When to call it quits?

[tacoclifford]

Hey overlanders. I’m posting this question for myself and others. My question is, when to call it quits? At what point in the build process do you decide that your rig is no longer going to cut it?

I’m at a cross roads here. I drive a 2014 Jeep cherokee trailhawk. 3 inches of lift, 31” tires, underbelly armor, rock sliders, a factory rear locker, and a decent crawl ratio. For those of you that may not know, the Cherokee trailhawk comes with a rear locker, a brake controlled front differential, independent suspension all the way around.
There’s not much in the aftermarket that I can put on this jeep to make it any more Offroad worthy and it limits what I can do. My alignment is barely out of spec with no way to bring it back in( because of the suspension design and no camper adjustment) Iv heard horror stories of people grenading their differentials out on the trail with no upgrade to replace it with. People destroying the cv axles when the sway bar is disconnected.
The Jeep gets close to 20mpg and rides like a dream which makes it awesome for a road trip vehicle. But when the pavement ends. I’m really limited in what I can do. Mostly due to the capabilities of the jeep and how confident I feel with the reliability of it. Ofcourse every vehicle has its limitations and everyone breaks parts but for the terrain I like to run, this jeep may not be up for the task.

So my question still stands. At what point do you realize that maybe the rig you’ve been working on isn’t going to cut it? Do you keep building until you’ve reached the max of what the vehicle can handle? Do you stop the build and save your pennies for the next one? Do you just drive it as is and deal with the limitations?


Thanks!

 

[Dock Rocker]

I would drive it until I actually had a bad thing happen. At that point deal with it. There are so many internet boggie men, if you listened to what’s out there you would only be able to wheel unimogs coated in nerf. As your wheeling evolves then your rig will evolve with it. There will never be a perfect rig.

Every single vehicle has limitations. We all work around them. As long as it suits your needs and stays trail worthy run it. If you see you are going to destroy it switch to a better horse.

 

[tacoclifford]

I would drive it until I actually had a bad thing happen. At that point deal with it. There are so many internet boggie men, if you listened to what’s out there you would only be able to wheel unimogs coated in nerf. As your wheeling evolves then your rig will evolve with it. There will never be a perfect rig.

Every single vehicle has limitations. We all work around them. As long as it suits your needs and stays trail worthy run it. If you see you are going to destroy it switch to a better horse.

I would totally wheel a unimog! But I get what your saying.

 

[Smileyshaun]

I second the use it until you start having issues a lot of times people start upgrading off of other people's recommendations and never actually need the upgrades.
Some people can wheel really hard with a Dana 44 and never grenade it other people can wheel with a Dana 60 and blow it every time they go out, it all depends on your driving Style

 

[James Deaton]

I’m at a similar place with my lifted Expedition. In my case I’ve come to the realization that I was really trying to do more than I should have with it, and with my family in it. I was making poor decisions, and my family was paying for it.

Overlanding isn’t rock crawling. Overlanding isn’t offroading. Overlanding isn’t 4wheeling. Overlanding is driving your vehicle from point A to point B, which sometimes means traversing difficult terrain. What I mean by that is, maybe you aren’t overlanding... I know because I’ve been in the same boat. Everytime I’ve gotten mad at my Expedition, I wasn’t overlanding... I was offroading, or rock crawling, or 4wheeling.

We watch the Expedition Overland crew a lot on youtube. Our whole family watches it together. In my opinion they embody the spirit of overlanding. They have capable 4wds, with factory rear lockers (nothing special), and 33” tires... they mostly drive on dirt roads. They occasionally traverse light mud, river crossings, rocky areas. They focus on the journey. They focus on safety. They focus on overlanding.

Maybe, just maybe, you and I are in the same boat. Maybe we should just focus on simple overlanding trips, without the need to spend more money on stuff that won’t neccessarily improve the quality of our trip, but instead may encourage increased risk to us and our vehicles... maybe...

James

 

[tacoclifford]

I’m at a similar place with my lifted Expedition. In my case I’ve come to the realization that I was really trying to do more than I should have with it, and with my family in it. I was making poor decisions, and my family was paying for it.

