87 replies to this topic

[vettenorlando]

If you go for a pickup get a cover or bed toolbox so you can lock up the gear when you are away from the vehicle. I love my Amigo but it's imposible to secure.
Don't buy 4wd unless you are actually going to use it, it will cost you more than just gas, the extra weight, transfer box, drive shafts, locking hubs and skid plates all up the repair cost.
Since you are looking at used stuff how about a Ford Explorer Sport Trac, four doors and a plastic pickup bed so you don't need to worry about your salty gear rusting the bed away. Many small station wagons are fine for hauling two sets of gear also with Rubbermaid tubs to catch the drips.

I have the Sport Trac and it has been great for diving.... nice bed with the gate to extend it as necessary... I put an after market completely removeable (and easy and light) tannau cover that locks and opens from either side. Plus the floors of the cab are rubber so easy to rinse if necessary... I love it for diving.

[ScubaDadMiami]

There are lots of good alternatives. SUVs and pickups are both fine.

I have a Mazda Tribute, the counterpart to the Ford Escape, the smaller line of SUV to the Explorer. Six cylinders and front wheel drive (FWD has many advantages of four wheel drive and handles great in rain and snow) but I still get just over 20 miles per gallon in all around driving and 22 mpg on the highway.

With the rear seats not folded down (so that I can fit two passengers in the rear), I can still fit my double 120s, two 40 bottles, my full gear bag including drysuit and thermals plus full tech gear, a large backpack for my spare parts and tools, my Rubbermaid folding cart and a large Rubbermaid plastic tub. With the rear seats folded down, I can also fit my scooter (and probably have room for another one).

On the days that I am not diving, I can fit large cylinders of helium and oxygen for my fill station. During the work week, I use it for trips to clients around town and for outings with them. It can dress up pretty nicely for in town use. For the size, it's a pretty nice truck.

If you go with a pickup, I would also suggest getting a topper. There should be a lot of good choices for you in your requested price range.

[CaliD]

I agree with everyone on the 4x4 especially used 4x4 you never know how they used it. I'm not sure about Texas but here in Cali, we have some great desert trails. But it beats the heck out of your truck.
With that said I prefer the SUV for two reasons you can sleep in it and you don't have to worry about securing your gear. Obviously I dive but I also do a lot of camping and I never pitch a tent. I just unroll my bed and I'm done. I get to the camp site and watch tenters struggle to get all set up, I'm done in 5 minutes.
And lastly, while I have never had a Toyota many of the people in my rockhound group do. And most are on their 3 or 4th 4runner. They run forever and I have never heard heard them complain about mechanical problems.

Good Luck

[Hipshot]

I know Toyotas are fairly legendary for the mileage they can go through before having problems...but has anyone got a good idea how high that threshold should be? I've seen a lot of Toyotas on sale that have mileage over 230K. Most of the vehicles I am looking at right now are right around 120K miles...which puts me in the lower $9K-$10K range. How many miles do you have on your 4Runner Dennis?

K

I've got 201K miles on my Toyota Camry wagon. It's just at the point where it's starting to show its age, so I'll be trading it in soon. However, my car has a 4-cylinder engine and I suspect that a 6-cylinder would have even more durability. I went with a station wagon vs. and SUV, because it handles better in traffic, gets better gas mileage, and the rear is more than spacious enough for my gear. Unless you're planning to go off-road to get to the dive site, there's really no reason to get an SUV or truck, unless you want one.

I'm not bashing SUVs or trucks; I'm just pointing out that a station wagon may serve your needs more economically than a larger vehicle would.

Rick

[David Evans]

There are lots of good alternatives. SUVs and pickups are both fine.

I have a Mazda Tribute, the counterpart to the Ford Escape, the smaller line of SUV to the Explorer. Six cylinders and front wheel drive (FWD has many advantages of four wheel drive and handles great in rain and snow) but I still get just over 20 miles per gallon in all around driving and 22 mpg on the highway.

With the rear seats not folded down (so that I can fit two passengers in the rear), I can still fit my double 120s, two 40 bottles, my full gear bag including drysuit and thermals plus full tech gear, a large backpack for my spare parts and tools, my Rubbermaid folding cart and a large Rubbermaid plastic tub. With the rear seats folded down, I can also fit my scooter (and probably have room for another one).

On the days that I am not diving, I can fit large cylinders of helium and oxygen for my fill station. During the work week, I use it for trips to clients around town and for outings with them. It can dress up pretty nicely for in town use. For the size, it's a pretty nice truck.

