[casioqv]

Have over 150k principally off-road miles on our 958 diesel - only one issue, we can not get ULSD fuel south of the border.

Are you sure this is still true nowadays? I was recently on a business trip to Cancun and modern V6 TDIs were everywhere- much more common than in the USA. I saw quite a lot of Amarok diesel pickups, etc.

-
The Grenadier is an amazing rig. Photo of our campsite north of the Alvord playa

Nice photo, that is one of my favorite places in the world to visit. Did you end up going to any of the several hot springs around there?

 

[aircooled]

Sorry no updates from me. Been busy and traveling for working. Just starting to build my off-road gear bag. Picked up some tire deflators today. Grabbed some cheap LED lights from Harbor Freight for the side rail grab bars for campsite lighting. I’ll eventually put those lights on a project off-road trailer I’m building. My first trip will either be down to Padre Island National Sea Shore (on the Gulf of Whatever) for a little beach time.

The off-road trailer I picked up is a M1102. It came with a roof top tent installed, and plenty of room in its bed for gear!

 

[2013 TDI]

Are you sure this is still true nowadays? I was recently on a business trip to Cancun and modern V6 TDIs were everywhere- much more common than in the USA. I saw quite a lot of Amarok diesel pickups, etc.
Nice photo, that is one of my favorite places in the world to visit. Did you end up going to any of the several hot springs around there?

Have heard ULSD might have some availability in Monterrey & Mexico City. Problem is having enough fuel to get there. Our intent is to explore Mexico and the countries on our way to Panama. If this part goes well we will ship from there to Columbia to continue south. Definitely know ULSD would be an issue for us.

We too have explored this area many times including the hot springs. Have been very careful to check the water temp prior to diving in, some are very hot. Every trip there includes a milk-shake at our favorite fuel stop.

 

[SaVAGeSoot]

The off-road trailer I picked up is a M1102.

Dragging around a 1 ton trailer while overlanding seems excessive.... or what am I overlooking here?

 

[casioqv]

They're super popular with jeep people also... I've thought about it to get the big tent off my roof, but can't help but think it would hurt offroad ability too much, or make maneuvering in tight spots difficult.

 

[SaVAGeSoot]

I can't come up with a good reason to drag a 1500lb anchor around while offroading, before I even throw anything into it....

 

[casioqv]

I can't come up with a good reason to drag a 1500lb anchor around while offroading, before I even throw anything into it....

So you can leave it setup and packed, and go for a trip by just hooking it up, and then you can explore during the day while leaving camp setup and all of the weight and gear at your campsite.

I love having a RTT on my Touareg for trips, but don't love having it up there all of the time when I'm not using it. Overall, I'm going to just design a system to remove it quickly, instead of getting a heavy trailer.

 

[SaVAGeSoot]

I think you're missing the curb weight aspect of it.... you can easily find a standard aluminum trailer that offers a similar cargo volume, and "modify" it for extreme overlanding if you need that, and save 800+ lbs in the process. My "off the shelf" 5x10 galv utility trailer has a larger volume and same payload.... and only weighs 620. All I did was upgrade the standard tires to max out the axle capacity\increase the payload, and added spacers to clear the wider rubber.

 

[casioqv]

I think you're missing the curb weight aspect of it.... you can easily find a standard aluminum trailer that offers a similar cargo volume, and "modify" it for extreme overlanding if you need that, and save 800+ lbs in the process.

I don't have or want one myself... but they're cheap, available everywhere, look cool, and are tough as nails.

I doubt many lighter weight trailers could even be successfully modified to have anywhere near the level of durability, clearance, etc. even at astronomical expense.

However, if you're not carrying 3000lbs or rocks over the rubicon trail everyday for a decade, maybe you could get by with a lighter duty trailer....

 

[n40gl]

All I can say is ... if that thing had a diesel, I'd be all over it (even if the closest dealer to me right now is Chicago).

 

[aircooled]

Fair point. You're not wrong either. What made you decide to buy an OG touareg? Same reasoning?

I like unique, quirky cars. I have also been wanting something that was more capable than the Touareg off-road without needing a bunch of modifications.

 

[aircooled]

Dragging around a 1 ton trailer while overlanding seems excessive.... or what am I overlooking here?

This is Texas; we like excessive! Sure, it’s not 100% needed BUT now that I have been camping without, here is why I still want to continue to build and use my new to me trailer.

I did a quick two day campout with my son and my large 80# husky. We did a ground tent, two tables (roll up and a fold up), Dometic CFX 35 fridge, two sleeping bags, two roll up pads, a recovery box, a kitchen box with small butane stove and a solo stove fire pit (which is a bit frivolous). Also had five gallons of water and a toilet 5 gal bucket. Surprisingly everything and everyone fit, probably thanks to the tall roofline in the cargo section. One more person and we would NOT have fit, and would have needed to leave the dog. This would have left me with gear outside the vehicle on a rack and in a container of some kind. A rack and all the kit you might add to it is about the cost of a trailer.

