What to Consider Before Buying a New Vehicle for Overlanding

If you’re in the market for buying a new vehicle for Overlanding, you may have a ton of questions about which one would be right for you. After all, there are tons of great choices out right now with tons of “off-road” features that seem super beneficial to you.

Overall, it comes down to preference and your Overlanding style, but we’ve covered some of the things you’ll want to look for and to help you make the right decision.

Is Bigger Always Better?

When it comes to purchasing a vehicle, there are thousands of options available to you but if you are choosing one to use for your Overlanding rig, I would go with either an SUV or a truck due to their storage capabilities and higher ground clearance off the lot. The sizing of these vehicles is super important because you want to take these things into consideration;

1. Cost

   In general, a full-size vehicle will cost a lot more than a mid-size vehicle due to its size. Even if you got the same trim model for each vehicle, you would still see a huge difference in the pricing. When choosing a vehicle, it is great to consider your budget because with the price difference of them, you may be able to completely build out a mid-size vehicle for the price of a full-size one.

2. Size

   So obviously with a full-size and mid-size vehicle, there will be a difference in the size of the vehicle but one thing to take into consideration with the size is how maneuverable it will be through different trails and locations. With a full-size vehicle, you may not be able to fit through areas like a densely populated forest like you would with a mid-size. Another thing to consider with the size is how much gear you can have. In a full-size vehicle, you have a ton more space to put your gear than with a mid-size. Personally, with my Toyota Tacoma (a mid-size truck), I have found that there is plenty of space for my gear but I tend to go on shorter trips that don’t last more than a few days so it’s perfect for me, but if you go on longer trips where you will need more equipment, then you, of course, will need to have more space to keep it all and would want a full-size vehicle.

3. Power, Towing, and Payload

   Full-size vehicles are often built with bigger and more powerful engines than their mid-size counterparts. This means that they can often carry more weight for your gear and aftermarket accessories with no problem and you won’t really notice a change in how the vehicle performs. With mid-size, you will have a smaller engine that usually produces a lot less power and thus less towing and payload capacity. If you were to store a lot of gear or add on heavier aftermarket accessories, such as a metal bumper, you’ll more than likely see a big difference in how the vehicle drives.

4. Fuel Economy

   For longer trips or if your rig is going to be your daily driver, you’ll want to take fuel economy into consideration. Full-size vehicles usually get a considerably lower gas mileage than mid-size vehicles. If you want to go with a larger vehicle and want better mpg, you can always look into a hybrid. You can also consider a diesel engine but they usually only get better fuel economy if you’re doing longer trips and not so much in stop-and-go city driving. If you add a lot of gear or aftermarket modifications, you will decrease your fuel economy in mid-size vehicles but not as much in full-size because they are built to carry it.

Maintenance and Reliability

When buying a newer vehicle, most will come with a warranty and overall be pretty reliable because they are brand new but after that warranty expires and you’re planning on keeping it for a long time you will want to look into how reliable they are in the long run and if maintenance will be easy if you choose to do it yourself. Newer vehicles are usually a bit harder to work on since they have more technology which makes them more complicated and a bit less room to work in places like the engine bay. If you’re looking for reliability, it’s best to research the company a little bit and see how long they usually run and choose to go with a manufacturer that is known for their reliability. Here is a list of the percentages of vehicles from manufacturers that have been sold with over 200,000 miles:

1. Toyota (1.8%)

2. Honda (1.6%)

3. GMC (1.4%)

4. Chevrolet (1.4%)

5. Ford (1.1%)

6. Subaru (0.6%)

7. Jeep (0.6%)

8. Dodge (0.5%)

9. Nissan (0.4%)

Although these don’t necessarily correlate to a car’s reliability, it does give a glimpse of how many people purchase these vehicles with over 200,000 miles.

Data gathered from Insider.

Manual or Automatic?

This may come down to preference but there are some pros and cons of choosing a manual over an automatic and vice versa for Overlanding. The most popular option is of course Automatic for the sheer driveability and comfort so you don’t have to worry about changing gears and hitting the clutch on long trips or while over obstacles and accidentally stalling. For more hardcore off-roaders though, you may see them with manual transmissions due to the fact they can choose which gear they want to be in such as staying in 1st to get more torque. In my opinion, I would go with what you are more comfortable with because there aren’t too many pros and cons of choosing one over the other.

Aftermarket Support

Another thing to take into account when purchasing a new vehicle would be the aftermarket support for them. For most products and gear they aren’t necessarily vehicle specific but if you want to do things like adding a camper shell, tonneau cover, metal bumper, roof rack, bed rack, etc you’ll definitely want to look into that before purchasing the vehicle. Overlanding vehicle modifications have had a huge jump in popularity so products are coming out for a lot more vehicles so that may change in the future but for now, it is something you’ll need to do research on.

What Features Should You Look For?

On top of these, you’ll for sure want to look into other off-road comfort features that are offered and some of those being;

• 4x4

This is almost a necessity for anyone looking to get an Overlanding vehicle because of the capability having it provides, even on a stock vehicle. You’re bound to be able to go almost anywhere with a 4x4 vehicle without any modification. You can use a 2WD vehicle, but you should take into account your limitations and plan your trips and adventures accordingly.

• Off-Road Tuned Suspension

Although this isn’t necessarily super important from the factory because if you choose to go with an Overlanding rig, you’ll most likely get something with a good suspension and it can be modified on almost any vehicle but it is super nice to get a new vehicle with one already equipped.

• Factory Armor (such as skid plates)

If you purchase an off-road or Overlanding vehicle, they will most likely come with at least one skid plate to help protect your vehicle. Skid plates are super important because in the situation you hit something underneath your vehicle it will protect all of the important components.

• Locking Differential

Another one that is considered a necessity is a locking differential. In the case that your 4x4 gets stuck and it’s not helping you out, you will be able to lock your rear differential to minimize slippage in a sticky situation and it will do wonders to help you get out.

• All-Terrain Tires

Another feature that is great if it comes with the vehicle but is not super necessary because it can be changed easily is all-terrain tires. Tires make a huge difference to how your vehicle performs off-road because they are the main source of your traction.

If you’re looking to purchase a new overland rig in the future, you should definitely check out the 2022 Ford Expedition Timberline and the 2022 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. If you’re interested in learning more about my Overlanding rig, check out my 2019 Toyota Tacoma.