Will be going on the beach at Fleetwood which is deepish dry sand at times, i know whatever i chose i will need decent nobbly tires which would also cause me road noise on the way up there....anyone use this beach regular and maybe use a certain vehicle which MUST get me out of there' pulling a light weight jet ski...?...looking at nissan navara, mitsubishi, isuzu......and anyone else recommended vehicle, would like a free lander but believe they are a bit under par.....thanks......would auto or manual be preferable....?
reliable 4x4
- Thread starter libby lou lou
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How about a Suzuki Jimny?
Pneumatically operated 4x4 (reliable) low ratio too......manual or auto, default is RWD. Low on comfort, exceptional in traction and keep their value.
I'd avoid high mileage electronic 4x4's, the Haldex unit can give bother but is generally repairable (Generation 4 and 5 that is).
Isuzu Trooper is a good work horse, earlier ones are best, similarly the Mitsubishi L200......can't comment on the Navarra.
A Land Rover Defender (traditional one) has great traction and as much comfort as the Jimny!
John
Pneumatically operated 4x4 (reliable) low ratio too......manual or auto, default is RWD. Low on comfort, exceptional in traction and keep their value.
I'd avoid high mileage electronic 4x4's, the Haldex unit can give bother but is generally repairable (Generation 4 and 5 that is).
Isuzu Trooper is a good work horse, earlier ones are best, similarly the Mitsubishi L200......can't comment on the Navarra.
A Land Rover Defender (traditional one) has great traction and as much comfort as the Jimny!
John
For maybe more comfort, the Toyota Land Cruiser has it, the day cab truck - can't remember its handle - is good but eye wateringly expensive.
The Rav 4 is canny too - small in the back, most of them auto, all of them with leaking fuel fill pipes
J.
The Rav 4 is canny too - small in the back, most of them auto, all of them with leaking fuel fill pipes
J.
Cheers john.....more home work....the Suziki has always looked a bit toyish to me.......think i can handle the haldex unit in case of repairs but, am getting older now..after an easier life....thanks for your reply....looks like i'm asking questions on the pensioners forum....
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been looking at the hilux..hmmm $$$...thinking of the new shape nissan navara..unless someone warns me off.............For maybe more comfort, the Toyota Land Cruiser has it, the day cab truck - can't remember its handle - is good but eye wateringly expensive.
The Rav 4 is canny too - small in the back, most of them auto, all of them with leaking fuel fill pipes
J.
Believe it or not, the Jimny is quite a tough little bus and it's size belies its off road capability!
Whatever you go for, especially in the double cab pick up range, expect as nice strong chassis - which is probably just as well as the rust proofing is very poor - across the makes. Bodyshells and wheel arches suffer similar fate after a while.
I can't comment on the new Nissan, but the early ones were prone to crankshaft problems - long sorted now.
Good luck with your search!
John
Whatever you go for, especially in the double cab pick up range, expect as nice strong chassis - which is probably just as well as the rust proofing is very poor - across the makes. Bodyshells and wheel arches suffer similar fate after a while.
I can't comment on the new Nissan, but the early ones were prone to crankshaft problems - long sorted now.
Good luck with your search!
John
Contrary to popular belief aggressive tread tyres are not the best for sand, rather a milder tread with reduced tyre pressures to distribute the vehicle's weight over the sand's surface.
Knobbly tyres will dig into the sand & the more you try to drive out the deeper you will go.
Auto is a better bet as it will apply the torque smoothly. As for the vehicle of choice you want one with an engine that produces it's torque at low revs.
I'm a fan of old Land Rovers, but not qualified to advice on modern vehicles.
Deep sand can be a treacherous surface to drive on & best avoided to be honest, but if you must have your fun be prepared with a shovel & mats, plus a reliable mobile signal
Knobbly tyres will dig into the sand & the more you try to drive out the deeper you will go.
Auto is a better bet as it will apply the torque smoothly. As for the vehicle of choice you want one with an engine that produces it's torque at low revs.
I'm a fan of old Land Rovers, but not qualified to advice on modern vehicles.