Overlanding isn’t rock crawling. Overlanding isn’t offroading. Overlanding isn’t 4wheeling. Overlanding is driving your vehicle from point A to point B, which sometimes means traversing difficult terrain. What I mean by that is, maybe you aren’t overlanding... I know because I’ve been in the same boat. Everytime I’ve gotten mad at my Expedition, I wasn’t overlanding... I was offroading, or rock crawling, or 4wheeling.

We watch the Expedition Overland crew a lot on youtube. Our whole family watches it together. In my opinion they embody the spirit of overlanding. They have capable 4wds, with factory rear lockers (nothing special), and 33” tires... they mostly drive on dirt roads. They occasionally traverse light mud, river crossings, rocky areas. They focus on the journey. They focus on safety. They focus on overlanding.

Maybe, just maybe, you and I are in the same boat. Maybe we should just focus on simple overlanding trips, without the need to spend more money on stuff that won’t neccessarily improve the quality of our trip, but instead may encourage increased risk to us and our vehicles... maybe...

James

Ya know. I think that quite often. Most of my trips are on fire roads and dirt roads but like you said, when I get mad at my Jeep, I’m usually asking too much of it. Really, when it comes down to it, there hasn’t been an obstacle that I wasn’t able to do. Every situation Iv put my Jeep in, shes made it through. And the same holds true for that one time I brought my cherokee to rausch creek Offroad park in PA. Some guys were a little timid to try an obstacle. I went for it and made it up with relatively little drama. So in reality. It is plenty capable. But I feel like that gets blurred sometimes with my lack of trust or confidence in it.

So maybe everyone here is right. Keep driving it. Drive it as it is. In time, confidence will grow.

 

[Road]

I’m at a similar place with my lifted Expedition. In my case I’ve come to the realization that I was really trying to do more than I should have with it, and with my family in it. I was making poor decisions, and my family was paying for it.

Overlanding isn’t rock crawling. Overlanding isn’t offroading. Overlanding isn’t 4wheeling. Overlanding is driving your vehicle from point A to point B, which sometimes means traversing difficult terrain. What I mean by that is, maybe you aren’t overlanding... I know because I’ve been in the same boat. Everytime I’ve gotten mad at my Expedition, I wasn’t overlanding... I was offroading, or rock crawling, or 4wheeling.

We watch the Expedition Overland crew a lot on youtube. Our whole family watches it together. In my opinion they embody the spirit of overlanding. They have capable 4wds, with factory rear lockers (nothing special), and 33” tires... they mostly drive on dirt roads. They occasionally traverse light mud, river crossings, rocky areas. They focus on the journey. They focus on safety. They focus on overlanding.

Maybe, just maybe, you and I are in the same boat. Maybe we should just focus on simple overlanding trips, without the need to spend more money on stuff that won’t neccessarily improve the quality of our trip, but instead may encourage increased risk to us and our vehicles... maybe...

James

Hear, hear, @James Deaton! Good for you for making this point.

Far too many folks, especially new to traveling and camping back country with their vehicles, get way too hung up on just crawling, intentionally getting stuck, and continually running their vehicles through extreme off-road activities.

Nothing wrong at all with understanding your vehicle's limits and learning what you need to do to get unstuck, but the activities that help you do both are not the primary goal of traveling and camping, as far as I'm concerned.

I have no desire to test my vehicle to the limits over and over, continually putting it at risk, just for the sake of doing it. I'd much rather be running the roads and going somewhere, meeting the locals, learning their culture and how they do things, and gaining a better understanding of the place I'm traveling through before I head on to the next place.

.

 

[Jedi]

I’m at a similar place with my lifted Expedition. In my case I’ve come to the realization that I was really trying to do more than I should have with it, and with my family in it. I was making poor decisions, and my family was paying for it.

