Which older BT-50 for slide on?
Submitted: Sunday, Sep 08, 2013 at 13:41
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Charlie & Helen
Hi,
I'm an older member, joined ages ago and then had to shelve any camping plans for some time, we'd like to finally give it a go and so we're looking to buy one of two older BT-50s. One a 2007 3.0l 4x4 & the other a 2008 2.5l 4x2. Both single cab chassis
I'll be using this as my day to day vehicle but the primary reason for a ute is to carry a slide on camper, fairly old and battered but free! & so i'll spend a bit of time renovating it for summer. Due to family restrictions & special requirements we'll be visiting established campsites only i.e. no offroading other than gravel track.
This is our first real foray into utes/camping etc. since coming to Australia so i've very little knowledge or experience (or much in depth knowledge of motors in general!)
Both vehicles are in similar condition, similar KMs, $$$ etc.
Are either of these vehicles significantly better than the other? Better suited to the task? Any particular reasons why?
Thanks for any help
C.
Reply By: Member - Geoff M (VIC) - Monday, Sep 09, 2013 at 12:42
Monday, Sep 09, 2013 at 12:42
Hi Charlie,
I had a Mazda BT50 2007 model (freestyle) which I was using to carry a slideon camper. Even though the slideon was one of the lightest on the market, and I keep the weight down to a minimum (and
well below the GVM), the chassis cracked on a trip along the
Canning Stock Route in 2011. This also was not the only failure on this vehicle.
In my opinion the BT50 (and other meduim duty utilities) are not suitable for long term load carrying in rough conditions. Unfortunately I found this out the hard way. Now since you plan on not heading offroad then perhaps the BT50 you are considering will be OK, otherwise look at one of the heavy duty utilities such as the Patrol, Landcruiser or Defender.
Good luck with your decision, and happy travels!
Cheers, Geoff
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Follow Up By: Charlie & Helen - Monday, Sep 09, 2013 at 14:22
Monday, Sep 09, 2013 at 14:22
Thanks Geoff,
We really are going to take it easy to begin with, roadwise and length of trip/weight of load.
I'll make good use of a bt-50 day to day & don't really want to (and can't!) lay out bigger bucks on more substantial equipment just yet.
If the bug bites us hard then we'll look at upgrading in the future.
Thanks for the advice though and i'll keep it in mind as far as treatment of the rig goes.
cheers
Charlie.
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