JDP Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Just picked up another tow vehicle at a good price from a mate. This is a Mazda bt50 3.2 4x4 auto, where my Isuzu is manual. Most vehicles sold here in Oz are automatic and have some good advantages for towing but for me it's more to do with medical reasons for possibly keeping the auto. The reason I say possibly keeping is because either the Mazda or Isuzu will need to go. The pro's for the Isuzu are they are an easy low maintenance vehicle and hold their value extremely well and in my opinion slightly better off-road. The dual cab is very comfortable in the back but this is mostly ever used for the dog!!! The Mazda pumps out an extra 100nm of torque, which is always good to have when towing 2 tons or more up big hills. Both have a 3.5 ton tow limit. The bt50 does actually have 4 doors and small rear seats which are pretty uncomfortable for anything more than a few kms but that rear space is actually very handy for keeping gear in. The tray is 30cm longer on the bt also which means the roll out sleeping swags fit inside without needing to drop the tailgate like on the Isuzu. Mazda do seem to of sorted a few issues out from the earlier models, this being a late 2017 with very low km. The big winner though is everyone in the family can drive auto which gives me a break on long runs (4-6 day drives of 800-1000km per day ). The fact everyone can drive it can also be a disadvantage if my daughter heads away shooting with it as I will have to use her stinky little crap car. Previous spine injuries to my back and neck can turn on instant migraines which can make any driving almost impossible for me. Also the fractures from my neck are starting to reduce my left arm use ( getting old can be a toss). Anyway, any of you have experience with the Mazda's, which are basicly Ford rangers. Andy135 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzook12 Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Sounds to me like your daughter should get rid of the "stinky little crap car" and have the manual....... Win win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Are drop side pickup trucks more of a thing there? Over here you rarely see them other than utilities companies. Everyone seems to have the crew cabs that have the small integrated backs on that are useless as a work vehicle, not a lot of load space, high up to load poor payload etc, generally the worst of all worlds. They look good but that’s the end of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 40 minutes ago, JonC said: They look good but that’s the end of it Isn’t that the bit that matters most? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 (edited) 48 minutes ago, JonC said: Are drop side pickup trucks more of a thing there? Over here you rarely see them other than utilities companies. Everyone seems to have the crew cabs that have the small integrated backs on that are useless as a work vehicle, not a lot of load space, high up to load poor payload etc, generally the worst of all worlds. They look good but that’s the end of it. Yes both are popular but the kind you mention are limited in space because of the wheel arches. Also being able to simply forklift a pallet from any side or rear is handy when the sides are dropped. Ive had the integrated kind in the past which only have 1200mm width of flat space where the flatbed tray is 1850 X 2200, both kinds can be removed and changed. These are rated for 1 ton on the tray but can tow 3.5 ton, trade workers tend to have the flat beads and city posers have the other kind. For carrying a few fishing buddies and towing a boat they are very useful, especially given you can put some hefty fish in the back and just hit it with a hose at the end of the day. Both these trays are aluminium. The Isuzu has a sliding trundle trap that's the full length of the bed and the two tool boxes behind the wheels. It also has a fair amount of storage under and behind the rear seat in the dual cab. 2 hours ago, suzook12 said: Sounds to me like your daughter should get rid of the "stinky little crap car" and have the manual....... Win win She is keen on it but I need to sell it to cover the new one. Its pretty hard selling to your own family, the little Toyota Yaris she drives was a freebee from us. She took the bt 50 out this evening into some pretty tricky 4x4 country with muddy river crossings, so she's now thinking of buying the the Mazda. Edited January 6, 2021 by JDP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 You can also stick things like this on the flatbeds, these can be jacked up and removed when you reach your destination giving you more freedom with the vehicle. These little caravan style things https://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/items/details/2010-northstar-trackmaster-9/SSE-AD-5597116/?Cr=2 even have a toilet and shower in them as well as cooker and fridge!!! Depending on boat size you could tow a boat and carry a miniature home, not hat I would personally as I like sleeping in swags when away. The snorkel up the side of the drivers window is for river crossing above the bonnet, I tray to stay in water no deeper than the top of my wheel arches. Geoff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 @JDP That pop off camper top is pretty neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 I agree with Neil, that camper is brilliant, I love it - maybe my next project after the boat is afloat. Geoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 I saw a met police Ford ranger with all the add ons on it a couple of months ago, that looked very good. I bet it cost a bit, but I don’t suppose as much as their Range Rover. The traffic Wombles have some big arse SUVs as well, god knows when they never leave the tarmac. Give them a van or a pick up, save £20k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 3 hours ago, JonC said: I saw a met police Ford ranger with all the add ons on it a couple of months ago, that looked very good. I bet it cost a bit, but I don’t suppose as much