Suzuki Vitara '94 JX SWB: will it make it?

Jim
I'd be going the light route, don't take anything you don't absolutely need, get good quality lightweight gear like bushwalkers use so to keep weight and bulk to a minimum. I think the trailer would be too much off road for extended trips and would put serious dent in performance, off road ability and economy.
A very small low profile roofrack to take chairs or even a folded tent would eb a better idea.
how many in the vehicle? 1 or 2?
Had a friend who used to travel solo on long outback trips with no problems, removed all the seats except for the drivers, made a false floor system that enabled him to carry extra fuel and water in jerries and he could sleep in the car in bad weather, as the mattress fitted between the dash and the back door dow the passengers side.
That was in an early 4 stroke Suzuki a whole 1 litre engine capacity and only 4 speed box.

Jim

Suzukis go anywhere. I can attest to that. Go to my website below and click on 4x4 and then at bottom of the page The Spinifex Trail. My Suzuki on that trip had done about 100,000km and was in good working order.

One thing to watch out for is not to over engineer a small vehicle. I had the springs reset as we were carrying a heavy fuel and water load for the desert trek and I broke 7 leaves on the rear ..

Suzki's with high kilometres should have their gearboxes and transfer cases checked as they are only lightly engineered and at high k's they might fail. Also check the universals and repack the front wheel hubs and bearings. The diff's should be OK.

As long as your trailer is lightweight you should not have any problems.

Cheers

Jim,
Had a Vitara Estate (4 door) for 5 years. It was great: reliable simple economical & tough. I would even say fun. The narrow track and relatively short length (even shorter in 2-door) made it very nimble in narrow tracks. And the light weight is a plus in sand.

But we found in the end that clearance and ramp-over angle and carrying capacity were not enough for our needs. Little engine also struggled with a full load. We concluded that it was more viable to upgrade to bigger vehicle than spend $$$ on the Zook.

But that is just my experience. I certainly wouldn't discourage what you are planning if the sums . More clearance/articulation through bigger tyres and a suspension upgrade would make a world of difference. Would be inclined to add a snorkel ($400) and diff locks too. Air lockers would be ideal, but the cheaper Detroits etc would do the job. Open rear diff is a significant limitation.

I agree with the others that if you can travel light and avoid towing you will be much better off.

From memory the 2-door only has a small fuel tank. You would want to add a long-range tank for long-distance travel.

One of the 4WD mags (Austn 4WD monthly I think) took a Jimny across the Simpson and it went fine. Mind you they had a couple of Patrols in support, no doubt carrying most of the gear!

Good luck,
Des

Thanks heaps fellas.

I'm taking the backs seats out so it will only carry 2.

I'm a little worried about roofracks though because of the chance of rolling but if theres not much weight it might be ok. Once went for a trip down to the coast in my mates sierra and we had to pack in a roof cage. there was so much strain on the sway bar that when we turned or the car rolled a bit the car would rock back and forth for a while.

thanks again and nice website willem,

Jim.