Contributor III
Hey OB Crew!
Ok here is a little background...
I am coming to the conclusion that I may need a daily driver in the coming months.
I live in Wodonga,Victoria in Australia. I live in town and my girlfriend lives 50km away in a little village called Stanley. I love it there and plan to move in with her in six weeks or so (once I finish house sitting for my holidaying parents)
The 110km/65mi round trip is a beautiful but treacherous drive. 40+ degrees C in summer and dustings of snow in winter. The main issue is wildlife. As I would be driving in to work at 5am the kangaroos, wallabies and wombats are a constant hazard. They are dumb animals and can weigh 100+kg and can total a car in a collision.
This is my current rig (build thread here: https://overlandbound.com/forums/threads/2016-nissan-navara-diesel-frontier-build-australia.3382/page-2#post-124943)
Most people get a daily driver as their 4x4 is too difficult to live with every day. My issue is the opposite. It is comfortable, quiet, safe, gets great diesel mileage and is kitted out nicely. The problem is it's too nice! I don't want to put a heap of miles on my vehicle, my expensive mud tyres, risk hitting wildlife and having to load/unload my camping gear for weekend camping trips.
If I purchased a cheap daily I can continue fitting out my rig, have it packed and ready to hit the road at a moments notice. Car tyres are cheaper and put a heap of miles on a car that I care less about.
Am I on the right track?
Potential vehicles would include 2wd pickups (cheap, economical, can be fitted with a bull bar, can fetch fire wood)
and maybe a ford panel van (sturdy, reliable, can lock my bikes/sleep in the back, cool factor)
What do you think guys? Let me know what you think!
Cheers, Ben OB#2552
Ok here is a little background...
I am coming to the conclusion that I may need a daily driver in the coming months.
I live in Wodonga,Victoria in Australia. I live in town and my girlfriend lives 50km away in a little village called Stanley. I love it there and plan to move in with her in six weeks or so (once I finish house sitting for my holidaying parents)
The 110km/65mi round trip is a beautiful but treacherous drive. 40+ degrees C in summer and dustings of snow in winter. The main issue is wildlife. As I would be driving in to work at 5am the kangaroos, wallabies and wombats are a constant hazard. They are dumb animals and can weigh 100+kg and can total a car in a collision.
This is my current rig (build thread here: https://overlandbound.com/forums/threads/2016-nissan-navara-diesel-frontier-build-australia.3382/page-2#post-124943)
Most people get a daily driver as their 4x4 is too difficult to live with every day. My issue is the opposite. It is comfortable, quiet, safe, gets great diesel mileage and is kitted out nicely. The problem is it's too nice! I don't want to put a heap of miles on my vehicle, my expensive mud tyres, risk hitting wildlife and having to load/unload my camping gear for weekend camping trips.
If I purchased a cheap daily I can continue fitting out my rig, have it packed and ready to hit the road at a moments notice. Car tyres are cheaper and put a heap of miles on a car that I care less about.
Am I on the right track?
Potential vehicles would include 2wd pickups (cheap, economical, can be fitted with a bull bar, can fetch fire wood)
and maybe a ford panel van (sturdy, reliable, can lock my bikes/sleep in the back, cool factor)
What do you think guys? Let me know what you think!
Cheers, Ben OB#2552