Defender or Troopy for Touring around Australia towing??

[Robmacca]

Hey Guys...
Just after some people's experiences with Towing caravans behind The Tdci 2.4 Defender Puma 110 that has been remapped; larger IC and intake, 32in tyres, etc..


I'm hopefully planning to retire in 5-6yrs time so I thought I'd start the planning process as to what vehicle will suit us when that time comes to retire and hopefully go touring around Australia for a extended period of time...
The idea is to have a 4WD type Wagon that I can do a Roof Top conversion to as well as be able to Tow a suitably sized Caravan (off-road or semi-off-road) that will meet our needs. The plan would be to tow a van and live out of the van until we get to those areas where you need to go off-road to visit. At that point we would leave the van at a suitable safe location, and then just go and live out of the vehicle for however long until we have explored all the remote places in that area that we want to visit & then return back and pick up the van and move onto the next spot (if u know what I mean).


The vehicle options I'm leaning towards are:


1. Our current 2010 Defender 110 Wgn
2. Toyota Troopcarrier (V8 or 6cyl - not sure which one)
3. Ineos Grenadier (only if by then someone has done a Rooftop conversion to)


Option-1: The benefit with this option is that we already own & know the vehicle and do not have to spend huge sums of $$ to get it to where we want it to, but will it be able to suitably tow a van and will it be big enough for 2 people to live out of for extended periods of time?


Option-2 is the pick of the list but the assumption is that it would also be a big expense to buy & mod, etc, but comes with a greater living space inside and possibly a better tow vehicle (less stress on the engine, etc)


Option-3: At this stage, it's a bit of a unknown but with less living space than the Defender; future Rooftop conversion options its probably at the bottom of the list...


Currently, I'm not a real fan of the popular ute option and really want to stick with the wagon option but other than the 3 I listed above, I don't know what other choices are out there... (BTW: Reason for the Wagon option is that with this configuration it gives you the option to get out of bad weather or be protected from the bugs, etc at night...)

[jon3950]

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

[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.

[shack]

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?

[W&KO]

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.

[Vern]

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.

[trout1105]

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.

[shack]

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!

[Robmacca]

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...

[jon3950]

... I just don't want a setup that becomes tiresome over time...

I hear you. A month is a long time to live out of a tent.

Sadly, I think I'm getting to the point where I find anything less than a house becomes tiresome over time. [bigsad]

Cheers,
Jon

[DiscoMick]

We use our standard 2009 Defender to tow a hybrid caravan weighing about 2.4 tonnes fully loaded.
It is fine. Not a rocketship, but caravanning requires a slow and steady mindset, I think. Ours happily cruises at 100kmh at 2000 revs in 6th gear, which is as fast as I want to go.
For occasional excursions without a van, such as The Simpson, we have used 2 swags on stretchers under a vehicle awning and cooked on a small portable gas stove.
Using stretchers makes a world of difference as you are off the wet ground and away from creepy crawlies.
We try to travel as light as possible. I just shake my head at the size and cost of some caravans. Not for us.
So my advice would be to keep the Defender, don't bother modifying it much, and spend money instead on servicing it for reliability. And choose the lightest, most compact van possible.
Good luck!

[bln]

We do exactly the same as DiscoMick and have a very similar setup. It works for us - we did the gibb river road last year and we are heading off to dirk hartog island this year. The Defer tows our hybrid van very well - 100km/hr at around 2000 revs. Economy varies from 14 to 16.5 l/100km. We try to travel mostly on dirt roads wherever we can and we find the Defer is really good in these conditions.

178698

[haveswagwilltravel]

We went through the decision process between a Defender and a Troopy. Test drove both, spoke to owners of both, chose the Troopy. Main reasons were the extra space and height for the internal fit out and living/sleeping. Larger roof footprint meant a greater rooftop conversion footprint and sleeping/storage area. We also considered parts availability from Toyota while doing our big lap around Australia. We went with a rooftop conversion from Headspace Campers - they do Landcruisers and Defenders. Very happy to not tow anything as we could go on any track any time without worrying about extra fuel consumption and theft. So many reports of stolen caravans and cars with caravans. We installed an alarm and immobiliser and never looked back. We loved the convenience of popping the top to make/break camp in minutes.

So, another vote for Troopy over the Defender and another vote for rooftop conversion - not just a rooftop tent attachment. Check out the Headspace Campers company in Brisbane with NSW fitters now too I believe. In our humble opinion, much better than the shorter four corner popups and smaller/lightweight Alu Cab like pop ups.

We're actually selling our Troopy touring rig now before heading overseas for a while Troopy For Sale: Toyota Landcruiser with Rooftop Conversion (Headspace Campers) – Ultimate 4WD Touring Vehicle - Have Swag Will Travel (https://haveswagwilltravel.com/troopy-for-sale-toyota-landcruiser-with-rooftop-conversion-headspace-campers-ultimate-4wd-touring-vehicle/)

[Robmacca]

We went through the decision process between a Defender and a Troopy. Test drove both, spoke to owners of both, chose the Troopy. Main reasons were the extra space and height for the internal fit out and living/sleeping. Larger roof footprint meant a greater rooftop conversion footprint and sleeping/storage area. We also considered parts availability from Toyota while doing our big lap around Australia. We went with a rooftop conversion from Headspace Campers - they do Landcruisers and Defenders. Very happy to not tow anything as we could go on any track any time without worrying about extra fuel consumption and theft. So many reports of stolen caravans and cars with caravans. We installed an alarm and immobiliser and never looked back. We loved the convenience of popping the top to make/break camp in minutes.

So, another vote for Troopy over the Defender and another vote for rooftop conversion - not just a rooftop tent attachment. Check out the Headspace Campers company in Brisbane with NSW fitters now too I believe. In our humble opinion, much better than the shorter four corner popups and smaller/lightweight Alu Cab like pop ups.

We're actually selling our Troopy touring rig now before heading overseas for a while Troopy For Sale: Toyota Landcruiser with Rooftop Conversion (Headspace Campers) – Ultimate 4WD Touring Vehicle - Have Swag Will Travel (https://haveswagwilltravel.com/troopy-for-sale-toyota-landcruiser-with-rooftop-conversion-headspace-campers-ultimate-4wd-touring-vehicle/)


Yeah, I've spoken to Ollie from Headspace Campers and would definitely go with him if we chose to go down the RTT conversion... I have seen his external clamps need improving as they have failed on some that I know of but that's a little issue...

Already having a Defender means less money to have to spend instead of trying to find a Troopy and then outlaying more to modify it... I think it will be a wait and see sort of thing....

I had a look @ your Troopy - $100k WOW.... what year is it?