Sub-Compact Overlander

[silvrzuki77]

my micro crawler some of you might have seen it before.

After having it sit for a 1 1/2 having its tires stolen for my cherokee that I sold. Im going to put some love back in to it. Since I did the cab conversion before we had our baby. Now I dont like it lol I should have made a LWB. But for awhile its goin have to work. Soon it will have 35" bfg, D90 style cage and truck style tailgate.

 

[compactcamping]

In thinking about a project like this, one thing that seems important is the rear door / hatch style. Having a flat slide-in floor makes setting up boxes / gear organizing easier. A setup like Sidekicks, Elements, Rav4s.

 

[life_w_vagabonds]

Web search says in 1990, the Samurai cost about $8500, in 1995 $9500.

Boy, I would like to get half the original sticker price for my Frontier ten years from now.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/1966155321.html

Thats worse than Toyota economics!

 

[AmericaOverland]

Boy, I would like to get half the original sticker price for my Frontier ten years from now.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/1966155321.html

Thats worse than Toyota economics!

So bad that the posting was deleted by its author...

 

[Pedro]

Boy, I would like to get half the original sticker price for my Frontier ten years from now.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/1966155321.html

Thats worse than Toyota economics!

you can import the euro trans for the forester with the low range and drop it in your forester. The lift is easy to acquire either using a coilover seup or spring/strut. Skids are available from a number of sources as well.

The forester is a great little soft roader and seeing that nearly all of the impreza/STi/Legacy parts interchange, you can pick and choose the best of what is available. LSD diffs are around from the rally/track suppliers, you can really go wild with one.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/792800/1998-subaru-forester-springfield-or-us

 

[life_w_vagabonds]

If I remember it was an 86? and he was asking $4500. Yeah it looked nice, well taken care. 124k I believe. Cant imagine someone bought it at that price.

 

[Ray Hyland]

When I lived in Singapore the Samarai and Jimny were both a very popular choice both for offroading and overlanding. Lots of guys took them into the Malaysian jungles (they would literally go anywhere our Land Rovers would go) but also they were popular for long trips. I had a friend drive his to India, London, etc. on a few trips.

It was easy to get different gearing for the Samarai and Jimny over there, but usually only the hardcore guys did that, the overlanders went with stock gearing for simplicity and parts availability, and most felt that a little 3500 lb ATV winch would get them through anything really nasty...

Ray

PS - with a family of 5 and 2 german shepherds we were pretty much restricted to the D110, and even that felt a little crowded at times...

 

[Ray Hyland]

I think you'll have trouble finding the Grand Vitara or Toyota Rav4
for less than $5K unless you're willing to accept a vehicle with high miles.

The Suzuki Sidekick is available for well under $5K, but the vehicles
are generally from the early 1990s.

The Kia Sportage fits the budget, and can be found with more reasonable miles.
The knock on the Sportage is that there are very few aftermarket parts. There's a
web site called www.upyourkia.com that sells spacers for suspension lift.

The Sportage ground clearance is 7.7 inches with the stock 205/75 R15
tires, 27 inches in diameter. The Kia enthusiast group on 4x4wire.com
say that 225/75 R15, 28.3 inches in diameter, will fit without modification.
But there will be a bit of power loss with the larger tires.

Here's the link to the Sportage group on 4x4wire
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB70&page=0

How about a Lada Niva? Or is it sacrilegious to suggest that? Seriously though, you would be amazed at the stuff I have seen those drive through in Russia.

 

[Riptide]

By now, most people have probably seen the "Top Gear" episode (season 19, episode 6), where the the guys get a beater RR, a beater FJ, and a beater Sami, and drive them a thousand miles thru the Bolivian jungle...

Guess who makes it?

http://www.youtube.com/user/DrumB325#p/u/40/Vf3zA4uHNQs

 

[hoser]

Maybe not subcompact but pretty small...

http://www.ronaldbrunner.ch/projekte/hzj71.htm

 

[dependencies]

I've had a couple of those old Fourtraks and they go on and on
(until inevitably your feet go through the floor)

they were all the rage amongst farmers here in the 80/90's

 

[mountainsoul]

Cool rig!

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I have always wanted to build a AWD station wagon...just so I can get car gas mileage but still get out to some cool places.

 

[mountainsoul]

I'm a big fan of the Panda 4x4. I look forward to seeing how Fiat markets this under the Jeep moniker if it does indeed enter the US market.

I'm not sure if this video has been posted yet (if so my apologies) but it's a fun little clip for anyone that hasn't seen it. Actually I might also post it in the LR section with the title "Little Fiat beats LR off road (nearly)." Then sit back and watch the fire works. That sub-forum needs an enema.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAg4DdXAp7Y"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAg4DdXAp7Y[/ame]

 

[Superu]

Obviously, I'm a fan of the Outback wagon.

In non-snorkel trim with a moderate lift and skid plates front and rear it's a good choice to stay under the radar.

Though, I have to admit I've been tempted by the Samurais and early 2 dr Monteros. My commute is just a bit too long presently to give up the relatively confortable ride of the Subie. And, averaging 28+ mpg in a lifted AWD drive wagon with A/T's doesn't hurt either. :ylsmoke: