SVO ....Small Vehicle Overlanding

[Dilldog]

OK, it's a crappy brake rotor causing the noise as far as we know. None of the other parts got put on. I also found out the rockers are toast on the old beast. Gotta love that cladding. I am in the process of collecting the necessary body panels to weld back into the rig to make it solid again. I am also going to take care of any other places that are weak as well.

It blows me away how hard the north east US and south east CA is on cars and equipment. Here in the inland northwest just about anything made in the last 20 years will still be more or less rust free. Even most of the cars we get out of Alberta (like my 2011 GMC) are in good shape...

 

[Autism Family Travels]

It blows me away how hard the north east US and south east CA is on cars and equipment. Here in the inland northwest just about anything made in the last 20 years will still be more or less rust free. Even most of the cars we get out of Alberta (like my 2011 GMC) are in good shape...

I know, and lots can't fathom me wanting to buy a 20 year old rig here, they think old rigs like that are all rusty pos.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Quick question for the guys here. My escape is terrible on gas, like 66km on 1/4 tank bad. Any ideas besides the obvious spark plugs, filter and tb cleaning?

 

[Dilldog]

So thats about 16 miles per gallon roughly. I would say go after the spark plugs, also make sure you put Ford plugs in there, there is a difference. I would also change your fuel filter and air filter. Also oil quality and viscosity can play a role, albeit a small one. So make sure youre running oil made by one of the big brands so you can garantee quality and of either 5w20 or 5w30 (I run 5w30 in mine even though it calls for 5w20 because of a Ford TSB stating it will help the needle bearings in the roller rockers live longer). Also transmission oil can play a factor (and while youre there you should get the oil changed in the rear diff and rear drive PTO). And dont forget to replace the PCV. I would honestly just do a good in depth full service and run some Techron full fuel system cleaner concentrate through it as well. This stuff is good to go, GM released a TSB in the 90s stating running it would solve a majority of the fuel system issues they were seeing in the early days of electronic injection. Its not as needed today, but it still does a hell of a good job getting deposits cleaned out.
Here in the PNW during the winter we use oxigenated fuel to help keep vehicle emmisions low so our air quality stays up. When running this stuff I see my millage drop to about that, part of that is also idle time as I let my rig warm up for a while when its cold. But my typical millage is right around 20 miles per gallon. Thats with the V6.

 

[Joey83]

Yeah, 66km on 1/4 tank is bad.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Ok, an update on Jim (my escape). He had a few cancer areas, both rockers were bad, a huge hole behind the rear shock mount (rigidity of the shock mount is still there, hammer tested), and another one up front. All will be fixed free of charge by the dealer I bought him from. I flipped when I saw all of this. Next up, I have a bunch of brake parts that need to be installed, which was supposed to be done when purchased, they will be installed by the dealer free of charge, as well as new front brakes. I am getting them to pop in new spark plugs, I have already done the air filter, and I am going to clean the TB when the weather gets better here. So, I have been on a roller coaster this past while with Jim. I love the little rig, but it was not working correctly and after I saw the rusties I was disheartend that I lost alot of my money buying him. Fast forward to today, all is good and he will be rolling for the next few years as the Austim family travels rig!

 

[syncro]

This is a great thread, folks. Reminds me of bombing logging roads in my old VW Squareback. For RWD, that thing had tons of traction (that is, until you wagged the tail out too far). Plus, I could sleep in it. The totally flat floor was great for that.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Yeah, small rigs are where it's at. I am glad I am getting some extended time with my escape before the rusties take over completely. I will be going on the hunt for either a 4 runner (vintage) or something like that. Everyone here has full size trucks and crap like that.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

WOW, I just went on autotrader.com and looked at the available escapes down south of to the rust belt. I think I am going to visit down there after Mine finally succumbs to the red scurge. Most 2007s down there look brand new. I may even bring back an older expedition too. As soon as I get them up here they would be rust checked. The only some what useful rust prevention method. I am not sure if those electronic jobbys acutally work or not.

 

[Dilldog]

WOW, I just went on autotrader.com and looked at the available escapes down south of to the rust belt. I think I am going to visit down there after Mine finally succumbs to the red scurge. Most 2007s down there look brand new. I may even bring back an older expedition too. As soon as I get them up here they would be rust checked. The only some what useful rust prevention method. I am not sure if those electronic jobbys acutally work or not.

