I’ve wanted to build a Cayenne as an overlander for a while now. Would be so much fun!

Ooh I need myself my first patch for my new 2nd gen xterra

Just today in Puerto Rico there are 45 Monteros listed. Mitsu has always been prevalent in Puerto Rico, they are the same DOT US spec vehicles sold in the US and you can put one on a container or a carrier and get it to Jax in 5 days. A 2001 Montero I just saw listed for $9K

2010 4Runner has been looking real good lately at 10k

Loved watching this video! Thank you so much for the opportunity to be in this.

In the market and my top contender is the Sequoia, but now you going to make me go look at Porsche videos and doubt what I kind of already decided on.

Great video and love the vehicles that you mentioned! I currently own a 3rd and 5th gen 4Runner and would strongly recommend a 4Runner to anyone! I have also owned a Jeep XJ and definitely regret selling it, as the prices have increased dramatically for a good example. Can't beat an XJ Cherokee or 4Runner for reliability and off-roading.

I have always liked those Montero's. Wish the old man had kept that and the FJ40. Nice lineup of vehicles you put together there. I'm currently convincing my dad to buy up the Cayenne S for this stuff

LX570 is definitely up there too, it’s a 100 series land cruiser without the markup

The Cayennes sure look interesting, im finding plenty of them from 2006-2010 with under 150k - 200k kms for under 10.000$ cad, meanwhile same year 4 gen 4Runners and FJ's with 250-350k kms are 20.000$ cad and up, it's the worst time ever to start overlanding, guess i'll have to wait until next year

@Oxfoot, my bat i did watch this latest episode and it was awesome 👌

Getting conflicting info about the sequoia Atrac and it seems like it may just have something called “TRAC” but maybe not ATRAC. There is also people talking about how their later one does have ATRAC. Either way it’s got a lot of offroad capabilities.

One that you missed out on, which would be better than a Montero, WK Grand Cherokee. There is aftermarket support, its a great off-road package when he buy the trim with the Quadra Drive II system. I have one, a 2005 Limited with the Hemi. I paid 12k, with 77k miles a few years back. Have not had any problems with it. You can also find some of them with Mercedes Benz diesel engine.

Overlanding my 02 Chevy Tahoe Lt 4x4😉

I'm enjoying my 2010 xterra off road for the time being. Only around 125k on the clock.

@Oxfoot, Jason greatly appreciate your top 10 budget list 👌 been looking at the Cayenne, but appreciate your pick on XJ, and WJ at the end of your video, my wj has a 4.7v8, keep doing what your doing brahda, was a in depth budget list, thx Jason 👍

I would like to add the Volvo XC90 while im here especially with the D5 Diesel and 6 Speed Auto 😍 North America never got the Diesel but Europe does and there are tons of them around and trust me if you do oil changes regularly and at least one transmission flush in the cars life these drive trains are good for 300.000 Miles without major issues. The163hp version has the best fuel economy of them it can reach 40-50mpg when you take it easy and cruise along.

Would u ever look at the 2nd Gen Acura MDX for off-road stuff? The SHAWD system is pretty neat but idk how capable it is for off-roading. Not much off-road after market for it either

Out of curiosity, where do you think the 3rd gen Expedition falls?

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I have an R51 and it is great

Awesome video! I was so glad to see the Sequoia on this list! It’s definitely super under rated in my opinion and a great budget but super capable rig. I love mine!

I had originally started an extremely clean 01 Mazda B4000 build. Kick myself now for selling it. But like my F250 build as well. Great video, very informative.

vitaras and trackers do pretty well too

The xj 4.0 is the most bulletproof motor out of all the vehichles on your list. they take one heck of a beating, and run forever.

Even more underrated, A dodge dakota. im looking at a clean '99 with 44k miles and a bed cover

Great video! LR3 over cayenne tho. LR3 beats all of those in comfort, capabilities, and price combined. Also, pretty reliable 👌

Recently bought a 2004 Ford Explorer as a winter beater. Cost me $2,500. Considering taking it on trails, since I wouldn’t be very upset if that car literally never came back.

You forgot to add the GMT800 platform. Silverado tahoe and suburbans

You forgot the discovery 3/Lr3!! They are awesome overlanders lr3 is definitely the most reliable Land Rover out there and with all the room inside it’s definitely a very underrated off roader/overlander!

Still trying to find a late model first gen Sequoia. I hate how much they jumped in price. Also if your lucky you can find high mileage Land cruiser 80/100 for 15k or less, also the Lexus variable too.

I enjoy all of the rock crawling videos. However since a significant portion of Overlanders basically cruise down a trail and hang out in the wilderness, would a front wheel drive pickup handle basic trails with some dry or wet sand? Say like in central Florida.

