Which one to build?

[Ripley1046]

My family doesn't have a dedicated overlanding vehicle, but we have 3 now that are potentially capable.

My wife drives a 2010 Subaru Outback with 130,000 miles, which I think is pretty solid, but needs to stay in stock(ish) form for at least a few more years until it's paid off. Once she gets a new daily I will lift it and do some other mods, but for now it will likely be unmolested. Still a viable option for most of the trips we are able to do at this point.

I have a 1999 Chevy Silverado 1500, ext cab, standard bed. Plenty of room, good tires, 4x4, 183,000 miles, but still solid. Rusty buy trusty. Now this isn't my daily right now, but I need a truck around, so it's not going anywhere any time soon. Do I stick some money into it, knowing it has a lot of miles and gets crap mpg? Or just take it as is and hope nothing breaks.

I just bought a 2002 Toyota Rav4 last Sunday. This is my daily commuter (60-70 miles a day), so I wanted something decent on gas, that can handle Wisconsin winter without leaving me stranded in a snow storm. It has some potential, 4wd, full size spare, roof rack, pretty good interior storage if I remove one rear seat. It's a 4cyl, so not a ton of power, but it does what it was meant to do pretty well. Obviously I don't know about reliability on it yet as I've had it for days, but it's a Toyota, so there's that. 160,000 miles.

We are planning our first overland trip this June, I still can't decide what we are taking, and some of it depends on what I put money into first. The Subie is ready to rock (once we get it back from getting a new trans), the truck would need shocks and a few sensors, maybe some new headlights or other lighting. The Rav would need different tires, as it came with highway tires. So 5 new A/Ts would be the most expensive to get rolling.

I would like to do a few mods (bumper, winch, lights, etc.) on whatever we plan to use for future trips, but I'm just not sure where to start. At some point I'd like to get a 4runner or Tacoma to replace the Chevy, but that's probably at least 5 years off right now.

What are your thoughts? Is the Rav4 worthy of putting some effort into? Should I build the truck up a bit? Or are there some easy (or reversible) mods I can do to the Subie while keeping it looking and driving stockish?

 

[OBiE0311]

My vote based on the above would be to do some more generic stuff to the Subaru. Throw a K&N air filter in it, then add some gear storage or a RTT (we love our Tepui!), maybe a couple of bright LED driving lights and if you want to go the extra mile you can add 4 of the largest diameter tires that will fit without modding the suspension which should give you at least a little bit more travel. Then you've saved some money until you figure out exactly what you want!

My wife and I are in a similar boat right now in that we want to build a real rig but also have some other financial priorities, so the decision we have (probably) come to is to put accessories into our '95 Suburban that can be easily removed and added to another vehicle down the road.

 

[TerryD]

I would take them all out and see which one suits your needs. They all have benefits and drawbacks.

Subaru: Decent fuel mileage, fully enclosed storage, some aftermarket support

Truck: Tons of storage, good aftermarket support, rugged and powerful

RAV: 4WD, roomier than Subi, better fuel economy than the truck

Any would make a great vehicle with a little effort, you need to take them all out a few times and see which one is the best suited to your adventures. Nothing says you can't put a little into all of them and just choose one based on the way you trip is planned. Most gear can be set up in totes or boxes to just throw in which ever vehicle will do what you need.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Don't get to overwhelmed with needing to "build " a overland rig . A good set of tires , some camping gear and let someone know where you plan to go , that's all you really need

 

[Ripley1046]

Definitely not getting too deep into building a monster rig, at least not for a while. I’ve always dreamt of having a dedicated off road rig/bug out vehicle, so I feel it’s coming eventually. For now I do want to make a few upgrades to one of them to make trips easier. Maybe I should look at lights and a compressor I can swap from one to the other and go from there...

OBiEO311, I like the idea of adding things that can be swapped. I’m really interested in building a winch mount bumper (arb style), but would probably be better suited focusing elsewhere for now.

TerryD, They do all have advantages, though I think the subie has more room in all reality, but it’s also the one I care about the paint on. We have been car camping in the outback, and our ford freestyle before that. The last few have been in the truck with a pop up camper.

I appreciate the input, and curious to what other’s thoughts are, especially anyone who has owned or run those vehicles.

 

[Mgway1]

Definitely not getting too deep into building a monster rig, at least not for a while. I’ve always dreamt of having a dedicated off road rig/bug out vehicle, so I feel it’s coming eventually. For now I do want to make a few upgrades to one of them to make trips easier. Maybe I should look at lights and a compressor I can swap from one to the other and go from there...

