tophatyachts.com

Hi all.

Ideally I want

4WD manual
Tow Bar and roof racks - suitable to carry a kayak.
No carpet nor cloth anything - so I can hose it out after dogs, inflatable dinghy and all the other dirt, sand etc that gets in ...gets in.

Must be registered and roadworthy. Will have an inspection prior to purchase by a mechanic.

Have discovered that most city 4WD's have carpet and proudly never go off road.
Location does not really matter as I would enjoy a road trip to view and buy.

If you have one or know of one for sale please let me know. '

Diana
ozsealady@gmail.com
Ph 0490 057 313

Sounds like you need one of those CrewCab utes with a fibreglass canopy on the back. Or maybe even just an ordinary Ute with rear canopy if you dont need to cart lots of people.

Generally just me.
But in my VW cabriolet I can fit either a person OR a kayak.
Not both!!!!

Looking to buy a second car for camping / sailing etc.

I will keep my city car for cruising around as the spectacular blonde, single, yacht owner I am...

Diana, hosing out any 4wd will severely reduce its longevity, whatever it is, the rust will take over very quickly. Unless you buy an old series 3 Land Rover, or perhaps a Defender, they're aluminium.

Ian's idea of a ute with a canopy is great, you can also get poly tray liners that can be hosed out without any damage to the steel floor.

While not for sale, I have a 2001 Toyota Prado RV model which has less carpet in than the standard vehicles. Also has manual wind-up windows. The "RV" is the poverty pack of the Prado range. Mine is from the 90 series range which ended 2002. I don't know what the new models are like but the Prado was a very popular 'school bus' driven by parents and many did not go off road. Being extremely reliable and tough, 2nd hand ones can offer great value. If you Google 'Toyota Prado 90 series' you will see plenty of them are still around. The up-market ones had the two-tone paint job, RV just is overall one colour, mine is white.

I also bought a set of rubber inserts, not the little mats but full inserts for front, back seat and rear section. These have ridges around them so you need about 20+ mm of water or mud in the front ones before they overflow, it's like a tub. These inserts/tubs are easy enough to take out and hose down.

Perhaps you could check out the type of mat thing I got and see if they might help with your situation: http://www.nobullaccessories.com.au/sandgrabber

Also, there are canvas seat covers which actually protect the seat underneath, they are not just for comfort or looks. Something like that would help keep the sand out and you wouldn't have to hose down the inside. : )

So, my thinking is that pehaps with canvas seatcovers or similar and something like the sandgrabbas then you might have more options on vehicles as almost none can be hosed out without damage. At least with a basic vehicle (with minimal carpet) plus the protection, you can have something which is almost as easy to clean as simply hosing it out.