So, why'd you buy the overland vehicle you did?

[billum v2.0]

Was in a basic state park campground a month ago (gravel parking pad/table/fire ring) and had a great conversation with several folks nearby. Someone brought up why we drive what we drive and the range of response were all over the place. So;

Did you buy your current vehicle specifically for overland purpose and choose it because of specific options/reputation within the overland community? Already owned it and made modifications to serve dual purpose as daily driver and overland mule? Brand loyalty? Had hankered to own that brand/model? Give it a lot of forethought and seek it out or write the check and think it through a little later?

This overland stuff is new to me (multiple decades of backpacking). I bought a Jeep JK as a third vehicle/dedicated toy before I knew what this overlanding thing was. Added the trailer/RTT as I bought into the concept. The setup works well for us, but would have done it differently had I known it would be an intentional overland vehicle from the start.

You?

 

[Stone74]

I bought mine more for sentimental reasons. I've got a 92 XJ. My dad had one, a newer one than mine, and would take me trail riding, camping, fishing, etc... He passed some 6years ago. I found this one for sale and bought it, just on a whim. I sold my built up rock crawler the year before. Now, my brother and I are building up my Jeep and reminiscing about Dad. We're enjoying it so much, he bought him a Jeep and his is the next build project.

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[Mike W]

I had loved the look and character of the L319 (Discovery 3, then 4) long before I really knew enough about the important aspects of its use. I am very glad that I bought mine the year I did. They had fixed all the major issues by then (lr4 started in 2010, but lr3 in 2005) and 2013 was the last year of the V8. The next year they had to neuter it a bit because you can't have the little brother LR have a better motor than the Range Rover.

It eats the miles so well, air suspension, fantastic payload. Body on frame toughness and good (but expensive) aftermarket.

I have always loved 'old' land rovers. The character and style of an old 4x4 just increases no matter the model. And even though it was more expensive to buy mine new, it is exactly what I want. I actually look forward to my 2013 being 'old' and keeping it running for a long time. It is the perfect blend of the old boxy safari style, but all the modern comforts that I enjoy, without being a round unibody nightmare. **cough** discovery 5 **cough**.

 

[JLangsdorf]

I specifically wanted a truck for overlanding. Lots of research and the watch half the nation for a used Tacoma with the features I wanted.

 

[Justin Forrest]

Because Tacomas are AWESOME!

 

[riffman12]

I had two 3rd gen 4runners in my life, did some light wheeling while at college in Arizona. Very capable vehicles, but quite small for 2 people and not terribly comfortable on long road trips.

Always drooled over the Land Cruiser 80 - iconic styling, legendary reliability, solid front axle simplicity, but the prices were climbing up and up and I couldn't justify twice the price of my 4runner.

At the time my girlfriend and I were getting more into the idea of overlanding and wanted to explore more of the US. Saw the White Whale pop up on Craigslist for a price I couldn't turn down. Bought it at 8am the next morning with 18 other potential buyers waiting in line after me. 2 of which were wanting to fly in from other states!

It's been comfortable, roomy, reliable, and capable on the trail even with saggy OEM springs. I also love the sound and feel of the big 4.5L inline 6, just wish it did better than 13mpg.

One day I may switch to the 100 series, but for now I'm loving the old school charm of the 80.

 

[JLangsdorf]

Because Tacomas are AWESOME!

I really do like my Tacoma. However, I went with a Taco because of the tremendous aftermarket support.

 

[Remington_PRO4X]

Mine is a pretty funny story.

I was trying to decide between an orange 4 door Wrangler and the Pro-4x. Test drove both and was leaning towards the truck for the utility and it had more get up and go. My son was with and he was pretty little at the time. Blue was his favorite color. So I asked him to pick, the orange jeep or the blue truck, being a little kid who LOVES blue he obviously picked the truck! He is still convinced that he picked out dad's truck.

 

[Jimmy P]

Because I was a kid and it was cool

It really was that simple, and now I'm so tied to it, I just can't imagine not having / using it. Is it the perfect platform? Unlikely. Does it do what it needs to do? It will when I'm done with it.