Overlanding isn’t rock crawling. Overlanding isn’t offroading. Overlanding isn’t 4wheeling. Overlanding is driving your vehicle from point A to point B, which sometimes means traversing difficult terrain. What I mean by that is, maybe you aren’t overlanding... I know because I’ve been in the same boat. Everytime I’ve gotten mad at my Expedition, I wasn’t overlanding... I was offroading, or rock crawling, or 4wheeling.

We watch the Expedition Overland crew a lot on youtube. Our whole family watches it together. In my opinion they embody the spirit of overlanding. They have capable 4wds, with factory rear lockers (nothing special), and 33” tires... they mostly drive on dirt roads. They occasionally traverse light mud, river crossings, rocky areas. They focus on the journey. They focus on safety. They focus on overlanding.

Maybe, just maybe, you and I are in the same boat. Maybe we should just focus on simple overlanding trips, without the need to spend more money on stuff that won’t neccessarily improve the quality of our trip, but instead may encourage increased risk to us and our vehicles... maybe...

James

By far, this is the best answer I have seen in some time... not just to this question, but to the many questions that seem to pop up on the forums. When I was young and stupid, I used to take my 1991 Geo Metro down dirt roads to find places to hike, fish, and camp. Those adventures were much closer to the nature of overlanding than the times I have taken my JKU down parts of the Rubicon Trail.

 

[Hank Outdoors]

I’m at a similar place with my lifted Expedition. In my case I’ve come to the realization that I was really trying to do more than I should have with it, and with my family in it. I was making poor decisions, and my family was paying for it.

Overlanding isn’t rock crawling. Overlanding isn’t offroading. Overlanding isn’t 4wheeling. Overlanding is driving your vehicle from point A to point B, which sometimes means traversing difficult terrain. What I mean by that is, maybe you aren’t overlanding... I know because I’ve been in the same boat. Everytime I’ve gotten mad at my Expedition, I wasn’t overlanding... I was offroading, or rock crawling, or 4wheeling.

We watch the Expedition Overland crew a lot on youtube. Our whole family watches it together. In my opinion they embody the spirit of overlanding. They have capable 4wds, with factory rear lockers (nothing special), and 33” tires... they mostly drive on dirt roads. They occasionally traverse light mud, river crossings, rocky areas. They focus on the journey. They focus on safety. They focus on overlanding.

Maybe, just maybe, you and I are in the same boat. Maybe we should just focus on simple overlanding trips, without the need to spend more money on stuff that won’t neccessarily improve the quality of our trip, but instead may encourage increased risk to us and our vehicles... maybe...

James

VERY WELL SAID!!!!!

 

[Lindenwood]

There is occasionally overlap, but yeah, it sounds like you are out 'wheeling, and not always just "overlanding."

If you want to wheel, that is fine, too. I do a little of both, and indeed accept the compromise between the two. My 4900lb 4Runner is certainly not the best wheelin rig.

However, to consider the other side...

1) Do you want a new rig?

2) How much would you get for your rig if you sold it as-is? I ask, because selling it now while everything is still solid might be a lot easier than breaking something significant, fixing it, and then selling it out of frustration. (I don't know anything about Cherokee reliability, though I can imagine repair costs for a blown diff are quite high).

 

[MA_Trooper]

I’m at a similar place with my lifted Expedition. In my case I’ve come to the realization that I was really trying to do more than I should have with it, and with my family in it. I was making poor decisions, and my family was paying for it.

Overlanding isn’t rock crawling. Overlanding isn’t offroading. Overlanding isn’t 4wheeling. Overlanding is driving your vehicle from point A to point B, which sometimes means traversing difficult terrain. What I mean by that is, maybe you aren’t overlanding... I know because I’ve been in the same boat. Everytime I’ve gotten mad at my Expedition, I wasn’t overlanding... I was offroading, or rock crawling, or 4wheeling.

We watch the Expedition Overland crew a lot on youtube. Our whole family watches it together. In my opinion they embody the spirit of overlanding. They have capable 4wds, with factory rear lockers (nothing special), and 33” tires... they mostly drive on dirt roads. They occasionally traverse light mud, river crossings, rocky areas. They focus on the journey. They focus on safety. They focus on overlanding.

