Do Full Sized Vehicles Make Good Overland Cars?

[Humvee4us]

Good evening,

I'm thinking about buying me a new overlanding vehicle. A lot of people have told me that the lighter the car the better off-road because it has better traction. I'm not entirely sure as to why this is but got me wondering. Obviously the larger the car the more gear you can pack inside. However, what are your experiences using large vehicles as overlanding cars? Is it true that you get stuck much more frequently and that if there's loose soil or gravel with a minimum uphill climb you can forget about it with a heavy car whereas a lighter one could pull it off? What are your experiences of using a full sized vs a mid sized as an overlanding car? Width is not an issue on the trails that I'm going, but I'm curious as to the weight?

 

[Axlesup]

your statement is correct for off roading, but this is overlanding a completely different animal.

with all the gear you carry when overlanding all the time a lightweight vehicle will never be lightweight and the powertrain will struggle with reliability, economy & power.

when offroading i take my SJ 410 it weighs about 2000#s and i carry nothing in it but a couple of wrenches, a V belt, a crow bar, a pair of shackles, a kinetic strap, a winch line extension & a snatch block. with this setup the little dude will go anywhere you can fit it usually in 2wd where other vehicles struggle in 4wd. now when I add a mere 500 extra pounds of people and gear it changes the performance drastically to the negative. at that point i have to carry a spare birfield, plug kit, air compressor, u joints and all the extra tools to install those parts. at this point i'm closing the gap to 3000 pounds fast. at 3000 pounds the little dude is working so much harder that im beginning to break parts on obstacles that it would have eased up at 2000 pounds.

when overlanding I take my 6000 pound Tahoe and i can barely tell the difference between 6000#s and 8000#s in terms of performance and reliability. yes it sinks into soft ground more than the SJ but it also has the power to grunt its way through it and i never worry about breakage, just body damage LoL.

Naturally weight can be negated by increasing tire size. my experience has lead me to believe that adding an inch of tire size per 1000#s will keep you in the floatation ball park. 31s @ 2k 33s @ 4k 35s @ 6k ect. having a rear locker is mandatory for me as well as a winch with recovery gear.

whatever vehicle you use weigh it fully loaded and make sure your well within the GVWR.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

"Overlanding" for us means the ability to carry a month's food and water, fuel for 1,200Km+, hot and cold running water, central heating, shower and toilet and enough solar and batteries to keep it all powered indefinitely. Then there are parts, tools, service, booze and toys, not to mention cloths and food
That gets us to 6T. It might just be possible at 4.5T with the right vehicle, but that will be a struggle.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[Buliwyf]

Loose wet soil. Gravel and sand are cake for a fullsize. If the ground is solid, and they fit, they climb as well as anything.

Heavy can't float without huge tires. Swamps hidden under solid looking grass are the fullsize's worst enemy.

 

[nitro_rat]

What was the question? Are full size cars good for overlanding?





Sure, they work fine!

 

[Humvee4us]

your statement is correct for off roading, but this is overlanding a completely different animal.

with all the gear you carry when overlanding all the time a lightweight vehicle will never be lightweight and the powertrain will struggle with reliability, economy & power.

when offroading i take my SJ 410 it weighs about 2000#s and i carry nothing in it but a couple of wrenches, a V belt, a crow bar, a pair of shackles, a kinetic strap, a winch line extension & a snatch block. with this setup the little dude will go anywhere you can fit it usually in 2wd where other vehicles struggle in 4wd. now when I add a mere 500 extra pounds of people and gear it changes the performance drastically to the negative. at that point i have to carry a spare birfield, plug kit, air compressor, u joints and all the extra tools to install those parts. at this point i'm closing the gap to 3000 pounds fast. at 3000 pounds the little dude is working so much harder that im beginning to break parts on obstacles that it would have eased up at 2000 pounds.

when overlanding I take my 6000 pound Tahoe and i can barely tell the difference between 6000#s and 8000#s in terms of performance and reliability. yes it sinks into soft ground more than the SJ but it also has the power to grunt its way through it and i never worry about breakage, just body damage LoL.

Naturally weight can be negated by increasing tire size. my experience has lead me to believe that adding an inch of tire size per 1000#s will keep you in the floatation ball park. 31s @ 2k 33s @ 4k 35s @ 6k ect. having a rear locker is mandatory for me as well as a winch with recovery gear.

whatever vehicle you use weigh it fully loaded and make sure your well within the GVWR.

That makes sense as far as the SJ being significantly affected by 500 lbs whereas the Tahoe is not really affected by even 2k lbs as the SJ is not meant to carry loans and the Tahoe is based on a 1/2 ton frame.
So without loading it you would say that your SJ is the most capable off-roader of the bunch not even needing 4wd where other 4x4 vehicles struggled? Do you find that you benefit from lockers on the SJ, and how about with the heavier vehicles?

