Hiking vehicles

[rally_toad]

What kind of vehicles do you guys all drive when your going hiking? Im thinking about investing in a 4wd high clearance Jeep or something of the sort so I could get to some places where I definitely couldnt get to with what Im driving now (73 mustang):) I saw a Jeep Grand Cherokee today for $2600 and I was thinking about checking it out. What "hiking vehicle" is easiest to drive and which gets the best gas mileage (even though I know most wouldnt be too fuel efficient.)

[chumley]

@CannondaleKid Couldn’t agree more. Every time I’ve purchased a new TRUCK it has been through a 4-foot wide mesquite bosque tunnel within the first week. I call it ‘breaking it in’

[big_load]

@CannondaleKid
I guess because most of the real capability can be had at half the price. My target is something with real capability that won't lose $20-30k in value with the first couple dents. A decent 4Runner is more my speed then something that came off the lot at over $100k with extras.

ETA:. I would probably apply the cost difference to the annual "stuff I broke" budget.

[CannondaleKid]

My target is something with real capability that won't lose $20-30k in value with the first couple dents.

Agreed. Which is why I bought a ten-year-old 4Runner with 171,000 miles so the big value hit had already been absorbed by the 2 previous owners.

[RedRoxx44]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/th ... ailsignout

[LosDosSloFolks]

@RedRoxx44
The Opera Windows are the crowning touch.
More photos...https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3827 ... d-auction/

[big_load]

@RedRoxx44
That looks like fun. I couldn't see in the photo how it was set up, but I'd expect a Swedish vehicle of that vintage to be originally right-hand drive. Most of them that stayed in use got converted, though.

[LosDosSloFolks]

@big_load
My link shows interior photos.

[big_load]

@LosDosSloFolks

Interesting, it looks truly utilitarian.

[hikeaz]

Looks like LHD was prevalent..
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http ... D0%26d%3D1

[big_load]

@hikeaz
I wonder if they were meant for use on the continent or in NATO deployments. Sweden didn't drive on the right until 1967.

[hikeaz]

In places like St. Croix the vehicles are LHD but driven on the left. (Likely US vehicles with left-over French laws)

[sneakySASQUATCH]

@big_load
Surprisingly, the rarity of the hardtop models of my truck (300 of 18000+ made) has driven the price up. When I see one available it is usually $15-20K higher than the price I paid.

[big_load]

@sneakySASQUATCH

Prices in general are crazy. I'm not buying anything for a couple years.

[LosDosSloFolks]

We don't need no stinkin' roofs...or a/c, or comfort, or...
Just a little bit of rust and I probably wouldn't use the seatbelts as I'd want to be thrown clear of the vehicle when it rolls.

https://www.goodingco.com/lot/1966-ford ... geNumber=0

Click on the main photo to start a slide show.

[PrestonSands]

Perfect for accessing trailheads during winter conditions. I’d probably just cruise Oracle during rush hour in this though. https://www.craigslist.org/about/best/v ... 74296.html

[eru]

I've been pondering an electric scooter as a trailhead vehicle heh. Obviously not an ideal 4x4 vehicle, and I'm sure I'd be walking it in places, but for something I could toss in the back of my vehicle and then head off on rougher roads from a basecamp it seems pretty convenient and a relatively low investment. High-end offroad ones are around $1500, well regarded low end ones around $300 - I'm not sure what I'd really want/need. Clearance, torque, and wheel size would be more important than speed.

[ youtube video ] looks good enough to get me to a trailhead with a pack on. :p

I have a RWD highish clearance Sprinter I built out as a camper in 15/16 with 300W of solar on the roof, ~5KW of LiFePo4 batteries, inverter etc, so I could either charge them up overnight or just rotate batteries charging in the day. Most of the mid-high end ones have 30-50mi range, though rough terrain would lower that. I imagine I wouldn't often be going more than 20mi a day roundtrip.

[Jim]

@eru
An electric scooter! [ youtube video ]

[nonot]

Interesting idea, what do you feel are the advantages of having a scooter, compared to say, just riding a mountain bike the last few miles?

[eru]

@nonot mainly smaller internal storage space taken & lack of having to pedal long distances + elevation gain before hiking, especially if we're going backpacking and we need to pack in water. Riding a MTB up from 236A to the Dupont Cabin with my 60L pack bungied up on top of a back rack doesn't sound that pleasant - I'd rather just walk it. I'm pretty sure I could fit two in the back of my van (or maybe just get one rated for heavier loads and have us cram on it for simplicity if a worse short experience?) and have sleeping bags fill up the space around them etc.

I have a solid folding MTB I can keep in the back if I don't have my napoleon grill or WM winter sleeping bag (the latter is in that large float space at the moment), but that doesn't leave room for much else with backpacking gear for two, extra 12G of water, other equipment etc. My partner had her MTB stolen by a methhead in Montana a while back, so there'd still be a purchase involved going down that route. In a pinch I can stand a second bike up on the bed wrapping the lower part in a tarp but it's not pleasant for anything past a long weekend. Carrying bikes on an external rack on the back destroys my stealthiness (although the boom in hashtag vanlife due to covid has done that to a large extent, thanks noobs) and would make theft more likely as I'm not just taking them from a garage to a TH and back.

At this point I'm not seriously planning on doing it, but it seems like kind of a fun / amusing way to solve the problem that's been rattling around in my head for a while and it seems worth thinking through. I was searching for a compact foldable ATV out of idle hopeless curiousity and stumbled across these things. They'd also be useful for heading out running errands around towns if one of us needs to work in the van and the other has downtime during our 4x10 work days. We're often on a BLM/NFS dirt road anyways.

@Jim_H I wonder what the range & clearance is on those? :p Imagine the looks I'd get from the OHV crowd haha.

[Jim]

You better really like your Ford, if you buy one.
https://fordauthority.com/2022/01/2022- ... provision/