If you go with a pickup, I would also suggest getting a topper. There should be a lot of good choices for you in your requested price range.

I also have a Mazda Tribute, and I absolutely love it for the exact reason that SDM mentions. Nice write-up SDM!

Ford also has a new hybrid version of the Escape (again, same vehicle as the Tribute). That will probably be my next car when the time comes.

By the way, I pulled a U-Haul from Dallas to Seattle behind my Tribute, and seldom even knew it was there.

Nice little vehicles, much roomier than the CRV or Jeep Liberty (where dive gear is concerned at least!), nice power, and comfortable...

I'm 6'3" and I find it plenty big enough for me!

-d

[BradfordNC]

if you are going to do overnight or weekend dive trips, all i can say is DO NOT get an SUV.

i used to have an SUV, and it was great for day trips. yes, the storage area is inside the vehicle, and therefore secure.
and that is also the problem.
on weekend or long dive trips, you will be smelling your gear for the rest of the trip. doesn't matter if you rinse it after each dive, you will still be smelling wet gear in the car all weekend.


i now have a Ford Explorer Sport Trac.
it is the perfect dive vehicle.
4 door cab, so plenty of secure space.
the seats recline (try that in a pickup) and are very comfy.
the bed holds plenty of gear and has a locking cover.
the bed has a liner, easy to spray out.

[VADiver]

I'd agree with Brad...after a weekend of diving my Explorer has the smell of the ocean to it. You can air it out, but there is something nice to say about throwing wet gear into the bed and hosing it out later. Much easier to clean up.

[drbill]

Out here on Catalina, full-sized vehicles are limited. If I wanted one, I'd have to put my name on the list now and wait 7-15 years (depending on how "connected" one is with certain folks at City Hall).

My perfect vehicle for here would be a golf cart. I can get one now and adapt it to carry not only my dive gear, but my buddy's when she comes over to dive. I live on top of a steep hill here and carrying my gear on a hand cart is getting old (either that, or I am).

Golf carts air out nicely, too!

[Kawika]

Well...I was all but sold on the idea of getting a SUV until I read about storing wet gear over the weekend... As I would like to go diving all around Texas over the next year or so...I imagine that a lot of that will involve long road trips around the state over weekends...so in the long run...it would probably be best for me to have a pick up with a tonneau cover to secure my equipment while I am away...but still have the ability to just dump wet gear in the bed of the truck in between dives. I think I'm back to hunting for a Toyota Tacoma...double or Xtracab...what ever happens to be in my price range...

K

[intotheblue]

Well...I was all but sold on the idea of getting a SUV until I read about storing wet gear over the weekend... As I would like to go diving all around Texas over the next year or so...I imagine that a lot of that will involve long road trips around the state over weekends...so in the long run...it would probably be best for me to have a pick up with a tonneau cover to secure my equipment while I am away...but still have the ability to just dump wet gear in the bed of the truck in between dives. I think I'm back to hunting for a Toyota Tacoma...double or Xtracab...what ever happens to be in my price range...

K

Or, you can get large plastic "tubs" at Sam's for 8-15 bucks with covers. I have some that are durable and stackable. I throw my wet gear in them and never have to worry about wet insides of my ultimate exploration van. I can sleep in it, watch tv in it, teach classes in it, change clothes in it, work on gear in it... and with Posi-trac... can pull my boat right up a wet ramp with it and take off down the road! The Tubs double as rinse tanks in a pinch when needed.

I used to use the same tubs in my full sized long bed extended cab pickup too, with a "cap" for security and weather tightness. I could haul several sets of doubles, bulk O2 and He, stage bottles, scooter, etc... all my gear and occasionally that of a buddy... for a weekend of cavediving often without needing air fills or at least allowing me to pick my schedule amongst sites with air fills nearby when I ran low on "gas". With reclining seats, I'd have been extremely happy.

The van is nice, but you do get more bugs and stuff during loading and unloading (as you would also with a "SUV" that then end up riding with you, something you don't have with a PU truck as you can keep the cab closed while you work out of the back). The van provides 2 or three areas for people to gear up (instead of a tailgate) as new vans even offer doors on all three sides.

But... that is for "serious" diving... I haven't been quite THAT serious in a year or so!

ITB...

[Brinybay]

Well...I was all but sold on the idea of getting a SUV until I read about storing wet gear over the weekend... As I would like to go diving all around Texas over the next year or so...I imagine that a lot of that will involve long road trips around the state over weekends...so in the long run...it would probably be best for me to have a pick up with a tonneau cover to secure my equipment while I am away...but still have the ability to just dump wet gear in the bed of the truck in between dives. I think I'm back to hunting for a Toyota Tacoma...double or Xtracab...what ever happens to be in my price range...

