advise on troopy.

Nat,

Troopys come in various seating configurations. The 11 seat style would be pretty uncomfortable for general family use. Can't comment on the other seating configs, but I can't see them being very comfortable. Also access would be poor for seats in the back. To modify the seating from an original configuration (legally) will require an engineer's certificate. In NSW (and probably elsewhere) an 11 seat Troopy is treated as a bus for registration, calling for inspections by RTA every 3 months - a real pain.

They are a big vehicle, rugged off road performers but in city traffic would be cumbersome and not a lot of fun to drive. They are high and won't always fit into city car parks.

On the whole, I'd suggest not a city car and not a family runabout. Out bush - brilliant.

HTH

John

Seven people is hard, the front can seat 2 + a small child. Putting a seat across the back will seat 3 more. This will leave you having to put two rows in the back leaving limited space,(though still more space than anything else). As for driving around the city, underground parks are out, but apart from that you just get used to driving it. Yes, it’s big, but I still manage to fit it in parks I see people try to park their car in and give up and drive off! ? They are great off-road, go for the TD 78, the 1 HZ is a great motor and will run forever but are a bit of a slug. I like them, but they not for everyone. On the other hand, if you get rid of the TV you might just be able to get the 11 seater and fill it!
Good luck

Family of 7 . A troopy would be impractical for 7 people . Try something like an 80 series toyota and a trailer .

My oath go for it. Personally i think they are great and having a family of 7 you can all fit in with out being arm to arm.

Nat,

I have an RV troop carrier, 1995 model. It has the forwards facing rear seat factory fitted. The front passenger seat moves forwards and twists slightly to allow access for the passengers to enter the forwards facing second row of seats.

For a family, I would not suggest getting the 11 seater version. Simple reason that the seats along the sides of the vehicle are pretty simple and uncomfortable. Would you like your kids always travelling sideways? It is not comfortable.

Your options would be... A new troop carrier rv with forwards facing seats (correct me if I am wrong) only seats 5... 2 in the front and 3 in the rear. A huge mistake by Toyota in my book as having the 3 seater front (OK 2 and a little person!) and 3 seater rear equalling 6 was really beneficial. Anyway back to my point... New RV is a 5 seater so you would then need to add 2 more forwards facing seats in the very back. Which would not be a problem for access in or out etc, but would need to be done properly.

The older versions, like mine, were factory 3 in the front and 3 in the middle so you would really only need to put one more in the back, but lets face it, if you did that you would always need someone in the front between driver and passenger. It would be just as cost effective to get a double seat put in the back as single, then you have the capacity to move people around and have the option to not use the 1/2 seat in between the driver and passenger.

Either brand new or older version would not leave you much room for any luggage etc for holidays. I know how much we take with 5 people let alone 7!

As for parking in the city... just remember the height. Mine does not fit into most under ground carparks, and I have standard suspension.

Get a diesel one.

As much as I love mine, for 7 people I would suggest getting an 80 100 or brand new 200 with the factory fitted 7 seats. The advantages with getting the land cruiser would be that it is more like a car than a bare bones troop carrier. BUT if it is simple you want, like a bare bones troop carrier, then I would search for a factory fitted forwards facing rear seat version and add two seats in the very back.

The factory fitted forwards facing ones should have an 'rv' in the model number and the front passenger seat should slide forward and twist for access. The 11 or 3 seater version ones do not have the twisting passenger seat.

The RV ones also have map pockets in the doors, central locking, rear door wiper and rear door speakers and an extra brake light above the rear barn doors. Slightly better interior and extras than the bare bones troop carrier.

Used ones, look for rust in and around the front windscreen and the side windows. Nearly all troopies tend to rust around the front windscreen. If you get a new one, try and get someone to rust proof it with fish oil or something, inside the roof turret and doors.

