There are some great trip reports over on the Expedition Portal Forums. Here are a couple of highlight photos from a guy who posts under the name “Sabre.” He and his wife took an overland trip from their home in Washington state to the southwest. The photos and scenery are stunning. And they did the whole trip in a stock Gen 3 Montero.
Link: Backcountry Trip to Utah Sells the Wife on Overlanding Read the rest of this entry »
Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the Mitsubishi Montero/Pajero. I don’t know much about the current 4th generation Montero — it’s not available in the States — but my favorite is still the 2nd generation, produced 1992–1999, and known to enthusiasts as the “Gen 2.”
I got a message on the site recently asking me what I like about it. Here’s the short answer.
It’s a capable truck for my needs, i.e., exploring moderate trails (no rock crawling) for a week or two at a time. I like the design of both the interior and exterior better than I did that of the 80-series Land Cruisers. I also like its part-time 4-wheel-drive system. I can run in 4-high, 4-low, 2WD, or 4-high with an open center diff (all wheel drive). The ability to switch into 2WD allows the Montero to get about 19 mpg on the highway which, while not great, is better than the 12–14 mpg I would have gotten in the Land Cruiser.
Also, I love driving a stick and the base model Gen 2 Montero was available with a 5 speed. That sealed the deal. I think it was the only mid-1990s, domestic SUV which had that option.
The Gen 2 Montero is the best-balanced SUV I could find. It makes a good daily driver and it’s never let me down on the trail.
Thanks for the video, Greg!
Photo: Nik SchulzAfter leaving the deserts of Arizona we crossed over into the deserts of California. We’d initially planned to camp at Joshua Tree’s south entrance off of the 10 freeway, but we completely missed the exit and ended up in Indio (in the Palm Springs/Coachella area). By the time we got there it was well past sundown and the wind was blowing an absolute gale. We shelved our camping plan and headed to a hotel.
After a hot shower and a good night of sleep we ready to head into Joshua Tree and found what was probably a more interesting way in.
Photo: Nik Schulz
.After heading out of Sedona we made our way over to Prescott for some more backcountry exploration and to say hello the team at Overland Journal.
A quick note: if you find yourself on Highway 89A about 20 miles northeast of Prescott, you’ll be within spitting distance of Jerome, AZ. Do yourself a favor and stop. Jerome is an old mining town that’s half deserted, half lived-in and 100% amazing. I’d tell you more but unfortunately we didn’t have time to stop. Word had it there was a BBQ on at the Overland Journal.
Update: Here’s a quick video of the trip.
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