What's in your driveway and what is your overlanding vehicle strategy?

[roots66]

One size fits all would be an understatement. It's the only vehicle in the driveway, so it's a farm truck, family hauler, grocery getter, daily driver, as well as an overland rig depending on the need of the day.

 

[Moebius01]

Our rig is also the daily driver (and road tripper), so I was trying to keep something of a stealth/modular approach to the overlanding aspect. I wanted it to look mostly stock when not in use, but still be able to transform and tackle the tasks when needed. So by day, she's just your every day mall crawler WK2.



But when adventure becomes necessary, she's ready to transform. The Husky Liner mats go in, along with seat covers when needed (not in pic obviously).



The fascia comes off to let the Chief front armor shine through:



And a custom deck goes in the back to allow the drawers (and eventually fridge) to anchor to the platform:






I've still got rock rails to take care of after the first of the year, and probably a Chief roof rack as well, but for now, she's ready to get us where we want to go.


All in all, I can have it ready for an overlanding trip in about 10-15 minutes, plus another 10-15 to load up and go.

 

[smritte]

I learned a long time ago, you have a driver and a toy. Having an issue with my toy after hitting something unseen means I have to find another way to work.
I normally have something new (ish) to drive and a toy.
I wont list all the toys I've owned but lets just say I have owned one or more of most everything and I've come full circle back to Toyota.

 

[Archangel7376]

I'm just starting out with an 01 suburban.

 

[Captain]

I have a 2009 E350, I bought it a few months ago and converted it

 

[Billiebob]

I've had my rig almost 25 years and put 700k on the title. I keep it in tip top shape and routinely hook it up on short notice and drive 1000+ miles. Yes, things wear out, but with preventive maintenance, not necessarily waiting for something to leave you stranded, goes a long way.

Yep, this is why I get oil changes done at the shop by a mechanic. They don't just change the oil, they do a 60 point check of the entire vehicle. brakes, steering, driveline, suspension, light, battery, ..... every few years they catch an issue before it becomes an issue. Crazy to do oil changes at home and think you saved money.

 

[smritte]

Then Jiffy Lube puts an air chisel through your oil pan.
I could afford to have my vehicle maintained but I don't. It wouldn't be an issue so much if it was a street vehicle. There's things you check on an off road rig you need to watch. Stress cracks are one of the things.

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

I have 2 ( plus my wife's civic lol) in my driveway that get used regularly for different tasks.
The compass in mostly stock other than a roof basket and some wheel spacers, and an added hitch and trailer. It gets used daily to get me to work and longer trips to go fishing with some friends or camping with the family. It's cheap on fuel and fairly capable on its own but I know it's limits and try not to push them too far lol.

The TJ I have used for nearly a decade to get me in and out of remote sites long before a family was even a thought. There is no part on this jeep that hasn't been looked over and built to my needs. It is mainly setup as a crawler but I have made a few things like a rack for the back and auxiliary power to make it a little easier to camp out of. It's got upgraded axles (jk Rubicon Dana 44s with 4.88 gears and factory e-lockers), a bolt in roll cage, armored all the way around, 3 link front suspension, upper triangulated 4 link rear, 37" tires and a belly up skid plate. The down side is it only seats 2 and because of the harness bar in the cage it's not overly comfortable for longer trips, not to mention it is THIRSTY!

With a growing family, my wife and I will at some point need a larger vehicle for longer trips with more seating and cargo area. Neither of us have a long commute anymore so it opens up some possibilities but I would still like to keep the fuel costs to a minimum. 4x4 or some sort of 4wd or and is needed where we live so the civic will likely get traded in on a newer vehicle. Which would put us at 3 vehicles each with their own purposes lol.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I have tow vehicles that would be considered good for Overlanding.

- 2014 GMC Sierra 1500, 5.3 liter 8 cylinder with Leer camper shell on a 6.5 foot bed. Built a platform for the bed and put a TracRac on top of the shell. Bilstein 5100's with a front level. Needs nothing but maybe some new AT tires.

-1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 6 cylinder with 2 inch lift via Iron Rock Offroad springs, Crown spring isolators, ProComp 9000 shocks and Moog sway bar links. Right now it could use brakes, tires, muffler and a tune up.

The 8 cylinder GMC full size truck gets better fuel economy than the much smaller 6 cylinder Jeep, and is much more comfortable and can carry more gear. The only advantage to the Jeep at this point is tighter trails (if I ever cared to do that) and the fact that I'm less worried about pin stripes or body damage.

 

[MOAK]

Then Jiffy Lube puts an air chisel through your oil pan.
I could afford to have my vehicle maintained but I don't. It wouldn't be an issue so much if it was a street vehicle. There's things you check on an off road rig you need to watch. Stress cracks are one of the things.

