[Phil Mitchell]

Wow, been a long time since I posted here, I guess I've found my feet and cracked on with the job!

The time has come though to once again ask for some advice so here goes....

Do you or anyone you know work from a Nissan Navara or similar? I know their not ideal but I have no choice as my wife and I are separating for the foreseeable future and I need a vehicle that will allow me to work and take the kids out. What I'm really needing is advice on what tanks can be fitted and whether a pole can fit inside the rear or if it needs to be mounted on top. I'm going to purchase a top box if one isn't included so in the winter I can heat the rear overnight to stop freezing. Any help on space, fitting tanks etc would be most helpful but the icing on the cake would be to speak either to someone already set up or a firm that's fitted or made tanks for such a vehicle.....thanks.

[Mike #1]

Stay away from the  nissan navara they are the same class as a car and not built as a working vehicle .

Better off with an L200 or toyota hilux , I have a 60 plate L200 Trojan and have 400 ltr flat tank diy fitted and works great for me , Although i dont have a canopy on mine i have a fullbox lid which is much more secure .

As back is covered with a solid lid so people cannot see what is in the back . Mike

[Ian101]

this belongs to a mate of mine ... 400 litres I think and takes him 10 minutes to fit or remove.

[Mike #1]

Nice truck and set up . MIKE

[Total shine cleaning services]

I'm in the Market for a pick up soon and being doing lots of research,STAY away From Nissan and Mitsubishi, the write ups are astonishing considering how capable they look, the hilux comes out on top for reliability

Graham

[Window Washers]

this belongs to a mate of mine ... 400 litres I think and takes him 10 minutes to fit or remove.

I am so tempted to get one of these as the next add on, but would be securing the tank with more than what is shown(or can see) as its not suitable for half a ton of water of only they strap holding it there IMO

[britishwill]

I have used my L200 for the last 4-5 years.  Sometimes the wife call me and says pick up the kids as she is late from work. Its no problem at all. I have a 500 litre tank 2 CLX pole in the back and the 35 just does not fit so goes on the roof with the ladders. I will buy another when this goes. It also done 105000 on the original clutch. 70% left on the original rear breaks and 25% front original breaks!
Cracking truck

[Mike #1]

British will why dont you just put your 35 ft pole in the cab thats what i do with mine in between the 2 front seats inside a padded fishing rod sleeve so as not to mark anything inside cab , MIKE

[Phil Mitchell]

OK so it wont be a Navavra then   I've got my local garage looking for one for me, I said Navara or similar so hopefully they'll come up with the goods. Thanks for all the comments, the L200 or Hilux sound great although looks wise the L200 is,I'd say, an acquired taste, maybe I'll come round.

Cheers guys, if it all works out (unlike my marriage) I'll post some pics.

[Ian101]

just seen new ford ranger looks good

[Mike #1]

The L200 has had some probs with certain vehicles but no were near as much as the nissan navara . despitw some bad reviews about the L200 it has won the best pickup for about 18 yrs running in The What Van Awards

Which says alot the L200 is a proper workhorse along with the hilux and the isuzu Denver us a worth a look but the L200 either old shape or new is a cut above the rest . it has been proven time and time again Mike

[a900]

I have an 04 plate navara. They can have there issues as any vehicle can. The d22 navara has weak engines but internals that are weak can be upgraded like mine have by a specialist. (in my case before purchase) Newer ones from 05 - 06 don't have that problem. Only had it since dec 11. But honestly best vehicle I have owned so far. Does around 30 to gallon. That's the worst thing about this type of vehicle a van is more ecconomic.

I have a 350l tank in mine with a similar set up to the l200 with pictures posted earlier. There is loads of spare room in the back. Tank can be removed really fast for camping and stuff  Sometimes wonder what customers think of flashy big trucks although mine isn't that new.

Older l200s were underpowered compared to navara.

[EandM]

The Ranger is a great truck - it's a proper work truck with an extremely substantial chassis and tough 4wd system. I love mine and it's been brilliant so far.
Saying that the L200 is a very nice truck with a few known issues, some fairly major, but most avoidable with a bit of prevention.
The Navara has terrific clout and is better on fuel than the early Ranger / L200 but has a very nasty and expensive habit of blowing engines up - not all but a large number.
Hilux is fairly bombproof but earlier versions are heavy on fuel and now expensive to buy due to Top Gear.

I looked at all of the above and the Ranger won as it has 5.8 feet of loadspace and 4 doors (suicide rears) and the least number on balance of known issues - though that may change if you buy a mk3 after 2006.

