What do YOU consider "capable"?

[Louiston]

ill arange for someone to film me in april or may when the rain picks up again and we are saving folks in flooding if not enough rain then wait til hurricaine season to roll around. Highest water ive been in so far with it is at the bottom of the rear view mirrors which is chest high on me im 6,2 so around 5 ft. My sorkel sits at 6ft 7 inches, nearly every electronic on my truck is sealed with marine amazing goop and my diff , trans, t case, and fuel tank breathers are fed into my snorkel. Why wouldnt i be able to go a whole foot deeper than i already have?

I stand by my offer.

 

[MidOH]

I'm happy with my 33". Lol.

Any deeper and my truck won't make it anyways.

 

[Louiston]

Just give me a nearly stock CC LB truck and a hardside camper, some flat black Oracal to protect the paint, and I'm good to go.

I saw your rig on Expedition Portal. It is a very sweet set up to say the least. GOOD JOB on that truck!

 

[m_lars]

Seems like a loaded question. We all have different ideas and diffent ways of doing things. If were being real the most capable would be. elgan, unimog, sherpa, deuce and 1/2 and a few other vehicles with funky names i cant spell. Most capable of what? Rock crawling, water crossing, mudding, driving on pavement? Are we talking modified or stock vehicle?
A stock colorado cant drive through 6+ feet of water mine can, a stock colorado cant go through a rock garden i can.
Unless you go buy something someones has already built up your only as capable as any other stock street vehicle.

And just so you know a huge lift dont make vehicles capable it only makes em break easier and get stuck deeper. But you will look badass doing it.

Oh I know what I’m asking, I maybe should have worded it different. I’m mostly referring to stock vehicles, although the ability to modify certainly plays a role. When new vehicles come out, the ZR2 Bison and the new Defender are two on my mind, people would rip them because XYZ was so much better. But why? Because it’s not your brand, or something else? I was expecting to hear stuff like 2 speed transfer case, solid axles, lockers/limited slip, (because this is an overlanding forum) reliability. It’s purely an opinion thing because what I need my vehicle to be capable of is very different from someone who frequents Fordyce.

I completely disagree with the premise of the stock vehicles are all the same comment. Exportal did an article on a stock LR4 doing baboons pass, the most extreme public road in Southern Africa. I was very impressed at how well it did, not too many stock 4x4 vehicles could make that trip.

 

[Abreu93]

There's a manufacturer that has introduced a new vehicle model with the same name as a discontinued model. On The 'Gram it seems to get nearly universal scorn. Doesn't live up to the name, capable of picking up groceries, etc. Funny thing is, it is better than the old in almost every metric and stock vs. stock will be (in my opinion) considerably more capable the old one.

So, this got me thinking, what do people think makes a vehicle "capable"? Is there something that makes it incapable? Is there a line, once crossed, makes a vehicle capable? Owners of different marques have different opinions of why there chosen brand is more capable than yours. Obviously there's no right or wrong here and I definitely feel if it's capable of doing what you want it to it's capable, but this is an intriguing question to me.

I admit this could turn ugly and that is not my intention... Please keep remarks civil.

I think its one of these things that its easy to get lost in a trend of saying what is what. But in all reality. I think every vehicle is capable for what its intended. When ppl change that purpose, i think thats when it gets hairy

 

[PNW EXPLR]

Here is a fact,
Every vehicle brand/model ever made, has gotten stuck or broke. Half million dollar and up purpose built Dakar Rally vehicles HAVE gotten stuck and / or broke.
So, every vehicle has a limit.
I have seen two basically identical lifted jeeps with the same tires, go through a mud hole, 1 made it, 1 didn't.

 

[tjZ06]

I think capable also depends on how much you care about your vehicle. The old joke was always "what's the fastest car made: a rental car." I think you could extend that to "what's the most capable off road vehicle: a rental." Having things over-built means you don't have to over-drive and smash your stuff up... and reduces the chance you're walking home. But I had a rental "AWD" Equinox years ago that I took deeeeeeeep in the Payette National Forest in Idaho. It did more than I think most people would dream of doing with much more "capable" rigs like air-suspended WK2s or TRD package 4Runners and stuff.

-TJ

 

[Smileyshaun]

I like bacon

 

[tjZ06]

I like bacon

Me too.

I think this is often the limiting factor in capability for an Overlander:


-TJ

 

[Smileyshaun]

Me too.

I think this is often the limiting factor in capability for an Overlander:
View attachment 137062

-TJ

I think the limiting factor for most Overlanders is
*Way to much weight
*Not knowing how to pick good lines
*Not understanding tire pressure and how it affects traction
*inexperience
*understanding without lockers or some sort of traction aid a 4x4 rig is actually 2wd

 

[tjZ06]

I think the limiting factor for most Overlanders is
*Way to much weight
*Not knowing how to pick good lines
*Not understanding tire pressure and how it affects traction
*inexperience
*understanding without lockers or some sort of traction aid a 4x4 rig is actually 2wd

All probably true. Having come from more of a rock-crawling, then high speed off road background I think gives some of us an advantage. If you're used to picking rock-crawling lines, and have figured out how to get out of some tight jams with one broken driveshaft, a broken axle shaft, etc. it helps a lot even for "mild" Overlanding.

