Thread: Cheap 4WD opinions

So it's getting time to retire the old bighorn. Been a capable truck, but life is getting too busy to maintain a 30yo vehicle.
I'm not in the market yet, I'll be selling a few things to fund it, but I want to figure out exactly what I want to buy so I know what I need to aim for $$$ wise. Going to sell the old truck and my old caravan.
I'm guessing budget will be somewhere around $10k to $12k

I've always been into the suv style surf/prado/bighorn etc for sleeping in the back of, but with most options being 30 years old (what I'm trying to upgrade away from) or out of the potential budget I'm starting to consider a ute and possibly a roof top tent down the track.
Needs to be capable and reliable, and fuel consumption would be a consideration.
I've had a look around, and navara, triton, bt50/bounty seems to be doable. What I want to know is what I should be looking at in terms of reliability, common issues and what to avoid for heavy fuel consumption.
The bighorn is thirsty enough, especially towing!