The $15,000 Expedition Vehicle: How would you build it?

[Scott Brady]

1985 Toyota 4x4 Pick-up with EFI: $5,000
OME Heavy's and shocks: $1,000
ARB Bull Bar with M8000: $1,200
235/85 R16 BFG MT x6 on factory steel wheels: $800
Four Wheel Camper (Shell model w/ heater): $6,000
Fridge: $650
Aux Battery: $150
Seats out of a car: $150

$14,500 and world ready
:truck:

I like Scott's FJ60 plan too.

 

[jeffryscott]

1995 Suzuki Sidekick 4door, bad engine: $500
Acme Adapters VW diesel to Sidekick adapter: $1,000
New or remanufactured VW 1.6 TD: $3,000
Lift kit/underbody armor/winch bumper: $2000
Winch: (with synthetic line, etc ...) $1,000
OME shocks/struts: $650
Fridge/Tent/Rack: $2,000
Tires: 245/75/16 or 235/85/16 (with trimming): $750
Snorkel: $250
ARB lockers, front and rear, $1500.

$12650 - lots of leftover for miscellaneous.

The VW diesel in these rigs can give you up to 40 mpg, great torque offroad and easy parts availability.

Suzukis, like Toyotas, are everywhere in South America (at least active in the 4wd clubs whose pictures/videos I've seen) so I suspect parts would be fairly easy.

Take the rear seats out and you could build storage for water (footwells of the rear seat), low center of gravity, and storage platforms for gear.

I have the $500 Zuk, now, the other $12,000 and change is the challenge.

 

[blupaddler]

Well...Scott & Scott took my first two ideas with the FJ60 and the Old Skool Toyota. Both very simple and effective.


Here is my solution:

1971 VW Westfalia $4000 (Disc Brake front/IRS Tranny/last year of the Type 1 upright engine...super simple...even an idiot could work on it - VW joke)
1600cc dual port engine $1000
KYB shocks $200
Aux. Battery $200
Upgrade rear bumper with gas can $300
BFG a/ts $500
Black Rat recovery kit $700 (shamelessly plugged from someone else)
Throw in some lightforce lights $300
Misc. repairs and spares $600

Total $7800

rngartis




I think there is something to be said about not sticking out. You travel Baja and you see families traveling down the sandy beach in the Astro Van, no 4x4. Just basic simplicity.

No need for the $90000 Sportsmobile. Although it would be a lot more comfortable.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

What about this for an idea.

Of course I'm kinda biased!

Get a cheap 1st Generation 4Runner.

Get one old enough to have a solid axle.....or do an axle swap on a newer 1st gen. 4Runner.

Take the factory fiberglass top off.

Have your buddy build you the most awesome custom pop top shell for it with upper bunk sleeping.....full kitchen....all the goodies.

Extra.....water.....gas AND Propane under the rig.

Leave the back seats in place (they fold down really flat.)

Now you have the ultimate.....one of a kind.....small footprint.....5 seater exploration vehicle!


I have no idea how much this would cost........

But I bet Joaquin Suave could do it up pretty nicely!!!!!!!!:beer:

 

[Colorado Ron]

I actually won a contest on Pirate4x4 for a similar competition.Heres a link:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=488050&highlight=%243000

Im also the king of cheap when I wanna be. Heres a copy of what I posted:


Depends on how good a deal finder you are. I personally built the following rig for under $2700:

Late 80s fullsize bonco. 351 with blown C6 $300
Rebuilt tranny for $350
Found 4 inch Superlift kit from someone goin solid front axle for $300
Bought front TTB housing from same guy with 4:56 and ARB for $400
rear 9 inch with 4:56 and ARB for $400
Onboard air setup using york for $120
36 inch swampers with 15 inch wheels with 50% tread found for $375
Found Warn 8274 used for $400

TOTAL $2645

Now for EP I would change a few things. Id find a Bronco with the old Inline 6 300 and a 4 spd. Then Id add a pop up slide in camper. New fridge, locks and security and I bet I could build a world capable traveler for under $5k

 

[Colorado Ron]

Now to come up with a completely different setup, Id try a Pinz. Easily done for under $15k. You can find a 710M for $5-8k fairly easily. That gives you gobs of ground clearance, bullet proof drivetrain, and selectable lockers. $1000 for paint, $1000 for new tires, $1000 for misc maintance, and its setup. Leaves you with at least $4k to equip it with gear such as winch, roof top tent, storage, and fridge!

 

[haven]

watch out for overhead obstacles

This thread has been interesting reading.

In my experience traveling off the main roads in South America, the most common limiting factor is overhead clearance. Trees grow rapidly in the direction of any available light, so the roadway quickly becomes a green tunnel. Side roads to small villages don't see traffic from tall vehicles like beer trucks, so the tree branches are quite low to the road in many places. Overhead obstructions will halt your progress much more often than any obstacle other than mud.

So I'd be concerned about a vehicle with suspension lift and gear mounted on the roof. A trailer will fit everywhere, while a roof tent or camper will cause problems.

