What is your adventure rig and where will it take you?

how are you getting there?

What is your adventure rig and where will it take you? As if figuring out the gear wasn’t enough, you need to know what hikes you can actually get to.  While there are many trails whose roads are paved all the way to the trailhead, this is not the case for all of them.  A sedan might get you down a well-graded gravel road, but it is not going to get you much further within reason and safety. 

In my opinion, the best of the best is found at the end of a rocky dirt road that has you questioning whether you should have attempted to drive down it in the first place.  This is the road less traveled, literally, because you have to have the right vehicle to get you there.  It is time to decide what kind of hiker you want to be.  Perhaps you like the comfort of crowded trails, knowing there is always someone around if you need help.  These are generally easy to get to and a sedan style car will usually get you there just fine.  

If you are looking for true adventure and you want to know what is at the end of that sketchy mountain road, you are going to need something that can keep up with the beating you are going to put it through. 

4×4

Many people will tell you 4×4 is not necessary.  While this may have gotten them where they want to go, I prefer the added security that 4×4 provides off-trail and in varied weather conditions.  I would add this as a must to your list. 

Clearance

Now don’t go out there thinking your 4×4 is going to let you rock crawl.  It is all about height.  You need clearance before you go hog wild out there.  This is the distance between the ground and the lowest piece on your undercarriage.  I have a 4×4 GMC Envoy.  It has average stock SUV clearance and it certainly gets me around.  However, I still cannot get down over 50% of the roads I want to with it.  I feel like a petulant child staring at the obviously too large obstacles in front of me sometimes whining about needing a true adventure rig. 

Start out Right 

If you are in the market for an adventure rig, do it right the first time when you have that money to spend.  When I started hiking, I did not know what I was getting myself in to.  I had no idea about different road conditions.  What I did know is that I needed something better than my Nissan Altima.   

I went looking for a 4×4 SUV that I was going to have lifted.  The Envoy wasn’t my intended target, but after an oil-leaking Chevy TrailBlazer, it was what I ended up with.  If I could go back, I would have done it very differently because the lift was an utter disaster and had to be taken down. 

While the jury is still out on exactly what vehicle I want next, my current options include Mitsubishi Montero, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Nissan Xterra.  These are all vehicles that are used in the off-road community and have successfully been lifted as well as outfitted for rigorous adventure with skid plates and the like.  Now, if I just had random cash to throw around, I would hands down buy a Toyota 4Runner, but even used with over 200,000 miles these bad boys run over 10,000 dollars.  That tells you they last a long ass time. 

Research

No matter your budget, just do your research.  What does it cost to lift each one?  Make sure it is 4×4 and not AWD.  AWD is 4 wheel drive all the time.  This uses more gas and puts more wear on the very expensive tires you will be outfitting your adventure rig with.  What kind of space are you looking for it to have?  Will you be camping with a lot of gear or just keeping to day hikes?  Is this also your daily driver?  If so, what kind of gas mileage are you going to have?  How crazy do you want to get with outfitting it?  Are you picking the most customizable vehicle, if that is your goal?  Research, research, research. 

The best thing to do is hitch a ride with a friend who goes off-road.  Ask them to show you the different types of terrain you might find yourself driving on so you can get a real feel for what you need in a proper adventure vehicle.  If they are really nice, maybe they will let you drive and see for yourself.

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