What are some options for good gas mileage in overlanding vehicles?

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achancesw

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I'm going to do my first build this summer and this will be my 2nd vehicle.

In all the trucks and SUVs people use, which are the ones with better than 20+ MPG?

I drive to see family several times a year and I hate stopping for gas. I was hoping for something with 350+ mile highway range.
 
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Honda Ridgeline? Too bad there's no off road support (maybe a good reason)
Don't buy a Toyota. The truck will out live you, has great aftermarket support but the mileage sucks. Everything I owned or own is between 10-16 moded for off road.
 
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Alanymarce

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Vehicles we’ve owned or rented in the last couple of decades with better than 20 mi/US gal and range of 500 km or so:

Nissan X Trail T30
Nissan X Trail T31
Hyundai Tucson
Chevrolet Tracker

Vehicles we’ve owned or rented in the last couple of decades with worse than 20 mi/US gal and range of 500 km or so:

Land Cruiser 80
Mitsubishi Montero
Jeep Cherokee (3 of them)
Nissan Patrol
Mercedes GE
4Runner
Hilux
Frontera

All of these used for “overland travel” to various degrees.
 
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achancesw said:
I'm going to do my first build this summer and this will be my 2nd vehicle.

In all the trucks and SUVs people use, which are the ones with better than 20+ MPG?

I drive to see family several times a year and I hate stopping for gas. I was hoping for something with 350+ mile highway range.
Click to expand...
Do you want good gas mileage, good range, or both? If you just hate stopping for gas, you don't necessarily need great MPG as long as you have a big tank. My D'max truck was still seeing about 17 MPG with my Four Wheel Camper in the bed on 35"s and the stock 3.73s. With the ~60 gallon tank I have (aftermarket replacement tank) I have a ~1,000 mile range. Now, 17 MPG isn't "great" as far as MPG, but 1,000+ miles IS great for range. We'll have to see how it does now with the 37"s and 4.56s. ;)

Assuming you actually care about MPG more than range, the next question is what do you need out of the vehicle? How do you Overland? Do you soft-road, or do you need something that can do the Rubicon? How many people do you take with you? Do you need a pickup bed, or do you want an SUV? Do you plan to sleep IN, on, or near it? It's hard to recommend something without that data.

If you only soft-road, and don't need a ton of space a Compass Trailhawk might be a good fit. They're rated for 30 MPG highway and are still reasonably capable off road. They only have a 13.5 gallon tank though, so range isn't spectacular. If you need a bit more space and capability, maybe something like the Cherokee Trailhawk that is still good for 24 MPG (and has a 15.8 gallon tank, making range comparable to the Compass TH). If you need still more capability and space you could move up to the outgoing body style (WK2) Grand Cherokee Trailhawk that is 25 MPG in a V6 or 22 in a V8 (though in practice the gap is much smaller than that) and has a 24.6 gallon fuel tank giving a pretty decent 500+ mile range even for the V8. If you want the MOST out-of-the-box off road capability you could even go with a Wrangler Rubicon with the 2.0T and get a claimed 24 MPG freeway along with the 21.4 gallon tank for 500+ mile range, which isn't too bad for something that can do what a Rubicon can. Of course, all of that is just in the Jeep lineup, and isn't even considering the 4xE (mostly because long freeway trips aren't their strongpoint and they don't provide a benefit there).

-TJ
 
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achancesw

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tjZ06 said:
Do you want good gas mileage, good range, or both? If you just hate stopping for gas, you don't necessarily need great MPG as long as you have a big tank. My D'max truck was still seeing about 17 MPG with my Four Wheel Camper in the bed on 35"s and the stock 3.73s. With the ~60 gallon tank I have (aftermarket replacement tank) I have a ~1,000 mile range. Now, 17 MPG isn't "great" as far as MPG, but 1,000+ miles IS great for range. We'll have to see how it does now with the 37"s and 4.56s. ;)

Assuming you actually care about MPG more than range, the next question is what do you need out of the vehicle? How do you Overland? Do you soft-road, or do you need something that can do the Rubicon? How many people do you take with you? Do you need a pickup bed, or do you want an SUV? Do you plan to sleep IN, on, or near it? It's hard to recommend something without that data.

