Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Best off road truck stock?

so stinkin' cool ...

a friend of mine bought one new from a mining equipment distributor in canada, re-registered it as a re-build using a 70's FJ-80 VIN (since it won't meet DOT/TSB/EPA regs), and drives it all over creation. Personally, i think they are a little better suited to the desert (or an underground mine) than western canada, but to each his own.

As a update to this thread, I was out at our ranch this weekend, with the warm weather, the snow was melting and it was a slushy, muddy mess. The Isuzu Trooper did extremely well in the soupy stuff, especially in 4wd low. I think it would be darn near unstoppable with dedicated mud tires in place of the all terrain tires it wears now.

Dodge Power Wagon, hands-down.

It'll tow too, but not with the capability of a regular 3/4-ton truck with towing package and the concomitant suspension/tranny setup.

The trouble with the Series Landrovers is that they were generally seriously underpowered. There was a V6 petrol that was "interesting" but the transmission needed upgrading to handle the power..Even with the standard 2 1/4L engines they had a nasty habit of snapping rear half shafts...

Probably the most capable stock 4x4 would be the SWB LandRover Defender either the 200 or 300 TDI...It has far better axle articulation than the Land Cruisers, and better ramp over and departure angles. On the otherhand, I would think the LC would be far more reliable, and for hunting in the bush a non turbo engine makes a lot of sense..The driving position on most LandRovers is also very cramped as it was originally intended to take three people in the front at a push...this means the steering wheel and pedals are quite tight to the drivers side door..

The older Nissan Patrols were also good work horses and reliable but not quite up to LR standards off road..

Somebody mentioned Isuzu Troopers...I had a SWB 2.8D model...In many ways it was ideal for my needs, but its wasn't as tough nor capable as any of the three previous models mentioned. The engine was a gem though...

Then you have some of the more "interesting" 4x4s which I guess are rarely seen the US..

The UMM





The so called "101 Foward Control Landrover"


(Notice the dead LR in the background!)

An older Series 2 Forward Control


The Pinzgauer, which is now replacing the LR in many roles in the British Army.. This wee truck has a ground clearance of about 14" as standard!


Then the extremely capable GWagon, as used by parts of the Canadian and American Armed Forces :



[img]http://www.okmilmuseum.ca/images/G%20wagon%20final.gif[/img]

And finally the British Ibex, although this is semi-custom limited production vehicle..

[img]http://www.hv4x4.co.uk/images/P8120052.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.4wdonline.com/Foers/PiCs37/Ibex2f.1998trlr.jpg[/img]

So lots of good 4x4's out there...

I had an opportunity to drive a Pinzgauer off road a few years ago. It very slow with the 4 cyl. engine but was awesome off road. Thanks for posting the pictures.