What make a trip an "Expedition"?

[phxtlc]

Reading though posts it seems that there is some different views on if there is anywhere in NA that you can actaully have an expedition and that combined with a conversation at our monthly meet got me to really start thinking. (BTW I looked for 20 minutes for a thread simialr and could not find) So what aspects of any trip would make it qualify as an "expedition"

Here's what I come up with so far:

1. The trip would have to exceed 250 - 300 miles (avg. 80's range) without access to fuel.

2. Should be out of range of your cell phone. (What's the use of all that fancy radio equipment if you can hit speed dial?)

3. Should be all dirt. Not to say you couldn't cross pavement, there's a lot of places out here in the west that the pavement is miles from anywhere.

4. Trip should be multiple days.

5. Needs to be "out there" driving around Vegas in a big circle could meet items 1-4 but really doesn't conform to the spirit of this.

6. Wouldn't HAVE to but in my mind you should need to be somewhat self reliant and face some form of a difficult environment. Desert, Mountains, Snow, etc. The idea would be to stretch the limits of both man and machine.

7. Third World countries are a bonus.

8. Third World countries that don't like us and carry guns are even more of a bonus.

So that's where I got so far....actually have to get back to work.

Oh, and if this should be posted somewhere else I won't be offended by a "move" but I'm really more concerned about the 80 and other wagons as the soft top / 40's crew is a bit different due to lack of storage, security, age of the vehicle, etc.

 

[e9999]

9. "sounds better than *trip* ?"

 

[NLXTACY]

10. involves catching/hunting/picking/gathering your own food NOT from a grocery store

Well there is no highway stretch of road in NA that is longer than say 250 miles before gas stations. Dirt roads may be a different thing. To me "expedition" means the process from getting from point A to point Z. I generally like to pick an end destination and starting from my house, I pick a really obscure route because the highways bore me silly. I prepare as best I can by building in whatever redundancies I can and whatever comforts I can. I think though that sometimes putting yourself OUT of your comfort zone and how you deal with that is what makes for a successful expedition.

I am not building my truck for extreme rock crawling. That doesn't interest me. Driving for 3 hours to go a quarter mile up a rock wash just isn't fun to me. But that being said, in traveling from Point A to Z I want to be able to get there safely.

 

[street tractor]

I believe there must be a roof rack involved... no roof rack, no expedition. Sorry.

 

[NLXTACY]

I believe there must be a roof rack involved... no roof rack, no expedition. Sorry.

X2

 

[trevdawg]

11.Something has to break, and be trail-jankified

 

[BrotherRob]

You must carry at minimum $10k worth of gear that weighs at least 2000 lbs.
You cannot have tires larger that 33".
You must have a rooftop tent, or if you are really cool an adventure trailer.
You must have at least one article of North Face clothing for each day.
You must be prepared to build a new road or cancel the remainder of your trip in the event that you encounter a boulder larger than 12". (You cannot ever let yourself be called a rockcrawler.)

 

[80t0ylc]

I like all the rules so far except #3. I just think it limits "expedition" too much. What about instead of "be all dirt" - say instead: include considerable unimproved or non maintained roads as often as possible?-Tom

 

[Nay]

You must carry at minimum $10k worth of gear that weighs at least 2000 lbs.

Nailed it.

It is also desirable to have bought 3-4 different OME suspensions trying to accommodate for all of that weight

Surfing MUD from a cubicle is also an essential ingredient

 

[NLXTACY]

I like all the rules so far except #3. I just think it limits "expedition" too much. What about instead of "be all dirt" - say instead: include considerable unimproved or non maintained roads as often as possible?-Tom

X2 sometimes its not a good idea to cut barbed wire fences just to stay off the beaten path

 

[rmirandayopo]

take a look to this one: Turkey - China

check cruiserheads.com
under RUTA DE LA SEDA 2008 <EXPEDICIONES <EVENTOS

or
mitsubishi-motors.com.ve - Ruta de la seda

or
TuCarro.com Venezuela

 

[phxtlc]

Oh...I guess my truck must aslo act as a water treatment plant.

 

[phxtlc]

You must carry at minimum $10k worth of gear that weighs at least 2000 lbs.
You cannot have tires larger that 33".
You must have a rooftop tent, or if you are really cool an adventure trailer.
You must have at least one article of North Face clothing for each day.
You must be prepared to build a new road or cancel the remainder of your trip in the event that you encounter a boulder larger than 12". (You cannot ever let yourself be called a rockcrawler.)

