When taking your family on adventures, either on pavement or off-road, vehicle choice is very important. Here we show our vehicle of choice and go into detail on our decision. As more trips come about, more modifications happen. Stay tuned here for details as we build our adventure wagon.
2001 Mitsubishi Montero XLS:
I was a long time Isuzu fan, having owned a few of them over the years, and never once had any of them let me down or needed any major repairs in the hundreds of thousands of miles I had driven them, both on road and off. My previous truck was a 1998 Isuzu Trooper, but with more than 200,000 miles it was getting a little long in the tooth. It was time for a newer vehicle. We looked at many in our price range, and many of those fit the bill, but there was something that really stood out with the Montero. Maybe it was the huge sunroof that Elle just loved, or it was the combination of ride and performance. I really liked the seating position, the amount of room for the kids in the back seat, and in general the way the truck felt. I have never owned a Mitsubishi product before and was uncertain of their reputation for quality. So at home, I did a bit of research and found that they have a reliability record to rival Toyota. I was sold, and the Montero came home with us.
We are the third owners of this truck, and it looks a lot different today than what the previous owners could have ever imagined that it could look like. I was at first concerned about the uni-body construction and four wheel independent suspension (as all off-roaders know, you have to have solid axles), but with the uni-body sitting on a solid sub-frame it took the worries of body flex away, and in trail runs, this is true; all body panels still line up perfectly and no squeeks or rattles have developed. In my research, I found that the Australians use these trucks quite a lot in off-road duty, and as we are not interested in "rock crawling", the independent suspension did not bother us as we wheel trails similar to those that the Aussies do. However, finding aftermarket gear for this truck is proving to be difficult. While there is some out there, many bits that we want to add will have to be custom made.
Tires:
The first item to be addressed while making this truck safe off-road as well as on-road are some good all terrain tires. As the Montero came stock with 30" tires, we knew we could get away with 32's and not have any rubbing issues. So we decided to go with a set of 265/75/r16 Pathfinder A/T's. They gave just a bit of lift for slightly better clearance, they offer a nice ride, aggressive tread pattern, and good grip on non-paved surfaces. And again, there were no clearance issues with the tires.
Note: It is getting time to replace the tires and we are thinking of going even more aggressive and taller. A mud terrain in 285/75/r16 (think about 34"). We will update as changes are made.
Suspension:
After a run to Smiley Rock, we realized we did not have enough ground clearance with the stock suspension. So, an upgrade and small lift were in order. Part of the problem was that when we were loaded with all of our gear, we lost a substantial amount of clearance due to the sagging suspension. A quick call to our friend Wil at Sierra Expeditions fixed that problem. We ordered an Old Man Emu Heavy Duty suspension to help with the sagging, but also give us about 2" of lift over stock height. This helped a lot with the load bearing aspect and the ride height issue, but it did hurt the very soft and comfortable ride on-road. Sometimes sacrifices are needed.
With larger tires and stock suspension.
With small lift and HD Springs.
Not the most difficult job to do by yourself, but plan on it taking pretty much all day.
Storage:
Getting all of the gear required for a family of four (including an infant) into a truck requires a mastery of the game of Tetris. Any of you that have an infant know how much stuff is required. The Montero came with a third row seat that folds very neatly into the floor. However, since we have no need for the third row it was removed to create more space for gear. We don't like the idea of a roof rack for the reasoning of decreased fuel mileage, increased center of gravity, and the hassle of lifting things up and down from the roof. So, we want to fit all of our gear inside. One of the biggest users of space is a cooler. We ditched our cooler and found a nearly brand new Norcold 40 refrigerator. We needed a way to mount the fridge so it would not become an object of death in the event of an accident or rollover, plus we needed to retain enough room in the cargo area for all of the required gear. So I hastily built a platform with about $20 worth of supplies at Home Depot. This provided a way to secure the fridge via a "slide lock" as well as a way to get tools, air compressor, and recovery gear in the truck and secure. While the plan was to have it carpeted and a drawer installed, it has been working out well even unfinished so it has been put on the back burner. No the prettiest solution, but it is effective. From this platform we have a safe place to store dangerous neccessities and still have enough storage for all of our gear when we go on trips.
The Norcold 40 is exactly the same as the Engle 45. Thus the slide lock and transit bag fit the same. The refrigerator is a must if you travel a lot and perfect for summer runs to Costco and the grocery store.
Armor:
When traveling off-road, having the proper protection for the truck is crucial. So far, the only pre-manufactured armor available for the Montero is a bull bar, made by ARB. To aid in approach angle, and also have a place to mount some off-road lights and a winch, as well as protect the passengers from animal strikes, we felt we could only benefit from adding a stout aftermarket unit to the truck; also,the extra weight up front helps to soften the harsh ride provided by the extra stiff suspension. So, another call was placed to our friend, Wil, at Sierra Expeditions. Sadly, but expected, Wil did not have any ARB units in stock for our truck so he had to order it from the warehouse in Washington. Even more sad news, the Washington warehouse did not have in stock and they would have to get it from Australia; I was told 6-8 weeks. I get a call form Wil saying the bull bar did not make the last ship and I would have to wait another 6-8 weeks. Man, what a bummer. Finally the bull bar arrived and I get a call from Wil. I am so excited I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I set up a time that Wil and I can work together to get it installed. I can't wait to get it on and see how the truck looks with it and some nice Hella 500 off-road lights.
Before.
It ended up taking us all day as it was a lot of work. We had to take apart the front of the truck, drill new holes for the mounting brackets, and trim some excess metal off. However, the end result I think was worth it.
After.
