More proof that Jeep is the leader in 4x4 overland vehicles

[marktutone]

Howdy from Sweden

I do like this thread and the debate and almost all of us already know that Jeep aint leader in 4x4 overland vehicle. I have to point out that it is posted in a Jeep forum, so some of us is biased and it is posted in a vehicle forum so I dont find it strange that You want to discuss other potential overlanding vehicle, I do se that positive not negative. Anyway I like al 4x4 and think it is very intresting to read al about them and I think it would be intresting for al to read al the intresting articles and videos posted here, I learn something and You learn something about different potential overlanding vehicle. For thoose that dont have a overlanding vehicle this thread is great because it points out different popular overland vehicles, like a buyers guide. Next week Iam taking out to ladies for a 2 day camping trip, and Iam packing now with some luxury stuff and it is slightly difficult to get it to fit in my Unlimited Wrangler. The Unlimited Wrangler is huge but for overlanding it aint with rather smallish interior space and low payload. But that is funny as a had a very small 4x4 Suzuki Jimny before as a naturephotograpy vehicle. Then I meet a girl and we wanted to go camping and we did not have so much camping stuff so it was not such a big problem. My Suzuki was 12 years old and I wanted a newer vehicle and Jimy was not for sale in Sweden anymore so I looked at the 2 door Wrangler. But at first me and my girlfriend thought that was a to big vehicle, it was hugh we thought.

I got the 2 door Wrangler and I was little bit affraid to drive such big and wide vehicle, but got used to it. It had slightly more space than my Jimny

After a while I wanted to bring more people and camping stuff and thought I needed a bigger vehicle and as a already had a 2 door Jeep I could move many jeep stuff to a unlimited. I saw unlimited Rubicon 2013 10th Anniversary at my dealer and Sweden only got 13 of them. I feel in love with the awesome look.

Do I need a Rubicon, probably not as I dont do rockcrawling but feel in love with the look at the cool hood that the 10th Anniversary has. But I felt why not have added security with lockers if I get stucked in snow or mud.

One thing I do like with the wrangler is that they have alot and cheap accessories. Not cheap but I do like my Front runner interior rack, easier to load stuff.

I have looked a little bit at the 4runner at the internet, looks nice with more interior room and payload but sadly they dont sell that model in Europe. Offen it is a tradeoff, bigger vehicle will get more space and payload but probably cost more to buy and drive and might have worse turning circle and feel less nimble and could be a problem with they hight of my garage. The more I learn the more I know what my next overlanding vehicle would be. Now when I have the unlimited should I have done different, I dont think so.
Me and my girlfriend tried out several vehicles and a Jeep unlimited and when we came to Landrover we saw a Defender 110, looked awesome, we jumped in and my girlfriend sad directly no way! It has a terrible driving position, it has only a stick, the interior looks old, will not fit my garage, cost much more than a Wrangler.
So after some years I will have a new 4x4 and we have to see what the different vehicle manufactures can offer as the optimal overlanding/camping vehicle for me, it might be a Toyota or Landrover:ylsmoke:

Thanks for your input.

 

[GetOutThere]

Funny how they didn't use one on their trip.

Again don't confuse popularity with the top choice.

Justin Beiber is very popular...

Scott and Co have used JKUs for many trips.

However; despite Scott's love for the JK, I remember him stating that the 70 Series land cruiser is his vehicle of choice for vehicle dependant expeditions. Hopefully I am not misattributing that quote and can find it somewhere.

Just to pour some fuel on this fire, heh.:REOutCampFire03:

 

[grimbo]

Exactly, the 70 series was their choice for world travel. The jeep fan boys can't seem to understand that whilst the Jeep sells well and is a capable vehicle it isn't the choice of vehicle for worldwide over landing.

It's quite a simple concept, especially if you understand there are a lot of vehicle users outside of North America

 

[grimbo]

I guess you did not watch the video. Look at the seen when they camp at the volcano. There are 3 jeeps, 3 Tacoma's and 1 70 series.
Again Grimbo you are the one confused.
You should spend more time in this forum and stay out of the Justin Beiber fan site it is clouding your judgment.

