Technical - Why a 80series? Why Petrol?
SIMPLE
Considering that I have only a limited automotive mechanical and electrical knowledge I knew the vehicle had to be simple so I could do some repair work my self if the need arose during a trip. With modern electronics managed engines I would not have a clue. The remote places we travel to here in Australia, being self sufficient in just about everything is very important. Some outback locations can be as much as 800km from the nearest resemblance of civilisation.
TOUGH AS NAILS
I also wanted a vehicle that had a reputation for being tough, ultra reliable and relatively inexpensive to maintain. There are a number of brands in the market reputed for building tough fourbies, however when we were back in Africa, we had a 1988 Toyota Hilux which gave us 400,000 trouble free kilometres (mostly outback travel), so you could say I was stuck on the brand. Having had a Hilux before, a Landcruiser 80 or 100 series was what I was after.
STRETCHING THE BUDGET
When I started out looking for a fourbie, I wanted one that had some of the basic mods required for touring already in place. This approach, I felt, would give me more value for money. At the same time, I did not want a fully kitted vehicle as I wanted room to kit it out to our requirements.
END OF THE SEARCH
After months of searching on popular vehicle sale websites I came across an 80 series that fitted in perfectly within my requirements. It was well looked after and had basic mods such as bull bar, snorkel, dual battery system (with a battery manager), rear storage drawers, roof rack, awning and a 2” suspension lift kit. Perfect! But then there was a problem.
When I started out, I was in search of a diesel, mainly for the low-end torque and fuel efficiency (as compared to a petrol). The one I had found was however a petrol. The 4.5l 1FZ-FE engine was well known to be powerful but also quite thirsty.
WHY I WENT PETROL
For obvious reasons, majority of overlanders look for diesels and this demand keeps the resale value of diesel fourbies pretty high compared to a petrol (especially for the likes of a Landcruiser). So for me the saving in purchase price when looked at in conjunction with the condition and mods it already had gave me an approximate saving of around A$9,000. According to my calculations the price saving would buy me (at current prices) about 7,000 liters of petrol, which roughly translated to about 35,000km (21,500miles) of touring. Add to this the reduced cost of servicing (as compared to a diesel) made me feel I could live with a thirsty petrol fourbie. This was not going to be a daily runner, so city running cost of fuel was not an issue. With this thought process, I had a new addition to the family
Live life to the fullest, it's too short to procrastinate!
Duncan Udawatta
What does your range work out to on the Petrol 80? I drive a Nissan Frontier (Navara) with the 4.0l petrol and the range is about the only complaint I have about it... I'd really be pushing it to get 250mi (400KM) on a tank in 4WD. Luckily in the US, we don't usually have to go very far to refuel...
Hi. She's thirsty as hell :D
In the outback driving on four high I get about 5km to the litre (20 litres per 100km). Depending on the trip I am on, I carry about 60litres extra in jerry cans. So the total capacity gives me approximately a 1000km range. However, this can drop quite a bit if there are sections requiring low range driving. The most demanding trip I've done so far was an 80km stretch on low range. Averaged 20km/h. Consumption dropped to around 2.5km/l. Thankfully we were in a convoy of 5 fourbies. Two of them were also petrol so we shared the spare petrol.
:D
Two of my all-time favourite actors.
Nice 4 wheeler! I’ve owned Jeeps in the past. Have a F250, diesel, right now. Enjoy your ride !
Jeeps are quite popular here. My brother-in-law has a Wrangler. But due to the lack of a strong dealer network (as compared to Toyota, Nissan, Ford) Jeeps are not as popular in the outback. The F series is awesome too. Ford does not officially ship them to Australia in right-hand drive. A local company brings them in small quantities and converts them to RHD locally. Because of this the retail price is quite high.
Converting to RHD sounds expensive. Looks like you have antennas on your vehicle. Are the VHF/UHF radios? I am a ham radio guy. So I have a VHF and HF Mobile Radio in my truck.
The taller antenna is a 8 Watt UHF. The shorter one is a cell phone and SAT phone signal booster.
Very cool
Here’s my f250
Love those full-size trucks. Heaps of space.
Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=overlandjournals
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=technical-why-a-80series-why-petrol
Want to have your post on the map too?
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by OverlandJournals from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
I love the fj80! they are the major upgrades here in the states when it comes to the hilux or surf! i will be uploading tons of upgrade posts concerning toyota models, here in the future. Glad to see other yota enthusiasts on here.
Looking forward to your posts.
Australia is Toyota country. Not many brands/models can take the harsh Aussie outback.