-TJ

 

[Ralph]

I'll bet the disappointing new vehicle that you mention is the sorry turd of a Defender. What a disgrace.

Get a Bronco, Ranger, Wrangler, Gladiator, Zr2, instead.

I do think the same. However new DEF might get different opinion after few years of owning/off-roading. Geometry isn't stupid. Ergonomy eighter. Still suspension idea and plastic everywhere makes her far away from predecessor.

 

[m_lars]

How could one possibly define capable on a "Overlanding" forum that readily states that it doesn't matter what type of vehicle you drive?

Is a "Smart Car" a capable vehicle for that 5 mile trip to work, absolutely! Is it a capable vehicle on the Rubicon Trail or crossing the Sahara desert, not so much!

When you lump ANY/ALL vehicles under the "Overlanding" umbrella, the term "Capable" no longer has a significant meaning/definition.

If you are in fact referring to the new Defender/Bronco, then come out and say it. If so, then we can compare the new to the old and have a somewhat intelligent discussion.

I came here because A) there are all brands/types of vehicles and 2) people are generally more civil and open to discussion than other forums. I guess that wasn't so in your case...

It isn't about one certain vehicle, but one certain vehicle got me thinking about it.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Doesn't matter what you drive.

Know your limitations...

 

[m_lars]

a lift and big tires will make your truck more capable.
i been driving lifted trucks for almost 40 yrs-definitely better. you don't need to beat on your truck nearly as hard, and you don't even have to be all knarly- example, i give you my nephew, 1 o'clock in the morn, 30 miles out, not only has all 4 tires off the ground sitting on the frame rails, but kiss the rockers goodbye too, lots of bodywork damage, for something so minor, with stock factory tires (of course i had to take a shame photo before i yanked him out...lol)
View attachment 137114

this would not even be a speed bump with my 42's
it's almost depressing how much people talk down lifted rigs, personally i think it may be tire envy myself, and the worst part is most naysayers have prob never run big tires. unless you have run them, you don't really know what their capable of.
not saying just tires will make you more capable, lockers, gears etc also play a part, but ultimatley it's only those 4 patches of contact between you and terra firma

Big tires can certainly make things more capable, but always. Back around Christmas time we were putting on our snowshoes at a trail head when there was this loud turbo whistle. I look up to see one of those bro trucks that this snow packed parking lot is the closest it’ll ever be to off road. It had a huge lift, massive low profile tires and last but not least, an 8-10” diameter tail pipe stick straight dow in the middle of the truck. It was obvious he did not make his mods for capability.
On the flip side of your example, a rig with a shorter wheelbase would have made it as well, so my question certainly has multiple answers.

 

[bgenlvtex]

With all things in life, things are never as bad as you think they are, and you're never as good as you think you are.

Capability is all relative

 

[JCWages]

a lift and big tires will make your truck more capable.
i been driving lifted trucks for almost 40 yrs-definitely better. you don't need to beat on your truck nearly as hard, and you don't even have to be all knarly- example, i give you my nephew, 1 o'clock in the morn, 30 miles out, not only has all 4 tires off the ground sitting on the frame rails, but kiss the rockers goodbye too, lots of bodywork damage, for something so minor, with stock factory tires (of course i had to take a shame photo before i yanked him out...lol)
View attachment 137114

this would not even be a speed bump with my 42's
it's almost depressing how much people talk down lifted rigs, personally i think it may be tire envy myself, and the worst part is most naysayers have prob never run big tires. unless you have run them, you don't really know what their capable of.
not saying just tires will make you more capable, lockers, gears etc also play a part, but ultimatley it's only those 4 patches of contact between you and terra firma

In every scenario in which I've gotten stuck it was because I ran out of ground clearance with my 33" tires. If you drive in an area that is mostly driven by rigs with larger tires then you are bound to get caught up in their ruts. In those situations lockers are useless. The solution is larger tires or a winch. It's like an arms war out there. lol

 

[MidOH]

Yep, there's some knuckleheads out there.

Everyone angry about EGR, DPF's, and DEF, needs to strangle one of those momo's.

 

[JCWages]

Yep, there's some knuckleheads out there.

Everyone angry about EGR, DPF's, and DEF, needs to strangle one of those momo's.

Yup! As a cancer survivor with 1 lung I want to throat punch every single one of them. Multiple times.

 

[Daryl 32]

Just from our point of view/experience.

We just finished a 10 day trip to baja - 1,530 miles total with about 350 to 400 off road - I think the on-road was worse in some spots.

Any way our rig is a 99 F250 7.3 auto "2WD", with 6" lift and 32" Cooper Discovery AT2's. It has 4:10 gears and a Detroit locker, got stuck twice both times on the beach - sand. Drove out once after a little shovel time, second time with shovel and treds. Total vehicle weight this trip was about 8,700 lbs with all the gear and supplies they carried.

Capable is more about knowing your rig and picking your track to me. Just may two cents - and it is not pin striping until you can see primer! LOL