Do Full Sized Vehicles Make Good Overland Cars?
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Peter_n_Margaret
Adventurer
Needs to be forward control to get a decent living area to overall size ratio.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
Tex68w
Beach Bum
Like others have already said, Overlanding and Off-Roading are two completely different disciplines. I love a full-size for Overlanding where the name of the game is to carry most of the gear (and people) needed to live on the road for a certain length of time and still be able to handle the terrain you might encounter when you get off the beaten path. Off-roading is purely about capability off-road and a lighter weight mid-size is almost always going to be better suited for that task. Most combine both with the mid-size stuff but like anything in life, there's a draw back to any one option, nothing is perfect and you must find the balance that works for your particular needs.
I have found over the years that I need/want one of each. I much prefer to travel in the full-size where I tend to have more comfort and all the room anyone could ever need but I definitely prefer to off-road in a midsize as their more compact size and lower weight is better suited for the terrain. We don't have kids so if forced to have just one the mid-size would likely be the better option for us all-around, but it's hard to beat the space and comfort that the full-size provides. I am over trying to roll it all into one vehicle and going forward we will likely always have a mid-size of some sort built up for off-road use and a full-size for our longer distance travel, overland and towing needs.
At the end of the day, most of my true off-roading is done on two wheels these days and I really only need my off-road vehicle to get me to the trail head the majority of the time, a proper full-size will always be capable of that duty.
I have found over the years that I need/want one of each. I much prefer to travel in the full-size where I tend to have more comfort and all the room anyone could ever need but I definitely prefer to off-road in a midsize as their more compact size and lower weight is better suited for the terrain. We don't have kids so if forced to have just one the mid-size would likely be the better option for us all-around, but it's hard to beat the space and comfort that the full-size provides. I am over trying to roll it all into one vehicle and going forward we will likely always have a mid-size of some sort built up for off-road use and a full-size for our longer distance travel, overland and towing needs.
At the end of the day, most of my true off-roading is done on two wheels these days and I really only need my off-road vehicle to get me to the trail head the majority of the time, a proper full-size will always be capable of that duty.
phsycle
Adventurer
This is pretty much where I’m at. I’ve had plenty of midsize trucks. Maybe I may get another one day when the kids are out of the house (Bronco looks very promising. 7-speed MT with crawl gear—yes, please, and thank you). But a full-size would be plenty capable to get me to the trailheads and roam the backcountry trails.
If I need to get an off-road fix today, it’s going to be on a mountain bike, dirt bike, or an ATV.
I live in Western TN which is the home of soft ground whether it is sand or bottomless mud. The SJ series Suvs are by far the most capable vehicle for this kind of terrain assuming you can keep it light like i do. More importantly it is the most fun i have ever had driving a vehicle whether it is around town or offroad. it is like driving a street legal go cart and off road is very much like riding a 4 wheeler. It has never gotten under 20 MPG no matter what i have done to it. Lockers are great but do not make as much of a difference in a lightweight rig like they do in heavier rigs.
I would say the most capable off roader for all around riding would be any 2 door Rubicon. toss on some tube fenders, bumpers and soft coils and you have an incredibly capable/durable off roader. Right behind that i would rate the 80s era solid axle toyota pickups again with soft springs and lockers. Depending on the terrain i would put the SJ series Suvs either in front of or right behind those two.
for special mention i would rate the 70s/80s era standard cab short bed pickups. my 85 K10 weighs less than a newish tacoma and has 350hp and 400#' of torque on hand. is surprisingly flexy and with a rear locker is very capable.
Now on to the real question which one of these vehicles would i take on a cross country journey where i explore parks, blm land, fire roads and whatever all while living out of it? well none of them i would take my Tahoe.
alanymarce
Well-known member
That's a good point - we took 5 days to cross the Simpson; we could have taken twice that, or more, with no problem in terms of food and water, however we were also seeking to optimise our time for the rest of our trip, and more time would have taken time out of somewhere else. It's true that if we wanted to spend a month in the Simpson, we'd have to add more food and water, and would potentially have run out of cold beer after three weeks or so...
