Summit Experience in a Honda CR-V

[Charo]

Who says you can't have any expedition fun in a Honda CR-V? I recently made a trip to the Pecos Wilderness in my daily driver and was pleased to make it to the summit of Elk Mountain - almost 12,000ft and above tree line! The little guy made it up without too much trouble at all - which really just says this is an easy road to navigate. :-) I passed a Subaru Outback coming down the mountain and a Ford F-150 2wd going up. Not sure how far they made it, but it was hilarious - a crew cab with about 8 people in the front and 4 in the bed sitting on lawn chairs!?!?! I hope they didn't die....

I would have much preferred to take this trip in one of my Land Rovers (RRC or SIIA) but neither is roadtrip worthy at the moment, plus the 25mpg sure beats 12 in the Classic.
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[NorthernWoodsman]

I regret selling my CR-V almost every day. I loved mine. Same body style as yours. Mine was a '99. Nice and quiet and I could squeeze 30-31mpg on the highway with it. Made a hugely stupid decision to sell to buy a VW diesel that ended up blowing up on me, twice. I like my Toyota, but I would seriously consider trading for another CR-V.

I've seen photos of these things in S. America going through some deep slop and doing great. Wish there was more aftermarket support to beef it up some.

[zukrider]

only thing to be sure of with that model CRV is to adjust the valves, specifically the exhaust side, every 30k. DO NOT GO BY ANY OTHER LENGTH. less is better, but more costly. more will eventually burn a valve.

also, the t-belt is not trust worthy for the 90k its rated at. i would change it at 75-80k. if it breaks, it WILL bend valves. this will jam the seats into the head, and require a brand new head. they are not replaceable seats if jammed in.

lastly, the rear diff requires honda's fluid, all others will cause damage. and if you ever notice a binding/vibration/noise when turning tightly, the fluid needs changed.

[Squatchout]

Cool Beans, We have the same model CRV '99. 179k miles and runs like a top. The wife says she is never getting rid of it.

[Warn Industries]

Always liked the first-gen CR-Vs. I was just thinking about these vehicles yesterday when we were buying some new camping supplies. As I remember, they had a removable table built into the floor, which would be great for camping/overlanding.

- Andy

[Squatchout]

Always liked the first-gen CR-Vs. I was just thinking about these vehicles yesterday when we were buying some new camping supplies. As I remember, they had a removable table built into the floor, which would be great for camping/overlanding.

- Andy

Funny you should mention that. I wrote about mine in a thread somewhere here. Ingenious idea. The cargo floor cover is a card table. I've bought 2 of these tables from junkyards for a total of $20! They fit great folded flat in the back of my Trooper and work very well for camping tables. I like reuse, salvage, cheap!

[Charo]

Mine is at 225,000 and runs great. Only thing I've done to this car mechanically is the timing belts and replaced the A/C compressor twice. It's amazing to me the building quality difference between this car and my 1991 RRC with the same mileage. :-)

Cool Beans, We have the same model CRV '99. 179k miles and ry uns like a top. The wife says she is never getting rid of it.

[Squatchout]

Yep, 3 sets of tires, front exhaust gasket a few times, brakes twice, a broken wire in the drivers door and regular maint. Yep I'm ruined for new cars. I've owned Hondas and Isuzu's for years. My standards are high. I've actually come to EXPECT new cars to actually function correctly without issues. Silly me.

[4x4x4doors]

Seemed like this was a reasonable place to ask this question. Neighbor has a 2nd gen CR-V with the 4wd system but I know nothing about it.
We are discussing the idea of hm accompanying on our next "drive on the beach" trip. Do any of you have experience/knowledge of how these behave in loose/soft sand? I know about airing down and ground clearance issues so he would need to stayout of the ruts but how will he do otherwise?
Thanks for the input.

[Charo]

Haven't taken mine in soft sand. I imagine it would do fine - it's light and not prone to spin the tires.