SUV?

[RememberTheAyyLmao]

So of USA available at a reasonable price SUVs for over landing we have the excursion, burb, Tahoe, explorer, land cruiser, 4Runner. What's our D110? I love the excursion but it surrenders so much off road capability to the d110. Love the others but no diesel available. What family sized or bigger, 4 door SUVs are the USA platform to have for overland/off-road????

 

[rayra]

What's our D110? Would probably have to be the XJ in comparable size and weight and ability. The Goldilocks SUV. Everything else is too cramped or too big and heavy. I say this despite owning the vehicles in my sig.

 

[east_tn_81]

Centurion.

 

[RememberTheAyyLmao]

Centurion.

WHOA. Didn't know those existed. Want one now.

 

[calicamper]

Sequoia? Sorta a longer LandCruiser but lacking that $$$$ cruiser level quality. I went from a 93 LC to a 07 Sequoua for the space. Its been a nice rig. Though I rarely drive it, the Subaru is my daily driver and typically our road tripper too.

 

[Buliwyf]

I don't get it. You can improve the Excursions off road performance significantly. Bushwacker cutout fender flares, 38" tires, gears, lockers. Done. Florida trails are cake, so is much of the west I've seen. All the hardcore trails I've been on require little jeeps or 4 wheelers, motorcycles, or MarkI hiking boot. I haven't been anywhere where a Superduty won't fit, but mini SUV's will without damage. Our jeeps got wasted dragging on rocks and trees. Bikes are more fun. Which the Excursion can tow a dozen of. It's hard to pick a middle sized vehicle, when there aren't any middle sized trails.

A pretty XJ can't be great offroad. But I'd pick that as well, as long as it was the real deal with the scars to prove it. Just stinks that it has no frame. Get used to welding boxes into the unibody!

I'd also have to mention the YJ. My favorite jeep. Cheap, simple, reliable. Just add axles, SYE, drive shaft, suspension, CJ dash. Seats four, is fun.

 

[AFBronco235]

WHOA. Didn't know those existed. Want one now.

Good luck with that. I know of only a dozen still out there, though there are probably closer to 100. You'd be better off looking for a F250/350 crew cab and shortening the frame and bed. Or just removing the bed and building a custom fitted box on the back. The only really hard to source part would be the double cardian joint you'd need to make the new driveshaft angle work, but they're out there. Hmm... now that I think about it, that would be one bad-@$$ project. *adding to bucket list*

To be perfectly honest, the centurion was more of a prototype for the excursion. Size is about the same just with older tech.

Now to answer your original question, an explorer would honestly be the best IMO. Based on the ranger frame, it light, but tough. I've seen some pretty beat up explorers out there that just keep chugging along. Put a set of decent tires on one and I believe it would keep up with the D110 with little to no problem. I do agree, the lack of a diesel option is a let down, but swapping one in isn't a huge problem so long as you had a transmission to mate up to it. Even without a diesel, lots of aftermarket option. Not as many as Heep, but still pretty good.

 

[TeriAnn]

So of USA available at a reasonable price SUVs for over landing we have the excursion, burb, Tahoe, explorer, land cruiser, 4Runner. What's our D110? I love the excursion but it surrenders so much off road capability to the d110. Love the others but no diesel available. What family sized or bigger, 4 door SUVs are the USA platform to have for overland/off-road????

First, there is nothing like a Series/Defender and as of Jan. 2016 there is not even a current production Defender. These vehicles were designed to be easily modifiable into just about any configuration you could want with basic tools. They are boxes on wheels that have bolt on body panels. The tinker toys of the automotive world. Probably the closest you might find is a truck cab on a bare frame that you could build anything you want to put on the frame behind the cab.

You have not defined your needs well enough for a good reply. What do you mean by overland/off-road? Day trips, weekend and maybe up to a week camping trip? Or perhaps longer trips of a month or more? How many people? Do you want to camp inside the vehicle, outside the vehicle, or a hybrid style where part of your camp is inside and part outside the vehicle? Primitive camping or established campground camping? Primitive unmaintained trails or maintained forest service dirt roads? Daily driver or reserved for overland/camping excursions? The more you can define what the vehicle needs to do the easier it will be to have a set of vehicle parameters to look for. If you are camping outside your vehicle mostly all you need is seats for everyone, a big cargo area with lots of lash points, and suspension & ground clearance to handle the kinds of roads you intend to travel.