Nope I looked at the Expedition 7s ones, you know with Toyotas not Jeeps.

 

[SSF556]

who cares

 

[marktutone]

Nope I looked at the Expedition 7s ones, you know with Toyotas not Jeeps.

Grimbo you are missing the point. The 70 series was designed in the 1980's. It got a minor upgrade in 2007. If toyota does not revamp the entire vehicle then it will go away. What makes a 70 series good?
It has solid front and rear axles. It is very simple and easy to repair and modify. It also can carry a lot of weight. Most people modify the suspension as in its stock form is extremely bone jarring. The Jeep should be the vehicle of choice as a 70 series would cost roughly double of what a fully loaded Rubicon would cost. Yes I said it. You can purchase two fully loaded AEV 350 Jeeps to one of the 70 series LC.In Australia a basic 70 series will run you approximately $112,000.00 U.S. Dollars. You talk of fan boys and dreamers. I think your average overlander cannot afford $112,00.00 for a vehicle.

 

[grimbo]

No it won't run that much at all in Australia, approx 70k and you can't compare prices from the US to Aus, very different markets, wages, cost of living etc

I'm not missing the point at all, I have worldwide perspective and no brand loyalty.

 

[da10A]

I now own a 10A Rubicon, the best of the best ever made by jeep out of the box. But it is way too much jeep for me!!! Has way more capability than I would ever have the guts to make it do. As would the FJ Cruiser. Since I've owned jeeps for some 25 years, I really wanted an FJ to make a change, and had been there and done that with the top down/doors off thing....but the wife and daughter wanted the jeep, since they fealth clostrophobic in the fj due to its long, wide and low sealing.

It is true that that deep dash with the vertical windshield makes one feel as if he is sitting in the back seat, and the unlatch of the seatbelt and opening of the door just to let the rear passenger in or out is a pain in the butt. However, I found the fj cruiser to be more comfortable to drive, as its suspension is way more plush and absorbs road bumps much better than my jeep.

 

[marktutone]

No it won't run that much at all in Australia, approx 70k and you can't compare prices from the US to Aus, very different markets, wages, cost of living etc

I'm not missing the point at all, I have worldwide perspective and no brand loyalty.

Ok I give.
I think like a local.
But I think I am going to purchase an AEV 350 in approximately 3 years.


AEV Heat Reduction Hood
AEV Premium Front Bumper
AEV Winch Mount
WARN Winch
IPF 901 Off-Road Lights
AEV Front Skid Plate
AEV Rear Bumper
AEV Tire Carrier
AEV Water Pump Kit
AEV 3.5" DualSport SC Suspension
AEV ProCal
AEV Jack Base
AEV 17" Alloy Wheels
35" Mud-Terrain Tires
AEV Badging
AEV Instrument Cluster
AEV Logo Headrest
AEV Serialized Build Plaque

 

[marktutone]

I now own a 10A Rubicon, the best of the best ever made by jeep out of the box. But it is way too much jeep for me!!! Has way more capability than I would ever have the guts to make it do. As would the FJ Cruiser. Since I've owned jeeps for some 25 years, I really wanted an FJ to make a change, and had been there and done that with the top down/doors off thing....but the wife and daughter wanted the jeep, since they fealth clostrophobic in the fj due to its long, wide and low sealing.

It is true that that deep dash with the vertical windshield makes one feel as if he is sitting in the back seat, and the unlatch of the seatbelt and opening of the door just to let the rear passenger in or out is a pain in the butt. However, I found the fj cruiser to be more comfortable to drive, as its suspension is way more plush and absorbs road bumps much better than my jeep.

My buddy at work has a FJC the ride is real nice good looking vehicle. My personal preference in vehicles is to feel the road. On long road trips if the ride is perfect I get sleepy.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

You are right I do have a hang up with IFS. I broke an A arm on the trail that left me stranded in the middle of nowhere. I know that could have happened on any vehicle but I feel safer with a solid axle. Also I have found the articulation is better with a solid axle.

