Thread: Urgent Advice - Would you buy this 4WD?

Do not buy MTs. They will hammer your fuel consumption, wear out fast on the coarse S Island chip and cost more to buy.

Use the ones you have until they have ~5mm of tread. Then buy a sensible mid-range set of ATs like Khumo, Maxxis, Hankook, whatever. With the stage you are at in experience and probably life in general you will be doing the vast majority of mileage on the black top and you do not need to be wearing out an expensive set of proper off-road tires.

As you start to explore off-road the only thing you need for that vehicle is a compressor and tyre pressure gauge. Buy a half decent one that can pump a 17” 265 tyre reasonably fast. When you get off-road - as in properly off-road - drop the pressure in your tires. Have a look at some of tyre pressure charts for different conditions, and have a copy with you.

Appropriate tyre pressure for the conditions makes all the difference. It is a critical element of successful, enjoyable 4WDing. Thing is, as soon as you hit the blacktop, you need to return them to normal highway pressure.

When I first started getting into the serious stuff in Africa I was schooled by a chap in Cape Town who had driven the length and breadth of the continent. He had a little ditty he used to kind of sing / shout, over and over… WEIGHT IS THE ENEMY, DA DA DA… [Repeat]

My advice would be to resist the urge to fit things like roof racks and fill it up with heavy stuff. Roof racks also kill fuel consumption. Rather spend that money on good quality, robust but lightweight and low volume camping gear, and scale down, you don’t need as much stuff as you think you do. Ideally, fit a cargo rack and work out a modular packing system. It is great fun (I’m a packing nerd) and a good system makes travel and camping an awful lot more enjoyable. I use Frontrunner Wolfpacks. You would be amazed how much gear you can fit in a Prado, but there is nothing worse than an overstuffed chaotic 4WD.

Do you have kids?