Define how many people, where you want to go and for how long, how you want to camp including expected campground facilities and if the vehicle needs to be your daily driver and you can narrow down the possibilities to make a much easier choice.

Can you further describe your needs?

 

[RememberTheAyyLmao]

I will return to this thread later this week! Off to get married today

 

[p nut]

Seriously, sometimes, it's just best to man up and choose something and go with it. Don't like it? Move onto something else. Best of luck

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/154013-Daily-Driver-Family-Expo-all-in-one

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/154220-Opinion-on-this-t4r

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-me-make-sure-I-m-not-forgetting-a-hidden-gem

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/154248-Best-for-10-000

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/152156-Rubicon-or-Power-Wagon

 

[XJLI]

What's our D110? Would probably have to be the XJ in comparable size and weight and ability. The Goldilocks SUV. Everything else is too cramped or too big and heavy. I say this despite owning the vehicles in my sig.

No way. The 110 is a LOT bigger, and can carry a lot more weight. I've owned, loved, and built two XJs and they don't come close to a 110 in any respect.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Ah, the "Grass-is-always-greener" syndrome strikes again.
.
Instead of focusing on what you CAN'T get in the US (which too many people seem to do), just choose one of the many vehicles that ARE available and figure out how to make it work. There's nothing magical about a D110 or a 70 series LC. They're trucks, plain and simple. There's not one feature that those vehicles have that you can't get in a vehicle available in the US. Can you get all of them? Probably not but you can almost certainly find something that will work for your purposes.
.
Bottom line, if you can't find a vehicle that suits your needs, you aren't looking hard enough.

 

[Martinjmpr]

BTW congrats on getting married! :sombrero:

 

[RememberTheAyyLmao]

First, there is nothing like a Series/Defender and as of Jan. 2016 there is not even a current production Defender. These vehicles were designed to be easily modifiable into just about any configuration you could want with basic tools. They are boxes on wheels that have bolt on body panels. The tinker toys of the automotive world. Probably the closest you might find is a truck cab on a bare frame that you could build anything you want to put on the frame behind the cab.

You have not defined your needs well enough for a good reply. What do you mean by overland/off-road? Day trips, weekend and maybe up to a week camping trip? Or perhaps longer trips of a month or more? How many people? Do you want to camp inside the vehicle, outside the vehicle, or a hybrid style where part of your camp is inside and part outside the vehicle? Primitive camping or established campground camping? Primitive unmaintained trails or maintained forest service dirt roads? Daily driver or reserved for overland/camping excursions? The more you can define what the vehicle needs to do the easier it will be to have a set of vehicle parameters to look for. If you are camping outside your vehicle mostly all you need is seats for everyone, a big cargo area with lots of lash points, and suspension & ground clearance to handle the kinds of roads you intend to travel.

Define how many people, where you want to go and for how long, how you want to camp including expected campground facilities and if the vehicle needs to be your daily driver and you can narrow down the possibilities to make a much easier choice.

Can you further describe your needs?

Family of three, want up to a week of camping ability in Northern California/nevada Tahoe area but a daily driver at the same time.

Seriously, sometimes, it's just best to man up and choose something and go with it. Don't like it? Move onto something else. Best of luck

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/154013-Daily-Driver-Family-Expo-all-in-one

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/154220-Opinion-on-this-t4r

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-me-make-sure-I-m-not-forgetting-a-hidden-gem

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/154248-Best-for-10-000

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/152156-Rubicon-or-Power-Wagon

Hahaha I know lots of threads! Sorry but I'm learning more and more each time and figuring out what I'm leaning more and more to

BTW congrats on getting married! :sombrero:

Gracias! On our last day of the Ensenada cruise!

 

[AdventureHare]

Seriously, sometimes, it's just best to man up and choose something and go with it. Don't like it? Move onto something else. Best of luck

I've come to this realization while trying to get my wife involved. She doesn't get it, and I'm not going to get her to drive F250 Supercrew long-bed ... ever.

I'm much better off focusing on something that will get us to more places than my xB will take us, without having to throw buckets of money at it just to travel a dirt road. If all works, in a couple of years we'll have a better idea of what will work for us, and we'll only be out the cost of maintenance and tires. I'm not going to the Rubicon anytime soon but then I don't think I should given my lack of experience. It's gotta be good enough to learn with and from. And it may work for many years, or it might be replaced after one season. But almost anything is better than nothing. Decision paralysis is real, and you just have to find the justifications that get you beyond it.