May I ask what vehicle it the failure occurred to?

Having a single failure while frustrating is far from conclusive proof to any ideal setup. IFS make up the majority of some of the hardest used off-road vehicles in the world, i.e. Dakar, Baja (desert racing et al) and are also quite common in military and industrial (mining in particular) uses as well. Unless your making a run at Kiing Of The Hammers next year (IFS's have won there too ) or spending all your time on the Rubicon or Moab... I think you might give IFS some credit.

Articulation better, in some cases absolutely true. But again, why the hang up there? I've been fortunate to travel in many places around the world and I can think of few if any beyond competition style environments and rock-crawling trails proper that would make me hesitate to run a properly built IFS rig. Moab Rim, Poison Spider and the Rubicon are not accepted 'overland' trails by I would guess the definition of most? It's no doubt the JK rocks trails such as those and the solid axle is a big part of that, but spending 5 days crawling the trails of EJS (keep in mind I've been doing EJS for 15 years) isn't 'overlanding'.

As far as the number one thing is concerned I new if I used such verbiage in this thread it would stimulate conversation.

Fair enough. I'd offer that covertly and knowingly attempting to promote animosity (or "stimulate conversation") as you call it isn't the atmosphere of ExPo imo.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Grimbo you are missing the point. The 70 series was designed in the 1980's. It got a minor upgrade in 2007. If toyota does not revamp the entire vehicle then it will go away. What makes a 70 series good?
It has solid front and rear axles. It is very simple and easy to repair and modify. It also can carry a lot of weight. Most people modify the suspension as in its stock form is extremely bone jarring. The Jeep should be the vehicle of choice as a 70 series would cost roughly double of what a fully loaded Rubicon would cost. Yes I said it. You can purchase two fully loaded AEV 350 Jeeps to one of the 70 series LC.In Australia a basic 70 series will run you approximately $112,000.00 U.S. Dollars. You talk of fan boys and dreamers. I think your average overlander cannot afford $112,00.00 for a vehicle.

Your research gets an F, if that

FWIW, comparing Australia and the US is like apples and oranges. A dual-locked diesel LHD 70 Land Cruiser in Central America starts at ~$40k

Where are you coming up with $112k?

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kata...er-gxl-vdj76rwagonsale-67500-today/1045422399

That is a brand new, dual locked, long-range fuel capacity, loaded, V8 Turbo-diesel for $67,500. And this is AUD, USD is more like $64k. On top of that, everything in Aus sells at a premium, particularly cars. Look up the price of a Ford Powerstroke over there.

 

[marktutone]

Your research gets an F, if that

FWIW, comparing Australia and the US is like apples and oranges. A dual-locked diesel LHD 70 Land Cruiser in Central America starts at ~$40k

Where are you coming up with $112k?

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kata...er-gxl-vdj76rwagonsale-67500-today/1045422399

That is a brand new, dual locked, long-range fuel capacity, loaded, V8 Turbo-diesel for $67,500. And this is AUD, USD is more like $64k. On top of that, everything in Aus sells at a premium, particularly cars. Look up the price of a Ford Powerstroke over there.

I went to a Toyota site for Australia and did the build and price prompts.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I went to a Toyota site for Australia and did the build and price prompts.

Hmmm, not sure what you were looking at, obviously not the vehicles we are discussing (70 Series) so my grade stands.

Perhaps a fully-loaded twin-turbo V8 200 Series, an amazing vehicle but with a noted price. Fwiw the owner of HEMA maps, a company that has driven something like 2 million miles of off-road routes in Australia, tours in an amazing 200 Series. Chipped, exhaust mods... it scoooots

 

[marktutone]

I went to a Toyota site for Australia and did the build and price prompts.

Oops, I just went back to the same page where I got the price. I was looking at a price for a 200 series land cruiser rather than a 70 series. I stand corrected. The cost for a double cab work mate is $67000.

67,000.00*AUD = 62,979.60*USD