The perfect Hunting vehicle for you

ok...hypothetical question just like the "Dream Car" thread in the off topic section.


I'm gonna cap this at $100k. You can spend $75k on a new truck pretty easily so give it another $25k allowance for mods if you want.

This is a built for purpose rig, not a daily driver, built for the hunting that you do.



I've thought long and hard about it. I really like the Chevy Suburban 1500 Z71. you can put all the seats down, have a good, flat space for guns, gear, bow cases, etc. AND have a covered place to sleep. Will pull a decent sized trailer, and they off road surprisingly well. Mild lift, offroad tires and you are there. This is gonna set you back new though about $75-$80k depending on trim level.

The other option I like is a Ford E-150 or E-250 Van converted to 4X4. We had a E-150 when I was a kid, it had 4 captains chairs, a T.V and a rear seat that would convert into a bed. Again, all secure, lockable space. you can get them with windows or a panel van, creeper style. Saw a few in Utah when I was up there, apparently they like them in the mountains. Don't know if I would go diesel in the E-250 but the 5.4 liter triton is a bit of a dog....but in a half-ton platform in a nicer trim it may be the way to go. Would be tempted to stay with the half ton because I drive a 4x4 3/4 ton diesel now and its not the greatest off-road, don't see how a 3/4 ton or 1 ton van would be any different, but could pull a trailer for a ATV/UTV

Too many questions, answers, and variables in between. Only US or world-wide?

Private land - You can do anything you want, drive where you want, retrieve animals whole, etc. Gas is readily available and reasonably inexpensive. Build the biggest, baddest 3/4 ton 4x4 you can and be happy. Nitto tires, lift kit and a 12,000# winch.

Public land - Travel plans restrict where you can go with a full size truck, so you need to down-size. My Nissan Titan will go anywhere and do anything I need. It will pull the guts out of heavy trailers up to 11,000# with that 400HP gas engine. Even the 60" UTV is limited on certain roads and trails, tho. Look to two wheel dirt bike or Rokon, or smaller under 40" ATV like a 570 or 700 cc Razr for trails that are still open.

World-wide - It would be a 3/4 ton 4x4 Ford E-series van with a diesel. Set up with bunks for camping and all the latest eco toilets and stoves. Fuel would be available anywhere, even if poor quality.. I'd love to go Alaska to the Cape in a year, sometime!!!

For double your money, I would build the Ultimate Uni-Mog camper van.

Unless you plan on shipping your rig overseas, it would be for the type of hunting that you do currently or plan on doing in the near future

Pictures of a 1985 Chevy Suburbalanche I built for a inexpensive go-anywhere 4x4. 400 Cu.in., auto, w/ bench seats. Fold down rear for sleeping, gives you seven feet corner-to-corner, 2' of storage behind the seat for up to 6 guncases. Shelf across the back for ammo, shotgun shells, etc. Custom bed gates, 4' pickup bed for hauling out game, LINE-X Bedliner and rails. 35" Mickey Thompson Baja-Claws for amazing clearance and traction.

I’ve thought about a 4wd Van.

I also think a 4wd regular cab longbed with a simple camper shell would be easier.

That Suburban is pretty sweet!!! What year model is it?

Post up more pics please

Sorry Blank. That should have stated.... didn’t know the 400 small block was available in 1985.

it would be more inexpensive but no where near the same performance. you can't access the bed from the cab, access isn't' nearly as easy, the bed isn't insulated, no extra seats for hunting buddies, etc.

a lot of times those camper shells aren't sealed really well and your stuff gets dusty as all get out as well. I've learned this from experience.

Never really hunted much out of vehicles. Always enjoyed the walking. Recently acquired a golf cart and after having it down at the place a little for what im looking for in a hunting vehicle on our place a lifted 4 seat golf cart with a bed would be pretty cool.

Probably a decked out Suburban.

+1 ....with no doubt!

My son built this one for Nissan Trucks last year. Can you say "Padre Island"???

Toyota tacoma

I enjoy walking while hunting to, but I'm not walking to Colorado, or even to my hill country lease for that matter.


this wasn't about a vehicle to hunt out of. It is about a purpose built rig to accommodate the travel, storage and if needed, lodging, for hunting trips.

Lol then ill go with my pickup truck with a set of new tires

Early 2000's 4x4 Excursion with power stroke diesel. Pre def fluid motor. Lifted with good aftermarket suspension for good ground clearance and a smooth ride. Aggressive 12 ply AT tires. Ranch hand bumpers front and back with receiver hitches, both wired for a winch. 12,000 lb winch that could be moved front or rear via receiver hitch or stowed inside. Receiver hitch style storage rack. Would fit front or rear bumper. Heavy duty skid plates built for it. 100 gallon fuel capacity. Slide out truck vault for locking up guns and hunting gear out of sight. Heavy duty alternator to keep additional deep cycle marine battery with power inverter charged. Small RV style ice box.
Big enough to sleep in if desired. Will pull a heavy trailer with ease. Maximum undercarriage protection from rocks and brush. Plenty of room inside for dogs and gear on long road trips.

