I don't mind the vertical angles so much, it's the side slopes I don't like.
This one doesn't look too bad, but there's a nice little drop right next to the car into the marsh and you have to forward-reverse-forward once or twice to make the sharp turn. Of course, the fact that we did that section in reverse made it worse than if we had done it in the correct direction, then you would be turning up and not down the hill... ;)
-F_D
White Fang: 1999 2.7i DC Raider 4x4 Bull Dog: 1987 4Y-EFI 2.2 DC 4x4 Pra Dog: 1998 Prado VX 3.4 Hound Dog: 2000 2.7i SC 4x4
One Staffie, One Jack Russell, One Ring Neck Screecher, 17 Fish of questionable heritage
Family_Dog wrote:
This one doesn't look too bad, but there's a nice little drop right next to the car into the marsh and you have to forward-reverse-forward once or twice to make the sharp turn.
-F_D
Eric, now that's just silly! Tell the oke in the road to move and if he refuses - drive over him!
1988 Hilex D/C 4x4 (Import spec), Lexus V8; Marlin Crawler; Custom Suspension: front and new 4 link in the rear; Disc Brake conversion rear; 35" Cooper STT tyres; Xenon lights; Custom bullbar;Next? Aircon; new front seats, redo the whole interior in nice soft leather, Respray, Double Lockers
1978 Land Cruiser HJ45
1971 Mercedes Benz 280S Automatic
2011 Land Cruiser 79 V6 (60th Anniversary Edition)
Some more info about the splendid Pradog please....
How many kays on the new dog's clock? 275,000km. The engine is just run in!
Approximate fuel consumption? About the same as the 2.7, seems to be around 6.5km with mixed town/country driving, at legal speeds. Remember, it is a heavy vehicle with 4-speed autobox and six cylinders, so I am happy with this.
How is the cruz'in at 120kph? Superb! It cruises at that speed at somewhere around 2400 RPM, engine just ticking over.
Safety features - any airbags? Yes indeed!Driver & front seat passenger.
How is the drive compared to your Hilux's? With OME suspension fitted all round, the drive comfort is superb. I cannot speak for normal suspension, I bought it with the OME.
Did you also consider a Land Cruiser? How did you finally decide on the Prado? I had a new 76 SW on order, but I wanted a beige one, same colour as Bulldog. The dealer only had a white one and by the time he found a beige LC 76 SW for me, the price had gone through the roof. Then there were mumblings about a new engine for the 76 series. All things considered, I finally decided against diesel and while the petrol LC's are great, they are heavy vehicles and are very thirsty. It's no fun filling that petrol tank when it is empty. The car would be a long-term investment and I doubt I would ever recover any sort of return from the LC even over a lengthy period of time. I also did not want a vehicle that would sit in the garage most of the time because I was put off by the price of petrol, which will only increase in time to come. All things considered, the Prado suited me better because I wanted a station wagon type vehicle which had to be reasonably off-road capable as well. The Prado is an extremely safe vehicle, it is indeed capable for anything I would ever want to do with it and it is a very comfortable vehicle to drive. If anything, it features a shorter wheelbase than either White Fang or Bulldog (I haven't confirmed this with measurements, but it fits in a standard garage easier!!) and has oodles of space inside.
Do you have any mods planned? I thought I would play this one by ear. First mod would probably have been a suspension lift, but it already had that when I bought it. It was also fitted with an aluminium RV Bullbar. I considered a rear diff-lock, but that is not necessary, the vehicle apparently has a LSD (later vehicles came out with rear diff lock as standard) which is more than capable and I never experienced any wheel spins anywhere when I tried it out on Thinus' 4x4 training track. This track has everything, and Thinus is registered with the same Offroad Training Academy that Okkie (on this forum) is affiliated to. So, total mods thus far is to fit a strip of gray vinyl (cost: R130.00) to the top of the RV bullbar to combat reflection from the sun, and I am considering replacing the fitted aftermarket spot lights for better ones. I also replaced the headlight bulbs with Osram Silverstars (could not get Nightbreakers at the time) and the headlight spread went from yellow to bright white. The only additional mod I am considering is to replace the aluminium sidesteps with rock sliders, but this is by no means an urgent requirement, the van has plenty of ground clearance. Oh, last thing: I replaced the new Nankang Road Tyres that were supplied with the vehicle, for Bridgestone Duelers D694, an excellent AT tyre.
