Robert, if you don't mind something old, find (with difficulty nowadays)
a pre1985 Toyota land cruiser, also known in Australia as a "troopie".
these are instantly recognizeable by the completely box-like cabin, and
the long-wheelbase model was designed to carry a squad of 8 soldiers in
the rear sitting sidewise on two parallel benches, with a bench seat in
front. The chassis and suspension is mor reminiscent of a locomotive
than a truck completely solid. There is a manual, low-hi range
transmission. You have to get out to lock or unlock the front hubs for 4
wheel drive. A diesel model will chug down the road at 55 mph forever,
cross rivers, tow less bush-worthy vehicles, etc.
We went to Australia in 2001 to cross the continent with local friends
from Sydney to the Kimberleys. We bought a used long wheelbase 1984
troopie, had oil leaks in the front hubs fixed, and set out on a 3 week
expedition. We covered 10,000 kilometers, perhaps 1/3 of it on unsealed
(unpaved) roads of various degrees of roughness, had no breakdowns (well
,the clutch was slipping the last 600 km), one flat tire, and came away
loving our vehicle, which we sold to a friend. You must not need to go
fast, as the fuel economy drops. With 2 fuel tanks you have 400+ mile
range.
Mike Marsh
> Subject:
> Re: field-worthy SUV
> From:
> William Silvert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date:
> Tue, 7 Aug 2007 18:16:59 +0100
>
>
> I'm no expert on this, but colleagues who have worked in Africa swear
> by the Toyota pickups. They run circles around Land Rovers and the like.
>
> Bill Silvert
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Long" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 1:23 PM
> Subject: field-worthy SUV
>
>
>> Hi folks,
>>
>> This is a fairly general question, but I'm looking for a small- or
>> mid-sized
>> SUV to serve as a field vehicle. It will be used extensively both on-
>> and
>> off-highway, although need not be capable of truly ruggged
>> off-roading. A
>> good amount of rear cargo space would be best (which eliminates some
>> of the
>> smaller SUVs like the Honda CRV), and decent gas mileage will be a
>> strong
>> plus.
>>
>> Can anyone recommend a few makes and models based on personal
>> experience in
>> the field?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Robert