We've never been unable to get where we want to go - across the Bolivian Desert, Lençois Maranhenses, Misiones Bioreserve, Maun to Kasane, North Mount Elgon, Palm Valley, NT... Now we are not interested in putting the vehicle into situations in which risk we breaking something, just to prove a point - if there's an easy way then we'll usually take it, however we've certainly pushed the limit of "overlanding" I believe.
I think you're right in terms of "off road" capability, however when we bought our current vehicle, we looked hard at a Rubicon and it was simply not comfortable enough, nor big enough to set up for sleeping. We've travelled in my daughter's and son in law's Wrangler and after a couple of hours it's just not comfortable. Driving 750 Km or so on a surfaced road would be unpleasant, and doing so on an unsurfaced road (e.g., Babati to Mbeya by the Rungwa road) would be a nightmare. Once again - what's good for "off road" is not what you want for "overlanding".
4x4tripping
Adventurer
It is hard to say, but the weight can kill the fun pretty quick...
The Landcruiser 200 V8 Diesel comes stock with 3to in european specifications (14 Airbags and so on, mostly more an Lexus 570 Diesel). Ab beast doing offroading - but there are szenarios where a light rubicon or similar performs better:
- Steep passages of Sand
- Steep passages uphill on slightly wet gras or on gras
We did severall outings at 3,5to (limit of my driving licence and of the car legally) - with a group of cars.
The heavy ones like the Land Cruiser - was always the first who needs the winch. On Sand a poor point , because of anchor points
For Overlanding or Worldtripping the 3.5tons arent easily to keep. We did travel not legal, with near 4 tons through the world.
And we did NOT carry a second Spare Wheel with rim, nothing bigger than 33 tyres, nor rear bar, no rock sliders, nor a hd high jack, no spare parts, no built in toilet That kind of stuff is barely legal for weekend trips.
For travelling abroad this is to add to the weight bill:
Here I did wrote it more detailed together: https://www.4x4tripping.com/2014/05/gelandewagen-umbau-seilwinde-stosstange.html
We did travel the world (partly) with Standard-Size (?) but overloaded. What did that mean?
- It was not legal
- we was able to go where we want to go mostly
- We was able to cross limited hight and width areas (Tunnels, small Tracks build more for bike riders)
- was able to do serious offroad stuff, mudd, rock, sand.
What was problematic during the way?
- driving the biggest dunes in africa upwards
- driving real steep stuff in the andes, romainia and other points without winching or help or "to find a lighter way up". (on gras, mud, terrain, not stone or tarmac)
- bit more repairs than stock, but just a bit.
If fullsize would have limited my trip? Yes, sometimes.
But it brings also more comfort with it. Consider that you had too to pay other road taxes, get weighed on the road. Guess, if oversized, you should do it right with 12to to or above.
Most Overlanders dont doing hard offroad when beying 500km or more out of any maintenance, We did, we paid with repairds but had fun ;-)
I would go the ultra lightway path, if planning a rebuild. Other guys travel the world by feet. bike - and show is 4x4`s how less it really needs.
For me is Offroading a part of travelling. Most travellers need 4x4 to be able to, but usually dont need it.
Depends on you, as many other stuff.
To clarify: The Landcruiser is with the right suspension able to handle 5to like the Br7 Armored Cruiser like they sold worldwide. We did the AHC Suspension Upgrade and know that the car was build to handle that weight---
Surfy
The Landcruiser 200 V8 Diesel comes stock with 3to in european specifications (14 Airbags and so on, mostly more an Lexus 570 Diesel). Ab beast doing offroading - but there are szenarios where a light rubicon or similar performs better:
- Steep passages of Sand
- Steep passages uphill on slightly wet gras or on gras
We did severall outings at 3,5to (limit of my driving licence and of the car legally) - with a group of cars.
The heavy ones like the Land Cruiser - was always the first who needs the winch. On Sand a poor point , because of anchor points
For Overlanding or Worldtripping the 3.5tons arent easily to keep. We did travel not legal, with near 4 tons through the world.
