Best Family Capable Rig?

[Scott]

I'm surprised some of the subaru guys haven't spoken up. I figured it would be mostly subarus and mid sized suvs, but it's a nice mix of full sized vehicles.

I think it's just a matter of how much gear you carry and how many people are going. While I love the room my truck offers when our family of 4 goes camping, honestly most of the time it's just my oldest daughter and i, so I could easily get away with a Subaru wagon of some sort... But I can't afford another vehicle, or justify it haha.

 

[Casey Videtto]

I have 3 kids (7, and 4yr old twins) and right now they fit comfortably in my '16 Cherokee. I can pack the back fairly well for an overnight trip but a roof rack would definitely make life a lot easier. I live in the city so large SUV's are a pain and they don'y fit my budget very well either. IMHO the Cherokee works with three small kids... heck, my mom used to take three of us all over Yellowstone in a dodge neon when we were kids. Though, I thin I might need more space once they are teenagers.

 

[Lindenwood]

I wanted to add, if we didn't have 155lbs of dogs to bring along in the cargo area, and didn't need to keep them off the seats, a smaller vehicle would absolutely work. I actually wanted a much smaller AWD vehicle (say, a CRV), but the wife convinced me how having a cargo area large enough for the dogs would be beneficial, and she was absolutely right!

But yeah, this weekend we packed up the vehicle with 4 adults, 4 dogs, and loaded up the gear on the roof rack for camping! Funny, we ended up also dragging another couple out there, so for the trip hone we had ti stuff 6 adults and 5 dogs, plus all our gear on the roof rack!

Either way, this Overlanding stuff is great!

 

[Wolfy]

We have a 3rd Gen 4Runner 2 kids and a dog. With a cargo deck i built in the back and a Yakima Sky Box we get by just fine.


-M

 

[mase001]

My only experience here is with the FJ Cruiser and the 4Runner.

Had a 13 FJ TT. The backseat room was not optimal for a child seat. The passenger seat would get kicked over and over and over. It also was hard for my wife (5'5") to get my daughter out of the seat due to the door only opening 1/2 way and being positioned forward too much. I LOVED THE FJ, but it had to go. So, I got the 4Runner and we find it has way more room in it and is much better for family travel both overland and over highway ;)

The FJ also had a little less usable space in back imho due to the shape of the roof line. I LOVE THE LOOKS OF THE FJ, but that was my experience at least with family trips. The 4Runner allows us to take up to 5 people if needed and when its just the 3 of us has TONS of room for gear! It gets my vote!

 

[daPitbull]

We used to have an FJC too prior to our first kid. 4 months after he was born I sold the FJ for a 08' 4Runner. Like @mase001 the FJ is a great rig especially with dogs, but not practical for families.

Now the family consists of 3,5,7 year old, wife, me, and our staffy bull. We've done 3plus weeks with all of us and gear on the roof. This year we sprung for a trailer and RTT which has proved to be much more convenient.

 

[finlayforprez]

My LR4/Discovery 4 has been a great family rig and has lots of room for everything. I know other folks who use these and the previous LR3/Discovery 3 as family overland vehicles. These are basically boxes on wheels, and pretty heavy, so there are some drawbacks, but as an overland vehicle there is tons of room and it's a really comfortable ride. With that said, it's not for everyone because they are newer and a bit pricey. Despite being a big/tall vehicle they are pretty narrow as well. I think no matter what, having a family (kids, dogs, etc) in any overland vehicle, you need to really utilize space and have a good roof rack system and as some folks above stated, a small off-road trailer really helps!


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