Thanks
Scotty
White Fang: 1999 2.7i DC Raider 4x4 Bull Dog: 1987 4Y-EFI 2.2 DC 4x4 Pra Dog: 1998 Prado VX 3.4 Hound Dog: 2000 2.7i SC 4x4
One Staffie, One Jack Russell, One Ring Neck Screecher, 17 Fish of questionable heritage
The Prado seems excellent. The only thing that strikes fear into my heart with most of the options I'm considering is the fuel consumption!
I've become accustomed to my 1.6L Corolla sipping at the petrol, so I've going to have to start being brave at the petrol pumps again. But my Corolla wont take us everywhere we want to go.....
2009 X-Trail (great car, but not an SFA)
1997 Defender 90 2.8i (great vehicle, but not an SFA)
The Prado 3.4 V6's consumption is much better tha that of the infamous 4500 in the Cruisers. I have a friend that is a part time guide and he owns a 60 and 105 series as well as a 3.0D4D Fortuner. He reckons that open road with rooftop tent the consumption of the 4500 is about 20l\100km and in the sand about 30l\100km's. and because he is always helping people it drops to about 40-50l\100kmS
Friens who have Prado's work on about 13-15l\100km's, depending on the load. And they all stay clear of the 3.0D in the Prado
Scotty, one thing I meant to mention and forgot, is check when the cam belt was last changed. If in any doubt, change it. Pradog had a new Cam belt fitted just 10,000km ago, so all is well. Also, check the condition of the rubber CV boots - but this should be done with any vehicle in any case.
If you look at the first photo that HenriS posted, you will note a vehicle (small dot visible) going up the hill, on the left side. The Prado in the photo drove along the top and down the hill in order to get a good view. The driver was then unable to reverse and attempted a U-Turn... not a good idea. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was flung out of the vehicle as it tumbled down the hill, only just missing him. Considering the distance the Prado tumbled, the body of the vehicle is in outstanding condition.
You are SAFE in a Prado!
-F_D
White Fang: 1999 2.7i DC Raider 4x4 Bull Dog: 1987 4Y-EFI 2.2 DC 4x4 Pra Dog: 1998 Prado VX 3.4 Hound Dog: 2000 2.7i SC 4x4
One Staffie, One Jack Russell, One Ring Neck Screecher, 17 Fish of questionable heritage
The secret homing/communication device I installed in Bulldog during the conversion alerted me yesterday with an SMS message, saying that Bulldog feels neglected, unloved and abandoned. It says I must come and fetch him and bring him back home where he will receive the necessary attention and love it deserves as it will be used and not left in the garage while you are gallivanting with the new Prado
We installed a Kenwood TK7100 VHF radio into Pradog...
For the antenna I used a quarter-wave roof top mount antenna, which is not as prominent as the side mount 5/8 antenna. Why the Kenwood? Well, I have a Motorola GM360 remote mount radio installed in White Fang and a Vertex VX2200 installed in Bulldog. All these radios feature an alpha-numeric display, which is critical to my work as we have some 20+ repeater stations programmed in. Kirisun will very soon be introducing an (affordable) LCD alpha-numeric display version of their successful PT8000 VHF radio and I will evaluate that as well as soon as we receive stock.
