Family of 6 Touring / Camping - Keep LC100 or Buy Excursion? (1 Viewer)

[oakback]

I vote trailer. We used an open trailer full of camping gear towed by our 4-banger Mazda. The car is long gone (and the next vehicle that followed it) but I still have the trailer, used it yesterday with my LC. It's versatile year-round, you can leave your campsite setup, and if you don't like your tow vehicle you can swap it out while keeping your entire camping setup unchanged. Throw tents and stuff into it, or add bars and a RTT, add bike rack, it's endlessly customizable and versatile.

We built a 16' 2600# travel trailer, and it's real nice, but 8 mpg is a real drag. The tent/trailer setup was so light I'd forget it's there, but if we camped anywhere for just 1 night it was a lot to setup and take down.

 

[Bisho]

How is the reliability for modern (<10 year old) Ford Expedition? I heard from Youtube that the ones with 5.4L 3-valve triton motor have lots of problems and the mechanics did the highest number of engine swap on them than any other engines . Are the latest generation ones likely better reliability-wise?

I believe if you get a 2008 or later most of those bugs were worked out. My 2008 was trouble free for 260k miles. I changed a starter, alternator, plugs, and belt over that time.

 

[RKRUGER]

LC and a trailer. Done it. Been there. Wrote the checks as they went through college for forestry and environmental science. One is going into business like his old man, but that can’t be helped.

Only regret I have is that I upgraded trailers AFTER the kids left the house.

I built an M416 with the largest CVT when the kids were 4, 6, and 8 because I was tired of sleeping on the ground. The kids loved the ground tent. Seems we went through a cheap Eddie Bauer tent every two years…. But $100 tent that you slept in 30 nights was way ahead of a $100 a night hotel. We beat that little trailer up all over the Midwest, down to TX, MO, never crossed the Rockies, but close. You can’t imagine what you can stuff in one of these trailers. And it will sleep 6 easy with the large annex. We did the Kruger Five… at first the 4 year old was up with us… but later on all three wanted to be on their own space. Later on, the two boys migrated to the trees, sleeping in hammocks.

This summer, I bought a 2006 Chaser. Same year as the Cruiser. I should have ponied up long ago.

Best advice… standardize. Each kid gets the same small duffle, same sleeping bag, same mat. Later on, if they want to add their own gear, so be it, but it has to go in the same bag. My boys mowed lawns to buy better gear that they are now using on their own trips in college.