best vehicle for travel

[rahby1us]

Hello All,

Wanted to solicit advice or your experiences for "traveling vehicles." My wife and I currently have a Toyota Camry '06 with near 200k miles on it. It's awesome and we love it. have driven across country at least 4 times with it and haul all kinds of crap for random projects around the house. We take it camping at least monthly... But we can't sleep in it. We can't barrel down a forest service road and set up camp wherever we please for a long weekend. We love getting outside and exploring. Hauling a couple bikes and/or a couple kayaks back to the middle of nowhere would be awesome and I think what we want for our next vehicle. Getting way up in the backcountry mountains for hunting and fishing would also be great (having just done this with an uncle on a weeklong trip in his Tundra, using a non-high clearance or non 4WD vehicle would have been next to impossible).

So i feel like i kind of need 4wd (maybe not, but most non mustachians would scoff at not getting it given our plans). Throwing a LEER cap on the bed and building a little platform would allow for gear storage and sleeping space for 2 adults. We also have plans of adding a couple kids to our crew in the next 3 or so years. So now my thinking is holy cow we went from happy tent campers currently to (in my mind) giant 4wd truck gas guzzlers, hauling a massive tow behind RV to fit an army's worth of kids, gear etc. I don't like the thought of that from a financial or environmental standpoint... but the camry is limited in space and abilities. There must be a middle ground. I've seen some slide in bed style campers/RV's that might do the trick, but i worry there's not enough space for 4 people in them. What are the most practical options here?

And for a little extra background we're currently FIRE and this would be for a high elevation western state type of climate/topography. Thanks!

[mschaus]

I'm not an expert on overland vehicles, so instead I'll point out the option of bike touring. Even with a kayak! Consider taking advantage of your physical freedoms and flexibility while you can, then get a hotel on wheels once the kids are actually present. But there's a good chance your priorities will shift for a few years, so you might skip the hotel entirely, then the whole family can continue on as badasses later.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/how-to-department/bicycle-travel-basics/bike-touring-101/

[rothwem]

Why do you need to sleep in the vehicle? It’s pretty claustrophobic to sleep in a truck bed with a camper cap.

[rahby1us]

I think the ability to roll up to a campsite and already have the bed set up would be pretty cool. Currently it's arrive inflate our separate sleeping pads, roll out the sleeping bags (and liners in the mountains) inflate the pillows and then sleep separately, sliding around on that slippery sleeping bag material. Don't get me wrong, love camping and backpacking and still will use a tent. After renting a campervan in NZ for 2 months a few years ago it's really nice to have a nimble lil hotel on wheels with minimal setup and teardown.

[roootbeer]

Sounds like you have already decided you want an RV ;)
The most Mustachian is no RV at all of course. Next would be a converted van. A used 12-15 passenger van can be had for around 10-12k and will get around 16mpg if you drive gently. Easily DIY converted to sleep several. Sprinter van if you want to be a baller. They are pretty darn amazing and won't depreciate much more. good luck!

[Mrs.Piano]

We bought a Subaru Outback, just tested it to make sure it will work for us to sleep in, which it appears it will.  We don’t want to spend the extra money on an RV, but want to be able to do as you said - pull up to a campsite and get some sleep there without so much setup.  We have sufficient towing capacity to be able to tow a Scamp but do not have off-street parking for the trailer, would have to make a potentially expensive deal with the neighbor.  So we plan to try the Outback on a few trips and see how we feel about it.

[genesismachine]

We have a BMW X1, it gets 30mpg on the freeway and isn't too expensive used. Even though we can't sleep in it, that doesn't mean there's no difference between it and a smaller car. We go camping more now because setting up camp takes minutes and tearing down camp takes not much longer. Because of the extra space, we just throw everything in and go rather than trying to play tetris to get everything to fit just right.

Same goes for while we're at the campsite and needing to retrieve items. I'm surprised by how much difference it makes actually...

[HBFIRE]

Seems like an Outback or Forester would fit your bill.  Because of the higher roofline, I'm guessing the Forester would be a bit better for sleeping/head space.

[swampwiz]

How about a van?  There's a reason for the sticker "if this van's a rockin', don't come a knockin'".

EDIT:  OK, I see that this to be used for back-country.

[FINate]

This isn't a commute vehicle, correct? IMO there is no reasonable commute vehicle that can do what you're looking for.

As long as you're going to use it for actual 4x4, high clearance, and hauling shit instead of commuting 20 miles each way to an office job then there's nothing wrong with getting the right vehicle. In this case sounds like you're looking for a used 1/2 ton pickup truck with 4wd. Would recommend finding one with skid plates and an appropriate rear differential (limited slip, traction control, or e-locker). Kids fit fine in an extended cab. Throw a camper shell on the back and you have the ultimate camping/hunting setup. One to two people can roll into an area and sleep in the back. For more people you can easily haul lots of camping gear to your private 4x4 accessible dispersed campsite. For camper shell setups I prefer a carpet liner over the hard plastic as it's easier on the knees and gear doesn't slide around. If, after having kids, you decide you don't want a tent on the ground then you can add an off road tent trailer.

[Bateaux]

Honda Odyssey.  Perfect sleeper for two.

[RWD]

We like to travel in sports cars. 700 mile round trip in a 1987 Toyota Supra with 200k miles on it back in the mid-2000s. We also took that car camping. 850 mile round trip in a 1991 Toyota Supra in 2008. 3,000 mile round trip in a 2013 Subaru BRZ in 2013. 1,100 miles round trip in a 2014 Porsche Cayman S with a cat this year. Those are the longest trips we've taken with each car.

With only two people we've never had space issues. Obviously we weren't sleeping in the cars though. The BRZ has been getting 35+ mpg and the Cayman ~30 mpg on the highway. We call the BRZ our little SUV because it can fit a surprising amount of stuff with the rear seats folded down. We routinely took it on Costco shopping trips.

I know this isn't what you were asking for. If you're going off road then you'll want a more suitable vehicle for that. We have owned a couple Subaru Legacy wagons which were better suited for that purpose.