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Here's my thought on the whole thing - if it was a dedicated toy to adventure / offroad, maybe I could justify throwing another 2-3k at it and make it more capable.
Since it's not really a toy and used as my daily, I'm fine with leaving it the way it is and occasionally getting a little on the wild side.
I also need to remember that I need to preserve this thing for towing, too
My transfer case and rock rails were “home made” by some guy on the Jeep forum. He had a Grand Cherokee like mine, he was handy with the welder and made himself some heavy duty stuff… so he offered to make limited quantities for folks on the forum, it was mostly cost of materials + a bit for his personal time. I don’t remember if I had to pick it up or if he shipped…
Heavy duty skids and rock rails are an easy sell to the wife, just say it lowers center of gravity making it safer for daily use with the children…
i agree though wrangler prices are absolutely nuts!
Boring update incoming - Cayenne has been great - just rolled over 158,400 miles.
Since my last update I've done the following:
- Replaced broken window switches
- Front Upper strut mounts
- Front Upper control arms
- Front Lower arms
- New windshield washer reservior
- Added some cheap all weather mats
- Several Oil changes
- Front differential, rear differential, and transfer case fluids
- New upper radiator hoses
- 1 x Cam sensor
I just got back from a camping trip in the mountains - new suspension really refreshed my love for this thing .. not a single clunk / noise up front on over 20 miles of rutted rocky roads. Air suspension is funny ... keep it in the lowest / softest mode and it soaks up bumps.
This car takes very little breaks - This weekend I'm finally pulling my trailer out of storage and hitting a nearby campground.
Wow, the scenery is beautiful and the car fits in perfectly! You made me miss the old days when I went off-road with my Jeep. Being a Jeep, sometimes I made it to the trails and even better, sometime I made it home too!
you poured a lot of love and effort into that car, it better treat you well
Wow, the scenery is beautiful and the car fits in perfectly! You made me miss the old days when I went off-road with my Jeep. Being a Jeep, sometimes I made it to the trails and even better, sometime I made it home too!
you poured a lot of love and effort into that car, it better treat you well
I've been into street cars forever ... making them fast, making them corner well, autocross, track days ... yada yada. While I still love doing it, going on a few trails & camping is an entirely different and frankly new experience for me - it really is a great recipe for that "disconnect".
Seems to me that you need to start looking at Jeeps again.
Originally Posted by CCColtsicehockey
What a beautiful view. Glad to hear the Cayenne is still treating you well. Looks so great in that setting.
Thank you dude - it's treating me great until it won't .
And I'll just buy another one .. and another one ... and another one. They're so cheap.
Originally Posted by civicdrivr
I'm happy to see the pepper mobile is still chugging along!
That view makes me miss the west coast even more
Come visit dude.
Hope all is well.
Originally Posted by SamDoe1
That is so fucking cool and the views out by you are absolutely stunning. Old Cayenne is now on my bucket list so thanks for that.
Straight trade for that Rivian?
Unibody / no flex is quite apparent offroad but, the Cayenne does the other 99% perfectly.
It's funny hitting the trails one day, dropping off the kids at school another, towing a trailer the following day, and whooping on some kid in a GTI on the way home.
The cost / versatility / fun ratio is pretty much unbeatable to me.
Originally Posted by 1StGenCL
Love those views and I'll take a "boring update" over a "scoring update" any day
Unibody / no flex is quite apparent offroad but, the Cayenne does the other 99% perfectly.
It's funny hitting the trails one day, dropping off the kids at school another, towing a trailer the following day, and whooping on some kid in a GTI on the way home.
The cost / versatility / fun ratio is pretty much unbeatable to me.
lol, still haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet. If I decide to sell it, it'll be next summer.
Trails are so much fun though, definitely miss my Jeep days.
Glad you're enjoying this one so much. The Cayenne is such a cool SUV, especially old ones like yours that were made to do everything rather than the new ones which are designed to go to Target.
lol, still haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet. If I decide to sell it, it'll be next summer.
Trails are so much fun though, definitely miss my Jeep days.
Glad you're enjoying this one so much. The Cayenne is such a cool SUV, especially old ones like yours that were made to do everything rather than the new ones which are designed to go to Target.
Sounds like you two have a deal, congrats on the trade!
I've been into street cars forever ... making them fast, making them corner well, autocross, track days ... yada yada. While I still love doing it, going on a few trails & camping is an entirely different and frankly new experience for me - it really is a great recipe for that "disconnect".
Seems to me that you need to start looking at Jeeps again.
Funny enough, I’m going through the process in reverse. I started off with the Jeep, and now I’m doing more Autocross and track days. Off-roading in Florida doesn’t appeal to me, my neighbor’s son had a Jeep and they went to some trails. It’s all flat, ground is sandy and it’s absolutely packed, no thanks. If I lived further north or in an area that was better for off-roading with scenic views like you posted, I would certainly entertain getting something for the trails.
