Rosco862003
Adventurer
I figured the title would draw alot of attention to the thread. But after driving my rusty, crusty yet trusty 1990 nissan hardbody into the ground without an overdrive I began taking note of what I liked about the vehicle and what I didn't like about the vehicle. Obviously one can do an overland trip with a motorcyle, or hell even a Honda Civic for that matter. So the idea of spending hundreds of thousands on a rig seems ridiculous if you can grasp the concept of compromise.
Several things that I liked about the truck was its small size and ability to fit into tight trails as it was a regular cab. I also enjoyed being able to throw a blanket in the back and take a nap. The reliability was a major plus as I bought the truck for only $650 so was amazed that it never failed overheated or even leaked a bit of liquid gold. What I didn't like however was the mpg and power. You grow tired of people flicking you off for barely being able to do the speed limit! Also I grew tired of the squeaky, flex inhibiting IFS that crushed my dreams of ever giving it true hell or going places that I said to myself "only if I trusted those damn CV axles!"
Now as with everything in life nothing is perfect but in the quest for a new rig I can't help but to keep coming back to a 12 valve quad cab short bed Ram 2500 with an NV4500. This rig seems like the ideal candidate for serious abuse with the only drawbacks in my eyes being its larger size and parts availabilty as you travel outside of the US. They also seem to have a bulletproof drivetrain in addition to excellent mpg (20mpg+) relative to its size, power and incredible reliabilty. The only thing I am unsure of is frame strength, which I assume is pretty good considering it is a 3/4 ton workhorse. I was wondering why you don't see more of these rigs in the expedition world or if there is something to them that I am overlooking. I know different people have different needs or requirements from their vehicles but it seems like everyone always flocks to Land Rovers and Land Cruiser(understandably). However, I'm wondering if they only do so because that is the accepted norm and what everyone else gets. I honestly can't see myself buying a Land Rover due to their horrible track record for reliabilty but again diferent strokes for different folks. So please feel free to enlighten me if there is something I don't see!
Several things that I liked about the truck was its small size and ability to fit into tight trails as it was a regular cab. I also enjoyed being able to throw a blanket in the back and take a nap. The reliability was a major plus as I bought the truck for only $650 so was amazed that it never failed overheated or even leaked a bit of liquid gold. What I didn't like however was the mpg and power. You grow tired of people flicking you off for barely being able to do the speed limit! Also I grew tired of the squeaky, flex inhibiting IFS that crushed my dreams of ever giving it true hell or going places that I said to myself "only if I trusted those damn CV axles!"
Now as with everything in life nothing is perfect but in the quest for a new rig I can't help but to keep coming back to a 12 valve quad cab short bed Ram 2500 with an NV4500. This rig seems like the ideal candidate for serious abuse with the only drawbacks in my eyes being its larger size and parts availabilty as you travel outside of the US. They also seem to have a bulletproof drivetrain in addition to excellent mpg (20mpg+) relative to its size, power and incredible reliabilty. The only thing I am unsure of is frame strength, which I assume is pretty good considering it is a 3/4 ton workhorse. I was wondering why you don't see more of these rigs in the expedition world or if there is something to them that I am overlooking. I know different people have different needs or requirements from their vehicles but it seems like everyone always flocks to Land Rovers and Land Cruiser(understandably). However, I'm wondering if they only do so because that is the accepted norm and what everyone else gets. I honestly can't see myself buying a Land Rover due to their horrible track record for reliabilty but again diferent strokes for different folks. So please feel free to enlighten me if there is something I don't see!
Even an average 4WD will get people further in to the backcountry than the average cummuter-schmuck thinks. Build it like it needs to be built for you, and then share your pics with us so we can have wet dreams about wheelin' a full-size! 