And we did NOT carry a second Spare Wheel with rim, nothing bigger than 33 tyres, nor rear bar, no rock sliders, nor a hd high jack, no spare parts, no built in toilet That kind of stuff is barely legal for weekend trips.
For travelling abroad this is to add to the weight bill:
Here I did wrote it more detailed together: https://www.4x4tripping.com/2014/05/gelandewagen-umbau-seilwinde-stosstange.html
We did travel the world (partly) with Standard-Size (?) but overloaded. What did that mean?
- It was not legal
- we was able to go where we want to go mostly
- We was able to cross limited hight and width areas (Tunnels, small Tracks build more for bike riders)
- was able to do serious offroad stuff, mudd, rock, sand.
What was problematic during the way?
- driving the biggest dunes in africa upwards
- driving real steep stuff in the andes, romainia and other points without winching or help or "to find a lighter way up". (on gras, mud, terrain, not stone or tarmac)
- bit more repairs than stock, but just a bit.
If fullsize would have limited my trip? Yes, sometimes.
But it brings also more comfort with it. Consider that you had too to pay other road taxes, get weighed on the road. Guess, if oversized, you should do it right with 12to to or above.
Most Overlanders dont doing hard offroad when beying 500km or more out of any maintenance, We did, we paid with repairds but had fun ;-)
I would go the ultra lightway path, if planning a rebuild. Other guys travel the world by feet. bike - and show is 4x4`s how less it really needs.
For me is Offroading a part of travelling. Most travellers need 4x4 to be able to, but usually dont need it.
Depends on you, as many other stuff.
To clarify: The Landcruiser is with the right suspension able to handle 5to like the Br7 Armored Cruiser like they sold worldwide. We did the AHC Suspension Upgrade and know that the car was build to handle that weight---
Surfy
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Boatbuilder79
Well-known member
A v8 crew cab f 150 would be perfect if it didn’t have to go back to the shop so much.
A 36 gallon tank and 17 mpg Loaded down on the highway at speed is twice the range my wife’s 4 runner.
and it cost less, came with a locker, can tow twice as much, has a lot more payload and space.
just wish we could trust it not to break down.
A 36 gallon tank and 17 mpg Loaded down on the highway at speed is twice the range my wife’s 4 runner.
and it cost less, came with a locker, can tow twice as much, has a lot more payload and space.
just wish we could trust it not to break down.
D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
We had about 10 of the 5.0 F150s in our fleet at work...they gave us very few problems in the ~150,000 miles we ran them before turning them in.
D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
I have a SuperCrew and loooove it. The interior is huge and it rides so much nicer than my Tundra ever did.
85_Ranger4x4
Well-known member
Put down the kool-aid and try one.
Mine has 184k miles and is 18 years old. Over the 4th I drove it from Omaha to Chicago and back. Out on Friday and back Saturday. Truck didn't miss a beat and it was even hauling a camper in the back for the return trip.
I have had the thing 15 years this year, I got it with 25k. I need to go to a crew cab but I really hate to get rid of it.
Need versus want. Don’t let Instagram or some parenting website tell you what your children “need” on a trip. About 5 years ago we took off on a trip and realized about 100 miles in that the diaper bag was still in the kitchen.
I’ve backpacked with less than we hauled in that bag.
I stopped at a pharmacy and $20 later I had diapers, wipes, pacifiers, and a couple of bottles. It all fit nicely in the plastic bag they put it in at the checkout.
I think I might still have bruises from pointing this efficiency out to her!
I need the space, I get odd looks during hunting season when I'm trying to unpack my gear. But that little car has served me well. All terrain tires my bow and a cooler and I'm expo cool. ********
D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
Well...lol... I'm not on instagram and all we took was "needs." The kiddo has to have somewhere safe to sleep, a stroller is a necessity with a little one if you are out for any amount of time. Gotta bring warm clothes if it's in the winter and there are all the other odds and ends.