Thread: Bush Tucker Man in a Land Cruiser!

This shows his true allegiance





















Vehicles

Well there are no prizes for guessing which vehicle I drive out bush.
These days I am travelling in a Land Rover Discovery series 4 and loving it. I have had it decked out for bush work by adding a dual battery, Bull Bar and winch, as well as boat loading roof rack and a snorkel.
You can see the get up in the attached photograph. The trouble is that these vehicles are not cheap, and I must admit I tend to shy away from poking its nose into the bare uncharted bush too often although the odd scratch I’ve collected does tend to polish out.
That said, I must admit that I have on a couple of occasions gone into Arnhem Land and pushed along a very very washed out track system that had clearly not been used for many a year. With one or even two wheels of the ground at times it just crawled across the country, which is a bit different to what I was trained on in the Army (Land Rover series IIa).
This Discovery has had an interesting evolution. It was originally produced when Rover was wholly owned by the Brits, I think it was a British Aerospace Company back then. Anyway BMW came along and took over Land Rover which force fed and injected a production standard that was long overdue. Of course the Brits and the Germans are very good at fighting one another and so that relationship didn’t last all that long. Next came the Yanks and they had past form in dealing with the British workers and the word “efficiency” came into play. Under their watch, the Series 4 Discovery was conceived and I think even born. Anyway, Rover now belongs to the Indians via Tata.
To counter the problem of going bush, I have come to a decision. When I go bush these days, I tend to set up a base camp and use it as a research base to gather information and photographs etc. That’s how I earn an income and at the same time enjoy myself, doing what I love doing. The Disco tows my off road van with ease along the roads and tracks, so there is no problem there. But these days I want to explore the waterways and river systems as well as the coastal estuary areas, so a bigger boat is required from a safety point of view. Obviously I can’t tow a boat and a caravan, although I often wonder why not, so the answer is to look at a second dedicated vehicle.
Now my other half, Sandy, loves the shape and style of the traditional box Land Rover. She says it always reminds her of Armand and Michaela Denis filming in Africa. So we went and had a test drive after which Sandy was sold. We have ordered a five door Land Rover Defender which should arrive around mid-2012. That will be Sandy’s vehicle as she loves driving it, gear changes and all. That’s fine with me as I get to drive the Disco which quite frankly is the best vehicle I have ever driven, and I’ve had a few, including some notable German products.

Originally Posted by bob10

This shows his true allegiance


Vehicles

....

The cynic in me wonders how much he was paid to write that (or what sort of discount he got on the vehicle(s)).

But good on him if he did.

Originally Posted by rijidij

A few weeks ago we were parked at the Cosmos Center in Charleville in our Isuzu Countys and a D2 when another guy in an Isuzu 110 pulled up to have a chat (as you do) It turned out, the 110 he was driving was the actual Perentie from the Bush Tucker Man series which he had bought from Les Hiddens.

Cheers, Murray

Which vehicle did he buy from Les Hiddens???

Well, that is strange?!
Last I saw the P110 he used was being used as a Range SO vehicle in Townsville.
Army rego in the series, and same plates on when I saw it ('97ish).
So, I doubt he was able to sell it, as the Army owned it. Unless they gifted him one as thankyou. Not the Army I know.

Anyway, all RFSU's had the Cruisers. As stated, shockin hard on pax. When we got the P110s, we did a lot more driving on approach to tgt.
Dave.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

The cynic in me wonders how much he was paid to write that (or what sort of discount he got on the vehicle(s)).

But good on him if he did.

You know sometimes people actually do really like the vehicles they may be sponsored with.

I was sponsored first by HSV in 2003 and then SsangYong for several years with multiple vehicles. Apart from owning three LR's I once again recently bought a new HSV, our third, why because they are so much fun to drive. Chances are I would never have even driven one if I had not had sponsorship by them.

The other vehicle we own is a five year old SsangYong Rexton that we bought new because after driving them for several years we found that they were amazing value for money and extremely reliable.

I'd hazard a guess Les believes in the product, he doesn't appear to me to be the kind of person who would prostitute himself, by the way chances are Toyota and or Nissan are lined up to get him in one of their vehicles even today, so it would still come down to choice I would bet.

cheers,
Terry

Having owned an early Diesel 6 cyl Troopy I can say that id never own one again, 3 years old and it rusted at the seams, Transfer case issues galore, Lousy brakes and rock hard suspension plus a 4 speed box that gave me 100 kph flat out with a tailwind.

It was replaced with an Ex Army SIIa softop which although unsuited for the colder climate here was far nicer to drive and far more reliable.

Yes the brakes too were crap and it wasnt quick by any standard but it was more user friendly in many areas and believe it or not more comfortable.

I eventually added a hard top and safari roof so it echoed the Troopy in cabin spec and it was still a more capable vehicle and had a far lower center of gravity.

Plus, it was simple.

Yes the troopy too was simple but stuff wasn't as accessible and the Troopy had no soul, I never even gave it a name or gender. (Called it lots of names though lol)

The other thing was that HJ wasn't something that could be modified easily if at all and yet we all know there are few limits when it comes to Landy's from Rangie axle sets on upwards to Holden Donks or a Rover V8 upgrade.

I understand the Tojo thing and up north they were everywhere with spare parts in any Pub but id still never bother with one again.

Originally Posted by rijidij

A mate bumped into him last week in Lakefield NP........he was driving a D3, and looking for his mate who was driving a Defender 90, so at least he's still connected with Landys.

Does he still wear that silly looking hat? I have a love to hate it relationship with that hat, as much as I hate it I still love looking at it hahahaha

Originally Posted by Barefoot Dave

Well, that is strange?!
Last I saw the P110 he used was being used as a Range SO vehicle in Townsville.
Army rego in the series, and same plates on when I saw it ('97ish).
So, I doubt he was able to sell it, as the Army owned it. Unless they gifted him one as thankyou. Not the Army I know.

Anyway, all RFSU's had the Cruisers. As stated, shockin hard on pax. When we got the P110s, we did a lot more driving on approach to tgt.
Dave.

The HJ47 Cruiser is gone, but the 110 (rego 48001) is sitting in a workshop at Darwin at the moment.

It is down to go to disposal next month, but there is a push to get it into a museum.

The trailer was somewhere in the Pilbara last known, but unsure exactly where, why or what's happened to it.