I don't think the new Jeep Gladiator is large enough. Besides that, would you want to give the keys to that to a survey crew?
I'm thinking a 2500 Suburban with one of the rear seats taken out and a nice box built and that would be the better choice. You can pick them up used for cheap and put a bit of money in it to tune it up and build a proper box and you're good to go.
Or a big Excursion.
..I'm thinking a 2500 Suburban with one of the rear seats taken out and a nice box built and that would be the better choice..
I guess it's been almost 15 years since I got rid of my last full sized 'burban.?ÿ I knew when it left I'd never see a work-horse like that again. I could drag two 2-man crews to a job site with all the gear and?ÿwood they needed for a long day.?ÿ
I once put 20 3/4" sheets of lumber core plywood in the back and was still able to shut the doors and roll down the road at top speed with that wonderful V8.
I hate to say it..but "they don't make them like they used to"...
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I had a 1965 ASA 1000 and it was the first of the smaller cars that Enzo made.?ÿ He would not let his name be on any car less than 12 cylinders, so, he formed the ill fated ASA brand.?ÿ The Dino came later and it still could not, at least initially, be called a "Ferrari."?ÿ I could not help but notice that later Dino's were called Ferrari's though.?ÿ I don't think that the Fiat Dino was made by Fiat, and I too would love to have one as they were very cool cars
The Fiat Dino had a Ferrari Dino V6, but they put in a less expensive Fiat nameplate to sell enough road versions for it to be able to be entered in Formula Two races.?ÿ
..I'm thinking a 2500 Suburban with one of the rear seats taken out and a nice box built and that would be the better choice..
I guess it's been almost 15 years since I got rid of my last full sized 'burban.?ÿ I knew when it left I'd never see a work-horse like that again. I could drag two 2-man crews to a job site with all the gear and?ÿwood they needed for a long day.?ÿ
I once put 20 3/4" sheets of lumber core plywood in the back and was still able to shut the doors and roll down the road at top speed with that wonderful V8.
I hate to say it..but "they don't make them like they used to"...
I was spending most of my surveying days in remote locations, early 2000's. Had a Ford 3/4 ton. It was out of it's lifespan and just got a new GMC. I was very pleased driving it up to a ranch I was doing a boundary for, as I drove to the south end of the place I kept hearing a strange noise. On my way out I could see two grooves. The drop down frame on the GMC was dragging along the ground (this wasn't an extreme rutted road, very tame actually).
Unlike the differential you can't work the frame around. So all the way out that week I was riding the tires out of the ruts and slamming into all the rocks and junk along the ruts to keep the frame up.
Took it back to the dealer and they said no problem, we will lift it 4".?ÿ
That thing never was right, even with the 4" it was still not great off road, the 4 wheel drive was iffy after the lift, they never could get it to work correctly. Traded it in as fast as I could and got a Dodge which sits up high and works great, not as nice fit and finish, but it's a work truck. Never had a Suburban but I'm guessing it's the same frame. Great for highway, not so much fun off road.?ÿ
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and now they are owned by Fiat, who are very known for reliability issues
Fiat owns everything.?ÿ Here is a list of the iconic American?ÿbrands that Fiat now owns.
Chrysler
Dodge
Jeep
Ford Tractor
International Harvester
JI Case
New Holland
Tommy,
You need to add a few others the list.?ÿ Alfa Romeo, Lancia,?ÿFerrari and?ÿMaserati.?ÿ Not so American but very iconic.
Back to the Fiat reliability issue, my wife would say they are very reliable.?ÿ She would point out that my Spider has been sitting in the same spot in our driveway for 20+ years waiting for me to install the new race motor sitting in my basement workshop.?ÿ The rag top does make a hell of a cat bed though.
I rally, rarely anymore, a Lancia Scorpion.?ÿ There have been a few control jobs I wish I had strapped the legs and receiver into the co-drivers seat.?ÿ Nothing like flying down a closed logging road to add a little excitement to life.
As for other unusual survey rigs, I used a 90 Range Rover back in the fiber optic heyday.?ÿ The thing would go almost anywhere but had a tendency to eat alternators for lunch.?ÿ I think 5 in a couple of years.?ÿ When I first started out I used my 1970 Land Rover IIA.?ÿ It would does go anywhere, just slowly.?ÿ Shelby can at-testify to that.
Had a 2008 Ford F250 Crew Cab 4WD 7 foot bed, great work truck, good off-road.
Just got that taken from me in favor of a 2018 Dodge RAM2500 6-4 bed.?ÿ More sporty, a little tighter, had to trim the box and the danged thing is so high we put a shorter shell on it.?ÿ We also added nerf bars because otherwise you need a ladder.?ÿ Had to trim my box to get it in there.?ÿ Everything fits but it is a jig saw puzzle.
