On a whim, I purchased a 1986 Suzuki Samurai as a cheap four-wheeler, with the object to have a lot of fun with it, without spending a bunch of cash.

My friend Auneal made me an offer I couldn't refuse:  A 1986 Suzuki Samurai in good condition for $1500.00 with air conditioning that really worked!

I had been looking for a "cheepie" 4-wheeler, to fill the gap between my truck and the Jeep that I would someday buy.  The Samurai seemed like a good little truck, with the emphasis on little; however it ran well, and since my friend is an excellent mechanic, he promised to fix it for parts-only, as long as I owned it. Note:  I never got to take him up on the Samurai offer; however he fixed our daughter Casey's car after a "deer hunting" accident for parts-only; what a guy!  Casey went deer hunting using her car; it killed the deer and nearly killed her car.  But, that's another story...

Left:  Our Samurai poses on a trail, only a couple of miles from our home.  Sadly, has been lost to Roseville's urban sprawl.  Right:  A close-up of our Samurai.  Note the ham 2-meter antenna on the right-hand side, and just above the roof, the c.b. antenna can be seen.  It also sports CA4WDC decals; a must for my vehicles...

When I brought it home, the Samurai was bone-stock.  I made the following modifications to it immediately, to prepare it for the trail:

* Installed a c.b. and a "ham" 2-meter transceiver for communications

* Installed a tool chest with tools, survival gear, parts and "getting unstuck" items

* Tied-down the battery, installed a first-aid kit, fire-extinguisher and shovel

* Changed all fluids, wipers, aired-up the tires, etc...

I took it on a few minor trail runs and one or two camping trips.  I found it was a "gutless wonder" on the road, as the little four-banger just didn't have the needed get-up-and-go.  Heading east on Donner Pass, I found myself in the slow lane most of the time, with loaded semi-trucks passing me.  Also, the gas mileage was lousy, hovering around 20 mpg.  When you consider that it has a 10-gallon tank, that doesn't leave a whole lot of range.  If you choose to carry extra gas, or just about extra anything else, it's a chore, as there's just not a whole lot of room.

Left:  Here's the only rear-view photo of the Samurai that I managed to keep.  Notice the shovel attatched to the spare tire, which is a fixture in any four-wheeler that I own.  Right:  Four wheeling in the shadow of downtown Sacramento, on the series of levees that keep the Sacramento River in check.

A few months later, our family friend Jack Bower needed to borrow a vehicle, as his was giving him trouble and he was between jobs. So for several months, we loaned the Samurai to Jack until he was able to get his car repaired. After that, I drove it to work once a week or so, just to keep it running. But, I really didn't use it all that much and it was sort of in the way most of the time.

So in February 2004, I took lots of pictures of it and I built a web site, advertising the Samurai for sale.  I placed an ad in our local paper, including the URL for the web page I built for it, and sold the Samurai in a couple of days.

The Samurai was not a bad little truck and for me, it was a good deal, considering how much I paid for it and considering how much my operating expenses were.  There is only one major problem with a Samurai; It is not a Jeep!