-F_D
White Fang: 1999 2.7i DC Raider 4x4 Bull Dog: 1987 4Y-EFI 2.2 DC 4x4 Pra Dog: 1998 Prado VX 3.4 Hound Dog: 2000 2.7i SC 4x4
One Staffie, One Jack Russell, One Ring Neck Screecher, 17 Fish of questionable heritage
george wrote:As julle weirdo's klaar is...net gou 'n vragie
Cassie hoe gaan jy weet wie roep jou op wattter radio Of het jy 'n external speaker op 'n ander plek
Jy kan duidelik die verskil hoor tussen die twee radio's. AM het eenvoudig nie dieselfde kwaliteit as VHF nie. Behalwe vir dit is daar ook 'n BUSY indikasie op die radio wat transmit / receive
Very probable. On my old 7 series, there were two demist buttons the one for the front was basically a 'one touch' button that engaged the air-con and a pre-selected fan speed, directing the airflow to the windshield. Airflow selection was button controlled, not slider and achieved by electrically triggered vacuum servos that opened / closed the air passages.
When your road comes to an end ...... you need a HILUX!.
Life is like a jar of Jalapeño peppers ... what you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow. Don't take life too seriously ..... no-one gets out alive. It's not about waiting for storms to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain. And be yourself ..... everyone else is taken!
btw, FD on the photo of your dash, have you spotted that there are two demister buttons... why ?
Sooo... after many sleepless nights pondering the futility of two demister buttons, I went and studied the centre console. Yes indeed, two demister buttons there are! So I grabbed my trusty driver's manual and paged through it and Whamo! - I found the answer! I am now at peace with myself and sleeping soundly at night once again!
-F_D
White Fang: 1999 2.7i DC Raider 4x4 Bull Dog: 1987 4Y-EFI 2.2 DC 4x4 Pra Dog: 1998 Prado VX 3.4 Hound Dog: 2000 2.7i SC 4x4
One Staffie, One Jack Russell, One Ring Neck Screecher, 17 Fish of questionable heritage
btw, FD on the photo of your dash, have you spotted that there are two demister buttons... why ?
Sooo... after many sleepless nights pondering the futility of two demister buttons, I went and studied the centre console. Yes indeed, two demister buttons there are! So I grabbed my trusty driver's manual and paged through it and Whamo! - I found the answer! I am now at peace with myself and sleeping soundly at night once again!
-F_D
You're the only one. Now share your sleep remedy with us
CasKru wrote:
You're the only one. Now share your sleep remedy with us
Cassie, that's easy! Buy a Prado and enjoy many nights of restful sleep! ;)
This must be one of the most under-rated vehicles ever, and definitely a second-hand Prado (esp. the older generation) must be one of the best buys ever!
-F_D
White Fang: 1999 2.7i DC Raider 4x4 Bull Dog: 1987 4Y-EFI 2.2 DC 4x4 Pra Dog: 1998 Prado VX 3.4 Hound Dog: 2000 2.7i SC 4x4
One Staffie, One Jack Russell, One Ring Neck Screecher, 17 Fish of questionable heritage
CasKru wrote:
You're the only one. Now share your sleep remedy with us
Cassie, that's easy! Buy a Prado and enjoy many nights of restful sleep! ;)
This must be one of the most under-rated vehicles ever, and definitely a second-hand Prado (esp. the older generation) must be one of the best buys ever!
Because we have an "Other vehicles" section, and if we can accommodate the occasional Landy / Nissan / Frot , then surely we can have a couple of Prado's too?
When your road comes to an end ...... you need a HILUX!.
Life is like a jar of Jalapeño peppers ... what you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow. Don't take life too seriously ..... no-one gets out alive. It's not about waiting for storms to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain. And be yourself ..... everyone else is taken!
A Prado is a natural for Hilux drivers! You must have both to enjoy both worlds - and many components are much the same, especially with the later models of each. ;)
MM, may you sit with Mr. Bean in a closed room for a week and a day for asking such a redundant question!
The answer? - It gives you something to read!
-F_D
White Fang: 1999 2.7i DC Raider 4x4 Bull Dog: 1987 4Y-EFI 2.2 DC 4x4 Pra Dog: 1998 Prado VX 3.4 Hound Dog: 2000 2.7i SC 4x4
One Staffie, One Jack Russell, One Ring Neck Screecher, 17 Fish of questionable heritage