Which Overland Vehicle and Why?

[85_Ranger4x4]

Who has ever had their tank dipped? I mean them personally. Not someone who knows a guy who lived next door to someone who’s brother had his tank dipped.


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I only run gas... so dip away.

Of the states on the list, there are a few like Colorado, Arizona and California that are also popular for overlanding. I bet a deleted truck will get loved tenderly in CA and they seem to be grumpy enough to check the fuel to see if they could throw another book at you too.

 

[deserteagle56]

So that's 2x the MPG and 2x the GVWR, nice sales pitch for diesel.

I'm waiting to see how the new diesel Wrangler does in the real world.

My Rubicon has averaged 15 mpg over the past 9 years. Car and Driver recently put 750 miles on one of the new 4 door Wrangler diesels (much heavier than my 2 door) and averaged 25 mpg. To me, that's huge. With a 20 gallon tank it adds 200 miles to my range so I wouldn't have to pack gas cans nearly as much. I'm hoping I can get better than 25 mpg - any vehicle Car and Driver has tested that I have owned I have easily beat their fuel mileage, sometimes by quite a lot. Not to mention the 440 pound feet of torque @ 1600 rpm versus 250 pound feet at 3500.

My concern is the idling around at low rpms with the new diesels with diesel particulate filters. I have a coworker with a Ram/Cummins 6.7 and he tells me that when he is out scouting for elk on rough roads, idling for hours on end, periodically he has to stop and put his foot in it to bring the rpm way up so the truck can go through the regeneration process. I have a fairly new Kubota diesel tractor - the owner's manual specifically mentions keeping the engine rpms up once the engine is warmed up to keep the exhaust hot to aid the regeneration process.

 

[Nathansharkey80]

There will be a chip that comes out that takes care of this for you. I wouldn’t be concerned at all. Diesel is the only way to go for overlanding. Guys telling you different are only fooling themselves or they just don’t know any different. I have had and still have both diesel and gas jobbies and for overlanding, you can’t beat a diesel.


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[Nathansharkey80]

Man you can go overlanding by bicycle, motorcycle, horse and carriage also. But I would seriously say that diesel is that way to go. Like I said, unless you love dealing with jerry cans and extra loaded weight of extra fuel.


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[CampStewart]

The jeep must have a pretty tall suspension lift, or a lot of mods to fit 37's. I don't care what the factory gvw was with F and R 60's with 488's and the springs necessary for 37 inch tires I think a discussion about it being overloaded is silly. That is except for engine performance. If I had that jeep I would be thinking about improving the suspension, maybe lowering the CG, and more power.. In short I would be thinking about refining the vehicle I have. Need more storage space, pull a small trailer or a rear rack.

Edit id like to know where all these diesel guys are going in the US that they can't find a gas station or couldn't make their destination with a gas powered vehicle . kooky talk i believe.

 

[nitro_rat]

id like to know where all these diesel guys are going in the US that they can't find a gas station or couldn't make their destination with a gas powered vehicle . kooky talk i believe.

x2

If you're going somewhere you can't get on a full tank of gas the weight of that diesel is going to have you burning up any fuel savings dragging winch cable. MOST diesels (any modern 3/4-1 ton truck diesel for sure) are heavy pigs and not well suited to off-road use. They are great for pulling heavy trailers down the highway!

Around here we have lots of mud and diesel trucks are the worst at getting stuck in mud. Too much weight on the front axle. I'm sure the axle weight is also a penalty in the rocks or really any situation off the road.

The JK is a great platform for overland travel, just out of my budget. I travel a lot for work and grab one for a rental every chance I get!

 

[IdaSHO]

On the contrary, diesel is MORE of an issue for range when it really counts.
There are plenty of places in the country that have gas, but no diesel.

There is one such area/regular trip of ours, not too far from our home, that really pushed the range of our 7.3PSD truck as the last few towns just getting into the area didnt have diesel.
Plenty of gasoline though, just have to pay a lot for it ?

 

[calicamper]

100 or preferably 200 series Land Cruiser is what I personally would look for as a generic answer.

Oh, on edit, you said why. Comfortable on pavement and off. Decently capable right out of the box. Good aftermarket support. Worldwide support. Over engineered. Can haul both people and/or gear. Proven engines and mechanicals.

Only downsides are cost of entry (though upside is good resale) and fuel milage isn't stellar.

The built JK gets better mileage than the LC. ?

 

[calicamper]

On the contrary, diesel is MORE of an issue for range when it really counts.
There are plenty of places in the country that have gas, but no diesel.

There is one such area/regular trip of ours, not too far from our home, that really pushed the range of our 7.3PSD truck as the last few towns just getting into the area didnt have diesel.
Plenty of gasoline though, just have to pay a lot for it ?

I noticed the same thing on my last two big trips. Lots of remote stations with no diesel. Its a known thing among the locals. They are quick to share where the closest diesel pump is.

 

[billiebob]

diesel is much easier to find than Gas

I wish it was required to state what state you live in because in North America you can find gas everywhere, diesel, not so much.

 

[calicamper]

Lots of areas we passed through between Zion and Moab were gas only. One place even was one grade gas only. Just passing thru its not a huge issue. But if your staying in one of those areas and using the diesel to explore I can see it being a bigger problem than just an annoyance.

395 along the Eastern Sierras is that way too.Minor annoyance if your just going thru A-B. But if your camping in that region and using fuel and need to find it locally again it gets complicated quickly pending what range you have left in the tanks.

 

[billiebob]

Car and Driver recently put 750 miles on one of the new 4 door Wrangler diesels (much heavier than my 2 door) and averaged 25 mpg.

Thats empty, unloaded. I almost traded my TJR for an ecoteckdiesel thingy thinking fuel costs cut in half... then I discovered those ecotechdiesel thingys only get 25mpg unloaded, driver only. Tow a trailer and they get no better mpg than my 15 year old TJR towing. That 25mpg is for the soccer Mom running the kids around town.

 

[billiebob]

The modern diesels need to have the emissions crap taken off and chipped.

In 5 years that will see your truck impounded. Hate to think of the fines in 10 years. The world is changing.

 

[calicamper]

Thats empty, unloaded. I almost traded my TJR for an ecoteckdiesel thingy thinking fuel costs cut in half... then I discovered those ecotechdiesel thingys only get 25mpg unloaded, driver only. Tow a trailer and they get no better mpg than my 15 year old TJR towing. That 25mpg is for the soccer Mom running the kids around town.

My 2019 Expedition so far is doing a solid 17-18 in lousy short local kid hauling and a solid 21mpg 70-80mph Highway trips so far. Yeah put it in the angry soccer mom sport mode and you drop it to 14mpg fast while taking a few 1000 miles of life off the tires. That thing is a massive beast compared to the JK. TFL just did their Diesel JK and Gas Gladiator towing/mileage circuit run. Results were interesting. Same trailer same weight for both. For range under load the Diesel JK did surprisingly well and worth more research if range is important.

I think of all the diesel vehicles out there the JK actually gains the most positives over its gas alternative. Where as the light Trucks with diesel options the gas engines offer several advantages to consider gas over the diesel option.

 

[billiebob]

TFL just did their Diesel JK and Gas Gladiator

****** is a diesel JK ? who is TFL ?