MORE BEACH TRUCK CANDIDATES

I mentioned in the last post how Billy Ray and I have more or less decided that the "best buy" in a used beach truck is going to be a 1990's Trooper. I also mentioned that if a decent deal came along on a 4wd van we'd certainly consider that. As our warchest builds, so do our candidates. Mrs. El Fisho has long desired a 4wd vehicle for deep trips into deserted beach territory to replace the Jeep Wrangler she had, and if possible one we could throw the dogs in since many of the places we stay allow dogs.

So if a great deal on a lightly used but older 4wd van, Mrs. El Fisho would grant her seal of approval.

I saw another contender for a beach surf ride today: an old Toyota Van equipped with actual 4wd and not AWD. It had lockable hubs but unfortunately had been chopped up with the horribly done "pop up top" addition from a VW Westfalia van. You could see where the bad welds were leaking into the passenger compartment, and the rest of the vehicle was no charmer either.

I had completely forgotten about these vans. In 1988 or 1989, I did a gig with an excellent band called The Slashers, featuring John Ziegler on guitar and David Foster on bass. Foster had one of these vans, in 4wd as I recall, and although not overly powerful in the get up and go speedwise department, they had a lot of torque and would do fine on the beach.

It's another possible to keep on the list. A low miles version that had a couple of owners who maintained the ride is not impossible, as we've seen with several Troopers lately. We're keeping our eyes out for a bargain that will be a bargain now in terms of purchase price as well as a bargain in terms of maintenance cost.

I remember in the 1970's when lots of folks converted cars to 4WD's by putting the car chassis on a truck frame. I thought those were cool too. For awhile, in it's dying gasp as an auto company, AMC put out something called the Eagle that was also a 4WD car, but reliability issues plagued these as well.

Back in the 1970's, although I drove hot rod cars, I did want a Chevy Stepside 4wd. I saw one today, parked in front of a house down the street. It looked pretty good, and made me think of times I had in friends who had trucks like that. Again, great fishing trucks and great beach trucks when fitted with auto transmissions.

A few blocks over from me is a fellow that has an early 70's convertible Blazer in what appears to be a complete restoration. It looks cherry. Even if he wanted to sell it, I couldn't afford it. But it's nice to look at and I'll often detour down his street to peek at it in his carport when running to the neighborhood store. It's blue with the white painted insets, just like a friend in high school in Houston had. My high school friend also had a removeable hardtop for it.

While down in Port A last week, I saw an ultra cool Power Wagon from what had to be the late 60's or early 70's. It was green, looked to be in great external condition and was looking great.

Down the street from me at a car repair business, there's an old 50's Chevy 4WD pickup on blocks. I know it ran several years ago because I used to see it running around the area. It has a lift kit and huge tires, and an extended work-style stepside bed, and the entire truck is huge as heck. It is a faded black color, and again I wish I had the time and money to take that project on. It looks to have some sort of driveshaft problem, or maybe an axle problem, but it sure would be a great beach trucking machine if it were running well and had a nice paint job.

Finally, I saw some Subarus from both modern times and from the 90's that had been fitted with the shocks and springs from a Forester apparently, with some modification, that gave them about a 2" lift. I've was yanked from being stuck in the sand in a 2WD Ford truck back in the late 70's by a Subaru wagon with a lift kit, the wagon version of the Brat.

Other very cool and competent beach trucks, like the Toyota Landcruiser, fetch premium prices in the used collector market, as does the venerable Jeep J10 truck. I've kicked myself in the rear numerous times for not buying one or both of those back in the 80's. I could have bought the Jeep J10 instead of the Chevy truck I got in 1981, and in 1984 when I got a Toyota Supra, I very nearly waffled at the last minute to go with a nice new white FJ60 they had on the lot. If I knew then what I knew now, I'd have hung onto those vehicles.

Such is the wisdom of hindsight.

TEXAS SURF FISHING TRUCK MUSINGS

I've decided that a 90's Trooper is the vehicle I'd like to have as my surf fishing truck. I've seen several in my neighborhood and approached the drivers/owners and asked them about them. In both cases, they were one owner rides with under 100k miles on them. Both immaculate, both with auto transmissions, a must for beach driving.

Early 90's Troopers are probably more studly in an off road sense, as they are lighter and a bit simpler, but the late 90's Troopers (and the Acura version of that ride) are still great off road vehicles.

Troopers are reasonably priced on the used market, and low milage Troopers are not that rare. Parts are still readily available and there are lots of aftermarket accessories. They are almost Land Cruiser like in their off road abilities, and are quite a bit more tolerable on the highway than the FJ60 Land Cruisers of the 1980's, a legendary and much higher priced "vintage" 4WD for which parts are pretty expensive, and sometimes rare.

I quite like the FJ60 series of rides, and would love to have one. But after trying to buy one for several years and not being able to find one that didn't have at least one seemingly unfixable problem, or a bunch of problems, I gave up.

My friends with Troopers have had nothing but good luck with none of the woes of FJ60 owners.

So barring stumbling into some converted 4X4 Van for a good price, the Trooper will be the vehicle that Billy Ray and I seek to create for fishing adventures. There are some decently priced used 4x4 conversion vans out there, but I have not found the perfect one yet.

