What alternatives can compete with a 4x4 170 HR Sprinter (273.5” L) for 4-season, off-road family adventure

[Green Maned Lion]

I personally think the van-living lifestyle is somewhat incompatible with doing a decent job of raising children. I qualify that with the reality that I don't think anything in the world I could do would make me compatible with raising a child, so my opinion is overrated at any value.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

I personally think the van-living lifestyle is somewhat incompatible with doing a decent job of raising children. I qualify that with the reality that I don't think anything in the world I could do would make me compatible with raising a child, so my opinion is overrated at any value.

I may have missed it, but I am not sure the OP was planning on full timing with their children.

That being said, I know of several folks who are full time nomads, some in vans, some in larger vehicles, with children. Obviously in adolescence a person needs more privacy and space, but prior to that they need considerably less. Psychological research shows that you don't need a fixed home to have stability. Instead its stable relationships, and interaction with a small group of well adjusted adults, and some children, that important to being a functional and healthy adult.

The concept that children need to primarily interact with other children doesn't match up with research, or even the bulk of human history. In many ways it can actually cause extended adolescence (well into the 20s for some).

As far as education goes, as long as the adults/parents are willing to train themselves and select a rigorous curriculum, there isn't any reason home-schooling, or remote schooling can't work. Though I am not a fan of home schooling in general.

Many folks think that children "miss out" when they don't have the same material wealth surrounding them as their peers. All a person has to do is watch a child's enjoyment and imagination playing with the carboard box their new plastic toy came it, to dismissing that idea. Enriching, engaging, and well regulated environments are not significantly harder to create in a mobile lifestyle. This is especially true if one or both of the parents are not working full time.

It is a wealth person type of thing, but I know of 4 couples who retired in their early 40s, and live semi or fully nomadic with their younger children. It takes planning, personal skills, and self control, but it can and does work quite well.

These folks typically spend much more time and attention on their children than others who live in the same fixed home do.

 

[jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com]

I am suddenly reminded of the movie Captain Fantastic which was just rebroadcasted recently on TCM. Five kids and their dad living the natural life in the northern woods and being homeschooled by Mother Nature and hitting the road in a full size bus built to live out of, made me want to watch it again.

The example set and the level of intelligence these kids had gained through their dad's priorities was a reward onto itself. They were far more educated than most public school kids are. This has to be rare in the real world, and the experience of public schools has much of its value in the socialization the kids are exposed to. The disadvantages are just as real.

In my area of coastal north San Diego county we generally have great schools and why some families move here to begin with.

I respect parents, who above all, parent their kids. Sadly, I see many who do not and their offspring need to be parented. Rant over.

 

[jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com]

I just watched a short video of a 2wd chevy van going to places I would have never risked in my younger days. This was on the Baja Nomad forum this morning.

He had a rear locker! Little wonder he felt confident enough to go where only 4wd's would consider.

The bulge on his tires was obvious and key to him driving out on the beach.

If rear lockers had been available when I bought my 06 in 2010, I would probably have gotten myself in trouble.

I managed to stick myself deep to the chassis on a beach with a 4wd Ford van in the early 90's by turning around too sharp. That lesson was well learned and never repeated. Having 4 pieces of Marsden Matting under each wheel got me out with a bit of digging. No tow help was needed.

I don't know if any lockers were on that old 88 Ford wd van. I tend to doubt it since I had to dig myself out. There was no dash mounted button to engage a locker. That makes that old so-called 88 Ford 4wd van a 2wd van in my way of thinking. It did have manual locking hubs.

This mornings Baja video clearly showed how far a rear locker can take you.

 

[Kajtek1]

I've been watching several off-road channels on youtube and just from watching you can tell that main factor in capabilities are big tires.
Las sample - Paul from 'Fab Rats" has is converted FJ Cruiser, who is rock crawler with not much competition in the World.
Yet in last month, he decided to replace his 42" tires with 47" tires (from top of my head, as I don't remember precisely)
What that did? Paul is having several rock crawling trails in his neighborhood and has like 12' wall, that he tried several times before and never could make it.
So his FJ never made it on 42" tires, yet it simply walk it on 47" tires.
I am getting too old to take my CanAm on extreme trails, but from less stressful observations and observing them on youtube, UTVs are very capable due to huge suspension travel (27" on my Maverick). When relatively small wheels might not have good grip, the light weight CanAm with so much flex, can take at speed no Jeep will dare.
Darn thing can even ride on the water if you have enough space to gain speed.