OBiEO311, I like the idea of adding things that can be swapped. I’m really interested in building a winch mount bumper (arb style), but would probably be better suited focusing elsewhere for now.

TerryD, They do all have advantages, though I think the subie has more room in all reality, but it’s also the one I care about the paint on. We have been car camping in the outback, and our ford freestyle before that. The last few have been in the truck with a pop up camper.

I appreciate the input, and curious to what other’s thoughts are, especially anyone who has owned or run those vehicles.

My vote is the outback, but I also have an outback, so I am slightly biased. There are some pretty wicked outbacks out there. There is a guy up near Baltimore that made a really awesome one. He is TomaHulk on Instagram. I am not sure if he is a member here, but he should be, lol.

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[Adventure Bully Rig]

First of all... nice Hitchiker's Guide quote. Secondly... I would definitely go for the Outback for a number of reasons.
1.) That Chevy may only have 183,000 miles but it sits there all day waiting for something bad to happen. (Though storage room is always nice.) How big is your family?
2.) You've got that rooftop storage for extra space (Inc case a kid acts up.)
3.) Rav4... I've been in one before, it was nice.

 

[Ripley1046]

I think we've decided on taking the Subie for the trip in June, especially since it's getting a new trans, drive shaft and cv axle as we speak. Man I can't wait to get that thing back. The loaner 2018 Outback is nice, but the tires are not made for WI winters!

Mgway1 - seeing your profile pic makes me miss my Outback. So the 2010 is my wife's, but for a few months I had a 2001 manual 2.5. 11 weeks in she spun a rod bearing and blew up the motor. I bought another block, which turned out to have a bad wrist pin. Don't have time to put another motor in it, and the cost would have been more than I paid for the car. That's where the Rav came in. I was trying to get an H6 Outback, but it just wasn't in the cards, and I needed a daily that got better than the 12 mpg the truck gets. I still have the 2001, but I'm trying to sell it without the motor at this point. Makes me sad every time I see her.

 

[Ripley1046]

Myself, my wife, and an 8 year old boy. Possibly a dog by the time the summer rolls around. Our tent is fairly large, but we can fit everything in the Subie, that I know, we've done it. It just takes a long time to pack camp when you have to tetris everything in. That's one big benefit of the truck. Just heave it all in the back and roll out. I haven't tried to pack stuff in the Rav yet, but the back seats are removable, so I could take one out and have a good amount of room with the roof rack on as well.

 

[Mgway1]

I think we've decided on taking the Subie for the trip in June, especially since it's getting a new trans, drive shaft and cv axle as we speak. Man I can't wait to get that thing back. The loaner 2018 Outback is nice, but the tires are not made for WI winters!

Mgway1 - seeing your profile pic makes me miss my Outback. So the 2010 is my wife's, but for a few months I had a 2001 manual 2.5. 11 weeks in she spun a rod bearing and blew up the motor. I bought another block, which turned out to have a bad wrist pin. Don't have time to put another motor in it, and the cost would have been more than I paid for the car. That's where the Rav came in. I was trying to get an H6 Outback, but it just wasn't in the cards, and I needed a daily that got better than the 12 mpg the truck gets. I still have the 2001, but I'm trying to sell it without the motor at this point. Makes me sad every time I see her.

Trust me, I know the feeling. Mine blew the headgaskets about a month ago and i don't have a garage, son I can only work on it when it's decent out. She just sits in my driveway with the engine half ripped apart. I am driving my buddies 02 accord right now. Great on gas and much faster than my outback, but just lacks all the subie feel. On the plus side, I am replacing everything I can in the mean time, lol. New cv joints, new radiator, redone harness, as well as cleaning the whole engine. After 18 years and nearly 300k, it's really dirty. It's my 4th subaru, I have been driving Honda accords since 04. But now that I have a subaru again, I will never go back to anything else. I bought my outback because I wanted all wheel drive and another wagon. And shortly after getting it I started to see all the beautiful lifted outbacks. And my buddy is currently building a Nissan frontier for overlanding. So we are both getting into it now. We actually both just joined this group, and we are really stoked.

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[Joey83]

I'd go for the Rav4, but that's just me as I have a similar sized little suv.

 

[Old Griz]

My family doesn't have a dedicated overlanding vehicle, but we have 3 now that are potentially capable.

My wife drives a 2010 Subaru Outback with 130,000 miles, which I think is pretty solid, but needs to stay in stock(ish) form for at least a few more years until it's paid off. Once she gets a new daily I will lift it and do some other mods, but for now it will likely be unmolested. Still a viable option for most of the trips we are able to do at this point.