I am cheap, I decked out a grand Cherokee jeep 4x4, custom front bumper with winch, had plenty of room in the cargo area, If I need more I had a 5x8 trailer.

Wouldn't trade my '85 M1009 for any other rig. Ok maybe Blank's Suburbalanche! That rig is awesome!

My 1009 is bone stock with the 6.2 NA diesel. Have a spare body for it as mine is pretty rotten. When I get to it, ARB lockers and a soft top are the only real upgrades I plan on for it.

If I had $100K to spend on hunting...which I don't, but if I did, I would buy an old 3/4 ton suburban 4x4 for a few thousand and spend the rest on guns and/or hunting property. If I already had hunting property, I would buy more of it.

A horse. Change my mind.

This. Based on current price trends, I'm not sure it'll fit under your monetary cap. They must be made of gold.

Here's mine.

I set the cap at $100k for a hunting truck. I did not set it for guns, property, etc.....


you can spend as much or as little as you like, under the $100k

horses will sometimes not cross creeks, they catch a whiff of something they don't like and they haul arse, they are tempremental, they eat a lot, they are slow, I can keep going.....

this is a pretty dang good set up.


would take the place of the van. Only reason I didn't look for at this, is in some of the forests that I travel, a 3/4 ton platform can get pretty tight on some of the logging roads, but I think what you mentioned is about as close to a do-all that you can get

I'll play...….Himalaya Land Rover Conversion Defender 110 Spectre. LS3 560 hp motor, jeep steering box, 4 inch lift, 37's, upgraded everything (frame, body panels, interior, etc), Fox suspension. I'll spend your $100k and finance the balance $100K

It would be hard to come up with one vehicle that would do it all well (from highway to rock climbing to swamp running to hauling, etc.).

A tricked out suburban or big PU would probably be the best compromise. I would probably go with the PU.

I used a van with a custom interior and an older Jeep Cherokee. I have used a van to hunt in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico. The van was a 1984 Chevy with a 350, 2 wheel drive. Inside was a bed, all of our cooking stuff and sleeping gear. The van easily carried 6 people and with the tent slept 6. The Cherokee was 4x4, with hitch tote rack it was perfect for 4 people with their gear for a few days, longer trips we added another vehicle.

Today, I would look at a used 4x4 Ford Expedition. There is a place that makes raised roofs for Expeditions like the old VW camper vans. 4 captain chairs, with a custom interior for camping and a tent for extra sleeping area would be all I need.

But there are so many places you can't take a vehicle at all. Places that ot is illegal for one, like national forests- big thicket, davy crockett, angelina....

Not ideal but better than being on foot in those kind of places

Didn't pay a lot of attention to OPs criteria but that Suburbalanche is a nice rig. Smokeys rig sounded well thought out as well which is no surprise coming from him.

Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro with some good AT tires should get me where I need to go.

well if you want to ride a horse from your house to the davy crockett national forest, have at it.

Those 4 runners are awesome rigs. My neighbor just bought the TRD pro in a smoke metallic grey, its a sweet looking ride

Not anywhere near 100k, but I’ve been really happy with my 2011 long bed diesel. I picked up a campershell (used) before our elk trip in 2015 and it served us very well. Although we didn’t sleep in the back, I think it would have been perfectly fine if we did. I gutted all the factory suspension and put in some soft long travel suspension components, tuned it and I’ve loved it ever since. The camper shell has now been replaced with a folding toneau cover because a pallet of corn was too tall for the camper shell. For around the lease my Canam Defender has been perfect.

Top drive Ford Raptor



Or a Jeep

A 3/4 ton 4 door 4x4 with a removable camper. No sense overthinking it. Camper could come on and off as needed. and should have plenty left over in the budget for the 4 wheeler that would sit in the back for use as needed, oh and a 16' trailer to finish out the ultimate hunting rig. Probably quite a bit under budget

Get any of those pictured in soft wet sand and they will sink. Most UTV s will stay on top.

you gonna drive a UTV down the highway up to the mountains Bill?

Learning how to prep for soft sand is pretty easy Bill and isn't impossible to drive any of the pictured rigs thru. I've driven my truck in deep sand plenty of times with zero issues.

