Well, the child bride (she does have a name) and I have decided to escape from the humdrum of small business and do the GN thing, leaving around Easter, next year.
We have decided on the kind of van we want (18'-20' with shower and wc), so now begins the agonising task of buying a tug.

In the esteemed opinions of all you experienced GNs, which is the better make of vehicle to buy in terms of reliability, economy, ease of servicing etc? We are going to buy a used diesel something or other. Your advice will, in most cases, be appreciated.

dont know your budget but my choice and reason is a landrover discovery series 1 with a tdi 300 motor, reasons are comfy to sit in all day with great visability and the big one for me is a simply mechanical injector system meaning no computers to let me down. Done 30000 kms in the last couple of years of remote desert travel, traveling solo and had no stopages and only normal servicing and good regular maintiance. We set off on jan 27th from tassie to head to perth, down to albany then up north to darwin and who knows, but what I know is that ever with 250 000 kms on the clock it will perform well towing the 16 foot van at about 12L/100km cheers blaze

I would go for a landcruiser of the 75 or 79 ser as they are reliable, easy to maintain and easy to get parts for if you do break down. Thousands of farmers can,t be wrong.Out in the bush you will see more cruisers than anything else, and the reason is they are tough and keep going when the going gets that  way.A turbo 79 ser diesel would be my pick, for a bit more power to tow the van. It really comes down to how much you want to spend.A new v8 diesel would be nice, but are expensive to fix.The earlier models are simpler.Its up to you.

Personally I would endorse bills comments...  We purchased a 06 Rodeo TD Auto through Carpoint for $21,500 with only 60,000 klms on the clock.  Very pleased with the vehicle and while I am not trying to steer you to wards a Rodeo, Carpoint.com is a good starting point to see what is out there.  Just use the advanced search - its very user friendly.

-- Edited by petengail on Thursday 4th of November 2010 05:02:26 PM

Does this mean you won't be at Rusty's when I'm in Cairns next year??

Thanks guys for your input, but I'm still confused (been in that state since I married the child bride 15 years ago, a bit like being permanently dosed up with Oxycontin. Fuzzy but nice). Jimricho, I certainly hope not! Not because you're coming, but I'm very simply well and truly over what Cairns has become. If I could, I'd leave tomorrow.

The Kiss principle doesn,t mean kissing the child bride(but it might help), it means keep it simple , stupid, and it works for cars , also. I find the new models , besides costing too much, are expensive to fix.An older diesel cruiser, in reasonable condition , will get you anywhere you can get the caravan, reliabley, and won,t kill the bank account when you have to fix it, and even new cars break down. Its just that the new ones cost more to fix, and are complicated. I have an old hilux 4wd ute with a home made slide on and a tinny on a rack on the front, andhave done the big lap, and to Cape york a few times , besides many other places,also. Just come back from NT. I had one flat, and did a bearing seal, which I fixed my self. That the thing- you can fix the older vehicle your self. I hope this helps you.

Bill, Thanks for that. I tend to agree wth you.

Just turned over my 99 100seriesLandcruiser  petrol gas. Got $20,000 . Now have 06 100 series turbo diesel Landcruisers Payed $64,999. They started with the paper work half way into the paper work I put down my gold card. O! panic panic they had to take all the taxes off. Jippy for me. Only payed $40,000 for it. Forgot only 127000 0n the clock.

I paid $7900 for the hilux 5 years ago and spend about $800 a year in maintenace and repairs a year, and do aboaut 25000 klms a year of mostly bad roads. I sugest that a landcruiser would be the same or a little more. Beats $40000 doesn,t it.

My two bobs worth ....

It's all about ..

Your Budget

Your Budget

and

What you are going to do with it.

And

Your mechanical ability.


Current models are relatively fuel efficient, very expensive & difficult to self maintain.  But there are lots to pick from .. very confusing.


My old 95 Patrol -  4.2 EFI - cost $30,000 with 30,000K ... done  225,000K with almost no probs pulling 2.6ton van.   Was a great buy.  Box rattles a bit at certain revs under load these days, but can't find a compelling argument to retire her.