Drives nice now, probably will be all over the road in 50,000 miles.
The Dodge is pretty but not as practical as the Ford was.?ÿ The Ford had hubs you could turn which came in handy with age because the automatic hubs work great when new but get sticky over time.?ÿ The Dodge just has automatic hubs, no way to manually engage them.
My wrench buddies used to say Fiat?ÿstood for "Fix It Again, Tony".
Had a 2008 Ford F250 Crew Cab 4WD 7 foot bed, great work truck, good off-road.
Just got that taken from me in favor of a 2018 Dodge RAM2500 6-4 bed.?ÿ More sporty, a little tighter, had to trim the box and the danged thing is so high we put a shorter shell on it.?ÿ We also added nerf bars because otherwise you need a ladder.?ÿ Had to trim my box to get it in there.?ÿ Everything fits but it is a jig saw puzzle.
Drives nice now, probably will be all over the road in 50,000 miles.
The Dodge is pretty but not as practical as the Ford was.?ÿ The Ford had hubs you could turn which came in handy with age because the automatic hubs work great when new but get sticky over time.?ÿ The Dodge just has automatic hubs, no way to manually engage them.
I was at the local green waste site and a women with a bunch of trash pulled up in her ford, she let down the gate and she had one of these.
I really want one of those tailgates.
Our work vehicles are always 4WD 4-door Utes (utility vehicles, aka pickups) with an open tray and tonneau cover - most practical if you are transporting something tall, like a fridge (on a dry day). My preference would be for a rigid enclosed back 4WD like this:
And that door configuration would provide handy cover if you needed to get changed (or similar) on site. However, as noted by a few others on this forum, perhaps the ultimate survey wagon is a 4WD Van:
(If street-cred is not an issue).
I once was inflicted with the "Queen Mary," a GMC 1 ton 4WD van.?ÿ It took a football field to turn that thing around.?ÿ And it got stuck if the mudhole looked at it from a mile away.
Another crew member called it the "locomotive on roller skates."
Well, Hell.?ÿ If money is no object then this:
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sorry.?ÿ I was .com stupid.....
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As I have previously mentioned I have always been of the opinion that the 2500 4x4 Suburban is the best survey chariot and I imagine the even bigger Excursion would be a great choice.
I have generally felt that a pickup is a terrible choice because the first thing you have to do is put a camper shell of some sort on it or some other secure lockable cover. And getting easy access to the bed is usually difficult.
Now with the full size 4 door pickups I may have to reconsider my aversion to a pickup but a fella would still have to find or devise some means to have full and convenient bed access. I have been mentally noodling through some ideas and it will require welding but I think I can find me a 4 door 4x4 truck and make a heavy duty sliding bed organizer and a ramp for a 4 wheeler.
I know they make a electric sliding thingamajig that mounts in the bed and can slide out quite far and that might do the trick I just have not seen one recently to inspect it and Guage it's usefulness but it may work.
Maybe a dually.?ÿ?ÿ
I surveyed out of a 76 impala for a while. Tore the speedo cable off at 276k and used it another year. It held as much as a suburban and did better off road.
My last rig was a 2500 Ram, hemi, 6.3' bed with a highway products box. We got the bars that run to the back tires and it worked awesome for Idaho and Utah. Might have been useless elsewhere. You buy the truck you need and we all need different stuff..
They are quite proud of the Unicat.?ÿ On the second hand page the only one not sold has an asking point of 480K euro.
On another note, a friend called me yesterday to inform me of an ongoing military Humvee auction.?ÿ I still have not gotten the specifics but I've always thought they would make a great rig for some of the stuff I do.?ÿ My wife will kill me, and him, if I park another truck in the driveway.
You'd think the Yellow and Green teams would each produce their own chariot to complement all their other survey equipment.
They are quite proud of the Unicat.?ÿ On the second hand page the only one not sold has an asking point of 480K euro.
On another note, a friend called me yesterday to inform me of an ongoing military Humvee auction.?ÿ I still have not gotten the specifics but I've always thought they would make a great rig for some of the stuff I do.?ÿ My wife will kill me, and him, if I park another truck in the driveway.
Honey it's for off road....I'm going to park it in the front yard, not the driveway, silly.?ÿ
You'd think the Yellow and Green teams would each produce their own chariot to complement all their other survey equipment.
Dear god, don't give them any ideas. ?ÿ"Our new line of robotic total stations only works if you have a Trimbeica survey rig key within 1,500' of the instrument"?ÿ