I have a 1999 Chevy Silverado 1500, ext cab, standard bed. Plenty of room, good tires, 4x4, 183,000 miles, but still solid. Rusty buy trusty. Now this isn't my daily right now, but I need a truck around, so it's not going anywhere any time soon. Do I stick some money into it, knowing it has a lot of miles and gets crap mpg? Or just take it as is and hope nothing breaks.

I just bought a 2002 Toyota Rav4 last Sunday. This is my daily commuter (60-70 miles a day), so I wanted something decent on gas, that can handle Wisconsin winter without leaving me stranded in a snow storm. It has some potential, 4wd, full size spare, roof rack, pretty good interior storage if I remove one rear seat. It's a 4cyl, so not a ton of power, but it does what it was meant to do pretty well. Obviously I don't know about reliability on it yet as I've had it for days, but it's a Toyota, so there's that. 160,000 miles.

We are planning our first overland trip this June, I still can't decide what we are taking, and some of it depends on what I put money into first. The Subie is ready to rock (once we get it back from getting a new trans), the truck would need shocks and a few sensors, maybe some new headlights or other lighting. The Rav would need different tires, as it came with highway tires. So 5 new A/Ts would be the most expensive to get rolling.

I would like to do a few mods (bumper, winch, lights, etc.) on whatever we plan to use for future trips, but I'm just not sure where to start. At some point I'd like to get a 4runner or Tacoma to replace the Chevy, but that's probably at least 5 years off right now.

What are your thoughts? Is the Rav4 worthy of putting some effort into? Should I build the truck up a bit? Or are there some easy (or reversible) mods I can do to the Subie while keeping it looking and driving stockish?

I would pick the pickup twer it me.
Built a bit heavier for such work. Parts for them just about grow on trees.
But I am very biased on Chevrolet trucks.

 

[Plisken]

Already some great input here but I have another thought for you to consider. Focus on your storage and gear for the activities you participate in while in the backcountry. If you have a highly organized system for storing things in your garage or basement when not in use you simply load what is needed into the best vehicle for the trip at hand. Solo hunting trip...pack the truck; long distance road trip with some forest service roads to a national park, take the Subi, etc. I'm not implying particular uses for the vehicles or that one isn't capable enough for a given task, that is your decision based on needs. I'm just trying to provide perspective. My family bounces between our Subaru Forester and Toyota Tundra as needed. We have a very modular system with things packed by subject (i.e. Kitchen box, dry goods box, recovery gear box, etc. Getting your gear organized efficiently is both difficult and one of the most effective things you can do.

 

[Junktj]

If it was me, I would sell the truck and rav4 and buy a different vehicle that could replace both . Maybe a larger truck based suv with more aftermarket support, and the ability to handle more terrain if you ever get to that point. A small utility trailer means you could haul stuff without the truck.
Maybe not what you want to hear, but I would never use a rusty vehicle to travel places I would be forced to work on it if I had a mechanical break down.

Just my 2cents....

 

[Ripley1046]

If it was me, I would sell the truck and rav4 and buy a different vehicle that could replace both . Maybe a larger truck based suv with more aftermarket support, and the ability to handle more terrain if you ever get to that point. A small utility trailer means you could haul stuff without the truck.
Maybe not what you want to hear, but I would never use a rusty vehicle to travel places I would be forced to work on it if I had a mechanical break down.

Just my 2cents....

I hear ya, and it's something we've talked about. Now if I can find something that will haul all my sound gear, and get 20+ MPG on the regular, I'd gladly swap the Rav and Chevy for it, but so far that's a bit of a unicorn. As far as the rusty truck, it's just body stuff. The mechanicals and frame are solid and surprisingly clean. That and I'm never far from some PB Blaster!

Now that the whole family is getting more into the idea of overlanding, we are talking about selling the pop up camper and getting a small tear drop or turtleback style trailer. That greatly reduces the towing capability I need to have on hand. The pop up is like 3800 lbs. so it has been a consideration in what vehicles we can have.

 

[Junktj]

What kind of popup do you have that weighs 3800 pounds

 

[Ripley1046]

1988 Jayco. Don't remember the model. Maybe it's 3300? Some ridiculousness. It's way bigger than we ever wanted, but it was a steal, and we knew the people selling it a bit. One of those can't pass deals. It's longer than my truck closed up.

 

[Ripley1046]

 

[ca_rage]

well it's June 29th.
What did you decide? :)