What's the advantage?

[mettisse]

Hello, fishing for opinions on the advantages of either an 80 that I have and is " sorted" , or a 70 series troopy ( besides the obvious space) is the transmission better/ stronger, ( obviously no turbo, no problem for me) how are the brakes? 4wd system, diff Locks etc etc, are they the same? Is it down to the cavernous ( ugly) body that is the advantage? , thing is, I'm old, (66) we camp out, we do really good adventures, we love it, but, I won't/ can't be getting up into a rooftop, although my glamorous 20 year old wife would have no problem, ( not really she is 63, but still glamorous ) so the attraction of a sleep-in troopy is obvious. Should add we have superb equipment, pop up tents, easy to put up, easy to pack away, safari standard beds, chairs etc, so we camp comfortable, the problem is in very bad weather, then it's not comfort, especially high winds which we had in the Pyrenees 2 years ago, then the advantage of the troopy was obvious, but it's on rare occasions admittedly. I'm suppose I'm looking for reasons not to change, I dunno, what do you think? Am I missing anything else? I would appreciate your views, opinions, and experiences.

 

[Julian T]

I would say that the 80 has better suspension and is more comfortable to drive, probably the seating is better in the 80.
I would assume the 70 has a more industrial feel and the 80 is more luxury.
I have spent a lot of time driving a 40 series and done some very long distance trips in them, same with the 80 series, and as much as I love the 40's I would rather use the 80 for my travels and camping trips.
I have never used the 70 so I cant really compare them but come the Zombie Apocalypse I would chose the 40 every time.

 

[mettisse]

I would say that the 80 has better suspension and is more comfortable to drive, probably the seating is better in the 80.
I would assume the 70 has a more industrial feel and the 80 is more luxury.
I have spent a lot of time driving a 40 series and done some very long distance trips in them, same with the 80 series, and as much as I love the 40's I would rather use the 80 for my travels and camping trips.
I have never used the 70 so I cant really compare them but come the Zombie Apocalypse I would chose the 40 every time.

Thanks, yes comfort has to be a consideration on long trips, do you have a rooftop of regular tent?

 

[Julian T]

I have roof top and side room.

 

[Shayne]

To throw a curve ball why not get a trailer .

 

[Julian T]

That's an idea after my own heart, I liked the idea of these ever since I first saw one in the early 90's, can use one as a base camp.
Despite so many adverts saying they are australian, they are actually south african, web site here.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I think a 70 series troopy has a longer wheelbase and body than an 80(?) and I guess the straight sides, no glass etc must make them an easier proposition to turn into a camper. It looks to me like you lose a lot of storage space though if you have to be able to live / sleep inside the truck whatever type of truck you have? That would be a big disadvantage all of the time whereas your current set up is only a disadvantage some of the time when the weather is bad? Maybe a change of tent would be better e.g. a Tentipi ?

 

[Julian T]

Just going to leave this here, I quite like the idea.

 

[MarkW]

Troopy wheelbase is 2980mm, no idea on an 80 i'm afraid

 

[MarkW]

Just going to leave this here, I quite like the idea.

Lovely truck, see loads in Morocco but you very very rarely see them off road. The size can be very limiting on the narrow mountain routes.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Troopy wheelbase is 2980mm, no idea on an 80 i'm afraid

2850mm for an 80 I think or 112.2" not as big a difference as I thought.

 

[Shayne]

That's an idea after my own heart, I liked the idea of these ever since I first saw one in the early 90's, can use one as a base camp.
Despite so many adverts saying they are australian, they are actually south african, web site here.

I'm a simple man with simple needs me so all i need is a place to sit and drink tea and this works for me http://www.landcruiserclub.net/foru...ailer/page4?highlight=overland+camper+trailer

 

[Julian T]

I'm a simple man with simple needs me so all i need is a place to sit and drink tea and this works for me http://www.landcruiserclub.net/foru...ailer/page4?highlight=overland+camper+trailer

Shayne I watched that thread/build with much interest

 

[Shayne]

Shayne I watched that thread/build with much interest

guts me that it was all done in a rush with no time for pics .

 

[Firewout]

Hi Metisse,
I have both a troopy and a 80 and I use them both for the more adventurous holidays like most of the people here on the forum do.
The big difference in driving these two fantastic trucks is the following : an 80 drives like a big car and a troopy drives like a small truck.
For the last two trips, Pyrennees and Sardinia, I put the RTT on the 80 and enjoyed the easy cruising at 120 kph on the highway, but also the better 4wd capabilities and a much better access to the inside because of the backdoors.

If you do short holidays in Europe with the typical 1000 kms highway before reaching your destination, I'd definitely go for the 80.
For the longer trips, where highway speed is not important, a troopy with a pop top will be great. Like the one on the picture from a friend.
another route, and this is what I would consider if I where you, is to build a pop top roof on your 80. Imo you'll have a terrific holiday machine. Very capable on and offroad and also shelter in bad weather. Paul from http://www.psp-expeditioncampers.com/page/307/0/Contact en route.html is developing one.
The links give a small impression of the two.
http://youtu.be/pHx4g-PL-g8
http://youtu.be/sR3y8LIL_zg

 

[mettisse]

Hi Metisse,
I have both a troopy and a 80 and I use them both for the more adventurous holidays like most of the people here on the forum do.
The big difference in driving these two fantastic trucks is the following : an 80 drives like a big car and a troopy drives like a small truck.
For the last two trips, Pyrennees and Sardinia, I put the RTT on the 80 and enjoyed the easy cruising at 120 kph on the highway, but also the better 4wd capabilities and a much better access to the inside because of the backdoors.

If you do short holidays in Europe with the typical 1000 kms highway before reaching your destination, I'd definitely go for the 80.
For the longer trips, where highway speed is not important, a troopy with a pop top will be great. Like the one on the picture from a friend.
another route, and this is what I would consider if I where you, is to build a pop top roof on your 80. Imo you'll have a terrific holiday machine. Very capable on and offroad and also shelter in bad weather.

Thanks to everyone for the input, well appreciated, the above comments rather confirms what I thought, love the Merc Lorry, out of my league I'm afraid, I think both trucks are as nimble as each other off road, and although I love the idea of a trailer, but, if I'm gonna tow I'd prefer a very small caravan, whatever, it has to be easy, the trips we do are usually European but I've had some good adventures in Maroc, and that destination is not ruled out, yet. We prefer to camp ( or travel to) as remote as we can in Europe and enjoy the froading and camping and usually only stay at a place for a day or two and move on, we are so nosey we want to see it all! The idea of a pop up roof rather does interest me but my thoughts were that for the cost of a conversion we could go for a Troopy type already done, I Dunno, and I like to innovate modifications on my truck, I think we all do, but a roof conversion would have to be a professional job.
please feel, free to add any comments, I thank you all for your time to reply, and I value your comments.
Bill Westley

 

[MarkW]

Currently for sale at Nene

 

[Firewout]

Hi Bill,
roof conversion on the 80 will be around 8500 GBP.
the grey troopy with the conversion already done but with a basic interior was sold a year ago for 40000 GBP.

 

[mettisse]

Currently for sale at Nene

Hi, I'm back on the road in a couple of weeks I think a trip to Nene is on the cards, thanks for that link, could be interesting, Bill Westley

 

[mettisse]

Hi Bill,
roof conversion on the 80 will be around 8500 GBP.
the grey troopy with the conversion already done but with a basic interior was sold a year ago for 40000 GBP.

Put like this the economics seem obvious, but also the fact of the newer lower mileage vehicle, thanks, Bill Westley