help needed from those that know...

[LFN]

Hello all. First time here for me.
I'm looking for some help from anyone with a bit of Toyota experience/knowledge.

I'm about to buy my first 4x4. I've wanted one since i was little - and now the time has come.

I've already discounted the other makes because.. well.. coz they're just rubbish! To me anyway.

And now i'm left with the Toyota offerings. Lancruiser? Surf?

Theres no way I can make that kinda decision with my lack of experience/knowledge so i'm looking for some help.

Now... my research has led me to believe that Toyota are super robust and more than hold their own for reliability.. but i'm looking to do miles as well as some bumpy fun..

My number one prority is reliability. Im gonna be doing trips of 2 - 3k at a time. So my question is obvioulsy which Toyota?

I need something good for the bumpy bits - but most importantly something thats not gonna break down on me or get hot because its been running hard for 6 hours in a straight line.

Obviously I got to consider the budget for fuel too - am i mental buying a Toyota 4x4 to do 2,000 mile trips in? Am i gonna run out of juice between garages - when they are rare?

A million questions I know.. if anyone can answer just one of them i'd be a step closer to knowing where to place my cash.

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help me.
I'm learning a lot from the site anyway.

Cheers

LFN

[B16mts]

I'd love to know where you're going cos that sounds like one hell of a round trip!!

Sadly, i'm of little use to answer the other questions, other than to say the toyota's are indeed bombproof, and come with a big grin as standard!

Mart

[stevieboy]

i have a gen 3,3ltr and did a 460 mile round trip to london i few days ago no prb,s drove 230 miles there non stop and one stop on the way back(call of nature) i am planing on going to loch lomond towing my boat several times this year wich is 500 miles round trip and i would be more worried about the trailer wheel bearing's than the surf, hoping to go to the south of france next year too. there bullit proof in my opinion

[surfstar]

Im off for a 3500 mile surf to southern spain in the summer and chose the surf for its size as well as access to parts in foreign countries. I often go on 300-400 mile continuos trips with no problems and take mine off roading time to time.
Unfortunately mine only does 250 miles in a tank which is the price you pay for 33" tyres

[dirtydog]

i also do 3-400 mile trips at a time towing also... on 31" tyres and get a similar 250miles per tank.
my Dads 4.2 landcruiser has 235,000 on the clock and will be in Toyotas magazine soon with lots of other high mileage Toyotas and it never goes wrong - maintenance only.

[Sancho]

Just took mine on a round trip to Switzerland.

I had five people and an insane amount of stuff in it (five snowboards and enough kit for all of us for 10 days). It did eventually pop (something dramatic to do with the cooling, probably the head - will find out when it comes back from France) but I don't think any other 15 year old car that cost 2.5k would have got anything like that far. Right up to that point, he was running sweet as a nut, no problem at all. That was 650 miles straight, stopping only for fuel.

As far as fuel goes, I started looking once I was below about 1/3 of a tank, no worries at all.

I always thought the point of Landcruisers was that they are even bigger and more powerful than a Surf. Considering my asthmatic old 2.4 could cope, I would imagine a 3.0 diesel or V6 could handle pretty much anything you can throw at it and a Landcruiser would be a bit over the top.

[LFN]

Thanks for your replies so far chaps (& chapesses).

Hope it all works out for your surf Sancho - Ouch!
Be interested to know what popped!

My first planned trip is through France - hop over mountains and down to southern spain for a visit with some friends... then thinking about hopping over the puddle to the sandy place and .. well.. havent planned that bit yet - still waiting to see if i can find a 4x4 I know I can be confident in.

Thanks for your help! - Getting pretty excited about getting my first beast!!!

[Gizmo]

A few folks have done trips throughout europe in their surfs...the Landcruiser has a larger engine [4.2 me thinks]......if your doing long trips where fuel may be limited then maybe add an auxiliary tank to extend the mileage before top-up.

Several users have done the mod, also I believe there is the modification on the australian website www.toyotasurf.asn.au if I am correct


The Surf is part-time drive [think the same for Landcruiser]. In terms of the Surf, the 3rd Gen [1996 onwards] is the one with a centre differential that allows 4wd on tarmac [1st/2nd Gen will get wind up]