They are no harder to drive in the city than any other 4 wd. They can be harder to park due to lack of vision. Get a rear view camera fitted... especially with so many kids around. I fitted my own for under $200 and improves the rear view tremendously.

sdr00y

You could covert your troopy to a side door 7 seater, but for the cost of the conversion, you could get a late model 8 seat 100 series.

7 seat troopy conversion

Cheers Steve

you will have to do some expensive (is there any other kind?) mods to make it practicle and more importantly safe for you to seat 7 in a troopy

I have a rv. troopy with all the accessories you would want.Turbo, inbuilt air compressor, twin batteries ,4 ipf spots plus 2 inserts, rear spot ,10 mil cable to the rear for fridge , b,bar,roof rack , hf radio , uhf radio , sound system ,10000 winch , 3 spares tyres, drawers ,bucket seats in front,carpet, cargo barrier, over head console with lights and speakers ,etc. Also it has the original front and back seats that the rv. model came with.With the extra seats I have it could easly carry your 7 , all facing forward with saftey .It is in good order and i am going to sell it . If you would like to give me a reply , I could explain to you the vehicles back ground, and if it would suit you or not. regards Peter C .

We had an 11 seat troopie when our 4 kids were small.
Either ran it with 4,6 or 8 seats in the back. The kids loved it - hey faced one another and with extra space sometimes, they could lounge around. They just climbed in the back door.
We also had enough seats to take an extra family away with us and did that a couple of times (with a box trailer).

But there were downsides.
#1 Safety. We were worried about the sideways seats, lap seat belts and what would happen in a prang or a rollover.
#2 Space - we put a smal cargo barrier to replace 2 seats and slipped the fridge and other stuff in there. But where do you put the rest of the stuff - a roofrack makes a troopie seriously top heavy - we took ours off eventually. And to make things easy, I reckon you'll still want to tow.

We eventually upgraded to an 8 seater 4wd (60series sahara) as the kids became teenagers, but our years in the troopie always bring back fond memories. In my opinion, you might be better going to one of the good 8 seater 4wds and tow a campertrailer.

Cheers
Phil

The troop carrier is more of a truck and as a passenger vehicle is generally unsuitable.It designed more for mine, construction, forrestry type work to carry workers back and forward in off-road enviroments. You need to be mindful of the safety features of said vehicle. i.e. type of seat belts, air bags, side protection, roll-over protection, ability of cabin to resist crushing and keep occupants safe, stabilty control (remember these vehicles do have a much hgher centre of gravity and are susceptible to roll-over) etc. They are 'pigs' topark and manouvre into car parking spaces, low roof car parks.
If it was my choice, I would be looking at people movers with adequately desgined seating, restraints, side intrusion, air bags, stability control suitable anchorage for child restraints - if required etc. The Chrysler Voyager is apparently a very comfortable and well designed vehicle with seating (and restraints) for (I beleive) 8. I'm sure there are many others that might also better suit your requirements.
If you really value the lives of your children, don't settle for anything lees than the best designed and most suitable vehicle you can afford for every day transport. Good luck.

Hi Nat,

I've seen a couple of troopies that are set up as 7 seaters on mine sites and believe they might be what your after.

They dont handle the best in the city and compared to its flashier brother (The 200 series) feels agricultural, but they are in their element off road

Have you seen the Mitsubishi Delica, Its a 9 seater (I think) and has got similar running gear to the Pajero.

Will certainly not be in the same league off road as the troopy but it may be a better compromise in your situation.

Cheers Wilko

Hi Nat

Troop carrier's have a high centre of gravity and roll more easily than normal landcruiser wagons.
I could not reccomend that you get one for family use unless you plan to significantly widen its track width.

The Monash uni study of police vehicle rollovers shows then as having one of the lowest tip over angles of unmodifed 4wd wagons at around 39 degrees , whereas normal wagons vary up to 48 degrees for the most stable (Nissan Patrol).

This tip over angle - is known as static stability factor and research shows it to be a highly accurate predictor of rollover accidents which are those that cause the majority of deaths in 4wd's