Hi all, I am new to the forum and the sport. Junior and I were lucky enough to be invited on a trip up thompsons last weekend with xj, callum007, dixie and a few others, riding shotgun and generally getting muddy. We both had a great time.
Junior is hassling for us to get our own truck and give it a go. Nothing ventured nothing gained, I guess. To be honest I am keen as well.
I would like to get some feedback on what generally would be regarded as a reasonable truck for a beginner to get into. I realise like everything motor sport everyone has personal preferences for makes and models and looking through the forum it would appear all the brands would have advantages and disadvantages. So I guess if you have had some good/bad experiences when you first started or with your first offroad vehicle I would be interested in hearing about it and what is considered as a good all round beginners vehicle. Cheers
Beginners Offroader
cheap well set up vehicle, close to reserve, but closes in about 2 hours....
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 922276.htm
Ive only had zuks, learnt to drive offroad in the old mans series 1 many years ago. Still have a soft spot for landys (just not leaf sprung ones
) For a budget offroader either something like above or an early beam axle hilux. You will get a heap of different answers here due to brand loyalty.
Whats your budget??
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 922276.htm
Ive only had zuks, learnt to drive offroad in the old mans series 1 many years ago. Still have a soft spot for landys (just not leaf sprung ones
) For a budget offroader either something like above or an early beam axle hilux. You will get a heap of different answers here due to brand loyalty.
Whats your budget??
Yeah, I had a glance at that and a mitsi pajero and a safari. All a bit confusing really. And yes budget. Good question I was sort of thinking up to $5 or $6k. I guess that is what I need to determine. The thompsons experience showed me what some ofd these safaris will do with some tweeks. Pretty impressive. But in saying that xjs jeep is pretty cool. I have also had minimal experience with mitsi pajeros in the past to.
I am really in the investigation stage, you know the old slow and steady scenario. So hence just trying to get peoples opinions and thoughts and I agree everyone has a brand preference.
I am really in the investigation stage, you know the old slow and steady scenario. So hence just trying to get peoples opinions and thoughts and I agree everyone has a brand preference.
Nice thought, not really what I had in mind. Thinking about it, I will probably look for something that can take three people. junior is probably going to want to be there, and then the wife will probably want to have a look as well. So probably will avoid a ute type setup and save myself some grief.
A good point to bring up though, most of the vehicles I saw at Thompsons were SWB except probably xj's jeep, which I guess is medium wheel base. How is this going to effect things, or is it a case of wheel base length has advantages and disadvantges depending on the situation or obstacle you are trying to get over/under etc?
A good point to bring up though, most of the vehicles I saw at Thompsons were SWB except probably xj's jeep, which I guess is medium wheel base. How is this going to effect things, or is it a case of wheel base length has advantages and disadvantges depending on the situation or obstacle you are trying to get over/under etc?
if you want a good cheap base truck to that in the future can keep up witht he big boys go for a solid front axle hilux or surf if you can find one. land cruisers and safaris are great too but generally cost a bit more. if it were me and i had 6 grand i would look at getting a truck got about 3-4 and spending the rest on mods. i bought a 91 3Lv6 surf for 3 grand at christmas and have spent about 3.5 grand on it tyres spring lift body lift longer shocks in the back, snorkel and soon to go in are diff locks. it goes alot better than standard and i am really happy with it, however would still like a solid front axel for the strenght and abillity to keep the wheels on the ground more. unless you are doing rock climbing most tracks can be done with the ifs and the one thing that i find better than solid front is more clearance when in ruts.
pete
pete
Cheers Pete, I did wonder about heading in that direction. I mean buying something and then make some mods as time goes on, I guess as your experience increases you will tend to push the envelope and there for require more from your vehicle. Being that you got a Hilux have you found any advantages or disadvantages with having a slightly longer wheel base, or do you feel its of no great concern. Why I ask is watching the guys manouvering around the tight twisty corners on the loop at Thompsons gave the impression that a shorter wheel base might help. In saying that I would imaging there are situations that a longer wheel base would be a greater benefit.
