alright im a 17 year old senior in high school as of now im driving an 87 camry that is going to die soon. soo the other day i took my car to a grass feild in the rain soo the was some mud and wet grass i pulled on to it and started messing around. i had a blast. so since my car is going to die iv been looking into buying a truck. i want something i can fit my subs in and has good stock wheeling capibilitys my friend drives a ford ranger and he took me off roading and it was alot of fun. then my other frind has an s10 that he slammed and hes trying to get me to buy i chevy i was looking at blazers but it looks like they sit kinda low. well at least the normal 4x4 not the zr2 but im probably going to buy a blazer buy the end of the year what should i look for in the blazer if i want a reliable wheelin truck that i dont need to dump a ton of money into to have fun off road

 

well, if you can get an early 90's (1st gen) s series, they will take a pretty good beating and are fairly handy on the road and not gonna break the bank to repair as needed as part will be common.

If you want a bit more comfort, get a 95-00. you should be able to pull one pretty cheap. They may not look like much (stock wise) but come with larger tires STOCK than you can put on a cherokee with out modding.

With a budget of say $2 grand you can get a nice car with HIGHLY limited mods.
With a budget of the same 2 grand you could get an '89 k-series beater on 33's and trash it with some money left in your pocket.

be careful. if this is how you want to spend your money, you will do it anyway, but the first time you say, drive your brand new (to you) 2000 blazer into a pond and blow the engine up because you have little to no business mudding in it and spend the same amount on a new engine you did on the car, you will think twice about trashing your wheels just because it's fun to be all dirty.

Mud responsibly

welcome to the forum

 

im def looking into a 2nd gen and i def dont plan on do much hard core wheelin with it because im buying it almost new with little miles on it i just want to know what model or specs i should look for in it at the dealership before i buy i was reading some threads saying something about a locking rear end some blazerrs come with like little things like that, that you think i should know about would be nice all i plan on doing when i get it is throwing bigger tires but i dont want to go to big for the stock ride hight

 

We're glad to have you as a new member, but please use punctuation, capiltalization, and paragraphs in your posts. It makes them sooo much easier to read.

 

x2....please!!

As for the offroad capabilities of stock Blazers they are pretty impressive. I've gotten through a few ditches I never thought I would have gotten through on stock height. The only problem with the Blazers is they have a somewhat smaller ground clearance since the frame sits pretty low. Hope you decide to get a Blazer. If you do I think you will be impressed
BTW - The biggest tire you can fit on a stock height is 30x9.5 (since I can see you asking that question later I'll take care of it now for you lol). You already mentioned the ZR2's. They come stock lifted 2" so if you're looking for a better off road truck then a ZR2 would be a good start. Be sure to check out the 4x4 on any truck you buy. The early 00's Blazers had a lot of problems with encoder motors and transfer cases. They were famous for breaking or not working, so be sure the 4x4 engages when you test drive whatever you're buying.
Welcome to the forum.

 

Welcome.

 

Welcome! Also have to agree the Blazer is really a capable vehicle off road i've taken my Stock '95 through stuff that got Jeeps and other modifieds stuck, so that should give you an idea.... hell just look at my avatar lol

 

sisk you read my mind about the tire size lol


yea i havent even made a purchase yet but i will keep you guys informed. i'm probably going to get a blazer it just a matter of time and what funds i have availible.

thanks for the help everyone im sure ill have more questions.

 

so are we. hope to see you back with some more answers then

 

1) absolutely true, 110%! i wouldn't dare beat on my '98, like i did to my '92.

2) really? i thought the Cherokee's had the same size tires as our Blazers. guess you learn something new everyday.

thanks for taking the advice.

if you plan on doing a minimal amount of off-roading, then a 2nd gen will suffice-but be rally careful of that front bumper-they tend to be really unforgiving if you bounce on them.

one really good thing about these 2nd gen trucks, you can take apart some of the problem areas to inspect them before you buy it. i'm talking about pulling up the front carpet to look @ the inside of the cab mounts. i'm talking about the typical rot that appears on the floor in each corner, and for this you'll need to "pop" the sill plate off with your fingers. and while you're in there, you may as well pull off the kick panels to see if the panels are rotted as well.
also check the firewall seam in the engine bay (runs about 4 or 5 inches above the engine) i've seen so many of these trucks going bad here, it's not funny anymore.

good luck with the search 'n buy.