Full Size (LARGE) Family Adventure Rig - Selection Question

[shortbus4x4]

I am in the same boat as you when it comes to kids. Right now we have a Sequoia which is ok but has no room behind the last row of seats for much. On longer trips I have a tent trailer or hitch mounted cargo carrier. The upside is its alot easier in town for parking and stuff. I have owned a Suburban too which has more cargo room. I would say go for a Suburban, Excursion, or fullsize van. Does it have to be 4x4? You can go quite few places with two wheel drive. If I had to do it all over again I would have gone for a van, plenty of room for gear and passengers. Don't bother with a 1/2 ton, go 3/4 ton or 1 ton.

[Harmgrissom]

I'm thinking that a 4x4 is not a non-negotiable, but its certainly preferred. Gear wise I'm ok with something that gives us "just" 7 seats as I'm NOT against getting and using an off-road trailer. Which would help with gear. Plus, or rather in its place using a tow-hitch hauler. Also a roof rack would be an additional possibility. I don't go completely nuts with my gear and try and keep it as simple as possible i.e. light but realize that may not always be possible.

What would be awesome would be a trailer, and a spare tire carrier mount on the back a la Jeep/Hummer with a rack above the tire and a roof rack. Also a gear rack on the trailer tongue (light weight of course).

Anyways just some musings.

[hoaxci5]

Everything is a compromise, if you go with a Fullsize rig, you can't run tight trails. If you go with a midsize you lose storage and potentially passenger space.

Again just touching on my personal decision, I did not want to lose rough offroad ability, that was first priority of wants, I did however NEED 7 passenger seating. So I decided on the Jeep.

I would write up a need vs want list. It's different for everyone, and the priority ranging for each want item will vary also..

[sseaman]

You could look at 100 series Land Cruiser, but not much room behind the 3rd row. We have an 04 Sequoia and love it. We regularly carry 8 and with a Thule roof carrier can bring a lot of gear along. It is making the transition from the wife's to haul kids to my ride and will hopefully be used more offroad. I am Toyota biased since I have always had good reliability including my 91 LC which I sold with 320k miles 2 years ago and still see running around town.

[BCHauler]

People who own or have owned the 1st gen Ford Expedition seem to like them. Little bit smaller than a Suburban but still 3 rows and reasonably capable.

[4671 Hybrid]

I'm running an 80 series Landcruiser that I added an extra seat belt too (overseas models have them stock but mine is a US model). Anyway, I have 5 kids and I can haul them, my wife and I, and an extra passenger in total comfort. When they're all taller than 5'10 I don't think that'll still be the case but that's 10 years down the road. When we go on longer road trips, we put the car top carrier on the roof and occassionally add a hitch rack.

[Harmgrissom]

So it seems the Land Cruiser and Commander are getting a lot of nods.

My brother sent me a website this weekend for a company which makes a 3rd row seat for the H3. That would expand its occupancy to 7 passengers. Any thoughts on the H3 for expeditioning.


Regarding seat space and gear space - I'd really rather take a trailer and negotiate necessary gear than to decline certain trails/trips etc. based upon the inability of the vehicle to handle it. An adventure trailer is certainly an option that will be considered. If I can find one of the old military trailers everyone always brags about (I forget their M designation) then I may jump on that.

[BCHauler]

Most of the criticism of the H3 seems to focus around poor outward visibilty due to the small windows, and general "Hummer = wanton excess" attitudes. If neither of these are an issue for you and there is an aftermarket 3rd row option, then that sounds like a plan. If you do it please share some pictures. We like pictures.

[Harmgrissom]

well I have never had a problem with the perception of Hummers. More concerned with their capabilities. Especially as any vehicle I get it going to look a lot like a clown car with people continually pouring out of it. I can't see a difference between a 7 passenger SUV with a Hummer badge versus one with a Land Cruiser/Toyota badge. As long as the vehicle goes where I want it to.

That said the visibility is something I will need to contemplate. Additionally I'm also very seriously NOT considering the Alpha due to gas mileage. The V8 is awesome and certainly tows the best out of many I've seen thus far (the Commanders in V8 are also right there) but for the loss in gas mileage - reported as serious as 12 MPG to just shy of 15. If the 15 is accurate - thats not so bad. If 12...

Just an FYI this won't happen anytime in the next week or two as this project vehicle is dependent upon my raise at work this fall. If its (fingers crossed & knock on wood) what I HOPE it to be then it will happen before the end of the year. If not then it might have to wait a bit.

Regardless of what I decide, bet money I'll have pics up as I experiment with the options to make it an effective expedition vehicle.

[pskhaat]

I don't have that # of children (bless you) but with you wanting to do the likes of the classic Moab treks, I would think a Toyota Sequoia, here's why:

Trying to remove my Toyota bias, I did not think the Jeep Commander was as big as advertised. The 3rd row seats were markedly narrower than the Cruiser's and fit only 2 persons back there. The large majority of LandCruisers 80 | 100 | 200 series are 8 passenger with a 3-person 3rd row. (Exceptions were a few 80s got only 2 3rd row seatbelts despite the same seat room).

Neither the LCs nor the Commander have any appreciable space behind the 3rd row. As such I've considered both the Excursion and Sequoia both in the past and now. I lean towards the Sequoia-side as the Excursion though beautiful in the diesel and interior volume department left a little to be desired on the tighter trails (IMHO).

The Sequoia has much more room than the LC back there and still seats 8. You'd need to take it pretty easy exiting steep obstacles (e.g. fins & things) or plastic armor a rear bumper for sliding, but it (again IMO) was an easier fit to do these style trails than the Excursion.

With a sufficient roof box, you might be able to fit all the junk and children necessities. YMMV.