Overlanding/Race Car Hauler on a TIGHT Budget. Isuzu (pooper) Trooper Content

I have had some great offroad vehicle over the years. Ive also had soe great tow vehicles. 

But all of them either only did one thing well or cost me FAR more than what I can afford in our current season of life while my wife is in Grad School. 

This time my total budget is $5,000. And I want it to be decent at everything. 

Past Vehicles:

1996 Ford F250 2wd

1985 Chevy CUCV with 1 tons, and 6.5 Detroit Diesel (One of my all time favorite vehicles I have ever owned)

2008 Nissan Titan 4Door4x4

1997 Ford E250

2000 Jeep XJ 

2009 Toyota 4Runner 

AND NOW: 

2001 Isuzu Trooper. 

I did a ton of research and got really excited about these things. They have tons of cargo space. Decent towing capacity (for what and how I tow) and its very capable as an overlanding vehicle. It's got 190K on it with a newly rebuilt transmission and a low mile engine swapped in it. NO Rust. Its been heavily smoked in. Today I spent 6hrs deep cleaning in it and now it smells great. The paint is a bit rough but its passable. Its been slightly lifted. Front CVS are toast. 

But, I paid $1200. 

Future Plans: 

Paint correction, rock sliders, Better brakes, Old Man Emu Struts. Winch bumper, New Proper tires, Storage and sleeping platform for the rear, Overlanding gear etc. 

Looking forward to this! $1200 seems like a good deal. What are you looking to tow with it?

Would love to see pictures of the CUCV. Was it a M1009 or M1008?

I've wondered about these. Looking forward to how it goes. 

looks like a 1uz swap candidate to me unless you're going diesel.  Granted, I don't know much about these motors. 

I really like these things with a manual. I'm lucky to have first hand experience with one. I actually towed a car on a car dolley for several hundred miles in a borrowed 5spd Trooper very similar to the one you bought. Nothing objectionable that i can remember. I would have totally bought that Trooper off my friend if he hadn't wrecked it. It was awesome. I've also owned a 2g Montero (probably the closest equivalent you could buy in US) and still like the Trooper a lot, so that's saying something in my mind. 

Recently rebuilt auto trans is the cherry on top of this deal. 

In reply to tux424 :

Its was the much better and beefier m1008. 

It was a retired military truck turned brush truck for the fire department. I bought it from the fire chief's nephew who somehow got his hands on it. IT WAS A STUD. 

(that is florida's state flag on the vanity plate BTW)

So, Pooper Trooper Update. 

I spent about 6hrs with my steam machine (I do automotive detailing on the side) and went throught about 15 terry towels. It was DISGUSTING... The amount of smoke,tar and nicotine that came out that interior made me want to puke. BUT. The trooper NO longer smells like smoke. Its been almost 2 weeks and the smell is totally gone. 

I also towed for the first time this weekend with it and the trooper did surprisingly well.  The engine and tranny  seemed to pull both loads on a 17ft steel trailer well. The struts and springs on these are super soft from the factory and the current struts are for sure blown. That being said, with the Old Man Emu setup I plan to run soon we should have the towing pretty well sorted. The clutch on the A/C compressor went out so that's freaking dandy but I did manage to get and incredible deal on some really nice brand new Falken WildPeak AT3W's so im stoked on that. Got axles and seals from rockauto for about $170 shipped to my door and also picked up some superwinch Front Manual locking hubs for $120 (this will save my new CVS from the torment that the current set endured) I got some generic "cut to fit" weatherTech nock off floor mats from ebay for $45. I'm feeling pretty good about this buy. I really like the trooper. It has so much room. Got to get some minor things done and then off to the woods with my wife and the dogs for a day trip and some exploring. 

So far, Holden the "pooper trooper" Gets an A+ from me. 

You may already have it in your plans, but I bet that Trooper would really benefit from a nice transmission cooler if you'll be loading it up for towing.

