I go up to the High Country from 3 days to a week and a half at a time around four or five times a year, normally with 3 to four vehicles one of which is an FJ, the others Patrols and my JKU Jeep. The FJ has all the fruit from ARB including 2" lift (not as radical as what you are proposing), lockers, bar work, roof rack etc. I'm quite impressed with the FJ's capability, it goes where the rest of us go usually with very little trouble. In 4WD terms it's probably not as good as the Jeep and is on par with the Patrols in a lot of cases. I've noticed that going up hills on steep technical sections the FJ has a bit more wheel spin and less suspension travel. It goes everywhere we go but it does it a bit harder on some sections.
With respect to storage capacities, when we go away it's usually just the boys, one person per vehicle. When I look in my mate's Patrol he has heaps of spare room, mine is usually loaded up to the window line and the guy in the FJ has his loaded to the roof. People say that the FJ has more room than the JKU but I can't see it unless you remove the rear seats completely. With the rear seats up the back is tiny. However I do like the FJ's loading ease with all the doors open.
I reckon you'd be happy with either vehicle, you've weighed up the pluses and the minus' and they're pretty much of a muchness. It's up to you to prioritise which ones are more important to you. I would, however, consider what you want to do with your aftermarket options. You talk of long arm kits etc, virtually turning the FJ into an off road weapon and then you want to tow a trailer which won't allow it to reach its full potential. If I was you I'd buy standard, as you intend to do, but don't do any mods until you've taken it out a few times.
P.S. The FJ has way better fuel capacity, if you want similar in a JKU you're looking at an additional $2K for a long range tank.
|