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Why not weigh the gear, supplies, and people you plan on bringing. Smaller vehicles (Wrangler/Tacoma/4Runner) are quickly overloaded. I'd rather drive a 1/2 ton truck that can safely and easily carry weight that would negatively impact a smaller vehicle.

 

[Metcalf]

I'd rather have a full size vehicle that was lightly loaded vs a smaller vehicle that was overloaded.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Why does this overloading concept keep getting talked about like it's a force of nature where all you can do is stay out of the way and hope for the best?

Backpackers walk around the world with ~35lbs on their back and a little advance logistics. That's an extreme, but it's also a good reality check that lets my wife and I set sail for halfway across the country in her pony car and not spend a night in a hotel nor have to play tetris with our luggage.

And we're a couple clowns if we can do it think of how easy it would be for a smart person!

Lol...have ya seen how much crap the princesses on this site "need" to bring with them so they can call their camping trip "overlanding." Hahaha

 

[phsycle]

Some of you must not have kids. ? Full-size is almost a necessity for me.

 

[alanymarce]

"Overlanding" for us means the ability to carry a month's food and water, fuel for 1,200Km+, hot and cold running water, central heating, shower and toilet and enough solar and batteries to keep it all powered indefinitely. Then there are parts, tools, service, booze and toys, not to mention cloths and food
That gets us to 6T. It might just be possible at 4.5T with the right vehicle, but that will be a struggle.

We wouldn't aim to carry more than a week's food - pretty much anywhere on the planet you can resupply food within a week. We do have "emergency food" however it's no more than a couple of Kg. We carry 44 L of water, and hardly ever use more than half of that before being able to refill. The furthest we had to travel between refuelling has been 770 Km, and most of the time we operate on a range of 500 Km and can refuel when we've used only half of that. For hot & cold water we use some of the 44 L. For "central heating " we use the the vehicle's heater, and if the engine's off the right clothes/sleeping bags (haven't camped much in temperatures below -5 C, admittedly). We have a small portable shower (which we hang on a tree branch) and if we're planning to use it add another water can on the roof - 20 L will last a week. THere's always a toilet somewhere - in much of the world it's very big. We have a couple of solar lights and a small solar charger to supplement charging with the vehicle's electrical system. Parts - critical spares only; tools - basic. Booze - enough in the fridge for that evening, then we put in replacements - three bottles of wine and a dozen beers last a fortnight. That takes us to about 3.0 t.

My point is that Peter n Margaret take what makes sense for them;l we take what makes sense for us. They need a bigger vehicle. We have what Australians refer to as a "small 4x4", and it's more than adequate for what we need.

I'd rather have a full size vehicle that was lightly loaded vs a smaller vehicle that was overloaded.

We prefer a smaller vehicle that's lightly loaded.

PS: in much of the world a Honda Accord is a "full sized vehicle"...

 

[Metcalf]

We prefer a smaller vehicle that's lightly loaded.

PS: in much of the world a Honda Accord is a "full sized vehicle"...

Just curious, have you ever put your vehicle on the scale when loaded?

I find most people drastically underestimate how much weight they are really adding to vehicles.....

If a small vehicle works for you that's great. I have a 1942 Willys MB that I take out on crazy trips. I treat that more like a 4-wheel motorcycle than a 'truck'.
It just depends what you want to take and what you are willing to give up, not only in comfort, but security against things going 'wrong' along the way.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Some of you must not have kids. ? Full-size is almost a necessity for me.

Same! Hell, just taking a road trip with a small child damn near necessitates a full size truck...lol. By the time you toss in a stroller, pack and play, diaper bag, toys, and clothes you have already filled a smaller vehicle.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

We wouldn't aim to carry more than a week's food - pretty much anywhere on the planet you can resupply food within a week. We do have "emergency food" however it's no more than a couple of Kg. We carry 44 L of water, and hardly ever use more than half of that before being able to refill. The furthest we had to travel between refuelling has been 770 Km, and most of the time we operate on a range of 500 Km and can refuel when we've used only half of that.

I guess that is (mostly) true in Oz too (except 1200km+ without fuel is possible too), but it is not about how far you need to go, but how much you can stop, for us.
Most people take 4-5 days to cross the Simpson Desert for instance (around 700km and 1100 sand dunes, time limited by water and food). We have taken 4 weeks to do the same trip. When you stop at a camp site, all the critters that have been frightened away come back after about 3 days, so we actually get to see stuff that others don't even know exists.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[jonathon]

It is really hard to beat the comfort of a full size crew cab. The Tacoma and 4Runner I had before this truck were both mediocre at best when it came to comfort and they only averaged 15 MPG compare to 13 in my 2500. Just got to be okay with brush causing pinstripes.