What's the BEST Family Adventure Vehicle?

This thread does a fantastic job at proving that there is no "perfect" vehicle. There's always a trade off. Just like modifying your existing overland vehicle, every addition has a subtraction. No magic list, no magic modification.
 
i agree with the 100 series if you have a family of 5. I have an FJ cruiser and its pretty tight with three kids and two dogs. my good freinds have an exterra and the same size family and they CLAIM its too small for them , but i dont see how. the xterra handles itself pretty well offroad, so i would recommend the xterras as well.
 
Xplore Colorado said:
This thread does a fantastic job at proving that there is no "perfect" vehicle. There's always a trade off. Just like modifying your existing overland vehicle, every addition has a subtraction. No magic list, no magic modification.
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Agreed 100%, Stan! There really is no magic formula. It all depends on what a person is looking for. I believe, based on all the posts, that there are a TON of fantastic options out there for getting off-pavement. For us, it's definitely going to depend mostly on space and comfort for the wife/kids.

I noted above that I'm considering the GX470. Here's a pretty cool build post over at Overland Guild. Anyone have experience with the GX470? http://overlandguild.org/index.php?topic=24.0
 
OutdoorX4 said:
Our family adventures entail pretty much everything: moderate off-road travel, getting to destinations to hike/camp/bike/etc.space for a family of 5... Oh, and the wife has made it clear she doesn't want a pick-up with a camper-style conversion. She definitely prefers an SUV so that option is out.
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I would push hard to put a truck back on the table. They far exceed a SUVs ability to haul people and gear. With a truck you can keep an uncluttered passenger compartment; set a rule, no gear up front. I imagine with a family of five and all their personal "essentials", your passenger area is already very full. When you add in the gear needed to outfit 5 people, you really need the bed of the pickup, not the back of a SUV. I agree completely with your wife about the camper conversions. They are very inefficient if you like to do anything away from base camp. Would she be okay with a Toyota Tundra Crewmax with a color matched simple cap, or a tonnuea cover?
 
OutdoorX4 said:
So, I've been doing more research on this today and I'm starting to really like the idea of going with a GX470. It has a great amount of room, is comfortable, appears to have good aftermarket support, and seems to be quite reliable. Anyone else have thoughts? I'm thinking 2004-2006 is the year range.
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I just installed rock sliders on mine and a Front Runner rack is 20% installed. Skids are in boxes awaiting paint and installation.

As for prime years, they're all about the same between '03 and '09. I think VVT-i was introduced in '05 or '06, as with most of Toyota's other models using the 4.7L V8. Also, '07 added auxiliary audio input and Bluetooth hands-free capability. All three of those features pushed me to an '08 I found with 80k miles. Color aside (it's pearly white), I really like it.
 
How are the GX470 rear seat sizes? For instance for a 3 and 5 year old wildabeast er I mean boys.


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SFSMedic said:
How are the GX470 rear seat sizes? For instance for a 3 and 5 year old wildabeast er I mean boys.
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The second row in the GX470 is great. The third row is tight, but three and five year olds will find it just fine. I have a two year old and a four year old, but I haven't had the occasion to stick them in the far back yet. :D
 
As Offero said... 2nd row is full sized row but 3rd row is tight. 3rd row should be reserved for the short wildabeast.
 
Al Swope said:
I would push hard to put a truck back on the table. They far exceed a SUVs ability to haul people and gear. With a truck you can keep an uncluttered passenger compartment; set a rule, no gear up front. I imagine with a family of five and all their personal "essentials", your passenger area is already very full. When you add in the gear needed to outfit 5 people, you really need the bed of the pickup, not the back of a SUV. I agree completely with your wife about the camper conversions. They are very inefficient if you like to do anything away from base camp. Would she be okay with a Toyota Tundra Crewmax with a color matched simple cap, or a tonnuea cover?
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I agree a fullsize is worth considering especially in light of the 5 person seating requirement and all the gear Frank likes to haul around. Would be useful for the business end of the magazine and event stuff too ;)
 
I agree on the truck. However, the wife has specifically said (for whatever reasons she has and I can't understand women completely but that's another topic for discussion) that she doesn't want a truck. So, that option's out unless I can figure out a way to get her on-board.
 
With 5, there are 3 choices:

1) pickup
2) large SUV with trailer
3) large SUV and everyone packs like they are on a backpacking trip.


Sent from a mud puddle
 
I'll admit that i haven't read though this while post yet but I think the term "family" needs a number assigned it. My XJ was a great family adventure rig...till my family grew to 5 and a dog. Now I'm looking at much larger vehicle. Now off to read the rest of the thread.

Dan
http://the4x4podcast.com
 
We went shopping for an SUV a couple of years ago and came home with a crewmax tundra. We both love it. Comfortable, seats six with the front bench (hard to find), and just enough room for gear in the short short bed. She didn't want a truck until we drove so I second what jeepin' said based on personal experience.
 
Fowldarr said:
We went shopping for an SUV a couple of years ago and came home with a crewmax tundra. We both love it. Comfortable, seats six with the front bench (hard to find), and just enough room for gear in the short short bed. She didn't want a truck until we drove so I second what jeepin' said based on personal experience.
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Good point. And IIRC the second gen Tundra shares many components with the 200 Series Land Cruiser. A Tundra build would be very cool! :cool:
 
Yeah, there's a personal reason why the wife doesn't want a truck so I'm not going to debate her.

As for quantifying the family size, we have five (me, wife, three girls). I plan to do a trailer build in 2015 to haul our gear/roof top tent that doesn't fit in back of SUV but at end of day, we need a vehicle that is fully-capable off-road yet roomy and comfortable. The 100 Series Land Cruiser is definitely look good right now. Still haven't decided on anything yet as I continue testing out vehicles. I really like the 4Runner but it's a bit tight with all the kids and since that was the case with our Grand Cherokee, I think we need to go larger.

I haven't tried an Armada yet. Does anyone know if those are built here or in Japan?
 
Frank what ages are the 3 girls? I see drama with 3 of them shoulder to shoulder in the back seat of a Hundie on a long road trip, or off road...
 
Dave said:
Frank what ages are the 3 girls? I see drama with 3 of them shoulder to shoulder in the back seat of a Hundie on a long road trip, or off road...
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Easily fixed by removing the 40-split side of the second row and leaving one side of the 3rd row in. You will still have 2 kids shoulder to shoulder though. Or, if you're building a trailer to haul gear, you'll have the room to leave one side of the 3rd row installed and there will be no kids shoulder to shoulder. The 3rd row isn't built for adults or tall kids though.


And the Sequoia and Land Cruiser are completely different vehicles. Made in different plants and countries and share nothing except the Toyota name.
 
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