"I'm really looking for something relatively cheap that I wouldn't have to be afraid of hurting."

Like i said man Isuzu Trooper

The only reason why the engine blew is because i was out of town for a week and my girl "did not realize" the check oil light was on.

Hahahaa yeah its almost comical

 

Troopers are not bad....but if you end up liking it and want to build it up there is nothing aftermarket for it.
You can get an older Toyota,Suzuki Sami or Nissan relatively cheap...and there is huge aftermarket for them...both the Toy and Nissan have stout rear ends and you can run 33" tires with very little mods(trimming fenders so no money)
I still have my stock rear axle with a spool in it,35's and 5.29 gears....have yet to break anything and I am pretty hard on it. I am a Yota enthusiast so if yo have any questions about them I would be happy to answer them...I have had a built up Nissan Pathfinder and it worked well....and Sami's are just cool,would love to build one someday.

Basically what ever you get.... the easiest thing to do is weld up the rear diff and it will go alot of places.

 

I don't know how many aftermarket parts I would end up needing/wanting once I start offroading. I don't plan on mudding or driving underwater, but I'm guessing I will still end up needing more than just a lift kit, right?

Sorry, I'm a total newb when it comes to trucks/SUVs.

 

Like I said.....get yourself a decent running truck/suv....put a decent set of tires on it and either a cheap rear locker and wheel it....if you like it you can dump big $$$ or be resourceful and do it kinda cheap.....When I built mine all gun-ho off the bat.....for instance my front axle I have about 6k into it...but it will never break....hopefully