BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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Jun 17, 2017 14:34:22 GMT
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I've not read the whole of the tread, so sorry if this is an echo here. I've recently sold my 2000 crew cab L200. It was most certainly awesome and I loved every moment of it. I used to have BFgoodrich Mud terrains but I swapped them for a set of Insta Turbo Specials or something like that. I think they were about £60 a corner. I used to do a lot of green leaning and pay and play days and it never really got stuck... Unless you went obviously out of its ledge. It pulled things out all day long, took a decent load on the back, pulled all day long and o absoloiey loved the thing. If you have any specific questions please ask away.
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Last Edit: Jun 17, 2017 14:39:53 GMT by BT
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fad
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,781
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Jun 17, 2017 14:41:25 GMT
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Theres a few workhorse battleaxes I know can take a decent load on their backs... Waheeey!
Those insa turbos are well worth the coin. Wear very quickly on tarmac though... And wander a bit if you have a high profile.
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The bfg mud terrain is a very good tyre..i shopped around and got mine for £100 a corner.
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Do they have diff lockers? We found that diff lockers hugely improve off-road capability... Especially on muddy terrain.
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BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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Jun 18, 2017 19:39:08 GMT
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My ford ranger had electric diff locks. My imported L200 didn't, although I'm told later uk models did have diff locks.
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Jun 18, 2017 22:33:05 GMT
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The L200's are looking the best bang-for-your-buck so far. Single cabs seem less available than double cabs, and I'm guessing the double might have a better towing capacity Kg-wise? The extra cab would be totally wasted though.
Thanks for the tyre recommendations guys.
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Jun 18, 2017 23:50:00 GMT
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Contrary to their reputation for being bullet-proof, a friend of mine had endless mechanical problems with his L200 which cost him a small fortune. He eventually put a re-con engine in it which lasted 5 minutes. Hilux is supposed to be the most reliable 4x4 pick-up. Do you remember when Top Gear did an article about the indestructible qualities of the Toyota Hilux which included driving it head on into a tree, drowning it in the sea, hitting it with a wrecking ball, blowing it up, dropping it from the air, torching it and driving it into a Volcano? (I think it's still about and still runs?) With any pre-owned elderly high mileage diesel there are always Achilles Heels with most manufacturers, timing gear problems, oil pumps, diesel pumps, etc. Read up on the cars weak spots and how to spot them before you go to view. A recon diesel pump on a big J 4x4 can cost as much as replacing the engine and would probably be more than you paid for the vehicle!
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Last Edit: Jun 19, 2017 8:09:54 GMT by MkX
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My ford ranger had electric diff locks. My imported L200 didn't, although I'm told later uk models did have diff locks. My '99 had diff locks. Indeed, most UK models had diff locks, and a small percentage, mainly some of the stickered up editions, had a very decent LSD set up instead.
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BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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I think the animal had LSD possibly, but they're still demanding quite a premium.
With the L200 from what I recal some of them suffered with bottom end failure. I believe this was from a faulty two piece bottom pulley. The pulley was pressed and over time they worked loose and caused a nasty vibration through the crank and in turn the big ends failed. This was revised on later models I believe with a one piece pulley.
I've always liked the Navara, but the old ones exploded and the new ones snap!
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BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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My ford ranger had electric diff locks. My imported L200 didn't, although I'm told later uk models did have diff locks. My '99 had diff locks. Indeed, most UK models had diff locks, and a small percentage, mainly some of the stickered up editions, had a very decent LSD set up instead. Must have just been my import special that didn't have them. However without them it was still very capable off road.
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Jun 19, 2017 15:07:26 GMT
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Hilux is supposed to be the most reliable 4x4 pick-up. Do you remember when Top Gear did an article about the indestructible qualities of the Toyota Hilux which included driving it head on into a tree, drowning it in the sea, hitting it with a wrecking ball, blowing it up, dropping it from the air, torching it and driving it into a Volcano? (I think it's still about and still runs?) Its at Beaulieu museum. I doubt it has been started in many years, all of those show cars have been left to rust into the ground
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1973 MK1 2600 Capri - Located in Texas 1976 3.0S Capri - X-Pack long term Project 1978 2.0S Capri 1984 Transit County MK2 4x4 LWB 2.5DI 1985 2.8i Special Capri (v8 5.0L) 1986 2.8i Special Capri 1987 280 Turbo Technics Capri 1993 1.8TD P100 - Beater, parts collector 2008 BMW 320i Touring - Daily
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BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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Jun 19, 2017 18:18:32 GMT
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Indeed it is a Beaulieu. I saw it the other week.
