Overlanding with Hybrid Maverick

[Art_Vandelay]

If you check out the angles

There is a lot more to it than angles. Unibody construction doesn’t have the flex a body on frame vehicle has. If you are “overlanding” flat praire terrain or a desert you might make it without tweaking the unibody construction but doing any serious off-roading is going to be a risk. I don’t understand the obsession with trying to make a vehicle something it’s not. The maverick is a city truck no matter what stickers and skid plates Ford puts on it to make people feel more manly.

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[dvibs07]

There is a lot more to it than angles. Unibody construction doesn’t have the flex a body on frame vehicle has. If you are “overlanding” flat praire terrain or a desert you might make it without tweaking the unibody construction but doing any serious off-roading is going to be a risk. I don’t understand the obsession with trying to make a vehicle something it’s not. The maverick is a city truck no matter what stickers and skid plates Ford puts on it to make people feel more manly.

You ever heard of the Jeep XJ, ZJ, WJ…subarus….there are plenty of unibody vehicles that can do everything but rock crawl. I don’t think the unibody will be cracking or taking serious injury from hill climbs, river bed runs, and some ruts.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Those jeeps needed heavy bracing added to prevent the body from being bent. Like I said, it depends on what you consider overlanding. I’m fairly confident what you consider overlanding is not what I consider overlanding. In my mind, if there is a trail then you aren’t overlanding, you are off-roading. Overlanding is literally cutting a path through the wilderness. No trail, no two track, literally driving over the land. I think the term is becoming diluted by marketers to sell shit to the REI crowd. Now it’s just becoming a new term for light off-roading.

 

[Shay]

245 65 17 tires come in around 29.5" and are a close to factory fit on diameter enough should not cause too much being off with speedometer nor be harmful to transmission. I intend to use mine for camping and overlanding to some extent so finding aftermarket accessories to outfit it up is top of list. I plan to head to Las Vegas SEMA show in October to see what I expect to be the first aftermarket goodies for the Maverick in person - bed racks, lighting, nerf bars, tents, etc.

 

[dvibs07]

Those jeeps needed heavy bracing added to prevent the body from being bent. Like I said, it depends on what you consider overlanding. I’m fairly confident what you consider overlanding is not what I consider overlanding. In my mind, if there is a trail then you aren’t overlanding, you are off-roading. Overlanding is literally cutting a path through the wilderness. No trail, no two track, literally driving over the land. I think the term is becoming diluted by marketers to sell shit to the REI crowd. Now it’s just becoming a new term for light off-roading.

I agree, when I think of overlanding I think of trails and obstacles like water crossings/ruts/hills. I’ve never done serious overlanding like you describe in my Jeep. That’s some wild stuff!

 

[HarrisonFordMaverick]

Your guys definition of overlanding must be pretty loose If you think something like the maverick will be capable.

I go with the Overland Journal's definition (If your don't know them, then look into it), which is "vehicle based adventure travel". Which could be anything from riding scooters across south east Asia, all the way to riding on 40's across the Arctic. Maybe your definition is just too narrow.

 

[HarrisonFordMaverick]

You ever heard of the Jeep XJ, ZJ, WJ…subarus….there are plenty of unibody vehicles that can do everything but rock crawl. I don’t think the unibody will be cracking or taking serious injury from hill climbs, river bed runs, and some ruts.

Also 3rd generation and on Montero and Pajeros, 2nd Gen Nissan Pathfinder, and more.

 

[JamesHenry]

Overlanding is just self-reliant vehicle travel in remote parts, typically to experience the culture where the journey is the focus as opposed to the destination. The vehicle is really just the tool to get the job done, whether it is a motorcycle, truck, Jeep or SUV. You typically aren't "forging your own trail" with overlanding but rather already using established roads and routes. In many cases of the world, these roads and routes aren't very well maintained and are also rutted... so mud, rocks, and sand.

I work at an off-road shop. I also used to have a very well-equipped Subaru Crosstrek (pictured below) that I used for camping and touring. I've also went to AOAA in a stock 2005 Honda CRV and stuck to green trails and while I never got stock, I did have some hiccups on lose rocks. Tires and driver go a long way in vehicle capability off-road. After building the Crosstrek and using it, I found it to be completely the wrong platform for my needs. Despite how capable it was where I took it off-road with the all-terrains, it was way underpowered and there wasn't enough cargo room for gear. The CVT was also incredibly atrocious.

The things that the Maverick have going for it in the "soft-roading" department is power, payload capacity, factory recovery points and off-road modes (if you get the FX4), and a bed. I think in the United States, it is the perfect platform alongside the Bronco Sport for car camping and 4x4 touring.

Depending your needs and where you want to go, the Maverick may be fine but a Ford Ranger will vastly outperform a Maverick off-road. There is just no other way around it. If your primary use is off-roading or adventure travel, I would highly suggest a Ranger over the Maverick. I personally find that there is joy in doing something in a vehicle that really pushes the vehicles capability and your skill level as a driver but at the end of the day, you need to be realistic with expectations.

With that all being said, I really cannot wait to see Mavericks on the trail.

 

[ToddsTruckLife]

This is going to sound crazy to the hardcore 4x4 lovers, but I think that the torque of the hybrids would be great for overlanding. I’m wondering what 30” tires would do to the transmission, if it would be too much. But besides that…more mpg means longer stretches inbetween gas ups. Any thoughts on whether or not this is a stupid idea?

I don't think the idea is stupid at all. Everything has limitations. Sure, a better equipped vehicle will have fewer limitations, but you have to start somewhere. I've built full off road rigs and have gone places I know my Maverick will never be able to go, but I'm going to have fun with it and I'll encourage you to make great memories with yours.
Get to know your limitations and be safe. Ignore the haters. Have fun!