 

[Remington_PRO4X]

Because I was a kid and it was cool

It really was that simple, and now I'm so tied to it, I just can't imagine not having / using it. Is it the perfect platform? Unlikely. Does it do what it needs to do? It will when I'm done with it.

Seems like a pretty legitimate reason to me!

 

[Steve]

I got the 4Runner, because it was $40,000 less than the Land Cruiser that I really wanted.

 

[Jason Shelby]

Because Ford Excursions are awesome, LOL.

I had always wanted a diesel engine powered truck, and I can across my Excursion while I worked for Ford and got a great deal on it.


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[armymgdude]

Mine says power wagon on the door, so I've got that going for me...

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[NightCrawler]

I have always been a fan of Jeep and Toyota 4x4...I happened to have a few friend that had Jeeps and then a good one came up for sale that I couldn't pass up. Its been fun building it up the way I want it...it became a father and son project. I am still on the hunt for that dream SR5 that I wanted back in HS.

 

[Neil Q Smith]

Had a number of 4x4 vehicles in my time, and really enjoyed ever one of them.
But when it came down to true "expedition quality" needs and requirements, I went for Arctic Trucks (AT37) conversion of Toyota Hilux.

Arctic Trucks have an awesome reputation, for building super endurance trucks for difficult winter / expedition driving conditions.
Most vehicles that have visited the South Pole (Antarctica) are Arctic Trucks (Toyota Hilux).
https://www.arctictrucks-experience.com/antarctica/
http://arctictrucks.com/Experiences/Antarctica-challenge/Previous-Expeditions.aspx

Living in Norway, having to cope with ice and snow many months of the year, and organising expeditions around Scandinavia, Arctic Trucks was the obvious choice.
And the model was also obvious - Toyota Hilux (the preferred South Pole Expedition vehicle).



I must say that in the number of years I have had this vehicle, it has never let me down.



I don't think I could have achieved anywhere near the same level of exploration, with my old Jeep Wrangler, Honda CRV, or Mitsubishi Pajero.
Especially the challenging river crossings in Iceland.

Another factor that was extremely important, was the degree of driver comfort - especially on long expedition / difficult road condition driving.

There are some great expedition vehicles out there, but their driver comfort factor are not always that high in my personal opinion, with poor leg room and very tight cockpit layout.
The Toyota Hilux has a very high driver comfort factor, and lots of room in the cockpit area.
This makes a great difference when driving for 6 weeks, every day on difficult and challenging terrain.

Finally, its a Toyota diesel engine........
Which just keeps going and going.

BBC Top Gear tried hard to kill a Toyota Hilux and failed - for good reason - they are just so tough and reliable.
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/toyota-hilux-car-even-clarkson-couldn’t-kill
Parts 1,2 & 3: Killing a Toyota Hilux - BBC Top Gear

So, all in all, my choice was relatively easy - and it has proven to be a totally excellent expedition (and every day use) vehicle.

 

[Scarab]

I love mine (Disco / LR3) because it's a vehicle I can do absolutely anything in. Strap all the stuff to the roof, fill the back with kit and I know it will get me anywhere that I'll ever be likely to need to go and over obstacles that much more "dedicated" vehicles will struggle with.

I can also clean it then take it into the London and park it up outside the Savoy hotel and it wont look out of place. A gorgeous leather interior, plenty of toys to play with and a magic carpet ride lets it eat up the miles. Last week it was on Taxi duty ferrying family around with all 7 seats in use and Tomorrow I'm booked in with our local 4x4 volunteer group to pull thousands of cars out of deep mud at a event car park.

I think Andrew St Pierre White gets exactly the essence of the disco life in this series:

 

[sleak]

Well, my first attempt was a new 2003 Discovery. That eventually cost me lots of money fixing the engine every six months; it was too unreliable, so it had to go. I'd started fixing it up, too, with OME shocks, and bigger tires.

