Comfortability or Repairability?

[Overlanding Downunder]

What is your thought when Overlanding, Comfortability or Repairability?

Comfortability: New style vehicle with independent front suspension, comfortable seats. Vehicle that thinks for itself, hill descent control.

Repairability: Something that can be repaired on the side of the road. No computers. Solid front axle that you can the wheel bearing without a press. You have to replace your fillings every time you return from a trip.

I am personally leaning to the Repairability vehicle. I am looking at doing a lap of Australia in a couple of years. I was looking at my vehicle thinking how could I repair that (front wheel bearings) if I cannot repair it at home?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Captain Chaos]

You can always upgrade your vehicle for comfort. I have a vehicle that thinks for itself, and most of the time I like it. But... I like to be in control. I don't know about my jeep braking for me! Lol

 

[[DO]Ron]

Comfort! Though a Crusier 120 is in the middle.. not much electronics or thinking for itself but still comfort.. it will be de daily driver as well. I want my comfort :P

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

Since you're in Australia, in my mind you're traveling far enough to be days away from a town, let alone a town with the parts that you need. Because of that, I say go for reparability. Besides, with the right struts, even solid front axels are pretty comfy these days, and you can always pull seats from a different vehicle if you want.

 

[Overlanding Downunder]

Since you're in Australia, in my mind you're traveling far enough to be days away from a town, let alone a town with the parts that you need. Because of that, I say go for reparability. Besides, with the right struts, even solid front axels are pretty comfy these days, and you can always pull seats from a different vehicle if you want.

That what I was also thinking. A spare seal and a set of tapered roller bearings will work on both drivers or passengers side, on a Landcruiser anyway, so I would carry only one set. I know other things can/will break that may not be able to be fixed with fencing wire and zip ties.

 

[Mike W]

I could be wrong, but to me most mechanical aspects are just as repairable. With the computers, land rover actually designs them to shut down and go into various fail safe or fall back modes.. for example if the battery system is dying it will shut down heaters and various things to save power. Also, a common tool that plugs in to the ODB port.. an GAP IID tool, lets you control huge amounts of the car via your phone. I can put my air suspension into build mode and manually pump up air springs.. if the height sensors go out on me. I just consider the GAP tool as a required part of my on board tools.. it stays in the glove box.

Sure, it requires a bit more knowledge about these new systems, and new fancy vehicles probably do have more things to go wrong. But I don't think the core bits are much more sensitive to any particular style of failure.. just IMO..I know this topic is pretty polarizing. One aspect of having an LR4 is the parts availability is definitely lower in the U.S.... its not a jeep or a yota which parts can be found for at common places.

I do enjoy having a on board diagnostic capability which can tell me in plain english (most of the time) exactly what system or sensor or whatever might be wrong.

#datanerd

 

[1derer]

For me this is a tough question and one that I have asked myself a lot in the past few years. I agree with a previous poster that middle ground can be found even if you consider front sold axle in the reliable bucket even if IFS is often times stronger and can be easier to repair then a enclosed knuckle. 10 years ago I'd go for slow, rough, brutal ride of a FJ40 but now I would lean towards a modern IFS truck, even if I am currently building out an HJ70... so as you can tell still conflicted.

 

[krax]

For me, realistically, I'm going to do most of my travel within the contiguous US, where I can only get so remote and many destinations don't get interesting until the end of a long drive on the highway/interstate. Also, my "overland rig" is also the grocery rig. So I lean towards comfort. Less noise and vibration also equals less driver fatigue on long drives so I'm more fresh after four hours on the interstate when I finally get off pavement.

I remember after a trail ride at UORTC telling a guy in a Wrangler that I had to drive a few hours home and he said something along the lines of, "That's a long drive" even though it didn't seem that way to me. But a few hours on the highway in a soft-top Jeep with big mud tires probably feels a lot different than basically sitting in a leather chair listening to music for a bit.

Outside the States it's a different story. Simple, bombproof, and repairable is the way to go. I don't know about Australia, but many of the "roads" in Africa will take their toll on a driver no matter what he's driving.

 

[VCeXpedition]

The Landcruiser 80 is the perfect in between! At least for me. YMMV.