H2OLOVA as for room in the back for the wife I would be asking to get slapped.
H2OLOVA as for room in the back for the wife I would be asking to get slapped.
Its a funny thing that. I was involved in drag racing a few years back and you were pretty proud if you could get the front wheels off the ground. This sport tends to be the opposite everyong is trying to keep there wheels on the ground. lilpigzuk what are your thoughts on the wheel base delimma, long, short or of no major concern?
Lil Pig in its current guise is factory wheelbase, ie 79.9". For what I do, fun trialling and the like, it is not too bad, the shortness is good for the tight courses that are pegged, but on steep hillclimbs you do feel it getting light in the steering and on some downhills the rear wheels do get a bit of air under them. I also run my radiator in the back so Im screwed if I want to carry anything for more than a day trip 
My sloooooooooow rebuild I am pushing the wheelbase to 88" to help with up/down stability, I will loose a little in the tight stuff but it is fun competition so its not such a concern.
Some say 100" is the ideal wheelbase (ie the wheelbase of a Discovery and range rover), short enough for bush work but long enough that you will have room for everything you take 4 wheeling.
If I didnt do trialling this would be the wheelbase I would run with.
my $0.02 worth
My sloooooooooow rebuild I am pushing the wheelbase to 88" to help with up/down stability, I will loose a little in the tight stuff but it is fun competition so its not such a concern.
Some say 100" is the ideal wheelbase (ie the wheelbase of a Discovery and range rover), short enough for bush work but long enough that you will have room for everything you take 4 wheeling.
If I didnt do trialling this would be the wheelbase I would run with.
my $0.02 worth
short wheel base seem to be good for getting round tight corners and the ramp over angle helps when getting over lips, the longer the truck the more likely the front will drop over the other side of a mound before the back comes up and you get hung up on the belly. i like a long wheel base myself for going up long hils and although i havnt done alot of tight stuff i havnt had my truck (or my dads slightly bigger prado) be to big to get round things. another thing to look at it width. the higher you go the wider you want to be for stability but being really wide (like a safari) will stuff you up in tight trees etc just as much as lenght. personally i think the hilux/ surf is a good comprimise.
pete
pete
Cheers Pete. had a quick look around the web and feel you are probably right. A hilux might be the best match for both my requirements and budget. I am assuming that yours is the one pictured in your profile. It looks great.
Its good that everyone is able to share some ideas here though. As you might realise with all the different vehicles and models available, as a newbie your a little bit spoilt for choice.
I will start having a look around. Cheers for that.
Its good that everyone is able to share some ideas here though. As you might realise with all the different vehicles and models available, as a newbie your a little bit spoilt for choice.
I will start having a look around. Cheers for that.
I have a friend with a 91 Forerunner which is for sale. It is a great truck and has all the usual mods. Has a current Reg, new wof and new safety cert for the Wellington CCVC club.
2.8 Diesel with aftermarket turbo kit
2in Old Man Emu suspension lift front and rear
2in Body lift
Tow hooks front and rear
Snorkel
Free wheeling hubs
32in MTR's with 75% tread on white spoke rims
Front diff lock
I will PM you his email if you are interested. It's very tidy. Only issue is that it's an IFS front. It's still very capable.
Cheers
Matt.
2.8 Diesel with aftermarket turbo kit
2in Old Man Emu suspension lift front and rear
2in Body lift
Tow hooks front and rear
Snorkel
Free wheeling hubs
32in MTR's with 75% tread on white spoke rims
Front diff lock
I will PM you his email if you are interested. It's very tidy. Only issue is that it's an IFS front. It's still very capable.
Cheers
Matt.
didnt realise i had a profile lol. if its a blue 4runner then its mine though its abit different now. in my album i there is as yellow hilux that used to belong to on of my m8s. if mattmans m8s truck is a good price it would be quite good, all the works done. pritty much done all the same things i have. they go well and and will keep up on the club trips. personaly i dont mind the ifs apart from the fact that is weak. having the lokka in the front is good as you can go slower and you are less likely to break the diff also helps account for lifting the front wheels all the time. and as i said before in ruts you will go further than solid font axel trucks as you have more clearence. waight till all the other guys with solid axels get on tonight and have their say lol.
