Trading up (in weight)

soc.diver

soc.diver

Adventurist
My lovely, and never to be questioned, wife has suggested my modded out 06 Taco Access Cab is not suitable for overlanding with two kids. At first I was greatly offended but now that I have had some PT and breakfast I realize that there is an opportunity here:

1. My wife thinks Overlanding is cool. (Win)
2. I get to pick an epic full size adventure vehicle.

So I come to the font of wisdom and BS for your opinions. I have been considering the following:

1. 2014 or 2015 Power wagon.
2. 2015 Ram 1500 Rebel w/ Ecodiesel
3. Tundra (Distant 3rd)

Please defend your opinions to the death...
 
How modded? why not a double cab, foot bed Taco?
Why is the Tundra third? after your success with the Taco?
Power Wagon would go down for me on MPG alone (is it in single digits?)
 
I concur stick with the Taco dbl cab reliability,cost,long life,nimble etc. The more room you think you have translates into carrying more stuff that you may not need
 
I have not heard good feedback on the 1500 diesel, basically revolving around it not being able to pull anything more than it's own weight and fuel saving evaporate.
 
As an owner of a power wagon I have to say I love the Dodge Platform. My advice is if you are going to go Dodge and you want a "pre built" package, the Power wagon is the way to go, but I would recommend a 3rd gen over a 4th gen. If I had the money though, the wagon would be gone and I would get an early 2007 Diesel (5.9, not the new 6.7) then put on the Mercenary Offroad Bumper, ARB lockers, and however much Carli / Thuren suspension as I can afford
 
I don't know how a tundra would drive modded out, but as a daily driver/long road trip truck, I have found my 2013 double cab kicks ass. It is very powerful, which would help if you are doing bigger tires, lots of gear , etc. I would not call it nimble, but I would not call anything full size nimble.
 
My first thought was a 4 door taco. Several of my buddies have traded in theirs once they had more kids. I am fine living out of an assault pack for a week, but that opinion is not shared. I think I really need more space and power, with most of the capability of my Taco, at the cost of some nimbleness.
 
BlkWgn said:
As an owner of a power wagon I have to say I love the Dodge Platform. My advice is if you are going to go Dodge and you want a "pre built" package, the Power wagon is the way to go, but I would recommend a 3rd gen over a 4th gen. If I had the money though, the wagon would be gone and I would get an early 2007 Diesel (5.9, not the new 6.7) then put on the Mercenary Offroad Bumper, ARB lockers, and however much Carli / Thuren suspension as I can afford
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Hey BlkWgn, why do you recommend 3rd gen? Fewer electronics?
 
Let me quantify my previous post, all of the mentioned platforms are solid and each of us have different needs and requirements so our ultimate choice will probably be different. I can only speak to what fits me best at the moment as I travel solo and like you can like travel light.
 
soc.diver said:
Hey BlkWgn, why do you recommend 3rd gen? Fewer electronics?
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personally, I think the 4th gen is much better looking, but the way the body is built in the front, the 4th gen does not have as much clearance up front so the approach angle is not as good, I believe the wheelbase is a bit longer as well. The 3rd gen will almost clear 35's stock there is a bit of rubbing on the control arms, but it just barely scuffs the paint, on the 4th gen it is a lot more pronounced. There is also more aftermarket available on the 3rd gen, thought there is more and more for the 4th gen everyday. Electronics wise they are pretty much the same. The 2015 does get the 6.1L Hemi as opposed to the 5.7 in the 3rd gen, but I have never had a situation where the 5.7 did not have enough power.

This is my Second Dodge with the 5.7, I had a 2004 2500 that I bought brand new and sold with 185k miles on it. Never did a tune up, never had a breakdown, just oil changes and air filters and it ran beautiful when I sold it and passed smog when it was sold. This truck is a 2006 that I bought with 74k miles on it and I know have a little over 160k. The only problems I have had with it is an issue with the smart bar getting stuck in the unlocked position (not a big deal) and it seems to eat idler pulleys in the mud. Simple to change and only about 20 bucks and takes about 5 mins to change. I just keep one in the truck now.
 
How do you plan on using the truck? If you're tent camping or going with a RTT or flippac, I'd stick to the Taco. But if you're thinking truck camper, I'd go with a Ram /Cummins 3500 3rd gen and agree with BlkWgn for all the reasons he stated, plus no DEF. Now if I could just find some place who would do air lockers for me without needing to get a third mortgage.
 
Coming from a guy who has a 4th gen... The DEF is not a big deal at all. The combination of two other things is a big deal. The not so good approach angle along with poor visibility over the hood make it very difficult to wheel.

Wondering why the Cummins is in the mix, though. Do you plan to tow wheeling rigs out to play?

Full size trucks are nice for those long trips, and you don't really pay a size penalty for going to the 3/4 ton, but they are significantly heavier, meaning you need more tire to get it through the nasty stuff.

Just my thoughts.
 
Mr. Leary said:
Coming from a guy who has a 4th gen... The DEF is not a big deal at all. The combination of two other things is a big deal. The not so good approach angle along with poor visibility over the hood make it very difficult to wheel.

Wondering why the Cummins is in the mix, though. Do you plan to tow wheeling rigs out to play?

Full size trucks are nice for those long trips, and you don't really pay a size penalty for going to the 3/4 ton, but they are significantly heavier, meaning you need more tire to get it through the nasty stuff.

Just my thoughts.
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MPG and single fuel (for me).
 
I suppose I should have started with uses. When my family comes along we camp rather heavy. It is less overlanding, and more hauling 1000 LBs of stuff into the wilderness to setup a small FOB for 3 to 5 days. When I go hunting or traditional overlanding, the load is much lighter and I use an RTT. Eventually my wife wants a camp trailer of some kind so we will have to tow that. I also have to feed my wood stove all winter so hauling a bucked up tree every few months is part of the deal.
 
What about the new Titan XD?

Just throwing it out there for discussion.

2016_nissan_titan_xd_14.jpg
 
Nissan makes two kinds of vehicles - sexy or ugly. The Z cars have always been sexy. The gods in Nippon smote this mightily with the mother of all ugly sticks.

But I think I'm going to like it, and wish Toyota would take notice. Some seriously cool things going on in the Nissan truck division in regards to powertrains and in cab features.
 
Dave said:
Nissan makes two kinds of vehicles - sexy or ugly. The Z cars have always been sexy. The gods in Nippon smote this mightily with the mother of all ugly sticks.

But I think I'm going to like it, and wish Toyota would take notice. Some seriously cool things going on in the Nissan truck division in regards to powertrains and in cab features.
Click to expand...


Should I be offended? :D

d5237a8c767ac91c92ddc43f962731bc.jpg
 
BlkWgn said:
As an owner of a power wagon I have to say I love the Dodge Platform. My advice is if you are going to go Dodge and you want a "pre built" package, the Power wagon is the way to go, but I would recommend a 3rd gen over a 4th gen. If I had the money though, the wagon would be gone and I would get an early 2007 Diesel (5.9, not the new 6.7) then put on the Mercenary Offroad Bumper, ARB lockers, and however much Carli / Thuren suspension as I can afford
Click to expand...
As much as I love my 3rd gen 2500 with a cummins, I'd do a power wagon, as it comes pretty well optioned with lockers and such for exploring. That being said, my 2500 works great, and I love the space it affords.
 
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