Why do folks say, "Jeeps aren't expedition vehicles?"
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UK4X4
Expedition Leader
Yep your right, you can buy a whole bunch of toys for your jeep........................in the US.
You can go to every NAPA store in continental USA and just about get everypart of the shelf...in stock.
Now add the term Expedition and add in the following......
Driver, passenger, cooler and child
In a wrangler you now have 3" of gear storage space:jump:
...........and only recently the unlimited and 4 door.
Then you look at where are you going....staying in the states...yep fine....just don't forget to strap the cooler and food to the roof.
latin America yep there are jeeps....some years they were imported and for lots of years not.
Toyota in latin america is probably king as far as support goes, Landrover has dealers in all but venolandia...
although they did manage to sell 500 110's to the government a few years ago.....
Africa........support....you'd be better off in a peugeut 405.......Toyo and landrover rule.
I was in a Landi 110 in tanzania on the way from Arusha to the Serrengetti when the throttle cable broke.......By the time I'd sussed the original cable could not be shortened any further, and removed the offending artical the driver had ran to the last village and back and had returned with a rusty part a few inches longer.
1 leatherman and 15 mins later we were on our way
Middle east....yep in saudi and oman etc they are available you can even buy hummers if you really want to......
.......but support wise Toyo and nissan win with landies following behind.
Further east...same story...
Obviously sat phones, credit cards and friends to ship parts is another route.............but fedex does not deliver to remote locations.
You can go to every NAPA store in continental USA and just about get everypart of the shelf...in stock.
Now add the term Expedition and add in the following......
Driver, passenger, cooler and child
In a wrangler you now have 3" of gear storage space:jump:
...........and only recently the unlimited and 4 door.
Then you look at where are you going....staying in the states...yep fine....just don't forget to strap the cooler and food to the roof.
latin America yep there are jeeps....some years they were imported and for lots of years not.
Toyota in latin america is probably king as far as support goes, Landrover has dealers in all but venolandia...
although they did manage to sell 500 110's to the government a few years ago.....
Africa........support....you'd be better off in a peugeut 405.......Toyo and landrover rule.
I was in a Landi 110 in tanzania on the way from Arusha to the Serrengetti when the throttle cable broke.......By the time I'd sussed the original cable could not be shortened any further, and removed the offending artical the driver had ran to the last village and back and had returned with a rusty part a few inches longer.
1 leatherman and 15 mins later we were on our way
Middle east....yep in saudi and oman etc they are available you can even buy hummers if you really want to......
.......but support wise Toyo and nissan win with landies following behind.
Further east...same story...
Obviously sat phones, credit cards and friends to ship parts is another route.............but fedex does not deliver to remote locations.
Zeero
Adventurer
REALITY is though, that most people on here are Continental Explorers. Meaning, they explore where they live.
Although it happens, most people on here don't hop a plane for Africa with their Jeep or whatever in tow.
The trend, if you can call it that, is to explore your own backyard, and for the most part, here anyway, thats the US and Canada.
Some might say "Pppbbt! Thats not expeditioning"....I will fight that to the bone, it IS expeditioning.
Anyone who has ever travelled 8,000 kms to the Arctic, whether Alaska, Yukon, or NWT.....or anyone who has travelled 1000's of kms through the seemlessly never ending maze of trails and fire-roads that spider web there way from Northern British Columbia all the way down through the US Rockies....will tell you that those are some of the hardest routes to follow in the world.
The Canadian Arctic was rated as one of THE MOST dangerous and remote places in the world to be....THERE IS NOTHING THERE.....nothing....and you have to contend with Polar Bears, Cougars and....Russian Spies..hehehe.
A Jeep will take you there.....AND you will have support for it. Even in the smallest towns there are dealers...and if not there then not too far away.
AEV took on Jeep as their project vehicles.....the title says it all, American Expedition Vehicles. Made for North American Adventure Travel.
To be on an Expedition you don't NEED to be in Africa, or South America or the middle of Siberia. North America is LOADED to the neck with adventure, you just have to go and find it!!
Other continents are easy to find adventure....EASY....theres no development....Here....I challenge anyone to go north, it will be hard, it will break you, I guarantee it......but Jeep will take you there, and back, and it will be laughing the whole way.
Although it happens, most people on here don't hop a plane for Africa with their Jeep or whatever in tow.
The trend, if you can call it that, is to explore your own backyard, and for the most part, here anyway, thats the US and Canada.
Some might say "Pppbbt! Thats not expeditioning"....I will fight that to the bone, it IS expeditioning.
Anyone who has ever travelled 8,000 kms to the Arctic, whether Alaska, Yukon, or NWT.....or anyone who has travelled 1000's of kms through the seemlessly never ending maze of trails and fire-roads that spider web there way from Northern British Columbia all the way down through the US Rockies....will tell you that those are some of the hardest routes to follow in the world.
The Canadian Arctic was rated as one of THE MOST dangerous and remote places in the world to be....THERE IS NOTHING THERE.....nothing....and you have to contend with Polar Bears, Cougars and....Russian Spies..hehehe.
A Jeep will take you there.....AND you will have support for it. Even in the smallest towns there are dealers...and if not there then not too far away.
AEV took on Jeep as their project vehicles.....the title says it all, American Expedition Vehicles. Made for North American Adventure Travel.
