Best 4x4 vehicle for very long trips in remote wilderness?

I'm considering taking a very long road trip to northern Quebec and
Labrador. That's the real North, very remote and wild, with very poorly maintained
gravel roads (huge potholes, etc) and very few gas stations. Later, I'd like to
drive to Yukon territory and Alaska.

Obviously, I'd need a 4x4 vehicle-probably a SUV. It must be very tough, reliable,
(breaking down in the middle of Labrador would suck), with good ground clearance and
lots of cargo space for supplies and spares and extra fuel.

We're two adults. Having room for sleeping in the vehicle would be great.

What vehicle do you guys recommend?

Thanks.

Late 80s/early 90s GM Suburban. If the drivetrain is in tip-top
shape, this would be a trouble-free rig. And if it did break, parts
would be easiest to come by at an auto parts store or a junkyard.

Either the 350 gas engine or a 6.2L diesel would be good.

Matt
99 V-10 Super Duty, Super Cab 4x4


On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:13:19 GMT, 223rem > wrote:

>I'm considering taking a very long road trip to northern Quebec and
>Labrador. That's the real North, very remote and wild, with very poorly maintained
>gravel roads (huge potholes, etc) and very few gas stations. Later, I'd like to
>drive to Yukon territory and Alaska.
>
>Obviously, I'd need a 4x4 vehicle-probably a SUV. It must be very tough, reliable,
>(breaking down in the middle of Labrador would suck), with good ground clearance and
>lots of cargo space for supplies and spares and extra fuel.
>
>We're two adults. Having room for sleeping in the vehicle would be great.
>
>What vehicle do you guys recommend?
>
>Thanks.

I agree, I have a 89 4x4 1/2 Burb with 3.73 gears and stock sized
tires with a smooth tread (Michelen LT tires rated at 50 PSI) that I
have had since it was new. It has 175k miles on it and it has never
left me stranded or broke down on more than a dozen cross country
trips and themost recent cross country trip was to Colorado in 2003
when I put on 4500 miles in a little over 2 weeks. It has a 40 gallon
tank and has fantastic range. 600 miles on a tank is quite doable and
500 miles plus is a piece of cake with a lot a reserve left over. I
visit relatives in SC one or two times a year and I can make the 565
mile trip down there from Ohio on one tank with no problems. I plan to
take it to Colorado and Wyoming this summer. 1991 was the last of
these great road beasts as the newer models have more things to go
wrong with them and carry less fuel though a burb in the 92 to 96
range would be my second choice with its trouble free TBI injection
system. One word of advise, they will do a lot better on MPG if you
use better fuel. I get as high as 19 MPG with mine and it still gets
17 even when running 75 mph with 93 octane fuel and base timing set 8
BTDC. When it was new and fueled with 87 octane it struggled to get
even 15 MPG and wanted to ping to even at stock timing of TDC. Set as
above it has great power and responce too with its 350 TBI motor. Also
the TBI motors allow you to tweat the base timing for best performance
with fuel type and altitude while the newer muiltport models do not.
(when I am in CO area I set the base timing at 12 or 14 BTDC and it
helps a lot in the thinner air as the ECM does not do as well on its
own).

On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 07:25:23 -0800, Matt Mead
> wrote:

>Late 80s/early 90s GM Suburban. If the drivetrain is in tip-top
>shape, this would be a trouble-free rig. And if it did break, parts
>would be easiest to come by at an auto parts store or a junkyard.
>
>Either the 350 gas engine or a 6.2L diesel would be good.
>
>Matt
>99 V-10 Super Duty, Super Cab 4x4
>
>
>On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:13:19 GMT, 223rem > wrote:
>
>>I'm considering taking a very long road trip to northern Quebec and
>>Labrador. That's the real North, very remote and wild, with very poorly maintained
>>gravel roads (huge potholes, etc) and very few gas stations. Later, I'd like to
>>drive to Yukon territory and Alaska.
>>
>>Obviously, I'd need a 4x4 vehicle-probably a SUV. It must be very tough, reliable,
>>(breaking down in the middle of Labrador would suck), with good ground clearance and
>>lots of cargo space for supplies and spares and extra fuel.
>>
>>We're two adults. Having room for sleeping in the vehicle would be great.
>>
>>What vehicle do you guys recommend?
>>
>>Thanks.

Matt Mead wrote:
> Late 80s/early 90s GM Suburban. If the drivetrain is in tip-top
> shape, this would be a trouble-free rig. And if it did break, parts
> would be easiest to come by at an auto parts store or a junkyard.
>
> Either the 350 gas engine or a 6.2L diesel would be good.
>
> Matt
> 99 V-10 Super Duty, Super Cab 4x4
>


Thanks. I'm not sure which one of these


http://www.edmunds.com/used/1990/gmc...ban/index.html

has the "350" engine (is that 350 cubic inches?)

And I dont see a diesel option. Am I missing something?

On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 16:04:49 GMT, 223rem > wrote:

>Matt Mead wrote:
>> Late 80s/early 90s GM Suburban. If the drivetrain is in tip-top
>> shape, this would be a trouble-free rig. And if it did break, parts
>> would be easiest to come by at an auto parts store or a junkyard.
>>
>> Either the 350 gas engine or a 6.2L diesel would be good.
>>
>> Matt
>> 99 V-10 Super Duty, Super Cab 4x4
>>
>
>
>Thanks. I'm not sure which one of these
>
>
>http://www.edmunds.com/used/1990/gmc...ban/index.html
>
>has the "350" engine (is that 350 cubic inches?)
>
>And I dont see a diesel option. Am I missing something?

