Backcountry Vehicles

[DOSS]

Turnout at Temple of the Moon by ashergrey, on Flickr

In the winter my beater becomes a daily driver, but it dreams of summer.

I've been running generic all seasons on the car since I bought it and after many highway/trail miles, they're pretty much toast. I'm planning on going up to an all-terrain (Yokohama Geolandar AT-s) when I take the snow wheels/tires off in the spring. A 27-inch diameter tire is about the largest I can run clearance-wise, so my choices are limited. I need to find a fifth OEM wheel as well so I can carry a full-size spare when in the backcountry.

I run the Geolanar AT/S on my subaru.. but I also have a 1 inch lift that gave me more room for a little bigger tires. Since you don't have a Outback some outback parts on your Legacy would give it around 3/4 of an inch and would be all bolt on

 

[Dave]

I run the Geolanar AT/S on my subaru.. but I also have a 1 inch lift that gave me more room for a little bigger tires. Since you don't have a Outback some outback parts on your Legacy would give it around 3/4 of an inch and would be all bolt on

I'm running '98 Outback suspension.

 

[DOSS]

I'm running '98 Outback suspension.

Sweet!.. if you want more lift let me know i have templates for making 1 inch spacers

 

[Nick]

I've been stoking myself up the last few months about possibly trading in my trusty Taco for a bigger truck. I've had my eye on the Tundra for a while but wished it had some more aggressive styling like the Tacoma does. Well, the anticipated 2014 redesign of the Tundra came out last week and oh is it sad... just looks like another freaking Fork F-knock off now. So I guess I won't be upgrading to a full size truck anytime soon. The current Tundras look pretty good when they're souped up a bit, but not sure if it's worth it. Rumor has it the Taco will get a full redesign in 2015 so maybe I'll wait til then.

But in the meantime, we did recently add a new backcountry vehicle to our house. My wife traded in her AWD Toyota Venza that she didn't like me to drive on dirt for a brand new 2013 Highlander Limited. It's not nearly as capable as my Taco, but it should still do pretty good getting to the trailhead, especially when more passengers are involved (it seats 7).

A shot of it before driving it off the lot, sorry for the blur. I never thought I'd ever buy a white car but this one is some special metallic pearl type white and we fell in love with it. Should compliment the taco nicely...

 

[Aldaron]

Rumor has it the Taco will get a full redesign in 2015 so maybe I'll wait til then.

While I love my Xterra, it was one of the first ones to roll off the assembly line after the major redesign in 2005, and it's had several small problems almost from the day I bought it. The problems haven't been anything major, but they've been frustrating. And they've pretty much all been attributable to the new design kinks.

 

[Nick]

The new 2014 Tundra if anyone is curious... I guess it's kinda growing on me. Maybe if it had some better tires on it...

 

[Nick]

While I love my Xterra, it was one of the first ones to roll off the assembly line after the major redesign in 2005, and it's had several small problems almost from the day I bought it. The problems haven't been anything major, but they've been frustrating. And they've pretty much all been attributable to the new design kinks.

Interesting.... I've never gotten the first of a redesign but I've always thought that would be better than getting the last, even though that's what we did with the new Highlander we bought.

 

[Artemus]

A shot of it before driving it off the lot, sorry for the blur. I never thought I'd ever buy a white car but this one is some special metallic pearl type white and we fell in love with it. Should compliment the taco nicely...

Hey, that looks like a runway model showing off the truck !

I too thought "meh" when I saw the new Tundra in the release pics and details at the Detroit Auto Show this wook. Looks like they are just trying to play catch up to the Americans. Dang. My wife is a 6-in-a-row Toyota Truck owner including our Taco just like yours. Are you guys that wedded to Toyota too?

 

[Nick]

Hey, that looks like a runway model showing off the truck !
Are you guys that wedded to Toyota too?

We tried a top of the line Subaru Outback for a couple years, didn't like it. For this go 'round, we tried hard to get out of the Toyota rut. We looked into about everything on the market but only went and drove some VW's and a Kia before finally getting the Highlander. And to be honest, we were pretty reluctant to even do that. It was a wonderful case of hard bargaining. They not only sent us packing, but damn near let us drive off the lot before chasing us down and agreeing to our terms. Got it for nearly $6k off sticker.

 

[Aldaron]

If we ever have the Lightroom workshop, can we also have a car negotiation workshop? I am HORRIBLE at it.

 

[Artemus]

The new 2014 Tundra if anyone is curious... I guess it's kinda growing on me. Maybe if it had some better tires on it...

I don' see a "pinching nose" emoticon to use.

 

[Jen]

you know, Nick , i like your truck better than i liked my full size GMC sierra 2500. while it did hold a ton of people and gear, it was a bit too awkward on a lot of forestservice 4wd roads. i probably wouldn't get anything that large again, unless i was hauling trailers of course as for now, my minivan with stow-away seats rocks the world of roadtrips and camping. if only it came in high clearance 4wd i woudln't trade it for anything!!!! the ultimate trail shuttle!

 

[Artemus]

Dude, you need to get a new thread going and tell us about that Poison Springs Poseidon Adventure! Like Jared said, worst fears come true...

- DAA

You asked for it you got it!

 

[Paul French]

My 2009 off road xterra goes any where with the new LT tires. Those with jeep products seem to have allot of repair history. Comparing my 4x4 history I'm sticking with my xterra.



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[baltocharlie]

Man, you folks have some serious 4WD vehicles. Mine is an almost historic 1994 Toyota truck(pre-Tacoma days). It even has manual locking front hubs. Never breaks, no rust(except for the rear bumper, broke while 4wd in W.Va last summer carrying a bunch of bikes) It seldom goes anywhere local since I bike everywhere. Saving it for the mnt trips.

 

[Nick]

Man, you folks have some serious 4WD vehicles. Mine is an almost historic 1994 Toyota truck(pre-Tacoma days). It even has manual locking front hubs. Never breaks, no rust(except for the rear bumper, broke while 4wd in W.Va last summer carrying a bunch of bikes) It seldom goes anywhere local since I bike everywhere. Saving it for the mnt trips.

My first truck was a '91 Toyota in the pre-Taco days. Loved that truck!

 

[Nurrgle]

I have owned two Xterra's and a Jeep. Currently I am running a 2011 Xterra pretty close to stock and I love it. Never had a problem getting in or more importantly out of some nasty situations.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Man, you folks have some serious 4WD vehicles.

Better to have it and not need it

 

[DAA]

Better to have it and not need it

I agree. But it's also more fun to need it and have it, than to not need it. And even less fun still, to not even know why you might ever want to need it .

- DAA

 

[baltocharlie]

My all time favorite vehicle for backcountry travel was our Vanagon Syncro. Short wheelbase, high clearance, 4WD, and a bed in the back for 3. Hauled lots of kayaks on top....but got tired of fixing it, so had to let her go. Rather hike than wrench a car on the weekends.