Which vehicle and why?

[KiwiChick]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for letting me join your awesome community! I have been quietly reading for a while but now I reckon it's time for my first post.

Just a few words about our situation: I'm Manny (36) from Vienna, Austria. My husband Rob (37) is from New Zealand. That's where we lived for four years before we relocated to Austria about 8 years ago. Corona/lockdown permitting we are packing up shop here this year and relocate back to New Zealand. We have two boys (almost 7 and 4). Before the kids we did a one year Round The World trip and we just try and travel as much as we can.

Now to my question: My husband and I always wanted to ride motorcycles from Vienna to Mongolia and back. Then the first child came and we wanted to pop it into a side car. Then the second one came and because I am not an experienced rider at all,we kinda scrapped the bike idea and are now looking for a van/truck/car.

I do realise that the perfect vehicle doesn't exist but what vehicle would you recommend and why? Which ones not and why not?

We would buy spoken vehicle in New Zealand, ship it to probably Russia and then overland from there to Mongolia, Pamir Highway, the Stans, maybe through Iran down to Dubai and Oman (maybe with a loop through Saudia Arabia if that's possible?) and then somehow back to NZ. Time frame about a year or so.

This will be a few years out still so obviously there is no route as such yet HOWEVER we would like to get an idea about what vehicle to get.

A 4wd car with one or two roof top tents would be cheaper and easier to manouvre but I don't like the thought of being trapped inside a tent in bad weather or when you just want to chill, no space to play, move, distance yourself a bit, no shower, loo.... So we are thinking of a bigger van or SMALL truck that has a proper bed for everyone (like double lift down bed in the front for us and bunks inthe rear for the boys), a loo and a kitchen.

Can anyone recommend a good set of wheels?

Thanks a lot in advance!

[OWNER]

Hi!
A camper is best suited for your purposes. A 4x4 car is not required for the planned route. Even in Mongolia, you can find a road that can be driven without four-wheel drive. But the camper itself must be strong enough, otherwise the "comb" on the roads can damage the car. The best tires for such a trip are AT, but you have to drive through Russia and Mongolia in the warm season, there is no snow.
I wanted to travel from Almaty (Kazakhstan) by car to Dubai (UAE). A very difficult issue with visas. Iran needs Carnet de Passage.
These are just a few words for you. I can talk about this for a long time. )))

[OWNER]

This is the route I wanted to take. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

[Koen]

all depends on the budget, if you have serious bucks you should check out this site:
https://www.expedition-trucks.com/exped ... s-for-sale
they have big and small trucks, but those are expensive.

[Lovetheworld]

The good thing is, where you live you can find nice 4x4 vans
We have done Amsterdam to Tokyo (via Central Asia, Russia, Mongolia) in a Toyota Hiace 4x4. With kids ages 2 and 4 at the time.
Other good 4x4 vans which are sold in the region (so you get spare parts) are Mitsubishi l300 (new and old) and the hyundai vans.

However, please think about if you really need the 4x4. I would choose a bit more modern van, as they are more comfortable. You might think about petrol. Yes it is a bit more expensive, but (when it comes to older vans) they are more comfortable than the noisey diesels, and you can encounter some bad diesel along the way. Don't take any fancy Euro 6 level van, it will not work with poor diesel.

If you are not going to do the die hard 4x4 stuff, just get a van with some ground clearance and preferably a rather short first gear and an automatic.
Maybe you find some cheap way to lift the van a few centimeters (by wheels or minor suspension bump) and it is good.

But even a standard passenger car can get you to all the places, you are just a bit less flexible in which routes to choose. Mongolians go everywhere in a Prius

[KiwiChick]

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

To be honest I am surprised that you'd recommend a 2wd? I would have definitely gone for a 4wd, given that we want to do the Pamir Highway and also for Oman a lot of people recommend a 4WD.

Thanks for the tip with petrol vs diesel! My husband is a motorcycle mechanic so I leave these decisions up to him but it sure makes sense what you are suggesting.

What sort of van would you suggest? I like the idea of having a small.shower and toilet and for everyone to have their own fix bed. Unfortunately we aren't rich and couldn't afford the high end expedition vehicles - I also wouldn't know what to do with it after the trip, I can't see there being a market for that in NZ? They sire so look amazing though!!

What are your thoughts of a double cabin pick up with a box on top? Sorry not sure what their proper technical term is

[KiwiChick]

Lovetheworld, I am super interested in your set up (beds, kitchen...) of the Hiace. Would you mind sending me/sharing some photos of the inside? Thanks!

[Lovetheworld]

Hi, well, ours came with a high roof, and then we made a camper out of it.
You could also chose a folding roof. The kids sleep in the high roof, their beds are 150 centimeters long. Will need to be extended at some point.
I don't have very good pictures of the car finished.
The drawback of the old Hiace (and most vans where you sit on the engine) is that you have lots of engine noise, and you cannot rotate the chairs because of the engine hump.
The advantage is you get a simple (noisy) diesel, and you get proper 4x4 with low-gearing, that gets you everywhere.
However, if you are not into real offroading, the drawbacks are not worth it, in case of the vans.
And by real offroading I mean the type of tracks where you need all the features. Because with a 2WD van with some ground clearance, you can do most gravel roads etc.
So think carefully about that choice. It has mostly to do with how much time your roadtrip.
With a normal 4x4 you can just buy a newer one to get more comfort, but newer vans typically have all-wheel-drive instead of proper 4x4 like the old ones.

You can see our route and some pics of the car scattered throughout the other photos on our website, which is unfortunately in Dutch but you can do google translate or just check the photos (on the bottom of each blog entry):
http://lovetheworld.nl/

Basically we have the long wheel base version and put a rear seat bench on top of the rear wheel wells. That folds forwards and can be extended into one big bed. When folded up, there is much space in the van. However, it comes at a cost, we have very little luggage room.

I put a rear swing out bumper on it with an alu box, jerry cans and full size spare wheel. Don't do it, the Hiace could handle it, but it is just extra weight and you most of the time don't need it.
Carrying a spare wheel in the same size as your other wheels is a must, the rest can be skipped.

The vans I always have liked, which are not die-hard 4x4 but more allround / all-wheel-drive, are the Toyota Granvia or Grand Hiace from Japan. They are a bit rare, but they come with a petrol v6, all wheel drive, and automatic. Very comfy. Perhaps you can find them more easily in New-Zealand / Australia with all those Japanese imports.
And anyway look at all the Mitsubishi vans, old and newer.