K

I have a bed liner in my p/u but I still use a large plastic tub with a lid and wheels to put the wet gear in. It doubles as a gear wash basin and makes it easier to haul the gear in/out, plus less chance of saltwater leaking through any holes in the liner. I also frequently haul my shedding dog around in the back, thus there are dog hairs everywhere in the bed, all the more reason not to just through your gear in the bed.

[Geek]

Right now you can get a used SUV for a song, particularly American iron. Despite all the quality hype about the Japanese, I have owned a series of Jeep Grand Cherokees with which I have had almost no problems. The biggest problem has been my son's propensity for hitting stationary objects. Actually the vehicles have even stood up fairly well to that sort of abuse. Two Hondas have died trying to scratch the paint on my rear bumper. I have put up to 200k miles on circa 1993-98 Grand Cherokees, i.e. 200k per vehicle. I currently own 2 1998 Grand Cherokees. One has 110k and is running great. The other one my son is driving, so who knows how long it will survive?

You should be able to pick up one of these for less than $10k in good to excellent condition. Go for the "Limited" package and you get leather upholstery and power everything.

Re: Wet, smelly gear: Take it out of the vehicle and rinse it.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Just in case anyone does go with an SUV option, I thought I'd add this little tidbit that has been great for me.

My truck came with a removable plastic liner for the rear compartment. While it was great because it had raised edges to catch water from my wet equipment, it only covered the rear compartment and not where the back seats fold down.

I added a large piece of soft vinyl that comes in rolls that are about four feet wide. When I would fold down the rear seats, I would unroll the vinyl to protect the seat backs. When I had the seats upright, I would roll up the vinyl, and it would take up only a small amount of the rear cargo space.

Between the plastic liner and the vinyl, this worked well. However, sometimes dirty and wet things would still touch the seat backs when they were upright even after unrolling the vinyl. The vinyl would keep falling off of the seat backs when I tried to cover them when they were upright, allowing stowed items to leave dirt on the seat back carpet. Also, the plastic cargo area liner gripped my gear so well that it made sliding my doubles in a major chore. Many times, the whole thing would slide over where the rear seats were folded down when I would try to slide my tanks in.

Searching on the Net, I found: http://www.sportomot...canvasback.html. This is a soft but durable piece of fabric with a waterproof liner under it, kind of like cordura drysuit material, that covers the entire cargo area and seatbacks. It sticks to the carpet and seatbacks with velcro. It is easy to remove to get to a spare tire. It actually extends over the tops of the rear seats, completely protecting the backs of the seats from dirt and water.

When I am not using it over the backs of the seats, I roll it down to the floor of the cargo area, just protecting the floor, which is fine for my everyday use. That way, my truck still looks good for typical city uses. In less than 30 seconds, I can roll it back over the seatbacks for protection. It works really well for sliding tanks and gear into and from the truck as it stays attached to the carpeting perfectly.

Something to consider if you bring wet gear into your nice SUV all the time. I still use the plastic Rubbermaid tubs for wet gear storage, but now I don't worry about my wet tanks when I put them into my truck, and I don't worry if any water drips onto the covering. It dries pretty quickly, too.

[Brinybay]

My new dive-friendly vehicle. My Mazda B2300 served me well for 83000 miles that I drove it, but now it has 131k on it, needed brakes, a windshield, tune up, some other stuff. Got a good deal on a certified pre-owned 2005 Ford Ranger, 18k miles, extended cab, 3.0 liter V6, CD player, under $14k. I added a bed liner (sprayed on) and a canopy (but not a roo bar).

Side note: Mazda B-series trucks and Ford Rangers are the same vehicle. I didn't know that until recently, all this time I thought I had a Japanese vehicle. Good used Mazda B-series are hard to find, but there were plenty of Ford Rangers to choose from.

Side note 2: If you're in the NW, I highly recommend Bowen Scarff Ford in Kent, WA. Very easy to deal with, don't try to jerk you around. Stay away from Harris Ford in Lynnwood, real a$$holes!

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Edited by Brinybay, 27 December 2007 - 12:47 PM.

[drckw]

I bought a Subaru Forester so I could put tanks in the back - it has a rubber type liner in the rear so all the wet stuff can go there. all the dry stuff goes in the back seats. I love it, works fab!