LMAO....

 

[65swb45]

Modify #4: a journey long enough to grow a beard!

IOW, if it can be done in a holiday weekend, it's prolly NOT an expedition, just a trip.

OTOH, I have had shorter trips that required riding EXTREMELY bad weather, the kind that either prevents use of a tent or requires taking down the tent on short notice to SAVE it from sudden death, followed by sleeping upright in the cab of a truck. That tends to tip the balance from trip to expedition by way of endurance.

Pretty good list overall.

 

[pismojim]

I think this pretty much defines it for me...

I joined a small group of Alaskan and Canadian cruiserheads on a "scouting expedition" deep into the Alaskan wilderness. We explored new areas well beyond any previously traveled trails. Ten days and 200+ miles of extreme off-road adventure.

Funny thing, there might not be one "Expedition" rig in the group.

Tallkeetna Mountains Scouting Expedition

'Mud Thread

220 miles from trailhead to trailhead. Less than we hoped, but time and fuel dictated no more. The gassers averaged 5mpg on the fast days and about 1.5 on the slower days. We used every drop that we brought along which we had hoped was enough for 400 miles.

We had a couple of days straight of slow speed cross country travel up on high alpine ridges and rocky meadows. Covered 25 miles in two full days of travel and burned a full tank of gas in the '40s.

We had a couple of fast 4 foot river crossing, but nothing daunting.

Things were pretty dry so the mud and bogs and marshy areas were not all that tough. Bruce had to take the strap a couple of times and break out the winch about 8 times or so. I found a couple of deep holes in couple of different grassy marshy spots and winched out rather than chewing things up to get moving. I don't recall Kevin ever getting stuck.

The '40s with the 40 inch boggers pretty much tractored our way through everything. The '74 had to use a little more momentum and power. Overall I can't say anything negative about the rig when you consider how suited it was for the long distance run from Calgary to join us.

We didn't make it to the area where we had hoped to. Some of my info turned out to be inaccurate. We did make it all the way to the Susitna River, but were unable to find any track to get very far west ward toward the Talkeetna. I know the route is there since I've seen it from the air. But we were unable to find it on the ground. Once we got back in there, there were many places where the trail we were on was difficult to keep track of. And cross country at the speeds and fuel consumption that is dictated for the kind of distance that would have been called for just wasn't an option this time around.

We had great weather that changed constantly. Only rained once though.

We caught grayling that practically jumped on the hook. We had a moose practically walk into camp, looking right at us the whole time. We had a caribou cow and calf walk right up to us while we were sitting on a 6000 foot peak watching about 300 of them on the next ridge over. We had a 360 degree view for miles and miles in every direction. All all day hike up and back.

Spent most of our time in country where virtually no one ever goes. Spent some of our time in places where *MAYBE* half a dozen people a year ever see.


One busted birfield. One loose wheel spacer (NOT mine). On shattered leaf spring (the whole pack). One very bruised leg. (NOT run over this time... and yes it was mine again). One dog/porcupine run in.

A few miscellaneous tuning type issues as we actually got going. Including significant amounts of water in the fuel cans that I dumped into my rig right before hitting the road. One clutch that gave up the ghost as we hit the road on the way out (actually started slipping on the trail, but we limped it all the way home. It was for the BJ74 and we had to get a disc custom made, but we have a place in town that can handle that. Got it all cheap too!

 

[PKP80]

As long as you're wearing camo, it's an expedition. lol . I love the "there has to be a roofrack involved" comment, lol. I totally think roofrack when I think expedition.

 

[phxtlc]

BTW...I really wish I could change the thread from "make" to "makes" my english teacher wife is laughing her A** off.

 

[Tofudebeest]

You must meet a one-armed man named Harvey at a gas station 113 miles from the nearest town.
You must urinate into a Snapple bottle while driving, overflow it, and wet your seat.
You must pick up a hitchhiking dog and keep it.
You must sleep in the back of your rig.

 

[FJ40_owner]

LMAO....

Don't forget the on board shower and $900 refrigerator.

 

[BrotherRob]

Don't forget the on board shower and $900 refrigerator.

That's part of the $10k in gear! BTW, having a shower is mandatory, using it is not