Thread: Perentie as a tourer

Hi Mate,

I suppose it depends which model Perentie you are looking at.. If you bought a 6x6 you get turbo, power steering and lots of room..

I have an FFR (non turbo, no power steering) and find it is fine to sleep in the back of. But that was just me (not SWMBO). The FFR was great because I ran a fridge off the aux batteries (using a 24v to 12v converter). You could fit a double bed in the back of an FFR, but you would need to remove the dickie seats.

Noise wise? It's probably never going to be as quiet as a Disco or Defender. You can make improvements by doing sound deadening under the bonnet, firewall, dash, doors, floor, around the gearbox, seat box, etc.

But it's never going to be as quiet and smooth as a newer vehicle..

I loved my FFR on my recent trip though.

been all around australia in them,

the easiest solution to stop the worst of the noise and whining is to leave the other at home.

(6x6 dual cabs are the go btw)

There is a guy currently driving a perentie from Tasmania to Norway via south Africa / Africa.

I converted my 2 door FFR to a wagon. I spent a lot of time and money on sound proofing, turboing, power steering and a 300tdi Defender soft steering wheel.

I also have a 1997 300tdi D1.

I haven’t towed with either other than a box trailer. The blown Isuzu has noticibly more torque at lower revs, and the 110 will carry a ton of gear. It’s very practical.

But the D1 being 10 years younger is a very nice car to drive. It’s also mechanically very simple and has better electrics than the Perentie IMHO. The last of the D1s have a very sorted R380 box.

When chewing up the highway miles I think I’d rather be in the D1. When going over Simpson desert dunes I’d like the torque of my modded Isuzu Perentie.

So it’s a tough choice. Unless the alternative is a bog standard Perentie ragtop straight from the green. Then for me it would be a no brainer. Since you already have a 300tdi D1 I think I would use that unless your not confident in its reliability. You could use a roof top tent and an awning instead of sleeping in back. That would be a reasonable set up.

My D1 setup for touring. Both photos are from a trip I did a few years ago - Perth to Port Augusta to Darwin to Broome to Perth with a whole bunch of side trips. I took a good friend of mine and she absolutely loved it.

If you maintain it, and then watch the usual things, EGT's, temps etc, then a D1 is a great tourer. The RTT cuts into fuel and top speed a bit, but it's a quick setup with the RTT at the end of the day. Having said that, I would love a Perentie and will eventually be buying one!

Send me a PM if you want some hints on maximising the use of space in a D1....

Coober Pedy, SA
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Cape Leveque, Dampier Peninsula
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