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Jun 20, 2017 18:03:59 GMT
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You've also got the Mazda B2500, which is fairly robust, or the Vauxhall Frontera which people seem to really rate offroad but for a pickup type body you'd only have the SWB option which isn't so big.
It's funny now just thinking about it that the European manufacturers pretty much just vacated the entire pickup/4wd market for 15 years right in the era you're looking at. Even now I can only really think of the Amarok pickup, everything else is an SUV not a working pickup/4wd. (Mercedes G-class excepted as they were always priced beyond your average farmer.)
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Jun 20, 2017 18:18:24 GMT
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Sod, I was just about to mentioned the B2500. Other half has a 55 plate one, same as a Ranger just cheaper because everyone forgets about them (despite all Rangers in fact being Mazdas anyway) so any accessories sold as being for the Ranger are just as good to go on the Mazda (indeed we have had bits off a Ranger in the scrapyard for hers) It's capable, comfy, goes well, has hi-lo box and looks suitabley farmery so no one bothers us when we take it to the Lake District.
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Petrol shogun's are great machines, I know they're no pickups but you can get 6 bales of hay in the back easily. plus take out the 3rd row rear seats and you have a massive toolbox. I've used mine for for 4years on road and off, even pulled a field roller with it. Central and rear diff locks too. Always managed to self recover it, they are a bit low to the ground. BFG A/T's are my tyre of choice, well worth it.
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heathrobinson
Part of things
Broken everything
Posts: 848
Club RR Member Number: 111
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Get some dumper tyres. Some cheap second-hand reciprocals like that will drag you places that several hundred quids worth of specialised mud tyre wouldn't have a hope in hell of reaching. My mate has a set on a stripped-down rangie (no body, flat bed and home-made cage), and that thing's unstoppable even with standard suspension. Loads better than the set of massive BFGoodrich KM2 MTRs he also puts on it, and less than a tenth of the price.
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The good thing about the Hilux is that they ROT!
Roadworthy ones command a premium, simply because the stupid things ARE virtually indestructible. They are a bit like a Jack Russel, they don't know when to quit! Old and rather rotten ones OTOH can be had for sensible money. Look for MOT failures on e-bay or whatever.
A farmer local to me has 3 like this (and a twin cab L200) All petrol and LPG converted (even the L200) he has his own LPG tank on the farm. The wretched things look awful with big holes everywhere! But they keep going! And going! And GOING!
Steve
PS, watch out for imported JDM Pajeros, many of them don't have a locking rear diff, which makes them far less capable off road! Uk Shoguns had it as standard.
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Last Edit: Aug 9, 2017 8:32:46 GMT by carledo
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mgmrw
Part of things
Posts: 701
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L200 are fine. I work in heavy industry, quarrying and landfill.
Had several company trucks, all but one were L200.
The rangers have more like, but aren't as good off road.
L200s are circa 105bhp and takes abuse well, which is good as they need it.
Last one was 2012, 17k on it and rough as hell. Spent 99% the time on 1/2/3 gears. 4x4 and up to the sills in water/slurry.
You have to use all the revs, steep ascents and descents are fine though.
The back wheels light up hilariously easily. Cheap tyres are your enemy.
Buy the best you can, stick the softest knobblies on it you can get. Remove anything unnecessary... Side steps etc.
Oil change yearly.
Learn to drive it by throttle, especially on wet mud or loose dry surfaces. Being heavy footed will just bog you down. Momentum is key.
Older ones warp heads and gaskets but are cheap to sort, and on a farm truck, would you bother? Rad-weld and keep coolant topped up.
They rot less than the Hilux, and are better than the rangers.
LR products are massively overrated, and when I had a 2004 LR 110 I genuinely pined for the L200.
I've now got a '17 plate L200, which is the best yet.
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Aug 11, 2017 21:12:10 GMT
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Thanks all. It would seem going for an auto would not be a good idea?
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mgmrw
Part of things
Posts: 701
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Thanks all. It would seem going for an auto would not be a good idea? Depends what you're doing with it. Trundling around the farm on cherryade, tracks and fields.... You'll be reet. I spend a fair bit of time bonnet deep in water & slurry, then clambering up 1 in 2 to 1 in 3 gradients,clay or slag covered. As such, personally I prefer the Spanish option, as; a) I have far more control for ascending and descending. And b) when needed, I can be utterly brutal with it. I'd say, honestly assess what you plan to use it for, and what your budget will get to. They're a far more competent truck than you'd think... From memory, they can Wade through 700mm of water at 9mph... Which is about double that of the Ranger.
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