After a few years in a commuter 4x4 (X3), I decided I wanted a big one again. It had to be capable, reliable, not a pickup, not a Land Rover, and big enough to tow a decent sized trailer in the future if my wife wanted to go clamping.

So: Land Cruiser.

 

[TreXTerra]

Did you buy your current vehicle specifically for overland purpose and choose it because of specific options/reputation within the overland community? Already owned it and made modifications to serve dual purpose as daily driver and overland mule?

I set out to buy an FJ Cruiser and was really disappointed in how it fit me and the lousy visibility. I looked at the JKU, but I had a bad experience with Jeep in the past and Chrysler was bankrupt at the time with an uncertain future.

The Xterra did everything I wanted and I could afford it. It was big enough to haul all my gear but small enough to still be agile on the trail. It was a body-on-frame construction and the chassis was overbuilt for the vehicle, so I knew it could take a pounding.

It is my only car, so it has to be an overlander, commuter, grocery getter, and tow vehicle for the motorcycles. It does all of those things well (maybe a little thirsty for commuting, but my commute is only 12 minutes).

 

[Quicksilver]

I didn't have overlanding in mind exactly when I bought my Xterra. A buddy of mine has one, and I liked it a lot. It was last winter, and I had decided I was going to buy one come summer. I had a very gutless, but fuel efficient, Mitsubishi Lancer with nearly 300,000 miles on it for my daily driver and a big gas guzzling Chevy truck as a weekend toy. The Lancer started having electrical problems leading to overnight battery drains, and the truck got stolen 2 days before Christmas, after breaking down on the freeway. So I was forced to accelerate my plans by a few months. Fast forward to now, and I've done a few mods here and there with more on the to-do list. I'm very pleased with how capable the X is. She's handled everything I've thrown at her so far without so much as a blink. She's also my daily driver, and I'll agree with TreXTerra, the mileage could be better (my commute is 43 miles, one way), but I wouldn't trade her for anything.

 

[gtomike]

My wife and I went to the dealership in November of '12 to trade my '05 Ram 2500 Quadcab diesel in for a regular cab 2500 4x4.I was looking to keep costs down/low monthly payment.
While the salesman went inside to get the keys for the one I was interested in test driving,my wife points to the PowerWagon next to it and asked why don't we get that(she liked the crew cab)
I tell her because it's $15k more than the one we're here to look at.Her response???It's OK,we can afford it if we can get the price down a bit(I was in shock,she's usually pretty tight when it comes to money)So,the salesman comes out and we tell him we want the wagon instead.got the price lowered by $6k,traded the Quad Cab for $8k and bought it.

For the first 3 and a half years of ownership,it stayed completely stock.The thought of Overlanding never crossed my mind.
In December of 2015,I decided I was going to the 9th annual Power Wagons In Moab.So I installed Thuren front springs,rear lift shacles,track bar and Thuren Overland shocks 37" Cooper STT Pros.Truck performed better than expected.
My friend and I stayed in a hotel for that trip.

Went back to Moab this year with the truck as-is.One day,we had a group of 13 Power Wagons attempt the trifecta(Poison Spider,Golden Spike,Gold Bar Rim)and ran out of daylight.3 of us with modded trucks decided to push through while the rest stayed on the trail overnight.One guy that stayed had an RTT,and I was impressed with how quickly he had it set up.
My friend and I rented a condo for this trip.
I'm trying to get my wife to make the trip as well,but she feels it's just a guy thing.even though I reassured her that there were a few wives/girlfriends there(she's a city girl)

For the 2018 trip,the organizer of Power Wagons In Moab wants to do an overnight camping trip,so I decided to buy a Tepui RTT and mount it on a Thule rack.I picked up the rack on Friday,and the tent will be here this week.
I probably won't get to use it this fall as the truck is going to be in the body shop for a couple of weeks due to an accident in August,and a few family gatherings/obligations.

I haven't been on a camping trip since I was a kid,but I'm excited to get started again.