I can fix most of what breaks on a trail, and it's moderately comfortable, still has a solid front axle.
Jeep JKU's are fairly comfortable but not like an IFS truck would be.

If you put on an aggressive tire, you're compromising ride quality anyway, start with comfortable and make it repairable, or better yet, super-reliable!

Dan.

 

[The other Sean]

One thing to keep in mind of these so called "repairable" rigs is the age and the availability of spare parts. I can walk in to almost any parts store and walk out with a part for my '11 Nissan, but, many times if it is something older, the shop needs to order it and you are down for a day or three.

With that said, I wouldn't blink about driving my newer truck 4hrs but, also understanding that a newer rig has just as much chance of breaking down as an older one.

 

[grover]

I gain a lot of confidence knowing that I can fix a lot of things on my Jeep on the trail. "Repairability" has a lot to do with your mechanical know-how and how familiar you are with your vehicle. If you are not prepared to fix your "repairable" vehicle, then it doesn't really matter what you are driving. Whatever you buy, learn the vehicle's weaknesses and prepare yourself as best you can (spares, tools etc). Choosing a vehicle based on it's repairability is still valid, I'm just suggesting that "repairability" is also measured by factors other than the vehicle itself.

 

[SteveMFr]

Sorry to dig up this old thread, but this is a topic that interests me...

Disclaimer: I am part of GAP Diagnpstic. We make the IIDTool that Mike was talking about above (thank you, btw). As we are not sponsors here in the forum and I don't know what the forum rules are, I am going to speak in very general terms here. I am here out of personal interest and 'as a civilian', so to speak. But I am also a bit of a geek

I really don't feel like the OP's question is posed properly - or that the question needs to be posed at all: repairability and comfort are not mutually exclusive. And having electronics in a vehicle does not preclude the possibility of field repairs in any way. Yes, you are going to need more than the hammer, screwdriver and duct tape that would have been required for a Willys Jeep or 1960's Bronco, but you will not need much more. A small, portable diagnostic tool, some electrical tape and a test light or multimeter will usually suffice.

One good thing about a modern, electronic equipped vehicles is that, in contrast to older purely mechanical vehicles they will actually tell you whats wrong. And with that knowledge often anyone with even the most rudimentary mechanical skills can repair or jury rig a solution to at least get back to civilization. Not really a great difference to the 'good old days' where you had to know about fuel delivery, spark or how a diesel injection pump works etc before you were capable of getting yourself out of a situation.

The problem is not that the the repairability as such was beyond the skill set of an average Joe, but that the diagnostic tools and knowledge required was held back by the manufacturers to try to ensure a monopoly on service for their dealers (which never really worked out anyway). This has changed. For nearly every automotive brand and model there is a company such as ourselves (we only do Land Rover). And thanks to the internet, there is so much shared knowledge in forums etc that in many cases you can DIY a repair as quickly and easily as a trained dealer tech (and much more cheaply!).

And a couple of other points to ponder:
- in general, today's vehicles are miles more reliable than older vehicles. Really, miles more.
- it's not only comforts that the electronics provide, it's safety, economy, cleanliness, power etc etc etc (how many 1990's off-roaders are you going to find with more than 300hp or more stock?)
- depending on your needs, the electronics that come in the vehicles from the factory can more than compensate the need for a ton of expensive mods, such as lockers or a lift (with air suspension) etc
- electronics have come a long, long way since the 80's and 90's. Today's electronics are much more robust - and idiot proof.

There is literally no place on earth I'd hesitate to take even the most decked out, electronic equipped 4wd (such as a Range Rover). You do need to prepare yourself tho. And having the right tools and a little knowledge about what you are going to be doing is essential. As is having a set-up that suits your needs.You can set up a vehicle to play submarine and do water crossings up to sun-visor level if you like, but you need to do the prep first. And that has not changed. Water crossings on most older vehicles ended in tears at breather levels or at the latest at distributor levels if left stock...

And despite all of this, I am still a strong believer in the KISS principle

 

[Murphy Slaw]

When I was young I enjoyed working on my stuff. As I get older it's harder to just lay down and pull myself under my truck to change the oil.

If I break down, I'm just gonna call you guys.....