Personally I luv the TD/TB 4.2 patrols but not so sure about the 4cyl 3L ones.  Can't get a current 4.2 as they wouldn't spend the $'s to upgrade it to common rail or meet the current emission standards.  Probably too heavy as well. Who knows.

Not convinced that current Cruisers are as good as the oldies .. maybe that's just me in my dotage.

Lots of good looking around 3L common rail D's out there now.  A tradies pack crew cab 4WD would be attractive .. most manufactures have them in their range.  Seems that most  pull round 3ton.

ps. Way back in 98, I got my Patrol because equivalent Cruisers were $10G  (25%) dearer.

My 97 disco cost me $9500 34 months ago and have done roughly 90 000km and apart from normal oil and filter changes, 1.5 sets of tyres, lots of desert travel I have just spent $2800 on front wheel bearings, new radiator, inter cooler flush and new hoses (non of these were past their used by date but because I am towing the nulabor in january I thought it prudent to do them), also at hte same time replaced timing belt and 1 unijoint (at their used by date), so cost are around $1000 a year + normal wear and tear stuff cheers blaze

Its it lovely to have so many views on so many different vehicles. For me part of the trip is working, and learning to work on my vehicle, and getting to those out of the way places.Different cars for different people. It make the world go round. It would be a boring place if we all drove the same car.

-- Edited by bill12 on Thursday 4th of November 2010 09:21:40 PM

Interesting to read all of the comments...my 98 farm ute patrol 4.2 has 250ks on and except tyres and batteries no probs... never even replaced a fan belt... and its had a tough life.. had several new patrol 3l jobs but they need to work hard to get you there, and many farmers around me have had them expire around the 1/150k mark... rebuilds expensive....finally settled on a diesel 200 cruiser and it sits on gravel roads at speed with its constant 4wd system, and is a real dream....gets down to 11L per 100ks not towing. lets in no dust!! These must be coming down in price, second hand by now? good luck in your search.

Before considering which tow vehicle will best suit your needs now and into the future first decide on the size and weight of the van.
Then you can you match the vehicle to the van.
ozjohn.

not to confuse the matter but whats good for towing something like the avans? around 800-1100kgs?
i was kind of thinking a ute of some sort, if i dont go the campervan way..
just listening and learning from you guys
either this
http://www.avan.com.au/products_campers.html
or even a small nipper or something like that, i dont want a huge van.. not when its just me..

-- Edited by milo on Saturday 6th of November 2010 08:09:25 PM

this is a great argument most people (me too) are biased for one reason or another we recently bought a 2002 patrol 4.2 turbo diesel for our upcoming travels, reason had used them in the bush when working on gas pipelines totally reliable easy to fix no electronic operated systems to fail, bit slow and not great on fuel but i know it will get us to where we are heading and that to me is first and foremost good luck with your search for a tug

Whatever you do, don't under power. More horses proves to be more economical when towing. I arrived in Mt. Isa today and was shocked to see how many 80 Series Cruisers are out and about. My "Rosy" is in good company it seems. She's the 4.2 diesel, done 300,000 + kms, and ticking along nicely. She's a basic barn-door wagon, with no carpet, 5 speed manual, no turbo. New springs and shockies were fitted just before I left Cairns so I would tow safely. I even have to wind the windows down AND up. I prefer basic vehicles with as few frills and complicated components as possible. The KISS principle applies for me as well. No frills, no fancy comforts. Rosy is comfortable, airconned and does the job very well. Less to break down and easier to fix. Gotta have grunt!

100 series 4.2 turbo diesel or 80 series landcruiser good strong motors good economy towing or not parts available anywhere great vehicle

Just to re-iterate something that many, many others have said: "Avoid the small, highly stressed turbo-diesels." Endurance is what long term traveling is all about, coupled with proper economy. There's no use saving a bit on fuel if the cost of mechanical repairs is high. The cost of rebuilding or replacing the little turbo-wonders is out of all proportion to any fuel saving that they may achieve.