Dude if you get serious and are OK with a bit of a trip and the cross boarder worker let me know. The PNW of the US is where Ford sold the most Escapes. They are a dime a dozen and cheap ( you can find great condition ones with under 200K for 4-5K USD, and for millage we regularly see them with 300-400K miles still rolling). Or even if you just need parts, theres at least as many in wrecking yards as there are on the road here, so used parts are super easy to come by. Though I dont know how shipping would work with the crazy Canadian auto parts taxes.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Dude if you get serious and are OK with a bit of a trip and the cross boarder worker let me know. The PNW of the US is where Ford sold the most Escapes. They are a dime a dozen and cheap ( you can find great condition ones with under 200K for 4-5K USD, and for millage we regularly see them with 300-400K miles still rolling). Or even if you just need parts, theres at least as many in wrecking yards as there are on the road here, so used parts are super easy to come by. Though I dont know how shipping would work with the crazy Canadian auto parts taxes.

Just drive it back across the border. The import process is pretty straightforward, and you just pay 5% at the border and 7% when you register (in bc)

 

[Dilldog]

Just drive it back across the border. The import process is pretty straightforward, and you just pay 5% at the border and 7% when you register (in bc)

Thats cool. I know there are a few cars you guys up north can get that people down here want, but the import process for us is quite involved.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Thats cool. I know there are a few cars you guys up north can get that people down here want, but the import process for us is quite involved.

The export process from the USA is actually the hardest part. CBP is requiring travellers to have a broker. For Canada, it's basically just one form, have the title and bill of sale, and bob's your uncle.

There are some restrictions on what vehicles are admissible - any vehicle less than 15 years old with a lift kit, for example, is inadmissible. 15 or older, though, it's all good.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

I have brought back many vehicles from our house in Florida. It's easy driving them back. It was eye opening though to see the escapes down there. And rangers too.

 

[Lindenwood]

Thanks for starting this thread!

After lots of fun with my 3rd gen 4Runner, and a brief stint in a 2019 F250, I have finally settled on a 2019 Rav4. My wife certainly likes the uniqueness of her Quicksand TRDP 4Runner, but admits she prefers the interior, driving feel, and of course efficiency of the Rav. She is probably 25% convinced to make the swap for another Rav, haha.

Yes, there were obstacles the Runners could tackle that wouldn't be possible in the rav (mostly due to the lack of lockable diffs and more limited wheel travel). But, as far as trails and destinations go, the Rav is certainly more than capable of doing everything I need it to.

I have a trailer hitch on order (mostly for the bike rack, but also for rear recoveries), and am working on a solution to use both front tow hooks for light recoveries in that direction. But, between my hi-lift and traction mats, I think I'll be able to get myself through most anything except big mud pits (which I dont want to do in this vehicle anyways).

My 3rd gen 4Runner was pretty extensively modded, but for this vehicle I'll probably stop after 16" wheels with 30" AT tires (from stock 19s with 29" highway tires), removed anti-sway bars, and a few more standard mods like window tint and weathertech floor mats.

Funny enough, I'll save about $1500/yr in gas and insurance over daily-driving the F250, which had been purchased for an expected travel trailer, an idea which was later shelved. Even compared to the 3rd gen 4Runner, I'll save about $600/yr in gas/insurance (insurance was a bit cheaper on the old runner, obviously).

Attached are a couple snaps of the Rav at my wife's temporary appartment with me test-fitting my traction mats, and with the cargo area loaded up for daily use with my do-it-all tool bag, two bags of recovery gear, and my compressor!

 

[Luis Merlo]

way to go !

 

[Lindenwood]

Ordered some new wheels and tires today! Coming from 19s with 29.2" tires, I am going to 16s with 30.1" tires. The wheels are black, but the ones in this pic are just a representation. Stock on the left, and new setup on the right.

The speedo is already about 1.5% fast, so at highway speeds it will now only be a couple mph slow. I don't expect these to hurt MPG much at all.

 

[Lindenwood]

Got the 16s mounted!

255/70R16 are 30.1," tall. It still has a surprising amount of clearance with the fenders--30 seconds of manipulating the steering wheel and checking clearance preliminarily shows at least a half inch all around, so maybe one more size up would work next time without trimming.

The new tire and offset combo sits about 3/4" further out than factory, but the tires have a rounder profile so it isn't very obvious that the tires are physically larger (size slso verified by comparing GPS and odometer distances traveled). I think this rounder profile (relatively narrow tread width compared to section width) is also a factor in how much clearance it still has.

*edit*

Oh, I also got the windows tinted (double-ceramic on all glass except the moonroof), and installed my curt hitch receiver + hitch bike rack today!

 

[CR-Venturer]

Very nice. Looking good.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Well, I got the escape back from where I bought it. They repaired all rust holes, undercoated, installed new brakes all around, tone rigs for the abs, new plugs and more. It drives like a new rig now. I am thinking the noise is actually the tires. I have another person who used hercules tires and said they were really noisy as well. All I know is I feel safe now taking my family on adventures in the escape now. It will last a few years now before being retired. Then, I am going to the southern US and getting another low milage one and getting it rust checked. It will last as long as I want it to then!