Astro/Safari Off Road Videos

[T.Low]

Guys, if I'm reading this correctly(maybe not), but it is kind of like sacarsm....it's not putting down the vans....that's my interpretation of it...

Yeah, it's hard to tell. I watched the vids and didn't see any real telltale signs of incapability. (OK, I didn't watch the entire thrasher video of the 2wd:ylsmoke Of course, ole stock Grumpy is only going to be as capable as it's ground clearence allows it to be.

ANd the suspension is soft so an Astro will tend to bounce around a bit when getting thrashed.

Granted my AstroLander is not like my FJ40 of years ago, but I have infact driven thru areas that I had to then back up and pull a Jeep Cherokee and a modified Ford Explorer thru, on different occassions. And I'm not a thrasher; I drive my van like a little old lady. (Although a certain Sportsmobile owner may beg to differ :sombrero.

 

[RocKrawler]

Granted my AstroLander is not like my FJ40 of years ago, but I have infact driven thru areas that I had to then back up and pull a Jeep Cherokee and a modified Ford Explorer thru, on different occassions. And I'm not a thrasher; I drive my van like a little old lady. (Although a certain Sportsmobile owner may beg to differ :sombrero.

T.Low you are an inspiration to us all. If I had a shorter family I'd be copying your setup myself. At 43 (for another month) I have decided to begin enjoying the outdoors in a different manner with my family. I believe the Van is my best option, and although I require a larger model until the youngsters fly the coop, you and many others have proved to me that you don't need a built rock rig to enjoy getting away from it all and having fun with friends. Granted it wont be with my friends that are hooked solely on the Hammer trails, but through this forum I have met several good people that I enjoy wheeling with, and when the build is done I hope to go out and wheel with many more.

Capability is different things to different people - it all depends on what you want to accomplish. Being in an industry where easily greater than half the people building their trucks are for looks on the road, its easy to blur what is important to each individual. While the rock crawlers (like me a few years ago) wouldn't have considered owning a vehicle like ours for a trail & camping rig, for us, at this point, its perfect for our needs. Adding some dual sport bikes behind the rig later on will satisfy the rest of our exploring desires and complete the package.

 

[T.Low]

T.Low you are an inspiration to us all. If I had a shorter family I'd be copying your setup myself. At 43 (for another month) I have decided to begin enjoying the outdoors in a different manner with my family. I believe the Van is my best option, and although I require a larger model until the youngsters fly the coop, you and many others have proved to me that you don't need a built rock rig to enjoy getting away from it all and having fun with friends. Granted it wont be with my friends that are hooked solely on the Hammer trails, but through this forum I have met several good people that I enjoy wheeling with, and when the build is done I hope to go out and wheel with many more.

Capability is different things to different people - it all depends on what you want to accomplish. Being in an industry where easily greater than half the people building their trucks are for looks on the road, its easy to blur what is important to each individual. While the rock crawlers (like me a few years ago) wouldn't have considered owning a vehicle like ours for a trail & camping rig, for us, at this point, its perfect for our needs. Adding some dual sport bikes behind the rig later on will satisfy the rest of our exploring desires and complete the package.

Terry, thank you very much for the kind words, and your eloquent points. That's an especially nice thing to hear from someone inside the offroad industry.:ylsmoke:

Some people will say what they say, and thats fine, they're welcome to their opinions and comments. I really don't mind that they don't get it. I used to be that guy (mostly about paddlesports) and nowadays I try to not think too much about the rock crawlers travelling like snails while a few of us enduro riders going blowing past them. (Endruo riders generally refer them as pylons :bike_rider: )


For some, the truck is the athlete. They build it to go to cool places and do cool runs.

For me (and many others), the truck is the duffle bag and I am the athlete. I built it to carry gear, white water boats, mountain bikes, my enduro, my wife and my child to cool places, so I can ride and paddle and camp in cool places while enjoying the trip to the destination. It's just a different emphasis, thats all. I've done all that in my Tacoma and my FJ40 Land Bruiser and this simply works better for what I need. More "capable".

I like to call it the AstroLander, my wife likes to call it the Sherpa.

Cheers.

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

These threads are not helping me curb my van lust! I love my 4Runner, and it probably won't be going anywhere anytime soon, but I too am quite over the whole rock crawling thing, and enjoy the more tame and scenic trails where I can camp and go ride my bike or hike. Really thats why I've stopped putting any more money into the 4Runner. Its quite capable for the places I want to take it. Would it look cooler with bumpers and stuff? Probably. But I'd rather take the $ from the bumper and actually go somewhere.

Or, buy a packraft. :sombrero:

I think when its time to move on from the Runner a van is going to be very, very high on the list.

Terry, now that you are back on the wesssttsiiiide I hope we can meet up to camp soon! Can't wait to see the van.

 

[RocKrawler]

Terry, now that you are back on the wesssttsiiiide I hope we can meet up to camp soon! Can't wait to see the van.

Thanks, and I cant wait to get the van trail ready. Hoping for a good tax refund and a secret link to some hidden u-joint offroad online coupons somewhere and I'm in business! I already have the tire & wheel hookup at work, then just need the axle/t-case to complete the package. Summer is my goal for first outing providing the funds come through.