[drewhoo]

Hi guys

I finally finish my degree next year, having had the Jimny for a fair while now, as my first 4wd, I've got to know most of the ins and outs of it, can repair most things and have put on all the mods I need.

Mates and I are looking at doing some proper touring when I finish. Red Centre / Flinders Ranges, probably even some WA, arnhem land, katherine and so on. Literally the only state I have explored offroad is NSW and I know I am missing out.

My question is - given it takes time to get used to a 4wd, repairs, gremlins, modding etc. is it worth seeing the zook as the beast to do this kind of touring, or is it time to look elsewhere

I see a few problems with the zook

- Parts availability (its not going to be equivalent to a land cruiser, but is it viable to expect suzi parts and expertise wherever I break down, i think this is probably the major question mark)
- comfort (I happily drive 6-7 hours a day in the zook up north, so not a biggie, nor is the size of the car an issue for me. The 1.3l with 225's handles the highway fine, no wobbles. Can't sleep in the car though...)
- Fuel (I would definitely need plenty of jerry cans, but is the fact it is unleaded a big factor? ive heard diesel is the only fuel in some places, but thats from past travellers)
- Recovery not a problem, will be in a group of bigger 4wds

None of these are gamestoppers to take the suzi. The relatively small price to keep the jimny going is a massive plus, I have already modded it as I like and is pretty capable offroad, and so far it has proved bulletproof offroad as well. They are the advantages.

Just want some thoughts from the philosophers and those who have actually done proper touring in their suzukis. If the only options are truly landcruisers as I have heard, then it's best I start looking for one sooner rather than later and wanted a better idea

Cheers

[royce]

I dont think parts and expertise are a worry, anything likely to break is at worst a few days post away and they are simple enough that nothing is going to worry a decent mechanic any worse than any recent model Landcruiser.

If you fit everything in it and are comfertable in it for long trips thats most of hte battle sorted

[Mike57]

As Royce says reliability is not the problem. The suzuki's are quite reasonably designed and bult IMO. I busted a shock absorber south of Mt Dare and got a replacement from ARB in Adelaide overnight so as long as you are prepard to watse a day or so parts can be sent to just about anywhere.

The problem is how much weight you can carry. This means that you can't load the car up for a week in the desert and you can't go too far from a fuel station which limits how much real outback travel you can do. Add up the weight of fuel and water you need to carry and weigh all the camping gear and food etc and work out what the overall weight will be. If you overlaod the vehicle and then take it over rough corrugated tracks then eventually something will fail.

I have found that with a roof rack I don't run out of space but I hit the weight limit pretty quickly. If you plan your trip so you don't have to carry too much extra fuel you won't have any problem. One issue I did find though is that the jimny did not handle the really bad corrugations that well and I just had to slow down even with rreduced tyre pressues. The corrugations are probably made by much larger tyres and the smaller Jimny wheels just could not ride over them even at speed.

[Mike57]

I forgot to add that you can buy unleaded fuel just about anywhere. You may not be able to get 98 RON everywhere but 91 RON is readily available even in the remote communities. In the NT it will be the OPAL fuel which has no aromatics added but that is not an issue. I have taken my commodore and the Jimny through outback SA and NT and never had a problem. In fact I never once had to use the spare fuel in the cans. Of course you won't be crossing the Simpson unless you can get your mates to carry fuel for you.

By the way if your mates have landcruisers just get them to carry the fuel for you and lighten your load.

[laurie]

good tourer as long as you pack light ish ( you can fit a surprising amount in though )
and are in no great hurry ( see more that way anyway )
fuel use is no big problem i dragged a jerry can through QLD , NT and SA and only needed it when i got a few hundred k's from home
hell i enjoyed touring in the sierra so much i bought a GV.

[Dr_Snapid]

I sleep in my jimny...

[Poita]

The only limitation I have found is the load limit. I can't carry much fuel which means any longer stays away from civilisation are limited.