Chip Haven

 

[jeffryscott]

http://tucson.craigslist.org/car/194628337.html

http://tucson.craigslist.org/car/194702060.html

http://tucson.craigslist.org/car/185532770.html

http://tucson.craigslist.org/car/186198818.html

Amazing what options there are for this $15,000 expedition vehicle. These are from just glancing at the Tucson craigslist, I bet Phoenix or San Diego or another larger city would have some amazing finds as well.

 

[calamaridog]

I'm with Ron on the FORD thing.

1996 Ford F150
extra cab
short bed
4x4
5spd manual
4.9L I6 (frankly, this is the most reliable Ford motor ever)
Tow package

70,000 mi. and excellent condition for $5,500.

Do some serious PM, buy some spares, buy all your equipment (fridge, shell, sleeping platform, etc.), and you are still well under the $15,000 cap.

Class III receivers at both ends for recovery. Custom sliders for jacking points and step.

Upgrade suspension to some heavier duty components and higher quality shocks (Bilstein). Run some 31's and have a couple spare tires.

Good to go:costumed-smiley-007

*edit*

The rational on this vehicle selection is as follows:

Reliable vehicle configuration
Cheap
Parts availability south of the border
Plenty of available cargo capacity and load

 

[bigreen505]

I know it has been said here before, but part of what makes ExPo so great is all the different ways people can come up with for reaching essentially the same goal.

For people posting in the future, please explain the rationale behind your suggestion. My recommendations were based on overall expected reliability and the ability to fix most problems in the field, while still providing a vehicle that is large enough to be comfortable for extended travel. Building a vehicle that is comfortable on long highway trips is not hard. Building a vehicle that is capable off road is not that hard either. Combining the two into a vehicle that you can drive across the country, and then begin the off road travel is more difficult, and for me, and absolute requirement.

 

[Scott Brady]

For me, I wanted the best combination of reliability and comfort. The 85 Toyota PU was a world vehicle, i.e.- it was sold essentially throughout the world with a 22R motor.

The truck is also very capable in near stock form and super easy to work on. The camper is what makes the whole package livable for a long time.

You would also get decent mileage out of the truck and for those who have traveled in the third world, speed is not important at all. Road speed can be half what they are in the US.

I guess that is my logic :truck:

 

[Pskhaat]

please explain the rationale behind your suggestion

Bill, I love EFI, and 99% chance nothing would go wrong, but...if it did? I have driven many miles on a non-starting gasser engine with someone dripping fuel or starer fluid down the carb. Anyway, absent of a diesel, I believe a carbureted gasser engine would be what I would take...and most any mechanic can at least get 'em going with aftermarket parts, and a carb can have some pretty nasty fuel go through them without too much issue.

Scott B said an 85? I thought 85 saw the 22RE, 84 and below were 22R? I know the 85 4Runner was 22RE, dunno about the mini-trucks though.

If one did want something a little more modern with injection, the 22RE can be retro'd to a 22R with some work as well as the 3F-E to a 3F carb'd version in SA. But this is where my knowledge of other makes and models fail, I don't know the same on non-Toyota

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

I love these little Toys!

....and must admit, I have been looking for one myself!

 

[Scott Brady]

Scott B said an 85? I thought 85 saw the 22RE, 84 and below were 22R? I know the 85 4Runner was 22RE, dunno about the mini-trucks though.

22R was more common in the 85 P/U than the 22RE. The 4Runner was nearly all 22RE in 85.

My 85 was a 22R and had 4WD and PS as the only option. Even had a blank out on the radio.

 

[BMAN]

In the middle of my Expo/DD/family campmobile build right now.
I'm doing most of my own work and buying what I can when I can, used and on the cheap. I'm a budget whore and have a hard time justifying to myself purchases of more than a couple hundred dollars at a time (part of the reason my build has taken 2+years). For myself, my plans include US wheeling with some Mexican adventures thrown in. Because of this I chose potetially the most common drivetrain available on the Northern continent. You can virtually buy small block GM parts at any cornerstore in the US.


1985 FJ60 $3200

Included with purchase:

Front and rear lockers
4” lift
33”tires
CB radio with Wilson 1k antenna
Old Magellan GPS (obsolete but still tells me where I am)

Mods needed to be complete and expedition ready:
350/700r4/splitcase conversion Approx $6000 into completed running conversion
Storage drawers (rear) $400 homebuilt
Bumpers/tire carrier/ side protection all homebuilt… $1000
Winch and recovery gear $1000
Added fuel capacity $500
Potable water storage $300
OBA $250
OB Shower $250
OB Welder $300
Aux. Lighting $1000
Cargo Barrier (hb) $200
Used Roof top tent $500

That puts me around $14600 ready to roll. Granted, 90% of the work will be or has been completed by myself and a few friends. Total build cost will be in the $15k-$16k range. And it's going to be a SOLID expedition/driver.

I see no reason why you couldn't build a SOLID expedition rig with $15k and about 6 months to build it. Heck you could really do it in a month or so if you could spend a fair amount of time every day hunting parts and doing your own fab work. I've found that being able to perform my own work has really made me appreciate this truck and has also saved me hundreds and probably thousands of dollars by the time I'm done