 

[PapaDave]

I changed my hybrid order to an AWD FX4 with 4k tow right after my previous post. Hopefully it will give me a slight 'soft road exploring & camping edge. I look forward to upcoming YouTube videos featuring the Maverick's capabilities.

Overlanding is just self-reliant vehicle travel in remote parts, typically to experience the culture where the journey is the focus as opposed to the destination. The vehicle is really just the tool to get the job done, whether it is a motorcycle, truck, Jeep or SUV. You typically aren't "forging your own trail" with overlanding but rather already using established roads and routes. In many cases of the world, these roads and routes aren't very well maintained and are also rutted... so mud, rocks, and sand.

I work at an off-road shop. I also used to have a very well-equipped Subaru Crosstrek (pictured below) that I used for camping and touring. I've also went to AOAA in a stock 2005 Honda CRV and stuck to green trails and while I never got stock, I did have some hiccups on lose rocks. Tires and driver go a long way in vehicle capability off-road. After building the Crosstrek and using it, I found it to be completely the wrong platform for my needs. Despite how capable it was where I took it off-road with the all-terrains, it was way underpowered and there wasn't enough cargo room for gear. The CVT was also incredibly atrocious.

The things that the Maverick have going for it in the "soft-roading" department is power, payload capacity, factory recovery points and off-road modes (if you get the FX4), and a bed. I think in the United States, it is the perfect platform alongside the Bronco Sport for car camping and 4x4 touring.

Depending your needs and where you want to go, the Maverick may be fine but a Ford Ranger will vastly outperform a Maverick off-road. There is just no other way around it. If your primary use is off-roading or adventure travel, I would highly suggest a Ranger over the Maverick. I personally find that there is joy in doing something in a vehicle that really pushes the vehicles capability and your skill level as a driver but at the end of the day, you need to be realistic with expectations.

With that all being said, I really cannot wait to see Mavericks on the trail.

If you I don't mind sharing, what tires do you have on the Subaru or recommended for our Mavericks?

 

[Haha48]

I'm seeing quite a few people that have started "overlanding" with the RAV4 Prime without any issues and those have the eCVT. 30" tires would likely be fine if you can keep them light, something like the Pirelli Scorpion A/T Plus would be ideal. You'll be changing the already low 2.91:1 final drive ratio but if there aren't any obstacles or terrain to cross up the axles you'll be just fine.

The electric motor is in the rear so it pushes the car along way better then just front. Try and get a prime 3 year wait

 

[Dad]

Just really depends on what "overlanding" means to you. I have explored places all over the west on beat up Forest Service/BLM roads in a Transit Connect. There are some places where i stoppedninnth van that I would have continued in a 4x4, but not many and the space and efficiency outweighed off road capability most of the time. If you do that sort of overlanding, the hybrid Maverick likely will be fine. If you are focused on more technical offroading, the hybrid wouldn't be your best bet (and if it gets too technical, the Maverick in general might not be).

So where do you want to go?

Wise advice and I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the Maverick's capabilities. In my mind, the Maverick, whether FWD or AWD, is designed as a vehicle to get you to your adventure, rather than off-roading being the adventure.

 

[Haha48]

As someone who has off roaded in a 2005 civic slow pick your line and when rocks start sticking up back off. I would say 80 percent of the forest roads is fine as long as it's packed. Loose stuff even awd gets stuck on loose gravel on a 16 degree hill. 4 wheel drive with low does it no problem mavrick just sank down and started digging. Most of the time I was front wheel drive while doing gravel road hills. Hybrid is capable just has some limits same with awd. As long as you stick with packed roads you should be fine. Rutted out badly low clearance will stop you more then anything.

I've found were I want to go it's ground clearance not awd or 4x4. Now I've tested the awd and it's very good and capable and I would've got stuck if it was fwd only but I went down a grass hill that was 18 degrees then backed out I even backed down it and drove forward to see how the drive modes preformed. Slippery had zero slippage or spinning. Mud ruts spun a bit sand was way more normal did ok was a delayed awd response. Fwd would've been unable to get out but I wouldn't drive down that as i knew it was soft muddy grass on a steep slope

If your driving rough roads to a hike you should be fine in a hybrid add steep hills you should be ok with awd. If you do side logging roads were it's just loose gravel you want a 4x4 with a proper low range it's like night and day no wheel spin just crawls up it.

You might want to consider a ranger or f150 a tacoma or a wrangler if you want better off road. They all chug more gas by a fair amount. Now a 2013 tacoma has around the same tank size and it goes 450km on that tank awd mavrick 620km. So you get 120km further for the same amount of gas. The newer tacoma gets worse mpg. Don't forget the awd has a bigger gas tank then the hybrid. That's because it chugs more gas.

The mavrick really needs a lift if it had that it would be way better. Also don't forget you lose payload with thr fx4 package awd moon roof ect. So it's really 1320lbs for the xlt with every option.

 

[ladyhawkgt]

This guy goes everywhere in a tricked out Honda Fit! Check out his videos. Anything is possible.

This guy went overlanding in friggin Toyota Avalon!

 

[Delbert]

I am coming from a Subaru Forester. It was great on the gravel tracks and pulling into questionable parking areas. The Maverick is much less capable. The stock road tires tend to lose grip and I am careful where I pull off the road. The front cowling under the bumper is only 6 inches off the ground. I expect I will modify it at some point. Bigger, better AT tires will go on when these tires wear out. If Ford makes an AWD hybrid Maverick. I will be first in line.

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