Families & Beginner 4X4

[SLC4]

Hi All -

We are a family of 4 looking at getting into more backcountry & overland travel. We have a car but we are looking at moving into a 4X4 vehicle, but we want to explore our options first. Are there families here that meetup with a beginner to intermediate backgrounds or is these events more for the hardcore enthusiasts? If so, are there groups where more families meetup? Thanks in advance for your advice...

 

[Greg]

Hey, welcome to RME! For the most part, we're a pretty varied group.... plenty of rock crawlers, but also a good spread of lightly modified 4x4's that enjoy exploring the desert and mountains. Plenty of family-friendly outings, too.... lots of guys bring the wife & kids on our trips.

We need to work on doing more beginner/introduction to offroading events like we've done in the past.

Are you leaning towards any one make/model 4x4 or is there something that catches your eye?

 

[mesha]

Welcome! One of the great parts about RME is the wide range of skills/interests/rigs/etc. whatever rig you have and whatever type of off roading you do there will be a place for you

Let us know what kind of trips you are interested in and what vehicles you are thinking about. There will be PLENTY of opinions from fellow RMEers.

I usually take my family along and several of us on here do. This is a family friendly group. We did a snow wheeling trip a couple weekends ago and about half the rigs brought kids along. The kids were happy when we got stuck cause then they got to sled.

 

[nnnnnate]

Lots of family activities here in the 4x4 community. My 3 year old is my camp and adventure buddy. We are active with Wasatch cruisers which is a Toyota enthusiast club but any that want to play are also welcome there. Again, lots of families and kids of all ages at our monthly meetings and runs.

 

[SLC4]

Hey, welcome to RME! For the most part, we're a pretty varied group.... plenty of rock crawlers, but also a good spread of lightly modified 4x4's that enjoy exploring the desert and mountains. Plenty of family-friendly outings, too.... lots of guys bring the wife & kids on our trips.

We need to work on doing more beginner/introduction to offroading events like we've done in the past.

Are you leaning towards any one make/model 4x4 or is there something that catches your eye?

Greg,

Thanks for the reply. Well, we are still looking at all the options, but ideally something that we can hybrid between intown driving and being able to explore more remote places. We would ideally like to find something by this spring.

That would be great, we would love to attend some more introductory events and get sage advise.

 

[SLC4]

Welcome! One of the great parts about RME is the wide range of skills/interests/rigs/etc. whatever rig you have and whatever type of off roading you do there will be a place for you

Let us know what kind of trips you are interested in and what vehicles you are thinking about. There will be PLENTY of opinions from fellow RMEers.

I usually take my family along and several of us on here do. This is a family friendly group. We did a snow wheeling trip a couple weekends ago and about half the rigs brought kids along. The kids were happy when we got stuck cause then they got to sled.

Thats awesome to hear. We are debating between a crew cab truck or an SUV, but still in the initial stages of deciding.

Thats great to hear. There are so many amazing places you can only get to with a 4X4 that I am sure kids would love.

 

[SLC4]

Lots of family activities here in the 4x4 community. My 3 year old is my camp and adventure buddy. We are active with Wasatch cruisers which is a Toyota enthusiast club but any that want to play are also welcome there. Again, lots of families and kids of all ages at our monthly meetings and runs.

Thanks for the reply. We have a 3 year old, so glad to see some families enjoy getting out as well.

 

[Tonkaman]

Truth is, most of Utah can be seen in a stock vehicle once you learn how to drive it right. Buy some recovery gear, be prepared with first aid, and always bring shoes/coats for everyone just because things don’t always go as planned.

When looking to buy a vehicle remember many vehicles are awesome offroad in stock form, but those same vehicles restrict size and utility use. These would be Tacoma’s, Jeeps, Xterras etc.

If you are like most people and need a vehicle that is a bit bigger or more useful for daily duties don’t get discouraged. Any vehicle can be used to get the family out and into new places. Modifications are nice but most of us do them because they are fun not necessarily because we had to have it.

 

[Houndoc]

Owning both a crew cab and an Xterra, will say the crew cab isn't the best choice for a lot of roads (turning radius etc can make a lot of mountain roads less fun.) But of course a truck is easy way to haul in camping gear. If you lean that direction, the back seat in Chevy extended cabs have a surprising amount of room.

I have had several good rigs that double as daily driver and off-road including the current Xterra and before that a Mitsubishi Montero Sport. Comfortable for regular driving and pretty good off-road with minimal mods (couple inches of lift and slightly larger tires.) And they can handle fair amount of gear.

 

[Jay5.9L]

Welcome to the site. You really need to think about a few things before you dive into a vehicle.

1. What do you want to to do. (Sounds like a daily driver and weekend wheeler)
2. Capacity for people and a little gear or a lot of gear if you plan on camping etc.
3. Budget for the rig and any modifications.
4. How much time and talent you have to work on the rig if needed.

Then the fun stuff like do you want something unique or something with a lot of aftermarket support. Do you want topless aka jeeps or older broncos, 4 runners etc. Is ride comfort and convenience important?

Lots of choices out there

 

[4554x4]

I jave a 2001 Grand Cherokee for sale. 158000 miles, trans rebuilt, 4.0 6 cylinder, valve job recently. Near new tires. 2500.00
I tried to upload pictures, but file is too big?