Full Size (LARGE) Family Adventure Rig - Selection Question

Awkragt

Adventurer
Just to throw out another option. You should sit in an LR3. It's got seating for 7 with the same great visiblity and off road heritage at the Jeeps. The ability to go from low to the ground for my wife's grocery getting to 4 in lift for the rocks is really cool. Off road the LR3 is going to fit a lot more places than a full size. Definitely worth your while to sit in one and test drive.

We've got a 2-dr JK right now with 1 kid, and once we add one more kids I'm probably going to go LR3, then a few more kids go with an offroad trailer.
 

Harmgrissom

Observer
Awkragt - The LR3 is a great option - a friend of mine had one and it was extremely capable and comfortable - unfortunately as it got older the sheer cost of repairs is a turn off. I don't know that its a major issue for people prepared for that kind of cost - but for me it was a pretty serious turn off.
 

Awkragt

Adventurer
- unfortunately as it got older the sheer cost of repairs is a turn off.

Thats why I haven't pulled the trigger on one. It difficult to determine the true cost on the Land Rovers.

This Diesel Excursion sounds cool, especially if you can go 300K out of one and get 17 MPG. My neighboor's got an F250 jacked up 2 ft with 40in tires. You could probably do the same to an Excursion?
 

JPK

Explorer
The V10 gets crappy milage, and that is not only costly but limits it's range. The diesel maintenance requirement is not too bad a trade off and your range will be improved 40%.

We have a fleet of Ford desel chassis cabs, the 6.0's aren't horrible, but we still have 7.3's running with 100's of k's of miles on them. The Ford fuel tanks since the switch to the 6.0 have been a real pita, with delamination occurrring all to frequently. The delamination reveals itself when the truck won't run, and it produces fine rust particles that irreparably clog the in-tank filter and pump. When one goes it often also requires new injectors. Replacement Ford tanks are as likely as the oem tank to delaminate. We finally began switching to aluminum after market tanks custom made to nearly oem dimensions - as close as welding shop can get it.

Don't overlook the diesel Suburbans. Some hate the engine, but when they're trouble free they seem trouble free "forever".

Seems to me that for what you describe you need the seating plus the cargo room of either the Excursion or the Suburban. I have a Suburban, my third, and I love it and its predeccessors, but I'd have a diesel Excursion if my wife would have tolerated the Excusion. She had trouble getting it up our driveway, which was tight, at our last house.

JPK
 

Harmgrissom

Observer
Thanks for the input guys - definetly a lot of food for thought. I'm still leaning to the Excursion. But something my wife mentioned to me last night thats got me all kinds of excited.

We don't want to take out a car loan as we're trying to stop using credit/debt. So we want to pay cash. It may take a year or so to save up the 10-15k for an Excursion.

So last night her suggestion was - "Why don't we just buy another Jeep Cherokee in the meantime and caravan?" :wings: :smiley_drive:

So... it may not happen in a month or two but fingers crossed we'll do that for a while leading up to a big purchase for a full size family rig.

-
Regarding the 4x4 Van - I'd need to see some more regarding them to really consider it honestly - we had regular full sized vans all growing up and I honestly don't trust them. So I'd have to see them in action to even consider it.
 

r_w

Adventurer
My vote is still a full-size van. The COG is an issue if you are going extreme, but they will go further than most people realize.

Seating capacity in a vehicle is like sleeping capacity in a tent--the rating is for just people shoulder to shoulder, if you want stuff inside or comfort you need more space.
 

nely

Adventurer
Whats not to trust about the van?

There available with the same engines and transmissions as the f-series trucks. The 4x conversions are done well. Ujoint makes a great diy 4x kit (thats what i have on my 97 diesel van) its all the same. I feel the ride quality is great. I recently drove a 2005 f series and i gotta say, it was awful. To bounce over the freeway, the 6.0 lacked power in my opinion.

The cog isnt bad on the lifted van. It hanldea great with my 6" lift and 37s. If you stick with the 4" & 33s itll handle even better and have a lower cog.

I have the diesel and i know another guy that has the v10 in his equally equipped van. He gets about 2/3 to 1/2 the mpg i get. He says hes about 8-10 & ive been averaging 15 mpg. Theres some maintenance i need to do thatll improve that, im sure.

All in all im glad i purchased the van and started the 4x conversion. I have more than enough room for my family and gear. Its me, my wife, and 2yr old son. In your situation id look at the ext van. Youll have plenty of room for your family, gear, and have a bed inside. I had a 96 extended van that i started 4x then someone crashed into it. Now i have the 97 rb. I like the ext due to the extra room. The way i want to set up the van the rb is small, but ill deal with that.

What other concerns do you have?
 

Heading Out

Adventurer
I have to vote for the EXT 4X4 diesel passenger van, with a roof rack. Lots of room for little kids and all the stuff that comes with them, the ability to tow a small trailer to leave at base camp now.

Later It can evolve as the kids grow, to tow a larger more comfortable base camp (trailer) and still seat the kids and the friends you know they will want to come along.

Better to have enough space now, with the ability to grow, than to have them all crammed in and grumpy on a long drive.