If you only soft-road, and don't need a ton of space a Compass Trailhawk might be a good fit. They're rated for 30 MPG highway and are still reasonably capable off road. They only have a 13.5 gallon tank though, so range isn't spectacular. If you need a bit more space and capability, maybe something like the Cherokee Trailhawk that is still good for 24 MPG (and has a 15.8 gallon tank, making range comparable to the Compass TH). If you need still more capability and space you could move up to the outgoing body style (WK2) Grand Cherokee Trailhawk that is 25 MPG in a V6 or 22 in a V8 (though in practice the gap is much smaller than that) and has a 24.6 gallon fuel tank giving a pretty decent 500+ mile range even for the V8. If you want the MOST out-of-the-box off road capability you could even go with a Wrangler Rubicon with the 2.0T and get a claimed 24 MPG freeway along with the 21.4 gallon tank for 500+ mile range, which isn't too bad for something that can do what a Rubicon can. Of course, all of that is just in the Jeep lineup, and isn't even considering the 4xE (mostly because long freeway trips aren't their strongpoint and they don't provide a benefit there).

-TJ
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Just soft road, me, a dog and maybe one more

I have been looking at the trailhawks too
 
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You could try to find one of the new AWD Ford Mavericks. Even with non-hybrid engine and AWD, it's still rated for 22 city and 29 highway. Put a decent set of all terrain tires on it and you'll be able to go almost anywhere. 8.9" of ground clearance is really quite good. If you're really just soft-roading it you could get the hybrid one and get really good fuel economy.
 
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The guys at TFL recently did a video listing the best seven off-roaders for fuel economy:

1. Rivian R1T/R1S
2. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe
3. Jeep Wrangler 4xe
4. GMC Hummer EV
5. Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid
6. Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 3.0L EcoDiesel
7. Chevy Silverado Trail Boss 3.0L Duramax diesel

Some (most) of those vehicles are quite pricey and likely not everyone’s cup of tea as an overlanding platform.

If you’re looking specifically for a full-size truck, they also did a video on the top five half-ton pickups for fuel economy:

1. Chevy/GMC 1500 with the 3.0L Duramax diesel
2. Ram 1500 with the 3.0L EcoDiesel
3. Ford F-150 with the V6 Hybrid
4. Toyota Tundra
5. Nissan Titan

if I were going to buy a new vehicle for an overlanding rig today, personally I’d be looking hard at the Ford F-150 with the 3.5L V6 Hybrid (23 city/23 hwy/23 combined). The F-150 Tremor offers a lot of nice off-road features like a locking rear diff, but right now it only comes with the non-hybrid 3.5L V6 rated at 16 city/20 hwy/ 18 combined. If they offer the hybrid in the Tremor in the future, that might end up being the best of both worlds. In the meantime, a properly kitted out non-Tremor F150 with that hybrid could be a very capable overlander.

And yes, if you’re wondering, TFL also did a video of the worst five half-ton trucks for fuel economy.

Generally speaking, the TFL Truck and TFL Off-road YouTube channels are a great resource. They review all of the popular trucks and SUVs available in the USA. I particularly like their comprehensive towing tests for trucks.
 
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freak4life

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achancesw said:
I'm going to do my first build this summer and this will be my 2nd vehicle.

In all the trucks and SUVs people use, which are the ones with better than 20+ MPG?

I drive to see family several times a year and I hate stopping for gas. I was hoping for something with 350+ mile highway range.
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I drive a modified 4Runner, it has never been accused of being an economy vehicle, however I have a range of over 500 miles. I added a Long Range America 24 gallon auxiliary gas tank.
 
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Arailt

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If you're looking for range and not necessarily MPG, look into off-road capable vehicles that have good aftermarket support and there will likely be extended range fuel tank options available. If you want 20+ MPG in a 4X4 vehicle to build for medium+ off road driving, you're going to have a hard time. Those vehicles typically don't start with very good MPG and once you start adding heavier/bigger off road tires, protection, gear, stuff to carry gear, etc., MPG goes downhill fast. Just adding sliders and MTs to my GX470 took me from ~16mpg to ~12mpg mixed. Once I fill it up with people and gear, even worse. It'll get me past anything but a gas station.
 
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