as their Range Rover. The traffic Wombles have some big arse SUVs as well, god knows when they never leave the tarmac. Give them a van or a pick up, save £20k. In my opinion it should be a requirement that all civil service, NHS, military and government vehicles and equipment are sourced from a UK source and with maximum UK manufactured components. I am aware that we do not produce much in the UK now, but we should be doing everything possible to help our own economy. Geoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 1 minute ago, Geoff said: In my opinion it should be a requirement that all civil service, NHS, military and government vehicles and equipment are sourced from a UK source and with maximum UK manufactured components. I am aware that we do not produce much in the UK now, but we should be doing everything possible to help our own economy. Geoff. Do we produce ANY cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Even the ones assembled here get component parts from abroad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 We do still build cars in the UK although mainly just assembling parts from elswhere. Now that we have left the EU we should be encouraging as much UK content as possible, even if it is only assembly. The police for instance should not be driving round in BM's. Right across the board we should be backing Britain and looking to see more of our own products - if we don't make something we should. The gov. could get together with JCB for instance and see if we could start to produce HGV's etc. Why are we killing the fossil fueled vehicles when we just do not have the infrastructure to support electric vehicles? How will people that live in city blocks, town centres terraced houses etc. ever be able to recharge at home? If they get battery charging down to 15 minutes think what will happen on long motorway journeys. Fuel cells or Nuclear may end up the answer. What will happen about boat engines? I know this is bordering on politics, but to me is just plain and simple common sense - which is of course NOT so common. Geoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzook12 Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 We still build some specials, but yes, car parts are global these days.... Yes, put the police back in Austin 1800's and on Velocette LE's, gives the rest of us a chance.... Lol🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Steve - please do not knock the Landcrab. Have you ever had one? At least when the police had the noddy bikes you could still find a copperabout - try that now! Geoff. ☺️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzook12 Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Geoff said: Steve - please do not knock the Landcrab. Have you ever had one? At least when the police had the noddy bikes you could still find a copperabout - try that now! Geoff. ☺️ Landcrab? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 For the UK government bodies to use U.K. built vehicles they would first need to be faster and more reliable than the foreign imports. Employees at local manufacturing plants would need to work at competitive rates and local governments would need to grow a backbone. We are much the same here with the closing of manufacturing plants etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 The transit I have just bought was imported all the way from the factory in Turkey. Which is mad really because 5-6 years ago they were made 2 miles from my house! JDP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 I worked in fords at Dagenham, worst work ethics ever. It was like a world hide and seek championship training camp. JDP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 54 minutes ago, JonC said: I worked in fords at Dagenham, worst work ethics ever. It was like a world hide and seek championship training camp. Exactly, not just this industry and even in Government!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 1 hour ago, suzook12 said: Landcrab? Steve, the Landcrab was the name given to the BMC/BL 1800 series. The first brand new car that I bought was a morris 1800 back in 1967. Believe it or not, to this day I still think of it as the best car I ever had (and I have had well over 100 cars). It was quiet, comfy and very roomy, but still in a fairly short car.It was also the car with the best torsion stiffness for the next 20 years. BL always had labour (union) trouble and never had the investment needed - very sad really. Even BMW could not sort it out and could easily have gone down when they took over. just for your info I bought an old Wolseley 1885S for restoration last year. Geoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzook12 Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 57 minutes ago, Geoff said: Steve, the Landcrab was the name given to the BMC/BL 1800 series. The first brand new car that I bought was a morris 1800 back in 1967. Believe it or not, to this day I still think of it as the best car I ever had (and I have had well over 100 cars). It was quiet, comfy and very roomy, but still in a fairly short car.It was also the car with the best torsion stiffness for the next 20 years. BL always had labour (union) trouble and never had the investment needed - very sad really. Even BMW could not sort it out and could easily have gone down when they took over. just for your info I bought an old Wolseley 1885S for restoration last year. Geoff. Ahhh ok..... One of my uncles used to have a wolsely, the maxi shaped (sort of) one. He was a member of the £ litre club as well. When I was a lad, when I had just bought my first MIG welder, I badgered him to sell me his old car, a 60's wolsely, bench seat colomn change etc etc, 2 tone blue, he never would though, then one day riding thru the village I saw the pikeys dragging it down the road, he'd sold it to them for scrap! Was pretty pissed about it at the time.... Hey ho Never did get my bench seat car...... Never will now, the money they fetch Geoff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.