Thread: Defender or Troopy for Touring around Australia towing??

Interesting dilemma. I'm going through a similar thought process myself but don't have an answer.

A few thoughts:

Heart says keep the Defender, just because. However, if you do, you'll be driving a vehicle pushing 20 years old with all the inherent reliability problems of a vehicle that age.

If you bought a new Troopy now, it would be 12 years younger.

If you put the purchase off for 5 years you could end up with something newer - depending on budget of course. Also in 5 years there may be other options available.

If you're towing a van, do you really need a pop-up roof? Could you rough it in a tent for the relatively fewer days you'd be without the van? I get the appeal of a pop-up conversion, but you could save a lot of money without it. Plus it may widen your options for vehicles, especially if the arse falls out of the second-hand 4wd market when everybody re-discovers overseas travel.

In my opinion both Defender and Troopy are adequate tow vehicles, but neither are brilliant. The Grenadier should run rings around both of them. It also has the benefit of a very good auto, which may become of greater benefit in time. (I didn't want to say "as we get older" here.)

Cheers,
Jon

We are six weeks into our 18 month lap…..

Certainly wouldn’t enjoy towing a large van with the defer…….

If I had my time over, I’m thinking I should have went with a troopie 4 years ago when we started planning and brought the defer…and tow a tinnie on an off road trailer.

Originally Posted by W&KO

We are six weeks into our 18 month lap…..

Certainly wouldn’t enjoy towing a large van with the defer…….

If I had my time over, I’m thinking I should have went with a troopie 4 years ago when we started planning and brought the defer…and tow a tinnie on an off road trailer.

What's the issue with the defender?

Lack of comfort?

Originally Posted by shack

What's the issue with the defender?

Lack of comfort?

Nah defender is all good……it what we have

Troopie has more internal space which would be nice, might have meant we didn’t have to have a big bag on the roof.

A friend of mine has been travelling Oz for around 4 years now, in a 300tdi defender, wife, child, dog, van. No dramas at all.

Your Defender is only 12 years old and as long as it is in good nick it should be able to tow a reasonable sized van pretty well as long as you don't go overboard with the size of the van the Defender will be fine..
As far as needing a RTT for the odd remote trip I wouldn't bother as an awning and swagging it or just use a tent for a few days will save you a small fortune in fuel costs alone and a swag or a tent will keep the bugs at bay just as well as a RTT.

Originally Posted by W&KO

Nah defender is all good……it what we have

Troopie has more internal space which would be nice, might have meant we didn’t have to have a big bag on the roof.

Phew.... That's a relief, I was worried I was gonna have to frantically start saving in case you sell...

I really like the look of it!

Originally Posted by jon3950

If you're towing a van, do you really need a pop-up roof? Could you rough it in a tent for the relatively fewer days you'd be without the van? I get the appeal of a pop-up conversion, but you could save a lot of money without it. Plus it may widen your options for vehicles, especially if the arse falls out of the second-hand 4wd market when everybody re-discovers overseas travel.

Cheers,
Jon

Thanks Jon for your reply...

The thoughts behind the pop-up conversion was that there could be times that we are living out of the car for up to a month or more at a time while off-track visiting remote locations and having that bit more comfort for the missus would be handy... As well as having a place where u can cook/eat/sleep out of the weather and away from the bugs is a huge bonus. With the chance of moving from camp to camp possibly on a daily basis, I don't like the Tent option but Swag I may be able to live with... I just don't want a setup that becomes tiresome over time...