Vehicle / Platform choices???

All in favor of a go-fund me for Haggis to realize this long suppressed dream?

(Raises hand)

:D

I don't normally accept charity but I'll gladly take your money my friend. I'll hold it safe for you until that bad case of JL Shipfitters disease of yours passes...:p
 
@Darryl I think you are on it with the LC 200 and a fairly capable, yet comfortable trailer. We have been through just about every concept for camping you can come up with and for what you describe as your activities that is the route I would go. Keep that LC in top shape and geared up properly, keep that xventure you mentioned loaded and ready to go for those quick weekend trips, just add food and beer and you are good to go...
 
@Darryl I think you are on it with the LC 200 and a fairly capable, yet comfortable trailer. We have been through just about every concept for camping you can come up with and for what you describe as your activities that is the route I would go. Keep that LC in top shape and geared up properly, keep that xventure you mentioned loaded and ready to go for those quick weekend trips, just add food and beer and you are good to go...

Good call, got pricing on the XVenture today and a few mods for the 200, will decide over the weekend and move forward.
 
@Darryl I think you are on it with the LC 200 and a fairly capable, yet comfortable trailer. We have been through just about every concept for camping you can come up with and for what you describe as your activities that is the route I would go. Keep that LC in top shape and geared up properly, keep that xventure you mentioned loaded and ready to go for those quick weekend trips, just add food and beer and you are good to go...

Yeah, I’m with you on this one.
 
Agreed, LC and the XVenture or something like it.

Having done a TON of research into various vehicle, RTT, and trailer options, including purchasing two 1/4 ton military trailers, I decided to stick with the vehicle I had and add an XV-2.

It's kept ready to go at all times. For those times I need it for another purpose, from hauling landscape timbers to setting up as command/power/water center for the local street festival, it is easily and quickly emptied and I can use the full-sized cargo bed for anything I want.

If you decide to go for an XVenture, you won't regret it. I absolutely love mine. You may not have to custom build a rack for the ARB. The Rhino-Rack option and gas struts do a really great job. You can get a long or short throw strut for different heights when up.

Do know, though, that the XV-2 is 1125lbs empty with a cargo capacity of 2375, for a GVW of 3500, which can be a bit of struggle for some vehicles. Load it wisely, though, and you hardly know it's back there. They also make the XV-3, shorter and lighter with less cargo capacity.

If I can be of any help in questions you may have on the XVentures from an owner standpoint, I'm happy to answer what I can. I have hauled it over 15,000 miles and 250 nights since I got it August a year ago, and am headed out again for 4-6 weeks or more.

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I am having a hard time with trying to decide on a platform??? I thought I would send this out and get some differing feedback as I am stuck in a repeating cycle of which option is right for my family.


From my experience with thousands and thousands of miles camping adventures with my family, the best platform is the one where you can buy parts for it *anywhere*.

Last year I lost the inner wheel bearing on the front driver's side wheel while on a trip. After a tow to a parts store (can't drive on that failure) and some parking lot work the trip continued. Of course a random parts store in No-Where, Texas had the parts, we use a Ford Econoline. On the way back from Thanksgiving this year I lost the coil pack on cylinder 4. Limped to another random parts store and 30 minutes later my family and I were on the road again, no big deal.

One of the build requirements for my family's adventuring vehicle of choice was the ability to fix or repair what I have and to be able to find parts even if we were in Moosetwat, Montana. Same thing with tire/wheel choice (265/75r16, which is currently the most common truck tire size in the North American market).
 
From my experience with thousands and thousands of miles camping adventures with my family, the best platform is the one where you can buy parts for it *anywhere*.

Wise gouge, indeed. Easily supported throughout NA is the best approach if that's your AOR. I've experienced the same issue just south of there in Fawkahwee, Wyoming. Still had to call ahead to have the part available for me in Helena, Montana and that was just a 4Runner brake caliper.

Sure, exotic is super cool, until you're stranded and nobody has even seen "one" before, let alone if your have the technical skill and parts available.
 