There was awlays a diesel option in the older burbs and I almost was
going to by one back then and likely would of it I had ordered it as
none of the new one I found back then were properly optioned for my
needs. A I turns out I found a gas model porperly equipped and bought
it and never regretted it. It still runs great even today.

On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:13:19 GMT, 223rem > wrote:

>I'm considering taking a very long road trip to northern Quebec and
>Labrador. That's the real North, very remote and wild, with very poorly maintained
>gravel roads (huge potholes, etc) and very few gas stations. Later, I'd like to
>drive to Yukon territory and Alaska.
>
>Obviously, I'd need a 4x4 vehicle-probably a SUV. It must be very tough, reliable,
>(breaking down in the middle of Labrador would suck), with good ground clearance and
>lots of cargo space for supplies and spares and extra fuel.
>
>We're two adults. Having room for sleeping in the vehicle would be great.
>
>What vehicle do you guys recommend?
>
>Thanks.

Hummer H1 Wagon. Does everything you want.

On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 19:25:09 -0500, PeterD > wrote:

>On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:13:19 GMT, 223rem > wrote:
>
>>I'm considering taking a very long road trip to northern Quebec and
>>Labrador. That's the real North, very remote and wild, with very poorly maintained
>>gravel roads (huge potholes, etc) and very few gas stations. Later, I'd like to
>>drive to Yukon territory and Alaska.
>>
>>Obviously, I'd need a 4x4 vehicle-probably a SUV. It must be very tough, reliable,
>>(breaking down in the middle of Labrador would suck), with good ground clearance and
>>lots of cargo space for supplies and spares and extra fuel.
>>
>>We're two adults. Having room for sleeping in the vehicle would be great.
>>
>>What vehicle do you guys recommend?
>>
>>Thanks.
>
>Hummer H1 Wagon. Does everything you want.


except cost, range, and ungainly size too.

in article jYDNf.831170$xm3.748205@attbi_s21, 223rem at
wrote on 3/2/06 7:13 AM:

> I'm considering taking a very long road trip to northern Quebec and
> Labrador. That's the real North, very remote and wild, with very poorly
> maintained
> gravel roads (huge potholes, etc) and very few gas stations. Later, I'd like
> to
> drive to Yukon territory and Alaska.
>
> Obviously, I'd need a 4x4 vehicle-probably a SUV. It must be very tough,
> reliable,
> (breaking down in the middle of Labrador would suck), with good ground
> clearance and
> lots of cargo space for supplies and spares and extra fuel.
>
> We're two adults. Having room for sleeping in the vehicle would be great.
>
> What vehicle do you guys recommend?

I would recommend a good mid-90's Toyota Land Cruiser. You want one from
between '92, when the engine got upgraded, and '97; after '97 they went to
IFS and are less rugged.

Very comfortable and maybe the most reliable vehicle ever made. The premium
Toyota built when they were making their reputation for quality. If you
look around they are available with the factory locking front and rear
differentials. Mine doesn't have those, but it had reciepts for every oil
change back to when it was new and was low-miles so I got it anyway. On
mining roads in Oregon, which is where I've done the only actual wheeling in
it, it was superb. Effortless. And that was in 4-hi. As a reference
point, my Wrangler would have been totally fine on those roads, obviously,
but it would have been a jarring experience... and these roads would have
killed something like my dad's Explorer's. It's also our ski-mobile and
it's completely confidence-inspiring on snow and ice. I have BFG AT's on
ours. I'd recommend them or something similarly tough; it's a heavy vehicle
and you'll break "light" tires on gravel roads.

We (wife and kids) were planning on a 3-week trip to Baja this winter in
ours but a coworker got cancer and I'm having to cover for him. We did a
11-day trip in it last winter and it was awesome. Comfortable, the stereo
is great, it's super-easy to drive, just a great, great vehicle. My wife
loves it too. Even though they are in 4wd at all times, they don't feel at
all stiff like you might think if you've driven other vehicles in 4wd.
Steering doesn't bind up at all, and brakes are effortless and powerful.

The ONLY downside to a Land Cruiser from that era, as far as I can tell, is
gas mileage. If that's not an issue (screw it, it's all gonna get burned
anyway no matter what) then it might be the perfect vehicle for what you are
describing.

-jeff

Oh, and better take something bigger than that .223! Like a Marlin Guide
Gun is about perfect. Maybe a shotgun too if the ptarmigan are in season.

-jeff

Jeff Olsen wrote:

> I would recommend a good mid-90's Toyota Land Cruiser.

Thanks.

Yes, I know that Land Cruiser has an excellent reputation.

So it comes down to 2 vehicles: the Land Cruiser and the
Chevy/GMC Suburban. A Suburban is a good choice because Chevys
are very popular in those parts (I doubt the 'Indians'/'First Nations'
can afford expensive imports, so if your Toyota breaks down you're
stuck) and also because it can be had with a Diesel engine, and I imagine that
Diesel fuel is easy to come by that gas (lumber trucks are very frequent there).