What if you outgrow your Subie?

Tweaksta said:
That's true, I'm not keen on rock crawling really....

An FXT is a logical upgrade from my GT, however my doubts are still whether a CVT would stand up to the stresses it gets subjected to on steep, soft sand dunes. My imagination tells me that if you kept momentum and revs up then a CVT might make it up a steep dune.....but......sometimes I get halfway up a dune, and I see a photo opportunity that I can't ignore, so I stop. In order to get moving again, I can drop the clutch at 4500rpm and blast my way out of the sand pockets my car has stopped in. From what I've heard, the CVT can't do that - the stresses are too great so the software says no. I think an FXT with a conventional auto can though.

Here's us going up Big Red:
https://youtu.be/9AXWyz5TFiQ

My next car has to be able to climb dunes that easily.....
Click to expand...

You might be on to something here. When Machine1 from the Foz forum had an FXT with the 4EAT and organized an offroad group, they all went to an offroad park together. The FXT with the 4EAT could stop and go on a steep loose hill whereas the FXT with the CVT could climb the hill with no issues BUT could not stop and re-start in the middle of it.

As for climbing dunes easily...that really sounds like Subaru advantage to me.

How about a 2009-13 FXT (US years) with the 4EAT? In addition to a bullet proof if old tech transmission, this model has the best angles of any modern Subaru. It is what I could have/should have purchased in late 2012.

My H6 5 EAT Outback is more comfortable, slightly bigger, and can tow twice as much as an FXT but is not as quick from a stop on road and the approach angle is dismal. It only improves to poor with a 2" lift. Even with a SubaX bumper it would only be fair. By contrast the FXT 4EAT starts with "fair" and can get to "good" easily.

Then, again, when buying used, getting a naturally aspirated very reliable engine is probably a lot less stressful than a turbo someone may have been abusing for a while...
 
Kevin said:
Or maybe this in 2018: https://www.autonews.com/article/20160926/OEM04/309269963/bigger-7-seater-for-subaru
Click to expand...

That is said to be a US-only model.

With two Tribecas under the belt, I was very, very interested but then my patience tempered off esp since I expect no improvement in stock off-road capability.

Wife loves the TB as is and though it is close to 140,000 mi it is still perfectly reliable and nice on long distance trips, serving as a family car and allowing the OB to focus on more interesting terrain...

I still expect to replace the TB with the new 7 pax at some point, but unless the latter blows me away with unexpected capabilities I will wait for the TB to develop an expensive problem before replacing it.
 
This is a very interesting conversation.
As some of you may recall I, sort of, posed a similar question about 18 months ago.
My major issue was my partner, SWMBO, insisted on the Forester replacement having a toilet and shower (which hopefully will never get used) which, sadly, made a 4WD camper van prohibitively expensive. Particularly one in good nick and of recent vintage.
I ended up with a compromise, mainly to suit her rather than me but the bottom line is "happy wife, happy life" I guess.
I purchased a fairly new, low kilometre, excellent condition Swift motorhome and elected to keep the Forester for less strenuous off road expeditions such as the Simpson and the Cape which I know it handles easily. If I want to see more interesting off the track points then I shall hire a "proper" 4WD at exorbitant cost from a nearby town/city.
The vehicle cost difference easily will cover whatever hire costs I may incur and with normal motoring I can go most places in relative comfort, if a tad more slowly.
I would still love a real off road Iveco or such but possibly not practical at my stage of age and health.
 
^ I'm still very keen on the Iveco + Innovan slide-on combination even though my wallet may not match my enthusiasm atm. There are many new features in the newly released 2016 Iveco Daily 4x4 (but no auto as yet).
 
Yes the Innovan slide on has many good features. Starting to become a bit weighty but the Iveco would have no problems here. Could probably install it on a twin cab configuration.
For me the major problem with an Iveco are the, usually 20 inch wheels. Starting to get heavy to move about although there are aids available to assist in wheel changing.
Ah no disgrace in dreaming......
A bunch in Melb, Trailblazer I think modify Ivecos with their own cabin on the tray. It was one of these that caught my eye and made me drool some 18 months ago.
A cool $230000 plus a few extras. Should get change out of $300 k
 
While I was camped atop a dune in the Simpson, the last vehicle that passed for the day came through around dusk - quite late to be still in transit out there....

Anyway, this vehicle was the most extraordinary thing I have even seen. It had what appeared to be at least 500mm of clearance, big wheels, a big glass front windscreen with some very happy (smiling and waving) retirees in the huge forward cab.

