Thoughts and reasons for your chosen rig

[vicali]

With a small family of four plus a dog, and our excursions pushing the max of what our little Forester could do we chose the DCLB Tacoma.. It's still small enough that I daily drive it into work, it has all the room we could need inside, carries sofas, tables, bikes etc etc, and in the summer it can tow our travel trailer to the campsite. Overall it's been the perfect rig.

Having a huge community, aftermarket, and a steady supply of takeoff parts available doesn't hurt either..

 

[SonOfNeptune]

H

First, I had a 4-door Suzuki Sidekick. I had a blast with that little thing, running just a skidplate and some slightly bigger tires.
After a few small, sporty cars I moved into a Land Rover Freelander with the arrival of our first cookie-smasher. It was great in the snow and mud, but lacked low range. By the time window-licker #2 came along, we had to move along to get some extra space - and better off-road performance.

That led to a Land Rover G4 Edition Discovery. I loved this truck. Excellent on road and pretty good off road. Loads of space! Good power from the old V8, until the head gasket issue arose...

A 4-door Wrangler is where we are now. Great off road, okay on road. It's a Jeep, you know what you're getting. It's lacking the space I'd like, now that we have three boys - and is a bit anemic pulling our trailer. Still, it's great off road. With a couple of simple mods it goes from capable to beyond.

That's leading me on a covert search for the NEXT vehicle - but my wife loves driving the Jeep. It's going to be a hard sell!

Have you seen the Ram Power Wagons equipped with AEV goodies???

 

[deeker]

@SonOfNeptune
The one with the flatbed....

 

[Mike W]

I had been lusting after a modern Land Rover for many years. I had always loved the squared off practical design of the LR3.. and later the LR4.

The day came when we wanted a family truckster to get the family to wally world.... camping/road trips and pulling a boat.

So I went and custom ordered a 2013 LR4. The wife added the rear seat dvd screens for keeping the kids happy on long trips and I made sure to get the HD package for the locking rear diff, beefed up axles and such.

I love that I can fold all the seats down and get a truly level-flat floor. I love the split folding tailgate... and that its NOT powered and is sturdy.. you can stand on it for easy roof access, or to use the ladder. The cargo area is so flexible.. the tie downs built in, the outlets in the back, The storage cubbies. I love that I was able to fit my 65" samsung 4K UHD tv upright in the back, or my road bike with just the front wheel off.. upright.

I enjoy that it actually has a lot of capability that they could probably get away with not doing these days since the demographic is a bit split between rich soccer moms and real off road use... things like the prominently shown wading depth, the factory diff breathers already run up to the top of the engine bay. The water tight engine compartments for battery boxes and other things. It's meant to get wet. The air suspension is a thing of beauty as is that 5L V8 (the last year for that was 2013 sadly.. but I got it)

I can go on and on about this thing. 7700 lb towing capacity which is great for my boat. Sturdy roof for my 100lb roof rack that 400lbs of people can easily walk or jump around on (with a Voyager Rack of course)...

Ok... ill shut up and post some pics now.

lifting the garage door with some suspension... forget jacking the body up to change a tire in the garage!

 

[jdunk]

I had a '08 Grand Cherokee (HEM), it was fantastic for everything except internal cargo space, and an average MPG of between 13 and 15 on the interstate (I drive a lot for work).

I ended up with 2. My '14 KL Trailhawk that gets me 27/28ish MPG on the interstate, and pretends to be a Cadillac and still tackles some offroad obstacles better than my WK did.

Because that clearly didn't solve my space issues, I ended up picking up a '08 XK HEMI and gave myself a hwy MPG bottom requirement of 10 MPG.

So far it's worked out amazingly. There is a strong possibility that they will both end up on the my trip across Washington State next summer!

 

[mmnorthdirections]

Our 2010 Toy FJ with rr lock and A-track has served us well. Every time off road it is more capable than I imagined it could and clearly more capable than I. Seating is just for two as I have removed the rear seats to accommodate storage of gear. The longest we have done is two weeks mixed camping and motels, what a blast we had. Easy to mod and great vendor support make huge increases in off-road capability, on road driving is a pleasure every time I drive it. It makes me smile to drive and work on.
I applaud Toyota engineers.

 

[Michael]

Putting it simply for me, it came down to true cost of ownership, capability, and reliability. I wanted 7 seats, and lockers. Considered the Discovery for a long time, but cost of ownership was just too high.

 

[JJsanchez]

1996 LX450 (land Cruiser) Roomy, Solid Axle and OEM Lockers.

 

[Wolvee]

I can go on and on about this thing. 7700 lb towing capacity which is great for my boat. Sturdy roof for my 100lb roof rack that 400lbs of people can easily walk or jump around on (with a Voyager Rack of course)...