A 4x4 extended length van would provide options that an SUV trooper cannot, such as extended living and sleeping area and a head, and until we actually find a vehicle, I've got searches going on for 4x4 vans just in case there is a deal in the area where we can check it out before we buy it Apparently there are a number of governmental agencies who use these vans, particularly in snowy and/or mountainous locales.

These 4x4 vans occasionally come up for auction, and are usually well maintained. I've seen several with low miles but out of my reach pricewise.

At a bare minimum, what I plan to do once I find a vehicle is some very minor additions, but ones which will make it beachworthy and hopefully, a very nice ride.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

I would add a second battery under the hood, since I plan to be driving in remote locales in this vehicle.

I would add some sort of radio with emergency rescue features, like a boat might have, for being in areas where there is no cell service. I'm all for getting away, but frankly, accidents do happen plus me and my pals aren't getting any younger and a med emergency could happen at any time. A rescue copter ambulance might make a big difference in life or death.

Certainly, you need a real backcountry GPS, along with a detailed map of your area. Extra batteries for the GPS and flashlights are a good idea.

ROOF RACK PLUS

I plan to get a basket type roof rack. On one side, it will have a cargo carrier and the other side will be empty for putting rod holders, ice chests or other stuff I want to carry.

ROD AND REEL RACKS: I have an idea for a rod with reel rack using PVC pipes on a wooden frame, and attaching same to the roof rack with bungee cords. It would have a handle so you could carry it in your hotel or condo room, or put it in the vehicle for better safekeeping. Either that or some sorf of rack on the inside roof of the Trooper using suspension to hold multi-piece rods.

KAYAK RACK: The roofrack could also carry open sit on top kayaks for those bay locales where kayak fishing is not as foolish as in the surf. Wild beaches Matagorda Island are great for this kind of setup with kayaks, because you can drive to the other end of the Island and get to the bay and go kayaking and fly fishing there for reds and trout. Then just drive back around to the surf and fish for who knows what.

I don't own a kayak, but both Billy Ray and I have significant time in the water in kayaks, and I have access to a couple.

SAND LADDERS: On the bottom of the roof rack will be carried things called sand ladders. Somewhat reminds me of the ramps you use for loading motorcycles or atvs onto a trailer, but flatter and with bigger flared holes. They are less than $200 and used in many other places in the world for beach, jungle and desert driving with great success for getting unstuck.

CARGO CARRIER: The single side cargo carrier can carry clothes, backpacks, food items, extra shoes or any number of items to keep the interior of the Trooper less filled with stuff.

LADDER: It'd be a nice touch to outfit some sort of ladder to the roof rack on one of the rear doors, like Land Rovers often have, but I'm not sure how the rear door spare tire would affect that. I intend to use the roof rack a lot, and a nice ladder would sure be handy.

Another must have add on is one of the awnings made for SUV roofracks. Similar to those on the sides of RV's, it gives a shady area to hang when the sun is blazing, as it often does in Texas at the beach.

With an awning on one side, the rear back end side and the other side will need to have a mounted high-lift jack and some shovels.

TENT

I want one of the Tent contraptions that attached to the open rear of the SUV and goes out onto the ground with a tent that is about the size of a 6 person tent outside the back of the SUV. They make inflatable air mattresses that are shaped to fit in the cargo compartment of certain SUV's like the Trooper, thus a sleeping and hanging out environment.

When the rain or wind or both are blowing hard at the beach, it's nice to have a place to stretch out and relax and get some respite from the weather. When you're way out on the beach, sitting in the car to escape is ok, but it's much nicer to climb into the rear of the suv and stretch out and get solace from the elements.

GENERATOR AND LIGHTS: It's nice to throw strong beams of light out into the surf, to attract fish. Small outdoor lights on folding tripods and a generator can provide lots of lighting for your camp and projected out onto the water. I myself think that the best Texas surf fishing there is occurs in July and August at night way out on the wild beaches.

TRAILER

I know a cargo trailer at the beach in heavy sand is questionable, but what about a shorter ballon tired trailer? For a great weekend at the beach, you need a few things. A small trailer with a frame that carried a rooftop mounted cartopper fishing boat, the trailer could hold a small motor, oars, ice chest, cooking stuff, outdoor lights and a generator, etc. Fun stuff to have at a beach fishing camp. I have a friend whose Suburban tows a small beach trailer with a metal fishing boat on top and all kinds of gear in the trailer, including a portable air conditioner powered by the generator to turn the back of the suburban into a cool sleeping lodge for three.

A trailer could also hold some jerry cans with gasoline for extended trips up or down the wonderful North and South Padre Islands and their environs. I've seen several vehicles like jeeps and suburbans pulling trailers at the beach with no problems, so I know that with a good vehicle it can be done.

This raises the question of building a very cool lightweight beach camp house structure on a trailer. A camp house on wheels, not unlike the size of a 25' Hunter front sailboat cabin. Carbon Fiber and a great design could lead to a sleeping and lounging chamber at the beach, complete with A/C, a generator and a head. I really think that with the right materials, a lightweight trailer with some big tires would have no problem traversing deep sand behind the right vehicle.