Pete
Pete
RJ, you know that i would love to steer you in the direction of Jeep, but i'm not going to do that. As much as i love them, they have their quirks, some big some not so big.
Las tthin i would want to do is to rant and rave and then have you buy one only to hate it. I know what their problems are and am prepared to put up with them. I love my jeep, but it aint the be all and end all.
Most of the people here will send ya in the right direction mate, and once you've decided id be glad to help ya out in whatever way i can.
see ya at the workshop tomorrow night.
Las tthin i would want to do is to rant and rave and then have you buy one only to hate it. I know what their problems are and am prepared to put up with them. I love my jeep, but it aint the be all and end all.
Most of the people here will send ya in the right direction mate, and once you've decided id be glad to help ya out in whatever way i can.
see ya at the workshop tomorrow night.
Hi mudy,
Yeah funny that I got a phone call last night indicating something like that. Will have to catch up with Dixie and have a good look over the weekend, maybe crunch some numbers. They are a tough beast from what I saw. Cheers for that. In saying that being new to the sport and wanting to do some research its been great reading all the different comments. And its funny how a thread like this can open doors to what might be coming up for sale. Great stuff Cheers
Yeah funny that I got a phone call last night indicating something like that. Will have to catch up with Dixie and have a good look over the weekend, maybe crunch some numbers. They are a tough beast from what I saw. Cheers for that. In saying that being new to the sport and wanting to do some research its been great reading all the different comments. And its funny how a thread like this can open doors to what might be coming up for sale. Great stuff Cheers
-
gomulletgo
- Hard Yaka
- Posts: 320
- Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:00 pm
- Location: Amberley / North Canterbury
Hey RJ,
just going to start off by saying that I am not trying to steer you in any direction, and that I certainly don't profess to know it all, I'm just letting you know how I chose the vehicle that I did. Two weeks ago I bought my first "real" 4wd, an 84 hilux surf. It took me ages to finally narrow the field down, what I did was make a mental list of all the things I wanted in a 4wd:
(My list)
everday driver
solid axle
diesel
economical
not too long or wide (those big safaris and landcruisers are tanks)
not too short or narrow (I found samurai's very skittish on shingle)
ability to sleep in the back (for hunting and camping)
aftermarket support
etc, etc, etc.
You get the idea. I found that when I worked out everything that I wanted from the vehicle I only really had one type of vehicle to look for, which really made the vehicle hunt alot easier.
All vehicles have compromises, SWB can be good (tight trails) and bad (shingle roads) all at the same time, as can LWB, coils springs, leaf springs etc, etc, etc.
hope this helps. MULLET
just going to start off by saying that I am not trying to steer you in any direction, and that I certainly don't profess to know it all, I'm just letting you know how I chose the vehicle that I did. Two weeks ago I bought my first "real" 4wd, an 84 hilux surf. It took me ages to finally narrow the field down, what I did was make a mental list of all the things I wanted in a 4wd:
(My list)
everday driver
solid axle
diesel
economical
not too long or wide (those big safaris and landcruisers are tanks)
not too short or narrow (I found samurai's very skittish on shingle)
ability to sleep in the back (for hunting and camping)
aftermarket support
etc, etc, etc.
You get the idea. I found that when I worked out everything that I wanted from the vehicle I only really had one type of vehicle to look for, which really made the vehicle hunt alot easier.
All vehicles have compromises, SWB can be good (tight trails) and bad (shingle roads) all at the same time, as can LWB, coils springs, leaf springs etc, etc, etc.
hope this helps. MULLET
Thanks guys, this has all been great stuff. We have taken on board everyones thoughts and mostly unbias opinions. As per some of the previous comments I think I will head towards a safari or a hilux. Its just lucky I am heading to Aussie for a week and can have a think and mull over everyones thoughts. Cheers