Been offered one super cheap, mk3, but not sure if it's 2.2 or 2.4. either way i'm a little scared by what fuel consumption you get out of it :O anyone have any experience of one?

just buy it ya cheap skate

hehe, too right bro. besides, it's downhill all the way from glenshee right?

How many boarders can it tow across the carpark at one time?

haha yeah soon as it snows we'll find out. now this could be fun i recon about 10

remote patrol

Is it a Hilux pickup or a Surf (jap import) I have a Surf, 3.0 l Diesel. Awesome beast and the off road / snow performance is limpet like. Fuel consumption is pants but it is built like a tank and totally reliable,

And of course, if you check out Top Gear, Clarkson tried to kill one and failed.

[www.youtube.com]

Great resources online for Hilux / Surf owners - entire forums (dead friendly like this one) devoted to them. And if you go to the right online dealers, you get spare parts at great prices.

Recommended!!

Cheers

Jim

James Westland
Isle of Mull, Scotland
www.mullgeology.com
=======================================================================================
"The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact."
Thomas Henry Huxley

cheers jim, in an ideal world i'd have a surf, but this ones a short cab pickup. needs quite a bit done to it though (front springs, paint, a hard top, plus it's been garaged for a couple of years), so i may end up with a surf yet! you ever tried sleeping in it? i reckon the pick up loadbed is bigger (and easier to insulate), but the 5dr shell seems like a better all round option.

either way it'll be fun finding out how many boarders it can tow, preferably to the top of glas maol....... :p

remote patrol

I havent actually tried sleeping in the Surf yet, but it would work fine, I am sure. With the back seats down there is a massive space and I tried lying down in it just to see - I am 6 ft and I had a couple of inches to spare, so it would probably be Ok

Been absolutely ages since I had a "car bivvie" Used to do it a lot at the side of Loch Morlich back in the 90s.

Mind you, that was a VW Scirroco - ace fun to drive, but absolutely rubbish to sleep in.......

Cheers!

Jim

PS: There is a guy in Tobermory who drives a Hilux pickup with chip shop oil insted of diesel. His wife runs a chip van (Its actually got Les Routiers rating) so he has a steady supply of fuel. Neat!

Heres the Chip Van:

[www.tobermoryboatcharters.co.uk]

Thoroughly recommended - you will be hard pushed to find better.

James Westland
Isle of Mull, Scotland
www.mullgeology.com
=======================================================================================
"The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact."
Thomas Henry Huxley

loch morlich's were we went "vamping" on the easter wkend trip brillant wee spot for breakfast what a view. i wonder how many others are kicking about in carparks doing the same thing? personaly i would hold out for a surf dude.

I used to have a Hilux with the 2.0 petrol engine. Got 20mpg on a good day, but it was lifted and had big A/T tyres.

Had it for 2 years, changed the oil once and that's all I spent on it - apart from lots of petrol obviously.

hmm, 20mpg's not bad actually! this one's lifted with A/T tyres too, which if i'm honest is the only reason i'm tempted, it looks pretty badass! more i look into it though, by the time I get a hardtop, fix the springs, respray it etc, i'm probably well into surf territory (not to mention time and effort to insulate the loadbed, fit electrics/heating etc). and two seats ain't the best for splitting those fuel bills that said though, even a chilly hilux probably beats my current 3dr focus in the car bivvy stakes.....

loch morlich is undoubtedly a sweet wee camp spot, just have to watch those ducks nicking your munchies!

I would think a 3.0TD surf would be a better bet, or a rare v6 3.0 if you want petrol
I think a 2.0 petrol hilux would be slow,

I owned a 4runner - which is UK version of the Surf, it had 3.0TD engine. great for towing, offroading and cruising.

the 4runner/surf have coil springs on the back, so nicer ride than a leaf-sprung hilux

no point having a pickup unless you are a builder or farmer, as you cant secure stuff as easily in back, unless you get a hardtop - then you may as well have a surf/4runner.
These can be lifted - suspension and body - and fitted with 33 or 35 tyres to look badass too
i put 2"inch suspension lift on the 4runner and fitted 31" BFG all-terrains


Got a 9 yr old Landcruiser Colorado now , same engine, but i wanted an auto and rear-difflock nice addition. 14yr old 4runner to a mate.

www.hiluxsurf.co.uk - very usefull - are you on this forum Jim?

this is what you want for car park bivvies (only 200k US too):

[www.earthroamer.com]



Barry

^^ i'll take 2 then

very true telemarker, that's pretty much what i'd decided. was only looking at the pickup for cheapness, but on reflection it needs so much done to it (plus possibly more that isn't obvious) and i dont fancy being stuck with a half fixed wreck in 6 months!

totally loving the earthroamer, looks awesome!