Troopy advice
Submitted: Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 14:49
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Jackson D
Hi all, I’m looking at getting a troopy to build out and tour Australia. It’s me and my partner so we’re looking at a pop top just so we have a bit of extra space so I can actually stand inside the car.
What we’re tossing up at the moment is which model to get. We’ll be towing a boat so not sure if the 1hz will have enough power to get up hills or on sand. I know the 1hd factory turbo has a bit more grunt but the prices on them are sky high compared to the 1hz’s you can get with twice the amount of gear. Anyone who has any knowledge or experience towing with a 1hz I’d appreciate your advice.
Cheers legends.
Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 15:19
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 15:19
Personally I would buy which ever one has no electronics.
When it stops, you will be able to make it go again on the side of the road, rather than "tow to the nearest capital city".
Our Perkins powered OKA has one wire that makes the engine go, or stop. AND I KNOW WHERE IT IS :)
As far as hills or sand go, that is what the gearbox and low range are for. Your Troopy will be half the weight of our OKA and have lots more power as
well. We go where many others would not dare.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
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638335
Follow Up By: Member - Cuppa - Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 20:36
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 20:36
Touring Australia is (hopefully) something you can do without rushing - so a 1Hz will do the job, yep it'll be slow on hills, but so what, there's no rush (& if there is you are probably missing the point). The vast majority of Australia has little traffic density so unless you want to spend most of your time in cities & the east coast 'keeping up with the traffic' is a non issue. And the 1Hz plus the Toyota gearbox is a lovely combination off road.
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916728
Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 23:08
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 at 23:08
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Hi Jackson, certainly the Troopy will be slow on hills. The 1HZ fortunately made enough noise in second at 4000rpm going up highway hills to drown out the curses from the lineup behind me! However in low gears the old girl could crawl up the side of a railway cutting.
Once off the blacktop I never wanted to go faster than 80kph so no worries. But I wasn't pulling a boat.
It certainly had the torque to easily haul others through difficult sand on Fraser Island.
I feel that you would be rather frustrated with a naturally aspirated 1HZ.
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638339
Follow Up By: Jackson D - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 14:05
Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 14:05
Thanks for replying mate that’s good to know. The boat we’ve got is only a 13.5ft inflatable so it’s nothing massive. Not too worried about how fast we’re going we’re happy to just cruise around. If you say yours was alright on Fraser Island pulling other cars surely it wouldn’t be too bad towing a ~250kg trailer and boat. For the 20-30k price difference in them the extra bit of power really doesn’t seem worth it to get rid of a few dirty looks haha.
Cheers mate
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 17:10
Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021 at 17:10
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If your boat/trailer combo is only 250kg and you are not in a hurry then I doubt that you will have trouble.
Not only is the naturally aspirated Troopy cheaper but there is less to go wrong without a turbo. However, it will be heavy on the fuel. I put in a long range tank to give us 270 litres of diesel so we had pretty good range. It sure impressed the servo's when we filled up. lol
Go for it mate. We saw a lot of Australia in ours but now it's moved on and we are setting up a 4WD motorhome. But it won't go where the Troopy went. I do miss it!
FollowupID:
916747
Reply By: Member - lyndon NT - Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 14:57
Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 at 14:57
Hi
I have owned 3 Troopy's. 2 x 1HZ 1 x FTE
OK, the FTE is awesome, but rare to come bye and costs a fortune as you have found out.
1 HZ, I have towed a 1.5 ton boat from
Adelaide to the Top End, through the Gulf to FNQ. Even up the VERY steep hills in the
Daintree .
On the Flat it would sit on 120km/hr (no head wind). No boat, 140km/hr. That is flat to the floor guzzling fuel.
However, if you are happy to sit on 100 - 110 no problems. It is a real art to overtake our northern road trains in a 1 HZ but I did it many times with no problems (maybe just a little bit of frustration).
I would have no problems recommending a 1 HZ in GOOD mechanical condition for an around Australia trip.
PS, towing and inflatable boat.................................., now that has me concerned. Rocks will shred it to bits. Get yourself a small Ally boat. 3.7 -4.2
Cheers
Lyndon
AnswerID:
638368
Reply By: Member - mark D18 - Sunday, Oct 24, 2021 at 18:22
Sunday, Oct 24, 2021 at 18:22
Jackson
The 1HZ will be fine towing 250 kg .
It will be a bit slow but one with even a reasonable service history will last for years .
Make sure the gearbox is ok , they normally don’t give much trouble as long as you are not towing heavy loads in 5th gear .
Also keep an on rust especially in the roof .
One with a quality aftermarket turbo with low boost will also be worth looking at , it’s makes them a lot more drivable without effecting reliability .
Cheers
AnswerID:
638383
Reply By: Member - peter g28 - Monday, Oct 25, 2021 at 12:32
Monday, Oct 25, 2021 at 12:32
Prices are high for any troop at present and especially the V8..but
check out the auctions..not the city ones. they are expensive.
I'm talking about the regional ones..Wagga,
Rockhampton,
Gladstone..
Alice Springs,etc
Why?..
well, regional mines will send off their vehicles to the nearest auction to get sold..
check Pickles and Mannheim regional location auction sites....plus any local auction sites in those regional towns...you never know..
It will mean you will have to undertake your due diligence..and be mindful that
mine vehicles can get knocked about ..so there's that.
AnswerID:
638391