I do enjoy mountains, many of our vacations involve hiking and national parks, but we don’t camp out we stay at a hotel or lodge.
I have to admit that I came back to your thread a few times just to check out those last 2 pics you posted.
Funny enough, I’m going through the process in reverse. I started off with the Jeep, and now I’m doing more Autocross and track days. Off-roading in Florida doesn’t appeal to me, my neighbor’s son had a Jeep and they went to some trails. It’s all flat, ground is sandy and it’s absolutely packed, no thanks. If I lived further north or in an area that was better for off-roading with scenic views like you posted, I would certainly entertain getting something for the trails. I do enjoy mountains, many of our vacations involve hiking and national parks, but we don’t camp out we stay at a hotel or lodge.
I have to admit that I came back to your thread a few times just to check out those last 2 pics you posted.
Funny enough, I’m going through the process in reverse. I started off with the Jeep, and now I’m doing more Autocross and track days. Off-roading in Florida doesn’t appeal to me, my neighbor’s son had a Jeep and they went to some trails. It’s all flat, ground is sandy and it’s absolutely packed, no thanks. If I lived further north or in an area that was better for off-roading with scenic views like you posted, I would certainly entertain getting something for the trails.
I do enjoy mountains, many of our vacations involve hiking and national parks, but we don’t camp out we stay at a hotel or lodge.
I have to admit that I came back to your thread a few times just to check out those last 2 pics you posted.
Same reason I sold my TJ. Garbage on the highway and that's most of commute.
Last place I thought I'd see a Tyler sighting is AZ. Happy to see it.
Both [6.2 & 5.3] still have lifter issues, so I'd say get an AFM disable early on, if you go GM. Or get a Duramax.
Have a coworker with a Tahoe Premier [2022 IIRC, 5.3] & she had lifter failure & a bent pushrod. Warranty luckily. They replaced all the lifters & the 1 pushrod. Pretty sure it gouged the cam, too. Slight tick at idle now.
Problem goes back far enough that even my dad's 6.2 Yukon XL Denali was showing some signs of it as well.
Also, as the VAG king, you really should find one of the V10 TDI Touareg for tow duty
Edit: Looked it up & didn't realize they were actually sold in the US
Sadly, doesn't look like we were ever offered the W12 [gas] model.
Last edited by 00TL-P3.2; Oct 9, 2025 at 04:51 PM.
Sell the camper and keep the MDX. Start going to hotel rooms instead, probably cheaper anyway lol. Also, I could not imagine paying CA gas prices for a 6.2L anything.
Both [6.2 & 5.3] still have lifter issues, so I'd say get an AFM disable early on, if you go GM. Or get a Duramax.
Have a coworker with a Tahoe Premier [2022 IIRC, 5.3] & she had lifter failure & a bent pushrod. Warranty luckily. They replaced all the lifters & the 1 pushrod. Pretty sure it gouged the cam, too. Slight tick at idle now.
Problem goes back far enough that even my dad's 6.2 Yukon XL Denali was showing some signs of it as well.
Also, as the VAG king, you really should find one of the V10 TDI Touareg for tow duty
Edit: Looked it up & didn't realize they were actually sold in the US
Sadly, doesn't look like we were ever offered the W12 [gas] model.
After going thru 2 motors due to lifter failure, I don't even look at GM anymore until they get rid of that shit. If you are hell bent on getting a GM, make sure you turn the shit off ASAP. Don't know why they are still putting that shit in new vehicles...
Have read that the V6 DCJR engine uses the same lifters, but don't seem to hear about failures nearly as much as the GM V8s
The failures with GM are when they switch to V4 mode. Shutting down 4 cylinders, I feel doesn't lubricate the way they are use to when running full power. Neighbor up the street had his 6.2 seize on him at 45mph due to the failure. Its to bad because GM trucks/suvs are good looking vehicles.
The reality is, unless I'm willing to get an ancient / unbreakable 5.7 V8 Toyota Tundra / Landcruiser .. what comfortably tows 5,000 pounds (we plan on upgrading our trailer in 2-4 years to something in the neighborhood of 6,000lb, too) that doesn't have their issues?
TTV6 Explorer [ST/Platinum/KR]?
My 2.3T I4 pulled an open trailer with a 2-row Kawasaki Mule on it no problem, other than the 10mpg & stopping every 100 miles for fuel
TTV6 Explorer [ST/Platinum/KR]?
My 2.3T I4 pulled an open trailer with a 2-row Kawasaki Mule on it no problem, other than the 10mpg & stopping every 100 miles for fuel
The reality is, unless I'm willing to get an ancient / unbreakable 5.7 V8 Toyota Tundra / Landcruiser .. what comfortably tows 5,000 pounds (we plan on upgrading our trailer in 2-4 years to something in the neighborhood of 6,000lb, too) that doesn't have their issues?
- just rolled over 158,400 miles.
.
