Is an expedition rig a good daily driver? (1 Viewer)

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Muddy1

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Mar 23, 2014
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Hi guys,

I'm about to pull the trigger on a built 80. It has a 2.5" Slee lift, some armor, 285s and a supercharger.

My intent is to replace my totally stock 80. I want to use the built 80 as a daily driver and light-duty overlanding rig.

Any comments on the urban practicality of this setup? e.g.

* How's the freeway performance with this kind of setup?
* How's this kind of vehicle do around town?
* How does the lift affect freeway stability?
* Does the lift contribute much to extra noise?
* How much does the supercharger affect performance?

During the weekdays, I may have a bunch of kids in the car, and I would likely want to take it on long road trips and into National parks when I can. In other words, I am looking for one do-everything rig.

What's your opinion?

Thanks,

Muddy1
 
My rig on half a tank is 5600lbs with armor and dorkel. I ran a gauntlet of a commute for a solid month in december and honestly i wouldnt have chosen any other rig over it no matter how much better mileage i got. I swear the fallowing distance for people behind me was 3 times greater than behind anyone else. And the only time i got checked(on an offramp by a prius) he turned into my driverside and my slider basically destroyed his front fender, tire, and passenger door. All i had to do was some touch up with some satin rustoleum. Road noise with my 33" terra grapplers was negligable and drive performance with my ome 3" lift was excellent.
 
No issues you say? I seem to remember a thread recently that went on and on about your overheating issues. :D



NLXTACY said:
Umm, 332k miles. DD. 4" lift, 35s and SC. Armor and tons of other crap. No issues.
Click to expand...
 
it was over heating because of the wagongear hatch doors!!...send them my way, im sure my 80 wont overheat with them on!
 
Gonna depend on a few variables. As long as the tire tread isn't to aggressive the tire noise shouldn't be loud, the lift shouldn't affect the noise. I went to mastercraft mud tires from firestone destination at's and I was pleasantly surprised that the tire noise was nowhere near as bad as I thought it'd be. If I had a longer commute I'd probably run a less aggressive tire though, due to the increased wear that pavement puts on on mud tires.

Around town the lift and accessories may limit your vision a bit when parking, that'll take some getting used to but shouldn't be a deal breaker. Some guys report regretting the swingout rear bumpers if they use the tailgate a lot. The armor will make parking lot and fender bender damage pretty minimal. Lots of threads here about that.

You may find, as others have, that other drivers give you a little more room when you're driving a built truck. There's a fear factor working in your favor there I think. Nothing wrong with that at all, as the added weight of the accessories can reduce your braking and handling performance a bit. This is not a factor with an experienced driver. As far as stability goes, any lifted truck will have a slightly altered center of gravity and is theoretically less stable. In practice it usually isn't a factor unless the driver isn't familliar with the vehicle.

I have been a paramedic firefighter for 33 years this year. In my experience the taller trucks, like big SUV's and big pickups, while they are more prone to damage(they like to roll over) they are also significantly safer (the occupants almost always walk away unhurt.) This is just my own opinion from long term real world experience and not based on any kind of ratings or science, so take that for what it's worth.

We could have bought just about any type of vehicles, but my wife and kids ride in a Sequoia, and I drive an LC. I consider the paying for the crappy fuel mileage to be just like paying for an insurance premium, and just accept it. No experience with superchargers myself but from what I've read the guys that have them seem to like them a lot.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
I recently made a 15 hour trip in my 80 with 4-5" lift, 34.7" mud tires and heavy crap in and on it. Freeway/4x4 trails/suburban/urban driving involved. No complaints.
 
Once you drive it for 5 minutes you will know if you can handle it on a daily basis. Some people are more tolerable with certain things. It should be doable.
 
I DD my 80 150 miles round trip each day without issue, often in heavy traffic (NYC). My rig has 5" lift, 315 BFG KM2's, full armor and and assortment of tools and spares.
 
the main problem for me, (not as big of a problem lately) is gas money.

I don't drive mine daily because it sucks gas like crazy.
 
It helps to live within five miles of your workplace.
 
Yeah, right now, with gas prices low it's my absolute favorite vehicle to drive. It has fantastic visibility and safety. I had an first gen Honda CRV, which was a joy of a car in terms of visibility; the LC feels like one of those, just on steroids.
 
80 makes a fine DD as long as you don't mind the crap mileage. None of the stuff you list will affect on-road performance negatively assuming the caster is corrected for the lift.
 
artech said:
Gonna depend on a few variables. As long as the tire tread isn't to aggressive the tire noise shouldn't be loud, the lift shouldn't affect the noise. I went to mastercraft mud tires from firestone destination at's and I was pleasantly surprised that the tire noise was nowhere near as bad as I thought it'd be. If I had a longer commute I'd probably run a less aggressive tire though, due to the increased wear that pavement puts on on mud tires.

Around town the lift and accessories may limit your vision a bit when parking, that'll take some getting used to but shouldn't be a deal breaker. Some guys report regretting the swingout rear bumpers if they use the tailgate a lot. The armor will make parking lot and fender bender damage pretty minimal. Lots of threads here about that.

You may find, as others have, that other drivers give you a little more room when you're driving a built truck. There's a fear factor working in your favor there I think. Nothing wrong with that at all, as the added weight of the accessories can reduce your braking and handling performance a bit. This is not a factor with an experienced driver. As far as stability goes, any lifted truck will have a slightly altered center of gravity and is theoretically less stable. In practice it usually isn't a factor unless the driver isn't familliar with the vehicle.

I have been a paramedic firefighter for 33 years this year. In my experience the taller trucks, like big SUV's and big pickups, while they are more prone to damage(they like to roll over) they are also significantly safer (the occupants almost always walk away unhurt.) This is just my own opinion from long term real world experience and not based on any kind of ratings or science, so take that for what it's worth.

We could have bought just about any type of vehicles, but my wife and kids ride in a Sequoia, and I drive an LC. I consider the paying for the crappy fuel mileage to be just like paying for an insurance premium, and just accept it. No experience with superchargers myself but from what I've read the guys that have them seem to like them a lot.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Artech, thank you for the very thoughtful and detailed response! I really appreciate it and it makes a lot of sense. Thanks to everyone else as well. This is a fabulous forum!

Muddy1
 
I DD my rig - it's built a bit taller then that but lacking the SC'er.......other then the lack of deceny Gas Mileage I love it.... take the time to upgrade seats and add some sound dampening and it really can be comfortable and reasonably quiet.

I sold my RS6 as I found I preferred to DD this hands down....given the roads I am on most of the time and parking.

The Sc'er really would even improve the DD charectersistics.

E
 
Whatcha gonna do with your stock 80? HHHMMMMMMMMM????????
 
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