The trailer will be much more handy when I head to the texas Gulf coast, where I can bring more water for drinking and showers, coolers for beer and food, fishing poles, shade/shelter, kayaks, etc. and have all of my room inside for people and the back area for my dogs or sensitive items.

Still not sure if I will utilize this this trailer and LONG adventures, like travel back to Colorado. I’m sure I will find times that it will be too big and unwieldily on tighter trails and it will somewhat sour me on it, but for my day to day in Texas this will not be a problem.

 

[aircooled]

All I can say is ... if that thing had a diesel, I'd be all over it (even if the closest dealer to me right now is Chicago).

I’m somewhat mixed on this thinking. Having had several TDI’s and still having a large 6.7L Cummins, I think I’m largely over the diesel compared to todays modern turbo petrol engines. The B58 even without a tune is a potent platform. The complexity of added DPF and SCR systems is probably not necessary.

 

[casioqv]

I like unique, quirky cars. I have also been wanting something that was more capable than the Touareg off-road without needing a bunch of modifications.

From your sig it looks like you had two T1s with air suspension and rear diff lock- presumably with good all terrains as well. In your opinion is the stock Grenadier much more capable? How do they compare overall after using both?

 

[aircooled]

Sadly I won’t really know until I have more time to play. It certainly isn’t an apples to apple kind of comparison. I can tell you usable ground clearance is more significant on the Grenny than the Touareg and with less of an overhang. On the Touareg, a typical trail or obstacle would leave me picking a good line to avoid skid plate or undercarriage contact, dragging a trailer hitch (frequent), it would leave me with a wheel up in the air (loss of traction and also frequent), or it would leave me with someone spotting me through and obstacle. All doable and challenging, but usually not convenient or relaxing. Yes, I have the air suspension, larger 265/70/17 tires and a skid plate on the V8. (Side note: I almost never took the V10 off-road. The added weight over the V8 significantly changed the weight and control of the nose, especially when come down and over an obstacle and would tent to “slam” down if you didn’t use carefully control of the brakes. She was my pavement queen.)

So, in my limited off-road experience in the Grenadier, I can say that it feels much more composed. The steel suspension is set up for off-road movement and articulation and comfort. Its truck like drive is NOTHING like the Touareg on the highway. Viability is awesome. You can clearly see each corner! Interior comfort would be about on par but again visibility is much better due to higher seating position.

I’ll update after I can get a change to really use this rig off the road.

 

[casioqv]

Sadly I won’t really know until I have more time to play. It certainly isn’t an apples to apple kind of comparison. I can tell you usable ground clearance is more significant on the Grenny than the Touareg and with less of an overhang. On the Touareg, a typical trail or obstacle would leave me picking a good line to avoid skid plate or undercarriage contact, dragging a trailer hitch (frequent), it would leave me with a wheel up in the air (loss of traction and also frequent), or it would leave me with someone spotting me through and obstacle. All doable and challenging, but usually not convenient or relaxing. Yes, I have the air suspension, larger 265/70/17 tires and a skid plate on the V8. (Side note: I almost never took the V10 off-road. The added weight over the V8 significantly changed the weight and control of the nose, especially when come down and over an obstacle and would tent to “slam” down if you didn’t use carefully control of the brakes. She was my pavement queen.)

Fair point, I think it's somewhat hard to compare vehicles with totally different suspension and drivetrain designs- often an independent suspension vehicle with lockers and/or traction control will still get through, but I agree it will feel more sketchy with tires up in the air.

Interesting point about the V10... I often feel like I want one, but as I would mostly use it offroad maybe the extra weight is a problem. I've already added a few hundred pounds to the nose of my T2 with a skid plate and winch.

 

[volkswagens-for-life]

I’m somewhat mixed on this thinking. Having had several TDI’s and still having a large 6.7L Cummins, I think I’m largely over the diesel compared to todays modern turbo petrol engines. The B58 even without a tune is a potent platform. The complexity of added DPF and SCR systems is probably not necessary.

💯 Agreed in every way

 

[aircooled]

Fair point, I think it's somewhat hard to compare vehicles with totally different suspension and drivetrain designs- often an independent suspension vehicle with lockers and/or traction control will still get through, but I agree it will feel more sketchy with tires up in the air.

Interesting point about the V10... I often feel like I want one, but as I would mostly use it offroad maybe the extra weight is a problem. I've already added a few hundred pounds to the nose of my T2 with a skid plate and winch.

The weight is noticeable and I imagine even more so with your mods. If you were to do this, it would probably be best to rip off the air suspension, go steel with custom lift, this way you can tune the suspension to support the weight. The V10 is also a maintenance WHORE and will sucks you dry on repairs. Fun to drive, but beware the succubus!