7700lbs? I know what my next truck will be. Very nice.

 

[dagen]

Went with a Toyota 4Runner for reliability and reputation. 2006 was what I could afford. Currently in the building stages, really grateful for the abundance of parts out there and the capabilities of the stock setup.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

1989 Suburban. I'm very familiar with this series of GM trucks, needed the room, and had a older one that the body was rusted to crap, I already have a ton of parts.

 

[MOAK]

I don't think I have posted on this thread yet, but your choice is entirely up to you. However, after 35 plus years of overlanding, we absolutely got the Jeep thing. After a 76' 40, then two TJs, the first one a 98' sport, then in 04' we purchased our beloved Rubicon with the thought that we would keep it forever. After our 3rd long range trip, ( 6,000 miles round trip ) to the high deserts of the southwest, we had had enough of, rough, noisy ride, very poor fuel economy, ( 11 mph tops, loaded down with all expo gear and 500 lb trailer ) and a very weak engine, ( with any headwind or slight upgrade, dropping to 3rd gear and wrapping up to 3500 RPM to maintain 55 mph ) other than that, we understood that the Rubicon was a great vehicle for local trips only... After a ton of research I came to a couple of conclusions which led to our final decision. We needed room and comfort for our long range trips, and that comfort and off road capabilty are not mutually exclusive. Sooo,, I went on the hunt for an 80 series Landcruiser, We picked up our 96' LX450, factory lockers, 3" OME, and a ton of other mods that I have done to complete our expo rig.
I can safely say that if the engine ever goes I'll have no problem shelling out for a complete rebuild of the drivetrain. Our first trip in it was the summer of 2014,, 7,000 mile round trip, with the cruise control set at 65, we averaged 15 mpg loaded down with trailer, and we could have a conversation without having to yell, we could hear our music and audio books, and we didn't feel like we were beat to death at the end of each day.. We were with my son and another couple in their JKU Rubicon at Evans Creek and we could easily go anywhere that Rubicon could go.. The 110s and 90s are very high on the "cool" factor but I have heard horror stories about the high cost of repair for even the simplest of breakages. A Landcruiser just doesn't break.. Good luck with your final choice...

 

[Michael]

@oldfooladventures You just nailed my sentiments as well. It's just amazing to me that I can be billy- goating over rocks no sweat, then shift into 4h and be flying down the freeway at 70 in comfort.

 

[MOAK]

@oldfooladventures You just nailed my sentiments as well. It's just amazing to me that I can be billy- goating over rocks no sweat, then shift into 4h and be flying down the freeway at 70 in comfort.

Really though, the ONLY thing I miss about the Rubicon is the 4:1 low range... I've been doing a bit of undercover work and have allowed my wife to think it is her idea for us to install a set of Marlin Krawlers :) :) that will get us down to a 3.72:1

 

[Expo_Taco]

Mercedes G-Wagon

Not many people use them as they were intended to be use in U.S.

It's much more than a soccer mom car!

Respect right there. Would love to see some wheeling pics, cause the G Wagons I see only wheel the speed bumps in the parking lot at Starbucks.

 

[Overland-Indiana]

2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee (WJ) cost, reliability, cheap repairs, comfortable (Have a wife and 2 kids so we wanted something comfortable to travel in) plus i like red!

 

[Joey D]

Toyota Tacoma. I liked the famed reliability, good aftermarket support, and the resale value. I had driven the Colorado and didn't mind it, but for the money I liked the Tacoma better. Also I didn't really want a full-sized truck, but with the double cab and long bed, it might as well be full sized.

Oh and I'd always wanted a Toyota truck ever since seeing one in the Back to the Future movies

 

[mmnorthdirections]

Joe D, You may like this!!!!!
http://overlandbound.com/forums/index.php?threads/back-to-the-future-30th-anniversary.426/
"Oh and I'd always wanted a Toyota truck ever since seeing one in the Back to the Future movies "
me to......

 

[Joey D]

Joe D, You may like this!!!!!
http://overlandbound.com/forums/index.php?threads/back-to-the-future-30th-anniversary.426/
"Oh and I'd always wanted a Toyota truck ever since seeing one in the Back to the Future movies "
me to......

I saw that the other day, I'm pretty geeked to see what they come up with.

Thanks to your thread though I saw that I could call the number to get a license plate frame. I love stuff like that and hopefully they send me one.

 

[mmnorthdirections]

I saw that the other day, I'm pretty geeked to see what they come up with.

Thanks to your thread though I saw that I could call the number to get a license plate frame. I love stuff like that and hopefully they send me one.

Totally right, I love it to. We need to post pictures if we get them........