To be on an Expedition you don't NEED to be in Africa, or South America or the middle of Siberia. North America is LOADED to the neck with adventure, you just have to go and find it!!
Other continents are easy to find adventure....EASY....theres no development....Here....I challenge anyone to go north, it will be hard, it will break you, I guarantee it......but Jeep will take you there, and back, and it will be laughing the whole way.
XXXpedition
Explorer
i've explored a lot of europe, america, australia and a bit of africa...
i enjoyed expeditioning through mojave desert (while living in la) as much as exploring down under!
i mentioned to somebody long time ago that i want to do an expedition through the states.... he said: "that's not an expedition."
ok, if he thinks, that's fine.
i think expedition is what YOU make it.
i can travel through africa and not be on an expedition as well!
sven
ps: and a luxury cruise through the arctic is not an expedition...
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
nwoods said:
Yeah, my sense of humor is a bit quirky and I like to play on words. The results can a bit unpredictable! Its the mad cow, you know...
Cheers,
Graham
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
When in Rome
So if you're exploring North America, it probably makes more sense to drive a domestic vehicle than anything else. Jeep, Ford, Chevy, whatever. The chances of finding the part you need in the local store or junkyard is pretty high.
If you're exploring somewhere else, it probably makes sense to drive whatever is commonplace there.
As far as vehicle size goes, plenty of people explore the world by motorcycle. A Jeep Wrangler is quite spacious in comparison. For some people a LWB Land Rover will be too small. For others, too big.
I think its great that there is no one size fits all vehicle otherwise we'd all be here grumbling about the price of fuel or something.
Cheers,
Graham
UK4X4 said:
So if you're exploring North America, it probably makes more sense to drive a domestic vehicle than anything else. Jeep, Ford, Chevy, whatever. The chances of finding the part you need in the local store or junkyard is pretty high.
If you're exploring somewhere else, it probably makes sense to drive whatever is commonplace there.
As far as vehicle size goes, plenty of people explore the world by motorcycle. A Jeep Wrangler is quite spacious in comparison. For some people a LWB Land Rover will be too small. For others, too big.
I think its great that there is no one size fits all vehicle otherwise we'd all be here grumbling about the price of fuel or something.
Cheers,
Graham
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
grahamfitter said:
To some extent I would agree, but rationalize that thinking with the known reliability of imports versus domestic brands and the results are often, often reversed.
mcm4090
Explorer
Most people I know that have Jeeps trailer them if go anywhere over a 150 miles. For me, a major part of any trip is getting there and getting back. I don't myself trying cram myself, my wife, and are two boys with enough gear for a 300-400 miles five day trip.
If I were going to stay close to home and just play on rock when a would get a Jeep.
If I were going to stay close to home and just play on rock when a would get a Jeep.
Zeero
Adventurer
mcm4090 said:
Theres that "Jeeps are no good for Expeditions" attitude.
You really should look at the new Unlimited. Very comfortable for many long rides with LOADS of room for your family and gear.
To me your post only precludes to a two door TJ or YJ.....certainly by no means can that apply to the new JK Unlimiteds at all.....totally different vehicle....100% different.
SavageSunJeep
Adventurer
Why do they say that? Dummber than a mud fence I suppose.
That said lets decide what an 'expedition' is. Maybe any off pavement trip that lasts longer than 1 overnight stay.
So if the requirement is that you need to spend something other than an afternoon picking daisey's then NAME any vehicle that has got more overnight stays than a Jeep in Europe, Afrika, or Korea and Vietnam.
Ask any WWII, Korean or Vietnam vet and they will tell you there is no other rig in the world that has got more time in the outback than a Jeep.
That said lets decide what an 'expedition' is. Maybe any off pavement trip that lasts longer than 1 overnight stay.
So if the requirement is that you need to spend something other than an afternoon picking daisey's then NAME any vehicle that has got more overnight stays than a Jeep in Europe, Afrika, or Korea and Vietnam.
Ask any WWII, Korean or Vietnam vet and they will tell you there is no other rig in the world that has got more time in the outback than a Jeep.
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
SavageSunJeep said:
Sorry, but you could hardly call the servicemen's advice a fact... they were there for 2-3 years tops, 25-50 years ago. Alot of vehicles have been roaming since. On top of that, of course they thought the Jeep was the best vehicle of choice, it was the only choice they had. Much like the Hummer nowadays.., no choce. Land Cruisers & Patrols are used by military services all over the world, the Hi-Lux Toyota truck is used even by our own military in the middle east. It would be impossible for one to quantitatively name the "most outback driven" 4x4 but I would have to put my money on a Land Rover before a Jeep?
To boot how can one honestly even compare a Jeep of the WWII vintage to a modern Jeep... apples and oranges, about the only thing that stuck is a name and a seven slat grill. I've got alot of respect for Jeeps, spent countless hours on the trails with them. As with any vehicle they are only as good as their owners desire to make them. Their latest JK offerings have really been a home-run IMO, a really neat base for any style of build IMO.
Again, I think everyone needs to quit worrying about the definition others give your choice of vehicle and use the things as you see fit. I could care less what people think of my rig... I could care less what others choose. I might toss in some friendly ribbing or experiences I've had with a model or two, but in the end I'll hit the road with anyone that has a sound, reliable rig and more often than not that is Jeeps.