Maybe, just maybe, you and I are in the same boat. Maybe we should just focus on simple overlanding trips, without the need to spend more money on stuff that won’t neccessarily improve the quality of our trip, but instead may encourage increased risk to us and our vehicles... maybe...

James

^^^^^^^^^ THIS!
We all have different expectations for what our adventures will look like and where we want to go. And beyond that, how we want to get there. The way I "Overland" is a little different than the way others do and the way they do it is different from many others as well. My expectations for my trips have changed immensely as my family has grown. I still like to get out and really challenge myself and my vehicle (or a friends vehicle if we are somewhere I know mine simply wont go). But the vast majority of my trips are on easy/moderate terrain with infrequent difficult challenge sections. My family is young, 2yo daughter and newborn son, so wheeling isn't really in the cards for me right now. They want a smooth ride on the road and a big campsite with Taj Mahala style amenities. As the kids get older, I'm sure the places we go and how we get there will evolve some more.
I used to race dirtbikes, enduro mostly. Overlanding has become my way of slowing down in the woods and enjoying the surroundings.

To echo Mr. Deaton, Overlanding is the journey, wheeling, softroading, pavement travel, rock crawling are all things we can do on that journey, but they aren't really the purpose. At least not for me.

 

[tacoclifford]

Thanks everyone. I certainly see how I’m expecting my Jeep to do things it’s not supposed to. For overland purposes. It’s great. For off-roading and rock crawling not so much.

 

[Boostpowered]

Things break, its a normal part of owning and operating any piece of machinery. If you can take your rig to a offroad park or jeep trail and you dont break anything traversing it id say your good with what you have it should be able to go most anywhere in lower 48. Now if you just want something different go for it just remember you will be throwing money and labor at it unless you go buy a built rig from someone else.

 

[tacoclifford]

It’s not so much breaking parts. It’s the lack of an aftermarket to improve those parts. I’m totally okay with breaking things. It’s part of the game

 

[Boostpowered]

Ok gotcha, i have a problem finding anything aftermarket for my 2017 chevy colorado aswell , ive had to turn to the austrailian, Malaysian and thailand market holden and isuzu d max parts just to find stuff that isnt geared towards the city tuner and sunday driving old guy crowd here in the usa. What is available here for offroad applications is too expensive for my tastes, like the $2000 metal winch bumpers i can get in Australia for less than$300 usd

 

[tacoclifford]

That’s an insane difference in price. My buddy has a 2018. Nice truck but I can see how not many people make things for it. Unless you go with that zr2 package or whatever it is.


I hear what everyone’s saying. Someone said t before, I never get mad or upset at my current vehicle unless I ask it to do something it’s just not capable of doing.

 

[Boostpowered]

Nothing can do everything, my rig is set up for muddy rds, farmland and river bottoms, when i go to an area with big rocks i find real quick that mine isnt made for it and i get bummed not being able to play everywhere but if i built my truck to tackle those rocky areas it would no longer be very good at other stuff i want to do. What exactly aftermarket are you wanting for your rig? Other models parts may work for you, like my snorkel is made for a isuzu dmax aev wanted $500 for their snorkel, i got a safari one for $75 in maylasian market

 

[tacoclifford]

There’s a couple bumper options. All right around $1600-1800 without a winch. But no one makes a rear bumper. I would just love stronger components too. Adjustable control arms, camber plates, to give some adjustability to the front suspension, high angle cv axles. Stronger axles/cv’s. Skid plates for the rear differential and some other vulnerable parts on the underside.

 

[Boostpowered]

Im in the same boat $1500 to$ 2500 for bumpers for me but if i order from maylasia or thailand it would only be around 4 to $500 usd plus shipping thats like $180, thats still too much for me to pay for a bumper, after my bumper rips off or when ive got the time and energy ill collect some scrap steel and fire up the welder and just fab something myself

 

[tacoclifford]

That’s the point I’m at too My bumpers already dented in and scratched up in front of both front tires. When it gets ripped off I’ll fab something up.