The trailer showed up this weekend!!! It's brand new but has sat unsold for at least 2 years, outside... it will need some minor attention. I ordered a water tank and a few other options that I will get to installing once I finish up the design and layout.

Next step will be to get it painted or wrapped, Matching wheels and tires to the 200. I ended up finding wheel spacers that will go from the 6 lug the trailer came with to 5 lug to match the 200, this kept me from replacing the hubs and I would have needed spacers regardless. The wheels have a 40 mm offset so for it to have the correct stance the spacers will be 2 inch wide. I have ran spacers in the past with no issues, would rather not need to, but being on a trailer I'm sure I can manage.

From my experience with thousands and thousands of miles camping adventures with my family, the best platform is the one where you can buy parts for it *anywhere*.

I agree with you for sure... As much as I would like to think that I would get remote enough to build it in that manner, probably will not. That said, I am not planning to build something elaborate enough to concern me.
 
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Here is the new trailer, it is a 2015 model Schutt XVenture XV2, new but was unsold and sitting for the last few years. It came with a Goal Zero Yeti 400... it was set up to run all the aux. 12 volt power items, the GZ has an Anderson plus on the side and that was where the main trailer fuse block was wired to. When I turned the power on to it, I got nothing??? Then reading about the GZ it says DO NOT use the Anderson plug to power other devises??? WTF, why would they build these trailers with this set up? I realized this today while working on it so I am not able to contact Schutt directly.
Anyone have any experience with this? Would like to have it functioning at least in the short term. Long term plan is to gut most of it and run a better system all together.

On deck are wheels and tires with spacers, after measuring track width it should be almost identical to the Cruiser.

I am planing to paint or wrap the trailer, anyone have photo shop skills??? Bright Orange, Dark Gray, Silver, Toyota Quicksand??? Thanks!
 
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I believe I had read the Anderson plug bypasses the internal low voltage cutoff protection. I can charge mine using solar through the Anderson plug but my panels have a built in solar controller that prevents over charging.
 
It came with a Goal Zero Yeti 400... it was set up to run all the aux. 12 volt power items, the GZ has an Anderson plus on the side and that was where the main trailer fuse block was wired to. When I turned the power on to it, I got nothing??? Then reading about the GZ it says DO NOT use the Anderson plug to power other devises??? WTF, why would they build these trailers with this set up? I realized this today while working on it so I am not able to contact Schutt directly.
Anyone have any experience with this? Would like to have it functioning at least in the short term. Long term plan is to gut most of it and run a better system all together.

I am not an expert on this... and have never even played one on TV, but from my own GZ400 experience here it goes. I have an Andersen plug from my solar panels, since I hook them up to different power storage sources for different uses. I have an adapter that can go from the solar panels into the GZ standard power input on the front of the GZ400 box. Brian from Overland Solar made that for me. The key is that I have to disconnect from the solar controller on my briefcase solar unit and connect that directly into the GZ cord, in order to by pass the built in controller on the solar panels...
I may have all the terminology wrong but it works in reality. Contact Overland Solar they can help you out. Good outfit.
 
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I ordered wheel spacers to convert the hub bolt pattern from 6 to the Toyota 5, with this wheel I also needed to go out a little. Buy running this spacer it helped me accomplish two things, space out for the wheel offset and allow me to run the 5 lug pattern and not have to convert the hubs. Could have done either, but this helped me save cost on not buying the hubs.
I am planning to run this wheel, this is the 200 spare, but I am not sure if I want to or need to run the same tire. I will run the same size regardless, just not sure I will run a mud / Hybrid tire? Thinking about a BFG KO2, 285 75 17.
 
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I would check with the other 200 owners here and on Mud for tire recommendations. Having been researching 200s for purchase I noticed a few guys switched from KO2s to something else. KO2s are supposed be good but more prone to chunking than some others from what I have heard from others and the 200 is a heavy vehicle.

I have the original BFG ATs on my van and was considering the Cooper ST Maxx or General X3s as both have good reviews with the Maxx having more reviews.
Eric
 
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