Cool stuff. I’ll follow this one too! 

Several of these in my area CHEAP but most of the cheapest examples state transmission issue of one kind or the other. Is that a common failure point? Is there a good fix out there?

yes, auto trans is a common fail point on those.   Great vehicles otherwise.

I wouldn't tow a car at highway speeds with it though, they are not HP and braking powerhouses, not to mention the time bomb transmission.

Get some airbags for the rear to level out when towing. They are like $100 and easy to install. Well worth it, we run them on the Sequoia when towing.

In reply to irish44j :

That is a great idea! Is there a specific company you have found that makes a quality product? What are you running? Thanks for the advice and feedback. 

That m1008 is awesome, and its even cooler that it was a fire departments brush truck. I'd love to get one of those some day. First thing on the list would probably be swapping out the 6.2l diesel though, those are dogs from what I've heard.

No need to explain the vanity plate. If you go lookin you'll find plenty of confederates flag in the backwoods of "Missourah"

The "pooper" seems like a decent tow rig, keep up the good work! 

In reply to tux424 :

It was a great truck. I loved it. Mine had had the crappy 6.2 swapped out for the slightly less crappy 6.5 out of the hummers of that generation. It was good. I even had a turbo kit for it that I never got around to installing. 

If I were to own one again:

Id swap either a LS truck motor in it or if I had the $$$ a P-pumped Cummins. 

Great rigs but they are going up in price like crazy!

Project Pooper Trooper Update: 

She has been sitting for a while after the A/C compressor locked up. Being that the heat is rolling in i haven't been driving it. But Ill have time here soon.

Purchases

$150 for a brand new Compressor

$90 for new front Axels 

$125 for Manual Locking Hubs for the front

$450 for Falken Wildpeak AT3W AT'S - 265/75R16 116T Got them on Amazon with FREE shipping with Prime. 

$45 for "motortrend" WeatherTech  Knockoff floor mats from Ebay

$225 for a Brand New Optima Yellow top and Terminals 

Total Invested so far:

$2285

Coming soon: AirLift Leveling Bags for towing, a cheap DIY air system as well as a roof rack, camping awning and auxiliary lighting.  Storage Boxes in the rear with a fold out sleeping platform. 

Future Plans... Retrofit a Jeep winch bumper to the front. Figure out suspension issues and Start doing things like this:

Here is the bumper Im ordering. Its just too inexpensive not to give it a try. 

$180 from ebay with free shipping and the Cree lights included. 

B13Birk said:

In reply to irish44j :

That is a great idea! Is there a specific company you have found that makes a quality product? What are you running? Thanks for the advice and feedback. 

I have Air Lift brand, which fit inside the rear coil springs on my Sequoia. Don't recall what rear suspension the Trooper has, but there are other bags they make that "stand alone" outside the spring, though they cost a bit more.

B13Birk said:

Here is the bumper Im ordering. Its just too inexpensive not to give it a try. 

$180 from ebay with free shipping and the Cree lights included. 

 

hmm...interested on how you get it to fit, etc. I've been looking for a winch bumper for the Sequoia, but the only ones made to fit are really ugly and/or really expensive. 

I just trashed my 2002 Trooper with the sh!t-tastic automatic trans. Was gonna be 2800 to rebuild. No thanks. 

Stay on top of the fluids, add a cooler ASAP, or I can pretty much guarantee you'll be looking at a rebuild, especially towing.

Check out how many automatic troopers are for sale on CL "needing transmission work" and you'll see why.

Absolutely the worst thing GM coulda thrown under that otherwise awesome SUV.

Enjoy! Also, it's time to check your tranny fluid. Then check it again. ;)

In reply to VWguyBruce :

GM threw a sh!t-tastic transmission in these things...WAY too small for the 4000# beast. That's why I got rid of mine - couldn't justify an over $2000 tranny rebuild when the Trooper cost me 1500 to begin with.