I only just caught a glimpse of the brand. It said Earth Cruiser. https://earthcruiser.net.au

It just cruised over scary mud-filled ruts that suck you into the centre no matter which way you turn the steering wheel. We could see through our binoculars that a dual-cab ute of some sort spent the night stuck in that same bog patch.

The Earth Cruiser had bikes on the back, solar panels, a generator, hundreds of litres of water, probably a shower, LCD satellite TV and probably freaking Dolby 5.1 surround with a sub hidden somewhere.

I think you can pick up something like this pre-loved with low kms (around 50,000km) for around $90-100,000.
download.spark
 
But yeh, back to reality......

A slide-on, mounted on a CAPABLE 4x4 platform is something I always eye off when I see one. It seems like the best compromise, although I couldn't imagine what it would be like to drive. My fear is the massive weight on the rear wheels buggering up the balance and handling, and possibly making it awful on sand dunes or in the wet.

The positive side is that modern utes now have ESP, VSC, ESC, TC, 4CH ABS, DSC, DRC (maybe not all at once) which might help.....but still, imagine having a tall 750kg cube on the back of your ute and it's raining and you enter an off-camber s-bend just before a roundabout at 80km/h with some oil on the road. Would the electronics be calibrated for the altered chassis dynamics - or would they freak out and leave it up to you?

My standard criteria would (of course) still apply - it has to be able to get up Big Red!
 
Wish those Earth Cruisers were that cheap second hand. Add another $100k or more.
I suspect that they start around the $250k mark and having spent that much the owners tend to hang onto them.
 
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While the Earth Cruisers are very very nice (and very very expensive) they are fabricated as a single unit whereas a slide-on is more versatile in that the "accommodation" can be removed when not needed and/or base camping. This will give you an idea of Iveco and Innovan:

 
Had a squiz at an Innovan when I was in Toowoomba a couple of years back. An interesting concept but only had single beds although they could be altered into a double but needed making daily. Whether you would want to live out of one for extended times is another matter. They are not big inside.
I guess security with this type is the only major concern in that it is necessary to leave the module to access the cab if a quick getaway is deemed necessary for whatever reason.
An Iveco would be ideal to mount one on. Mounting them onto a "normal" twin cab means exceeding the legal GVM.
Life is all about choices isn`t it............and a series of trade offs.
 
Yeh, the idea of "sliding off" the camper is mighty appealing...

Oh well, maybe one day we'll be posting to offroadcamperoos.com.
 
My Bro has a Toyota Hilux camper that is very capable but limited as it is not the slide on variety.
I would love a Unimog they are just awesome in terms of capability!
 
Ok, so hypothetically, if I were to buy the lightest Palomino camper which weighs 587 kg dry -> https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Brand-N...635206?hash=item4b0b7307c6:g:q7MAAOSwv0tVUujt - and loaded it up with solar panels, batteries, general gear, 300-350 litres water/fuel, it would be no more than 1500 kg in reality.

With many of today's GVMs between 2500 kg and 2900 kg I still reckon there would be too much stress on a hilux / amarok / triton with all the weight on the back wheels. I mention the amarok and triton because they have an AWD mode which is essential to me. I think chassis rails break around a tonne or just over (but usually in dualcabs as the majority of the weight is behind the wheels causing a chassis cantilever). With single and extra cabs you "may" be ok.

So, loaded up with approx of 1250 kg of tall cube on the back, it probably wouldn't handle the dunes of the simpson and big red and it would sink to the axles in clay, mud and boggy stuff.....I think.

Even an Iveco would be too expensive for me....:neutral:

A Unimog is my lotto win vehicle.
 
Yeah, even if you had 1000 kg carrying capacity and managed to massage your payload to exactly 1000 kg, going fast at the bottom of a dip or bouncing up and down sand dunes you'd be experiencing some weight multiplication effect.
 
No point in going to a lazy axle configuration either. Won`t change the GVM.
Air bags can cause chassis fractures too.
No easy answer except the Iveco........or Unimog.
 
Iveco or Unimog for sure. Only thing is I'll have to wait several years before I can afford one. In the meantime something like this would be nice.
Mitsubishi+Delica+Camper+Van+awning+camp+set+up.JPGg=AFQjCNG2I4De76L8XmL5f2_GRi0vHyyX9A&ust=1478842125034156

Good clearance, nice tyres.....AND this model may even have have super select - therefore AWD mode.
 
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