You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My Navara is getting pretty scruffy being used daily on muddy sites, so I'm looking for something to leave on site and use as a daily workhorse.
Thinking Rav4 as smallest and Frontera as largest - must be under a grand as it will be abused!
In a typical completely-ignoring-your-size-stipulation style, Suzuki SJ pick up?
Forget it, they're hen's teeth. Jimny?
Fourtrak. Pretty rugged things.
Fourtrak is a good call
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Daihatsu-Fourtrak-Good-order-Full-mot-taxed-/111673485231
Good call - I'd forgotten about Fourtraks!
Suzuki's just a bit too small
Mk1 Hyundai Santa Fe, cheap as chips and really reliable, loads of room in them, good on fuel and no one wants them so they go for nothing.
just one;
[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201503031397197/sort/default/radius/1500/page/1/usedcars/keywords/4x4/postcode/rg270dy/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/price-to/1000/channel/cars?logcode=p ]Daihatsu Sportrak[/url]
[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504252923040/sort/default/page/1/postcode/rg270dy/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/channel/cars/price-to/1000/usedcars/keywords/4x4/radius/1500?logcode=p ]Renault SCENIC RX4![/url]
Fiat panda 4x4 if you dont need masses of space?
Must admit Dihatsu four tracks are great if you can find a non rusted out one....or what about an army surplus vehicle?
Nissan Terrano.Bought one new in 2000 and 15 years on its still going strong up and down the tracks in Spain.
Vitara are good with some chunky rubber. Do a bit of hair dressing at the weekend?
I just did a little giggle at the thought of the OP driving around the site in a Panda. 😆
Honda crv, can be had cheap and are very reliable
I have a subaru forester which will be up for sale shortly , purchased as a stop gap between the pickup dying and finding a landcruiser.
early ones are cheap enough - good on and off road as well
suzuki x90 2 or 4 wd go anywhere anytime.. i have two.. total outlay.. 850..
suzuki x90
MegaLolz
Sorry, but not really an ideal site vehicle - I could do with putting some tools somewhere....
[img] 
[/img]
Nissan Terrano 2.7tdi - capable enough, engine & running gear is super reliable but check the chassis for rust.
Fourtrack - if you can find a good one it'll last forever.
Ford Ranger - possibly more practical for lugging stuff around, reliable but very agricultural.
If only using on site, I'm assuming you don't need an mot. On that basis illd go with a tdi discovery which has failed due to rust.
Somebody should send a link to that Renault to trail_rat - looks just the perfect combo of ageing French motor and 4wd that should be right up his street 😀
Loads of mitsubishi Shogun about for that money.
Fourtrak
Shogun Pinin
Ford Maverick/Nissan Terrano
RAV4
geoff , my neighbour has one of them .
its surprisingly capible offroad - he uses it as a farm truck.
Would i recomend it - no .... the trouble we had getting parts for it. its a piggy back 4x4 system out the back of the gear box.
MY money for a 1000 pound site 4x4 would be on the frontera - incredibly capible , not all that rusty and robust - mines took on a bus and came out needing a wing and a wishbone. mines was 15 years old and still pulled strong - 2.2DTI , no idea how many miles on it , the speedo randomly worked - i reckon it did 30k in my owner ship how ever only recorded about 4k. .... and looking at the past mots it only had about 2k between previous mots. sold it for 300 quid as i didnt want the trouble of replacing fuel and brake lines - they are a pig to access but on a site truck it will be fine.
[*]Lada Niva if you can find one for sale, Indestructible and very capable.
[img] 
[/img]
Can be modified nicely too.
[img] 
[/img]
Piss off Luke 😉
Pajero would seem appropriate.
Ford Explorer 4.0 pref log converted but a good sized cheap workhorse
unovolo
you driven them ? they are ****ing **** to drive. far from indestructable - how ever in their soviet home land they can be fixed with stuff you find at the side of the road.
i had the misfortune of crossing ukraine in one and again some of the turkmen desert.
frankly id rather walk across site.
i mean we all know land rovers are just a collection of bits loosesly held together mostly by their own gravitational pull - the lada took that to a new level.
how ever UAZ on the other hand - that things a beast.
What? It's a genuine bargain is that!
(I don't really have much more input to give- we used an Isuzu Trooper for site work across Scotland and it was amazing but probably too expensive. My family are keen on Landcruisers for farm work and have K reg ones that are going very well)
Jimny's not too small?
Isn't it supposed to be really capable for its size off road??
When I saw the thread title I thought Jimny! I bet it can take some neglect/working life too.
Pajero not a bad shout, maybe a V6, if it's staying on site you won't care about MPG, and they're cheap.
We have a Rav4 on our local shoot. With decent rubber on it, it goes everywhere the bigger 4x4's go, and keeps going and going.
For a site truck assuming you have a trailer to move it ..... You could pick up a rotten chassis trouper or pajero without test for buttons .... Pay more than 500quid and you were had 🙂
i mean we all know land rovers are just a collection of bits loosesly held together mostly by their own gravitational pull - the lada took that to a new level.
I once saw a 'sleeper' Niva.
Fiat twincam engine (Lada's use a lot of Fiat pattern parts).
Tweaked suspension (they're designed for off road, then hobbled with spacers and bump stops to lower them and reduce travel to make them OK on road apparently).
All the body seams welded up, and a roll cage fitted. But all without changing the external silhouette of the car.
Apparently it ended up being a bit of an animal off road, something like half the weight of a TD5 Defender, but with twice the power, better approach, departure, ramp over angles and RTI.
My sites vary, so need to be able to drive it on the road. I'm leaning towards a Pajero/Shogun at the moment
.
[url= http://http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/mitsubishi/shogun/2003-mitsubishi-shogun-excellent-van-not-vat-diesel-wisbech-vfpa-8aa534e94c02e99b014c0d39d1de16b5/makemodel/make/mitsubishi/model/shogun ]Shogun van swb[/url]
[url= http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/mitsubishi/shogun/2003-mitsubishi-shogun-excellent-van-not-vat-diesel-wisbech-vfpa-8aa534e94c02e99b014c0d39d1de16b5/makemodel/make/mitsubishi/model/shogun ]another go[/url]
My concern with a vehicle of that price would be it breaking down on the way to site or whilst being used on site and costing you a days work. Isn't a Navara for abusing on site anyway ?
I'll always have a back-up vehicle marcus. My Navara is a work truck and gets used as such (you should see the state of it at the moment) - however, it's still a bloody nice motor and I don't want to kill it.
Currently got my eye on this - a bit over budget though...
[img] 
[/img]
Looked at a delica, basically a pajero with a minibus body. Hell of a tool!
I would say navara but not many cheap ones around as the engines fall apart 😉
Odd suggestion but can be had for much cheapness and they work well off-road: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Freelander-TD4-SWB-Van-BMW-Turbo-Diesel-Motd-Low-Reserve-Commercial-/271878082776?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f4d3250d8
Only thing that is going to stop it dead really is the electric fuel pump in the rear wheel arch. 30 minutes to change and £180. All the other faults like electrics and VCU won't stop you getting around a work site.
But head says old bomb proof Mitsubishi/Toyota/Isuzu