I'll take a 6 cyl tubodiesel, double cab, LandCruiser truck like we hunted out of in Africa. Virtually indestructable machines.

No argument but a little story to tell. We were hunting of an old International Scout east of Falfurrias and got it stuck. Walked out got a brand new 4WD Ford 150. Got it stuck. Walked out got a John Deere tractor. Buried it and bent the axed on the pickup. Had to go back in the spring to get all three vehicles. You could start patting your food on the sand and bring water to the surface. Just trying to push the thread on down the road.

So your ideal vehicle of choice is a 2WD chevy cab and a half 1/2 ton with a gator in the bed?

That's right. When he gets stuck he'll just step into the painting where everything is beautiful all day long.

Back in the day when I was a young salesman, some guys from work and I drove down to the land cut, camped, and fished. Okay, we mostly drank, but we did wet a couple of hooks. We were in truck equipment and had recently entered into (again) the wrecker equipment industry. (A whole buncha the drivers have records. Not exactly a "classy" business.) Anyhow, one of the guys told the guy that does the long retrieves down the beach, "The Sand Flea" (it's painted on the truck), to come by and see us. Nice enough guy. The day we left and headed back up to Corpus, we pass the guy, stuck. I pulled him out with my stock '66 Bronco (with the little six).

I gotta tell you, when it comes to sand and etc. I think you are missing an important part of off road driving- route selection. Avoid those "sand traps" like the plague and if ya gotta drive through one, hit it with some speed and momentum. Deep soft sand sticks anything on wheels and that is that. I have seen just about every kind of 4 wheel drive truck stuck to the axle on the fire breaks on Fort Bragg. They lay down fresh sand every year to fill in the giant ruts and etc and you just get stuck in them. No way around that- well one way, or two- get out and look, walk through before you drive through. Pick another route. Or if it is short enough hit ot with some speed.

I had one of those too before I got a pickup -- still miss it. I would not call it cheap though...

It would absolutely be a Land Cruiser diesel, probably a 105 series or maybe a newer double cab truck.. Tons of these here in Central America..

For under 100 grand Hummer H1

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

I currently have a 98' 4x4 Toyota Four Runner that does very well. Will be on the block soon.

2011 F-250 4x4

This will do until my wife retires her GX 460

Suburban and Excursion would offer the most space but be limited in off road capability due to their length. And Excursions are heeeaavy.
4Runners are nice and capable but could be on the small side, especially for two people and gear. It’d be my second choice.
Easiest route, and my first choice, is a Landcruiser. Heck a new one plus a lift would put you right at $100k.
The Toyotas are going to be the most reliable as well.
The 5.7 in the Landcruiser would still allow you to pull a decent size camper or cargo trailer with SxS if you needed to.

So if you want to make it perfect, or rather, ultimate, here is an idea.

You take an Excursion with a short wheelbase offroad truck like a Jeep. Set it up for flat tow. Excursion is a 4x4 because I have seen F250's get stuck in the grass with the one wheel wonder.

Excursion full of junk you won't use anyway, horse in the trailer, jeep pulled behind that or vice versa. Or two vehicles with your hunting parter if you have one, maybe a rear wheel drive excirsion as long as the jeep has a winch for the excursion when it inevitably gets stuck in the wet grass

I honestly think all that garbage would take all the fun out of hunting.

I'm just gonna leave this here...

This is how my wife likes to camp

Black02, you got any specs or more pics of the enclosed part of that rig? The Raptor. First look seems pretty well thought out.

I've been thinking of getting a Plan B Supply Humvee.

F250 Gas 4x4.....SWB

Perfect hunting vehicle? I'll take the money and use the vehicle I already have.

I’d think I’d just add better recovery gear to my current situation. As in 16k hydraulic winches, boards and bubba ropes. I do need new shocks and tires currently though, so new King pintop Shocks swould great

Thanks for "Keepin' it real."

I'm trying to make this do. She's never left me stranded, but she's let me know that she requires "attention". I try real hard to talk sweet to her. (This is her good side.)

Never let me down, and never got stuck.
$500 + $500 in repairs that I did myself.
An extended cab would have been better. Interior is a bit small for two big guys and hunting stuff.
Towed behind the F250 nicely.
Custom headlight aiming courtesy of a few mesquite bushes that were larger than they looked.
Paint work by Mrs. Searcher and Rustoleum.

I'll stick with my 4WD Kubota tractor with FEL. Easy to pick up deer and deliver to my pickup bed.

Range Rover stock!

How about an old IH Scout? Love 'em; never been able to stick 'em.

An old LMTV converted into a camper would be pretty unbeatable. I don't know if you could even get one.

Same. It’s what I currently drive and I love it.

I like this