Overland/Camping Vehicle for Family of 6

[Ford Prefect]

Any of yall ever check out the Mercedes Benz ML? You can get one with third row seats, they are super nice, and do REALLY shockingly well off road. You can get a used one for as low as 5k.

Check them out. They are a little more to fix, but they do not break down nearly as often. If you just budget for the eventuality that a vehicle will need work, you can do fairly well on that cost as well.

Besides that, those things are everywhere, so pretty good if you are going out of country.

Just a thought.

Cheers

 

[uberhahn]

suburban

We are in the same boat...

Me, wifey, 4yr old twins, and a 1 yr old. Throw in two dogs, gear, we needed space.

I looked at LWB Range Rover Classics, but couldn't get the seating arrangement to work with the child seats. Plus, with dogs, there was no room. I explored the Ford range (Expedition), but ultimately settled on a OBS (Old Body Style) Chevy Suburban (1999) 1/2 ton.

Pros:
- Space. Everywhere. Mine has a 2nd row bench so I can seat three accross, plus a 3rd row bench if needed (typically no). Huge roof for boat, rack, whatever.
- Towing capacity (6000lbs plus)
- Inexpensive purchase price (good condition, low mileage can be found for under $5K-6k)
- Easy to maintain (cheap)
- Easy to find parts and someone to work on if required
- Lots of aftermarket support.
- Reliability (this may cause a smirk from some, but GM/Ford trucks have been bullet proof for me and my use).

Cons:
- somewhat dated appearance (if you care)
- big (limits trail choices). For me, this wasn't so much a concern, as it isn't a hardcore truck.
- fuel economy (goes both ways I suppose). Gas 5.7Liter. Gets 15-19mpg depending on conditions.

I suppose I could have spent more and gotten a better all-round vehicle. However, price was a factor, and I really wanted to spend money on actual adventure, rather than the vehicle itself.

Pics coming.

 

[nwoods]

price was a factor, and I really wanted to spend money on actual adventure, rather than the vehicle itself.

That's the proper perspective

 

[matt s]

Suburban. They can be very capable off-road. I don't think the diesel is necessarily your best bet. The 6.2 is underpowered and the 6.5 doesn't have the best rep.

My 97 tahoe gets 15mpg all around. Better with straight highway. The vortec CSB is legendary for a reason. Lots of power and parts everywhere.

Now your cheapest solution. Radios. We have four kids and honestly should look into a suburban. But for now we take two rigs and talk on the radios. The kids think it's pretty fun. My wife... not so much.

 

[dragogt]

CC pickup, 4x4 Van, Expedition, or Suburban; In diesel would be my choice...

 

[EOE4x4]

We're about to have our first in about two months, but I told my wife we're limited to 3 kids so we don't outgrow my FJ62 .
I've gotten my friend hooked on adventure-y trips, he's got the OP's dilemma: 2 adults + 4 kids in one vehicle. I suggested (like many posts) either the FZJ80 or a Suburban. As much as I'd like to see him in a Cruiser, he's probably going to stick to beach driving and light wheeling stuff where the Suburban will be a better choice. Thanks for all the posts! I'm fwding this thread for him to read

 

[Krafty]

I vote for a 1st Gen Sequoia. I tried very hard to find a 100 series in our price range with reasonable mileage but ended up settling for the Sequoia and I haven't regretted it. It's done surprisingly well off road and it will easily hold 4 kids in comfort.

 

[AxeAngel]

Diesel Excursion.

-Sam

 

[cmgraves]

Diesel Excursion.

-Sam

x2

not mine etc etc etc

http://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/2014816766.html

then your off and running!

 

[dragogt]

All in all not too bad...

 

[AxeAngel]

Any of yall ever check out the Mercedes Benz ML? You can get one with third row seats, they are super nice, and do REALLY shockingly well off road. You can get a used one for as low as 5k.

Check them out. They are a little more to fix, but they do not break down nearly as often. If you just budget for the eventuality that a vehicle will need work, you can do fairly well on that cost as well.

Besides that, those things are everywhere, so pretty good if you are going out of country.

Just a thought.

Cheers

I'm going to have to disagree on this. They are pretty small. I own an 06 and it is smaller than my previous range rover sport. Far smaller than my current discovery or my gf's 4runner. The OP couldn't even begin to consider something smaller than a GL.

Easy to find parts? No ways. M- classes are not easy to spec parts for, even the first generation ones. Perhaps you are thinking of the G class here.

And their inroads manners aren't great unless you buy a gen 2 or newer. Offroad they are a joke. Total joke.

Maintenance wise my 06 has had a new power steering pump, reservoir. New engine(balanceshaft wore out), new main seal, new transmission(first gear clunk), main relay short that is still being troubleshooted. I'm at over 12k in repairs if I didn't have an aftermarket warranty. Truck has 66k miles. Bought it for my mother as a birthday present so it gets babied. Driving it in the rain or getting condensation from a starbucks mug is as dirty as it gets.

-Sam

 

[bsautry]

My vote would be for an F350 Diesel Excursion. Yes, they did make a F350 version that is great off-road. It has enough power to go through anything that you can through at it. The downside is the LWB for tighter off roading, but that may just increase your driving skills. They come with 3 rows of seats, and there is an after market seat to add a forth row. All the same after market accessories as the regular F350 truck.

 

[BoilermakerSteve]

We have four kids ages 9 to 16. We off road a fair amount, but I wouldn't claim we trail on serious trails. Lots of forest service roads and two tracks, but not through washes, gullies, off-camber, etc. We day trip at this point, we don't adventure camp yet.

We have a 2000 Excursion 4WD with a 7.3 L Power Stroke Diesel. It works really well for us. All 4WD Excursions are build on the same Super Duty chassis, they all have the same spring package (softer and a little lower than the pickup springs). Ours has a stock suspension and tires.

Pros:
- Lots of passenger space, leg and head room
- Solid axles (limited slip is an option, mine are open and I haven't gotten stuck)
- Huge cargo area behind the third seat
- Wheelbase is actually pretty short for a full size truck
- Shift of the fly 4WD (I switched to Warn manuals and like them)
- Low Range
- Stability
- The 7.3 PSD is a great, reliable engine. We will roll 300,000 before Christmas
- Ability to pull a lot of weight
- Very comfortable on the highway


Cons:
- Heavy!! With six people and cargo you could easily top 5 tons. Ours is just over 4 tons with me and my wife in it.
- Cornering might be an issue on some trails, but I would guess width will be more limiting.
- I have never tried to go over rock trails too much, but I would guess it would take a lot of care to avoid problems.
- Diesels are more expensive to maintain
- It is a very rigid chassis and throws you all around. (we air down to about 30 to 35 psi and it helps)

The Excursion works well for us. We like the 3/4 ton chassis over the 1/2 ton of the Expeditions.

I hope you find something that works for you and your family.

Steve

 

[Airmonger]

My wife and I are expecting a baby! Heading to Portland, OR this weekend after the BSU/UofI game to look at a few fj80s. Ill hopefully have some pics to post up soon.

 

[Jomax]

I have a 2000 Ford Diesel 4x4 Excursion one of the Firsts for maintenance it can be expensive or cheap put a Ps 2000 bypass oil filter and don't change oil for 30,000 miles. Now for wideness and length. Get a measuring tape and measure how wide ur fj80 and how wide a Excursion is. Its not a Major difference really. just get a brush guard and make the trail bigger :sombrero: for length just do K turns or be creative. Im getting ready to buy another excursion to make it a offroad rig not to abuse the other one and you cant beat Diesel. (if anyone knows of any cheap Diesel 4x4 Excursions please let me know)