Hello from Antarctica

[PenguinPuncher]

Hi,

Looking forward to starting new overland adventures, I was wondering if someone might be able to direct me on advice about vehicle selection. I know that topic has probably been beat to the ground, and experienced overlanders sigh at the sight of that question. However, I've been searching for weeks and read so many forums my head is spinning with confusion on all the the possibilities, and just wanted to get some fresh perspective from experienced overlander's. Plus my coworkers are going to kill me if I ask their advice one more time.

 

[Winterpeg]

First things first,

Welcome!

Secondly... what are your needs? How many people do you plan on transporting? Are you towing, hauling, etc. etc...

 

[PenguinPuncher]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Ok, so here's the rub... I'm the average mid 30's dad, with 2 young kids.. a precocious 5 year old girl and a almost 2 year old boy who thinks he's the modern day Indiana Jones. Top that off with 2 very large Rhodesian Ridge backs. I'm currently traveling around the world (I'm typing this during the middle of winter at McMurdo Station, Antarctica), but when I get home my wife and I want spent our time as a family with our own adventures and not droned out on Ipads and re-runs of my little pony.

Now, all of this shouldn't be a problem right?, you would think. However, I live in Florida, the land of swamps, sand, and very tight trails with low overhangs. This presents a few problems... Yes I could get an excursion and deck it out, but trying to fit that down a trail of wax myrtle and saw palm becomes a mathematical problem with every equation known to man. A 4Runner is awesome, reliable (expensive), but trying to fit a family of 4 and 300 pounds of dog, plus all of the gear for a week long trip brings a lot of complications.. and forget trying to back up a trailer sugar sand on a trail that is 72" across.

Yeah, I could stick to large family friendly roads, but whats the fun in that?, I want my kids to see the actual woods, not the smokey the bear camper special with 20 other families around. The idea is to find new places, not established places.

So, any rig advice for a guy that has to feed a family, a couple of dogs the size of horses and on a government salary that janitors make more money at in some parts of the states?

 

[Winterpeg]

I think your best bet will be to use an offroad trailer so you can keep your tow rig at a reasonable size and store your gear in the trailer. You'd be surprised how well some of those smaller offroad trailers tow in the rough stuff.

With the big dogs and kids I would suggest a decent ground tent to keep things simple. You can always change things up later.

This way you can get off the beaten path and set up camp.... and still go off on day trips or adventures through the bush with your tow rig... whether it's a 4runner or whatever.

A 4runner is a great idea, make sure you get one with a locking rear diff, a small lift and some 33's. You can also get a pet barrier on the rear of the back seat to keep the pooches contained back there.
Air those tires down and lock the rear and you will have reasonably good success in the soft stuff.

 

[Cpyonker]

As far as rigs go, since your concerned about size. Check out chevy trailblazers, I have one and they are pretty capable, plus lifts are generally cheaper. You could get the ext package which is slightly longer but still shorter than a Tahoe. Remove the third row seat and there is plenty of dog room.
They are also comfortable.

Way more info on offroadtb.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Flipper]

First I would get the family together and make a list of things everyone want to do, hiking, bicycling,kayaking, swimming, exploring......the list goes on. Where you want to explore, water, mountains, desert, forests...... Next would be your budget and what you can afford for toys, travel, and most impotrant your vehicle. We are also from Fl. so you will have the state parks and very little dispursed camping almost all your activities down here are going to be around water. To your north you have the Smokys and tons of national forests to explore. With a family as large a yours you might want to check into a Sprinter, they do make 4x4s but get out your check book. There is a new post, 2018sprinter, of a guy in St. Aug. on his second build of a sprinter with price lists for the build. I built a custom hightop van with all the conforts of home. When we go to Colorado we rent Jeep Rubicons to explore and use the van for base camp, dispursed camping. It is more cost effective to rent them than to invest in one, being on the impractical side for our applications in Florida. You might want to rent until you see what fits your families needs before you take the plunge because its probably going to be a huge financial decision.

 

[Chadlyb]

Hi,

Looking forward to starting new overland adventures, I was wondering if someone might be able to direct me on advice about vehicle selection. I know that topic has probably been beat to the ground, and experienced overlanders sigh at the sight of that question. However, I've been searching for weeks and read so many forums my head is spinning with confusion on all the the possibilities, and just wanted to get some fresh perspective from experienced overlander's. Plus my coworkers are going to kill me if I ask their advice one more time.

Hello and welcome to the OB crew ...looking forward to seeing your build and adventures when you get your rig. Good luck on your quest. Don't forget about older land cruisers, land rovers or Jeep Commanders. Great internal space and won't break the bank.