Here in PA we have annual inspections. I pay my guy a little extra to find things I may have missed while rolling around on my crawler while changing my own oil. It’s always nice to hear compliments from a pro about my work. Then, he always mentions, as he says, “ one particular problematic item, you may need new wiper blades in a couple of months” LOL

 

[old_man]

If it is my ass hanging off of a cliff and my life on the line with it, I am damned sure going to do my own inspections and welding. I don't even trust my airplane mechanic.

 

[OTH Overland]

I have tow vehicles that would be considered good for Overlanding.

- 2014 GMC Sierra 1500, 5.3 liter 8 cylinder with Leer camper shell on a 6.5 foot bed. Built a platform for the bed and put a TracRac on top of the shell. Bilstein 5100's with a front level. Needs nothing but maybe some new AT tires.

-1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 6 cylinder with 2 inch lift via Iron Rock Offroad springs, Crown spring isolators, ProComp 9000 shocks and Moog sway bar links. Right now it could use brakes, tires, muffler and a tune up.

The 8 cylinder GMC full size truck gets better fuel economy than the much smaller 6 cylinder Jeep, and is much more comfortable and can carry more gear. The only advantage to the Jeep at this point is tighter trails (if I ever cared to do that) and the fact that I'm less worried about pin stripes or body damage.

I agree, my 1 ton Ram gets better mileage than my 2000 Grand Cherokee does, I think the WJ GC is traditionally been underrated as an off road vehicle, ours has proven to be a very capable off road. The factory quadra drive & limited slip axles do a remarkably good job, however we added a 4" Iron Rock long arm kit and JKS sway bar disconnects which really help the vehicle flex a lot better. only minor repairs have been required in the first 200k miles.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I agree, my 1 ton Ram gets better mileage than my 2000 Grand Cherokee does, I think the WJ GC is traditionally been underrated as an off road vehicle, ours has proven to be a very capable off road. The factory quadra drive & limited slip axles do a remarkably good job, however we added a 4" Iron Rock long arm kit and JKS sway bar disconnects which really help the vehicle flex a lot better. only minor repairs have been required in the first 200k miles.

The WJ is cast aside, mainly because of the odd, 3 point, triangular rear end. I havent touched mine yet. But for easy trails its nice

 

[OTH Overland]

The WJ is cast aside, mainly because of the odd, 3 point, triangular rear end. I haven't touched mine yet. But for easy trails its nice

Once I installed IRO's rear adjustable A arm with their flex joints in place of the rubber bushings and the adjustable lower arms the rear of the jeep works like it should have from the factory, kept destroying bushings in the factory parts

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I agree, my 1 ton Ram gets better mileage than my 2000 Grand Cherokee does, I think the WJ GC is traditionally been underrated as an off road vehicle, ours has proven to be a very capable off road. The factory quadra drive & limited slip axles do a remarkably good job, however we added a 4" Iron Rock long arm kit and JKS sway bar disconnects which really help the vehicle flex a lot better. only minor repairs have been required in the first 200k miles.

Mine has gone back and forth between being uncared for when I bought it, to being made primary vehicle status and condition, then secondary, then the third string. I've done the water pump, power steering pump, starter, brakes, replaced the fuel rail, front hub assemblies, steering drag linkage (right after the lift and experiencing death wobble), fixed said death wobble, entire tie rod (easier than freeing the frozen slag tie rod ends), spliced the negative wire at the drivers door hinge boot to fix the "interior lights wont go off and rear window wont go down" issue, and the occasional tune up. It also currently really needs a new driver seat frame. I'm at about 177k miles. I dont know if you consider that minor repairs, but that's what I've done. Wouldn't mind getting it in nice condition again. Doesnt have to look great. Just need it to be mechanically tip-top

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Once I installed IRO's rear adjustable A arm with their flex joints in place of the rubber bushings and the adjustable lower arms the rear of the jeep works like it should have from the factory, kept destroying bushings in the factory parts

I'd like to do that as well. Someday...

 

[velo47]

I have a 2009 E350, I bought it a few months ago and converted it

Nice van! Is it a Quigley 4wd?

 

[smritte]

I agree, my 1 ton Ram gets better mileage than my 2000 Grand Cherokee does

What is this "Gas mileage" thing you speak of?
I drive a cruiser, we don't do "gas mileage".

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

What is this "Gas mileage" thing you speak of?
I drive a cruiser, we don't do "gas mileage".

I feel this! My TJ is somthing like 7-8 MPG. ( roughly 27L/100 Km) it goes everywhere but past a gas station lol

 

[smritte]

I feel this! My TJ is somthing like 27 MPG

Sigh...
My TJ got 7. On the highway.