[EandM]

I have an 04 plate navara. They can have there issues as any vehicle can. The d22 navara has weak engines but internals that are weak can be upgraded like mine have by a specialist. (in my case before purchase) Newer ones from 05 - 06 don't have that problem. Only had it since dec 11. But honestly best vehicle I have owned so far. Does around 30 to gallon. That's the worst thing about this type of vehicle a van is more ecconomic.

I have a 350l tank in mine with a similar set up to the l200 with pictures posted earlier. There is loads of spare room in the back. Tank can be removed really fast for camping and stuff  Sometimes wonder what customers think of flashy big trucks although mine isn't that new.

Older l200s were underpowered compared to navara.

The D22's manage 133 bhp and the standard older L200 was 113 bhp though many had the factory upgrade kit which took them to 136bhp but the Navara still had much better torque at 2,000 rpm of 224 lb ft against the L200's 177 @ 2,000 rpm and 199 @ 3,000 rpm with the upgrade.
Apparently the problem with the D22 and the D40 of number three conrod suddenly appearing through the side of the block and subsequent (up to) £5,000 bill every 40,000 miles was attributed to cost cutting on the crankshaft bolts. Renault / Nissan apparently thought they could get away with cheaper low tensile bolts but in reality they just snapped. Be interested to know if you have a spec list of what was done to yours but it seems to be mostly about upgrading the crankshaft bolts and improving the oil supply to it. Nice truck!

[Phil Mitchell]

Because the garage sources from ex lease/hire company's they can get much better deals then say me looking on Autotrader. They'll also give it a full going over before I get the keys. If I was looking myself I could pick and choose but I'm no mechanic and judgeing by the above comments its a real mine field.

Tank wise where shall I start looking? Are they off the shelf tanks or custom built?

[EandM]

Because the garage sources from ex lease/hire company's they can get much better deals then say me looking on Autotrader. They'll also give it a full going over before I get the keys. If I was looking myself I could pick and choose but I'm no mechanic and judgeing by the above comments its a real mine field.

Tank wise where shall I start looking? Are they off the shelf tanks or custom built?

I have a stock, flat 400 litre in mine. Leaves enough space for the battery, pump and reel + the CLX is short enough to fit in the bed.

[a900]

The D22's manage 133 bhp and the standard older L200 was 113 bhp though many had the factory upgrade kit which took them to 136bhp but the Navara still had much better torque at 2,000 rpm of 224 lb ft against the L200's 177 @ 2,000 rpm and 199 @ 3,000 rpm with the upgrade.
Apparently the problem with the D22 and the D40 of number three conrod suddenly appearing through the side of the block and subsequent (up to) £5,000 bill every 40,000 miles was attributed to cost cutting on the crankshaft bolts. Renault / Nissan apparently thought they could get away with cheaper low tensile bolts but in reality they just snapped. Be interested to know if you have a spec list of what was done to yours but it seems to be mostly about upgrading the crankshaft bolts and improving the oil supply to it. Nice truck!

The d40s dont throw con rods. Only d22s 02 - 05 ish. Mine falls into that catagory having the weak engine but was puchased from the chap who runs the navara side of a company called Billcar enginering based in shrewsbury. They are engineers that have specialised in doing the upgrade work required on the crankshaft bolts and oil supply and work on these engine all around the country.

Dont l200 have head gasket issues?

[tompoole]

Isuzu rodeo , will venture down this path in a few years myself.

[Mike #1]

Their have been some head gasket issues in the past i think ,

Spoke to a local company who do engine remapping as i was going to get mine done,   But he said it is believed that some engine problems with the L200 could have been caused by having engines remapped and said he would'nt do mine and advised me not to try any engine tuning or remapping at all ,

Also my 60 plate L200 Trojan does 34 mpg taking into account when fully loaded with full 400 ltr tank  and other bits i am carrying about 500 kg and that is stopping and starting as we all do in this business .

The latest nissan navara is classed as normal motor not a commercial vehicle which means it is not a suitable truck to be carrying heavy loads on a regular basis . Mike

[TomCrowther]

Which do you think is more suitable to our business? and which would you prefer? A 2009 Hilux D3, 50k miles £11400 plus vat {looks fantastic, saw it this am and it looks like a new truck} or a 2008 Ford Ranger Super cab, so it has a longer bed £9k plus vat. The Ford has the higher Truckman top which has the "slots" in for ladders/tubes. The Ford looks in good nick too, but others I have seen seem to rust quite easily. Cheers.