When you started this video with a porsche I’m like 😶.. but then you added Xterra and Pathfinder now you’re talking 👊🏽

Monteros are fine but good luck getting parts for them. If you don't see many on the road then you're not going to find a lot of replacement parts for relatively cheap. I can still fully service my Land Cruiser 100, I just can't find an untracked rear wind deflector or a steering wheel. That's probably why if I was on a budget, I'd go for a 4th gen 4runner. the v6 is still a 400k mile engine easily and it gets better mpg than the 2uz. (which by the way, it doesn't say pre runner anywhere on the vehicle, and nobody on Facebook marketplace or craigslist or eBay will say "pre runner" to make it easy for you. If you want to distinguish between 4x4 or 2wd, look for the silver knob to the left of the climate controls in the 4th gen. And look for a physical hi-low range selector next to the drive selector in the 3rd gens.)

But honestly though most of these vehicles require so much money to get to where you want. A lift, 33's sliders, a rack. The truly most cost effective option for overlanding is to just get a TJ Jeep Wrangler. You can get a solid one for like 6k still and have 9k to do whatever, not that it'd need much because it can fit 31's from the factory without rubbing, it's got gobs of low end torque and they're dumb easy to work on. like yeah you don't have a ton of space but if you don't need it it's perfect and saves you a ton of money in mods. and if you need a lift to fit 37's you can get it for like $4-600 instead of $1200 for an old man emu kit for like any Toyota.

R51 2004-2012 Nissan Pathfinder.

I was thinking about getting a samurai after I pay off my 08 Sahara. I think it would be a fun project 🤔

2nd gen xterra ftw! I'd buy a 4runner but can't afford that tax

Should have included early 2000s gas ram/Ford 2500s. It's free 1tons and a ton of payload capacity for overlanding

Informative list!

I just went back to review your video after watching gear junkies video about the top 40 SUVs that can never go off-road. several of the vehicles from their list are on your video. Though it does appear that most of the vehicles on your video are meant to be upgraded, whereas I’m sure gear junkie is speaking to stock vehicles.

in my family we have 2 pathfinders, mine is at 400k km and my dad is at 575k km, both vg33, lack of power but NEVER left us stranded. never, also the Montero or Pajero is very cool, King of Dakar, and no LR Discovery? those are good but better with an engine swap

I know it's almost impossible now. But I got an 96 lx450_80 series, 155k on the clock, no issues or rust for 15.7k a month ago

Don’t sleep on rebuilt or salvage title off roaders. I found a 2016 Tacoma OR for 23k last year. It was low miles and very clean. Stay away from water damage and get the carfax. I bought a Trooper for $800 in 2003. Just put on mud tires and beat the hell out it. Very surprised with it.

Montereo/Pajero 3 and 4 are mostly the same - 4 has better diesel engines(still 4m41 but with added common rail and better turbo). Reliability is not an issue in those.

I'm surprised the Jeep WJ didn't make this list. Just as cable as the XJ, less expensive, newer and more creature comforts than its predecessor.

The Mercedes ML w163 from 1997 to 2004, the Jurassic Park vehicle, great offroad and on, with it's 4matic and low range gear truly unstable, just like the Porch cayenne, for little money this days

Gen 1 Honda Ridgelines should be one of the top choices IMO

What about the Mitsubishi Montero sport?

I didn't see a crv on the list. I have a lifted 99 overland.

A cheaper alternative to the porsche would be the VW touareg. If you search hard you can also find the trim with front locker.

I have a beautiful built 2018 TRD off Road premium and it’s price has risen a lot in value. The thing is I’m coming from a BMW M3 so I miss going fast a lot of the time and in Jersey I don’t do much Overlanding. I was thinking about selling it and using half to buy a C7 Vette and the other half to buy a Cayenne so I can still hit the beach in the summer with my vehicle. What do y’all think? I was offered 40k from Toyota

You could add the 07-10 grand Cherokee or commander. Limited model 5.7 hemi quadra drive 2. Has a front, center, and rear differential with electronic limited slip. That actually locks them together like lockers

Lada Niva is also an excellent choice

I drive a 2006 H3 , it’s heavy gas hog …however it hold its own on the trail and small crawling. I keep it because it’s paid f🤷🏻‍♂️

The ZJ not being on this list is BLASPHEMY 😂😂

For an improved version of the Montero, you can import a turbodiesel 5-speed Pajero for under $15K. More style as well.

My next vehicle will be a Sequoia, however I think I'll go for a 2nd gen for the room and larger engine.

Just wondering why no one ever mentions the Nissan Titan, Armada, and QX56?

I was expecting to see the Lexus GX 470 on this list

1. 1980-86 Ford Bronco.

3rd gen=best gen Basically any Toyot 4x4 between 1995-2010 is going to be a great budget 4x4. I love my 3rd gen. Really want a 1st gen Sequoia or a GX.

i have a 2wd 3rd gen 4trunner so i cant really really overland lmao. So im not cool like you guys. i Just play in dirt and daily the damn thing. Yay. lol xD