Fourby question

[daybreak]

G'day all,

Am thinking about selling my old hilux and upgrading to a new 4wd.
I was just curious about the importance of ground clearance if i am doing mainly beach work.
A honda cr-v is in my price range but i have some doubts about its off road ability.

regards

Andrew

[Angla]

Daybreak,
What sort of beach work would you be doing.
That's important to the results of what would be best. I think a car is just a piece of clothing we wear that suits our needs for that period we need it and as our needs change so we can change our cars to suit.

Angla

[ROOTYOU]

Ground clearence is important because the track that takes you on or off the beach is used by other 4x4 so if your ground clearence is less that the norm say a landcruiser or nissan or landrover you may get stuck on your diffs as the access tracks have really deep trye tracks usually. Does this help you.

[daybreak]

Thanks fella's, Am fairly sure the cr-v does not have great clearance compared to other makes, maybe it is time for a little internet research.
Angla, i would mainly be using it on the hard packed sand but also would need to travel some of those sandy tracks near the beach( like on Fraser) and entry and exit points from the beach.
Not any extreme 4WDing i would think.

Andrew

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

clearance is everything on the sand - the height of your axle & diff is of course relative to your wheel size - a wider tyre may give a centimetre or two more clearance in soft stuff as it doesn't sink in as much.

I've seen more than enough CRV's floating their bellies on the sand to know they are not a beach car. Its more than just the axle & diff - its getting all the belly up too so its just the diff dragging.

Other things too like high placement of ignition bits, adequately sealed CVs & cases, protected exhausts etc etc

I know also Ravs a few years back had major prolems with their power packs rotting out from salt exposure as they had no protection. I wouldn't call them a beach vehicle either.


A few years back i had the use of a 4 cyl Vitara for the week of a Straddie Classic. I found it to be a very capable beach vehicle as long as you realised its tyres were far smaller than the bigger boys so you did not follow their ruts but positioned a rut down the center of the Vitara to aid its own clearance. It did not get bogged once in some very ordinary conditions. A 6 cyl Grand Vitara could only be better. You do though need to keep those little engines spinning hard as they lack low down grunt.

The Suzuki 4wds & Freelanders are the only genuine small 4x4 (are there any others?) - there are some guys who do some fairly nutty stuff in Sierra's - they've always had a decent rep.

I assume your hilux is a 2wd - get a 4wd one.

chris

[gawby]

Andrew,
I have seen crvs and like vehicles in the sand, Frazer-Inskip and they dont rate very well. Good ground clearance is a must especally on tracks.

Look around at base models of different makes of 4x4s and save some money if you carnt afford the cosmetics.

My rodeo is base modle and does the job quite well.

Perhaps Ronnie12 might be able to give you some tips, only joking.

Best of luck, Graeme.

[Big_Kev]

My wife had a Vitara 3 door and it was the ducks nuts in the sand. We never had a problem with it on and off the beach. We fitted up some 235 tyres to it with some mags when we got it. The only time it got bogged was when I didn't remember to engage the hubs. DOH.

[straddie]

The 4 cyl Vitara was a much better beach vehicle, the grand vitaras were given much better road manners but it came at a cost with higher gearing and some additional aesthetics only weight.

[daybreak]

G'day Fella's,

What are your thoughts on the Toyota Prado, if i found a 2nd hand prado in good nick then i would certainly think about it.
Probably wouldn't mind something in the mid-size range, how roomy are the Vitara's?.

cheers

Andrew

[saphire]

Good ground clearance is so important.
This is especially so if you are going to drive in sand.
Make it a priority on your shopping list.
saphire