Deep sand can be a treacherous surface to drive on & best avoided to be honest, but if you must have your fun be prepared with a shovel & mats, plus a reliable mobile signal
I'm sure it was the Navara's that used to snap in half (quite a common occurrence by the look of it!).
Hilux seem like a pretty resilient vehicle (I drove a 17 plate one for my B+E training / test and it was a lovely motor!).
Hilux seem like a pretty resilient vehicle (I drove a 17 plate one for my B+E training / test and it was a lovely motor!).
Honda CRV.
Andy
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I would have thought that a bit slow for the get-away after the Breaking and Entering, Keith
Small world! We used to keep a boat at Fleetwood!
If you're going to be driving on beaches, there will be salt involved. You don't say how much you want to spend, but you can either go down the "disposable" route and buy cheap, then just throw away when it rusts (or fails catastrophically in some other way), or you can try to spend more and hope that the corrosion protection will do its thing. I hear good thing about Toyota pickups when it comes to durability. The Nissan ones (as has been said) snap in half and rust quite alarmingly. Also their diesel engines aren't the best. Timing chains seem to be fragile. I've never had a Jimny, but I've seen a couple just "skate" over sand where heavier 4x4s have simply dug themselves down to the diffs and got stuck. If you're only pulling a jet ski, the Jimny might not be a bad option (and a separate chassis is easier to weld)! As has been said, wider tyres to "float" the car on the sand are the way to go. Lots of American 4x4s are useless in British mud, with their ridiculously wide "macho" tyres, but mud isn't so much a thing where a lot of these are used, it's sand. If you have a lot of £££ (both to buy it AND to feed it!) the Landcruisers are supposed to be indestructible too.
Down at the "disposable" end of the market, Freelanders get a bad press, but I've had a Freelander 1 for a few years (get the one with the BMW TD4 engine, rather than the Rover engined ones), and it has been better than expected. Sure, a lot of them have been badly neglected, and will be troublesome, but provided the viscous coupling hasn't seized and the propshaft hasn't been removed (which sellers will tell you is for "fuel economy" but is usually because the coupling has seized and trashed the transfer box or the rear diff), they're quite capable off-road. However, they lack the low ratio box of a "proper" 4x4.
Alternatively, just use an ordinary car and launch off the slipway at Knott End or Stannah?
If you're going to be driving on beaches, there will be salt involved. You don't say how much you want to spend, but you can either go down the "disposable" route and buy cheap, then just throw away when it rusts (or fails catastrophically in some other way), or you can try to spend more and hope that the corrosion protection will do its thing. I hear good thing about Toyota pickups when it comes to durability. The Nissan ones (as has been said) snap in half and rust quite alarmingly. Also their diesel engines aren't the best. Timing chains seem to be fragile. I've never had a Jimny, but I've seen a couple just "skate" over sand where heavier 4x4s have simply dug themselves down to the diffs and got stuck. If you're only pulling a jet ski, the Jimny might not be a bad option (and a separate chassis is easier to weld)! As has been said, wider tyres to "float" the car on the sand are the way to go. Lots of American 4x4s are useless in British mud, with their ridiculously wide "macho" tyres, but mud isn't so much a thing where a lot of these are used, it's sand. If you have a lot of £££ (both to buy it AND to feed it!) the Landcruisers are supposed to be indestructible too.
Down at the "disposable" end of the market, Freelanders get a bad press, but I've had a Freelander 1 for a few years (get the one with the BMW TD4 engine, rather than the Rover engined ones), and it has been better than expected. Sure, a lot of them have been badly neglected, and will be troublesome, but provided the viscous coupling hasn't seized and the propshaft hasn't been removed (which sellers will tell you is for "fuel economy" but is usually because the coupling has seized and trashed the transfer box or the rear diff), they're quite capable off-road. However, they lack the low ratio box of a "proper" 4x4.
Alternatively, just use an ordinary car and launch off the slipway at Knott End or Stannah?
How heavy is a jet ski and trailer, Jimny towing capacity is 350kgs unbraked and 1300kgs braked
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