Are newer vehicles preventing you from choosing them for overlanding due to complexity?

[leeloo]

Oddly enough, there are a bunch of folks whose real world experiences say otherwise.

Try looking up "Silverado won't go into 4wd ABS light on". That search also suggests there may be a similar issue with Ford F150s and Nissan Frontiers.

It is not a problem I am willing to accept. Even if there is some sort of convoluted work around involving key position or some such thing, that is unacceptable. My wife/teenage sons/even my mother should be able to get in the vehicle and be able to put it into 4wd without having to know the special handshake.

Note that I am not taking a blanket "no electronics" stance. My stance is against integrated systems. One failure should not create a cascade of failures. That is a design failure at best. It is downright evil if someone thinks they are doing it for my safety.

If that is true, that is just bad design, and just a particular model . Is not because electronics. And bad design is a plague that affects new and old vehicles. I tested my self on my disco 4 what happens when I unplugged different sensors, and also I seen this tested on the new Defender, that actually was even more resilient to faults. Electronics done right actually help a lot with diagnosing what is wrong.
I had old vehicles as well., and many friends with old vehicles. Basically, all the time something would be broken, or would brake on the trip. Mine was a bloody Landcruiser, the "unicorn " of reliability.
LAndcruisers, that I know well, can tell you that is BS, they are not reliable when old. Yes, they are reliable when new, not 10 years old. " Oh yes, mine is 15 years old and still running strong " . But there are some caveats . For many people if it starts and the wheels turn, that is about the definition of running strong.
Than you have the other half, "oh this is so good and reliable", than a list of endless replacement of parts, preventive maintenance, fixes, maybe 2 weeks would go by without some kind of repair or "normal " maintenance work. Which is fine if you have the time, the money and the pleasure to do it.

 

[MOAK]

If that is true, that is just bad design, and just a particular model . Is not because electronics. And bad design is a plague that affects new and old vehicles. I tested my self on my disco 4 what happens when I unplugged different sensors, and also I seen this tested on the new Defender, that actually was even more resilient to faults. Electronics done right actually help a lot with diagnosing what is wrong.
I had old vehicles as well., and many friends with old vehicles. Basically, all the time something would be broken, or would brake on the trip. Mine was a bloody Landcruiser, the "unicorn " of reliability.
LAndcruisers, that I know well, can tell you that is BS, they are not reliable when old. Yes, they are reliable when new, not 10 years old. " Oh yes, mine is 15 years old and still running strong " . But there are some caveats . For many people if it starts and the wheels turn, that is about the definition of running strong.
Than you have the other half, "oh this is so good and reliable", than a list of endless replacement of parts, preventive maintenance, fixes, maybe 2 weeks would go by without some kind of repair or "normal " maintenance work. Which is fine if you have the time, the money and the pleasure to do it.

I beg to differ. Every vehicle needs regular maintenance, doing what we do, old or new requires stringent maintenance, old or new. Do things wear out? Of course, so before the end of their known life expectancy you replace them. Do brands make a difference? In my humble experience, yes, a huge difference. Mine is 25 years old with 356,000 miles. It is meticulously maintained, it is not breaking down all the time, in fact as I’ve stated before, only once, ( my fault ) and the only trail repair I’ve ever done is tightening up a loose windshield wiper. If you take care of your vehicle it will take care of you. I mentioned brands matter. Yes, bushings on American made trucks, particularly Jeeps, have a 50 to 75 thousand mile life expectancy. Starters, alternators, hoses etc etc about the same. That’s why aftermarket parts, more often than not, are an upgrade. With the Japanese trucks, aftermarket parts are, more often than not, a downgrade.

 

[leeloo]

@MOAK - I can tell you, your experience is not typical. Most cases I seen are the opposite. And many people do not have a big issue with this, they are very cool about it, specially long term overlanders.
They break down, they go to a shop, maybe spend some days in an airbnb a waiting for parts, not a huge drama.
Me - I go nuts if I brake down during a trip. I got 24 days / year off. I spend 3 days some place on a break down, or I can't go off road and stick with the paved roads - this is very bad. I loose the limited time I can do something I enjoy.

Normal maintenance - oil change, belts, filters, etc, as described in the service manual at every stage. For me, what is outside the maintenance schedule, is a repair.
Replacing every rubber piece on a vehicle is not normal maintenance. It might be normal to do it because it is old, and it is to be expected, but is not normal maintenance.
And yes, there are old vehicles that work, but I know what it takes. For many people ( I am one of them ) it is not worth it.


Maybe when I retire I will have the time and patience. I still don't think I will do it. All else being equal, the risk of a breakdown is definitely higher on something older. My lessons are learned, for long trips/overlanding I will always buy the newest vehicle I can afford, and I will sell it the moment it starts giving me grief or the requirements change. But this is me.

Nothing wrong with using an older vehicle. Not everyone has my requirements. But it will be hard to convince me that that you take a 15 year old truck, you change the OIL and some consumables, loaded up to the GVM and go tour US even on moderated trails with no problems . This has not been my experience.
For some, is part of the fun. You take an old truck, restore it, replace/ upgrade everything , give it a new life. There are worse ways to fill your time :)

 

[tjZ06]

I Overland my 2011 Silverado, as stated before. I've never heard of this ABS/4x4 engagement problem, much less experienced it. My truck has ~140k miles on it, I've owned it since new, and many MANY of those miles have been off road. It has a lot of modern electronics and systems (like Stabilitrak) and that didn't stop me from solid front axle swapping it with a ford Super Duty Dana 60. Even with the Ford 60, I still have functioning ABS, Stabilitrak and of course 4x4. No warning lights, no fuss, and it just goes into 4x4 when asked. The truck has always been over-maintained, and will continue to be and I have no problem trusting it way "off grid."

-TJ

 

[Tundracamper]

 

[Autism Family Travels]

i think most vehicles will hold up just fine "overlanding" in the united states...
its crossing walmart parking lots where they are put to the test...

View attachment 243428

Mall crawling is a thing I guess.

 

[Ldstruckn]

I went with both old and new at the same time. After much searching of my aging soul i realized creature comforts are great but not as great as staying in the rig for the whole trip because nothing broke. I bought a 22 Jeep wrangler Willys edition with the xtreme recon package. It has hand crank windows, door locks that require putting the key into the lock to operate, cloth seats, dana HD gen three axles and cast steel steering components. Less to break and beefy from the factory. This was all had from the factory for less than half the cost of the Lexus I was looking at, and the Lexus would need 12 grand in up grades

 

[Arailt]

I mentioned brands matter. Yes, bushings on American made trucks, particularly Jeeps, have a 50 to 75 thousand mile life expectancy. Starters, alternators, hoses etc etc about the same. That’s why aftermarket parts, more often than not, are an upgrade. With the Japanese trucks, aftermarket parts are, more often than not, a downgrade.

I wheeled Jeeps for years before I got into Toyotas. I remember very vividly being confused when I learned the best parts to replace OEM Toyota parts were OEM Toyota parts. I don't think I ever replaced a Jeep part with an OEM Jeep part haha. Ever. In fact, it was a good idea to replace some of the OE Jeep parts like control arms so they wouldn't bend on the trail!

 

[MidOH]

There are no reliable vehicles. Old, new, they can die at any time. Plan around that. Use your boots or a bicycle instead, when you can't.

And lol at motorcycles. Generally better built, and more reliable. But you'll be changing tires and chains in the middle of your trip. Adventure riding is better and worse than overlanding, at the same time.