That will kill the fun and the possibility of future trips in a hurry.

my .02
 

78Bronco

Explorer
Very happy with our roomy, capable, reliable and safe ***** Ford Expedition. A lot of vehicles have 7 or 8 seats but very cramped, like my montero, but the fullsize 8 passengers have real room, thus real comfort.
 

ktm360mx

New member
We are one step ahead of you!

It's funny- I stumbled on this thread after posting something similar in the general vehicle modification area.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...nger-Overland-Safari-Vehicle-for-a-Family-Guy

We are one step ahead of you. We have 5 kids and have outgrown the suburban. What's next for us? I don't know. Here's what we did/are doing:

if you have 4 kids and are only doing day trips and want to off road- go with the suburban. That's what we have and love it. Skip the excursion- no head rests in the back row for accident protection, the gas engines get 10-12mpg (you may get 15 on the highway) and the diesel is dismal. I own the 7.3 and had a 6.0 truck- 7.3 is great, the 6.0 is not. Skip a diesel unless you tow heavy and frequently. Diesel is more expensive to operate and a lot more expensive to maintain. 7.3's have 4 gallon oil changes alone. Diesel is only good if you tow. I prefer diesel and have a 7.3 truck and a dodge 5.9. great vehicles, but we drive the suburban because it's less expensive to operate. Don't forget- the 7.3's are very loud-certainly not for wildlife viewing.....

On the other hand, the suburban does the same thing, slightly less cargo room, but will support a family of 7 on day trips (with or without a roof rack). If you are not doing super hard core stuff (and most don't), the IFS on the suburban is fine. I've driven up Rose Garden in Moab with a IFS Suburban. BTW- if you are going with the 7 seat option- you need a 2003-2006 suburban- the back seat is not split like on the 2007 and up. The 7th person will always be sitting on the crack in the 07's -- not fun!

We've lived your plight- with #7 on the way- you will need room for gear - the sub or excursion can do it. IF you overnight, get a BIG roof rack and you can still do it fine. If you want to bring a friend- you are out of luck. That's where we are at.

Our next vehicle may be a variant of this: http://www.prefix.com/Trekker/
 

Awkragt

Adventurer
What did you end up getting?

The LR3 was like someone said, a maintenance bomb, seemed unreliable at 60K miles. I ended up getting a Toyota Land Cruiser 100 Series with 210K miles. It's rock solid. It's got plenty of room for us, family of 4 right now. It would definitely need a trailer for gear if we had to keep the 3rd row in.
 
if you have 4 kids and are only doing day trips and want to off road- go with the suburban. That's what we have and love it.

i completely agree with KTM. My wife and I have four kids, aged 10 -16 and our 04 Z71 suburban has been wonderful. we have owned it for nearly five years and it has been, by far, the best vehicle for our family. We have had mini vans, smaller SUVs, full sized trucks, as well as a tahoe prior to the suburban and none of them have been able to match when the suburban has been able to offer our family (the tahoe was the closest, but lack of cargo was it's downfall). Great towing, power, safety, as well as cargo capacity & seating capacity. Ours seats 8, so it's perfect for us. As kids get older, they need their space from their siblings - stuffing three teens/pre-teens in one row, even if it's a suburban, is less than ideal. just got back from a trip to disney land last weekend and the suburban sailed through the trip and the kids were not on top of each other for seven hours straight.

off road, it has proven to be a capable performer and has even surprised me on a couple of occasions with what it was able to conquer. There are (hopefully) some serious mods in it's near future which will give it even more ability, but even if those mods don't happen, I am satisfied with what it can provide in that category.

Just make sure to remember what ever you decide, to balance out what your dreams are for it, with what its day to day reality will be. For us, that meant finding something that was a good platform for a handful of dirt trips each year AND a dozen family (paved) road trips each year in addition to being my daily driver. We have been extremely happy with our choice.

Hope this helps...
 
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Harmgrissom

Observer
I want to thank everyones feedback. Crazy its been 4 years.

Well we ended up having the family minivan die & my wife convinced me that for now the Honda Pilot was the right choice. We've been in the pilot almost 4 years now (crazy how time flies) have 2 more kids and its cramped. But we've taken it on multiple off road trips, a few multi day rides up in the mountains between Prescott & Crown King, and up the back side of the Mogollon rim & down south on the old Butterfield stagecoach route when we got permission from blm last year to run it.

It's been a decent interim vehicle not ready for anything hardcore, but for most trails in AZ has been great. Honestly its not a light vehicle, so for the dry washes, it handles so well. Some minor annoyances (window issues mostly) but its got great 4x4. And the locker was helpful pulling out a few stuck Nissans on the stage route in thick washes.

However as we've almost got it paid off I'm dreaming of upgrading to the Land Cruiser finally. A buddy has one & after a couple days off road I'm thinking that's the right choice combined with a trailer.

But for now, 8 passengers & a dog, we're in the Honda & its doing fine.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
when those little kids outgrow the Pilot, reconsider the Suburban. Room enough for seven full-grown adults with the 60/40 2nd row. And there's 30 cubic feet of storage behind the 3rd row.

cargo03_zps38a63760.jpg
cargo05_zps0535417a.jpg


With an 8' 2x4 for illustration

capacious_zpsdc55fb2f.jpg
cargo01_zps2ae37e8a.jpg


With the 3rd row out and the 2nd row folded you can fit 4'x8' sheet products into it.
 

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