to tour or not to tour

[pooman]

i am currently looking to buy a sierra but i am having second thoughts
due to wanting to do some touring?

my queston is ?
are sierras capable tourers n how far can u get in them


or would i be better of buying a swb deisel bundy/patrol wanting to spend around 6k

[sierra gurl]

well in my sierra i have been evrywhere man

[grimbo]

We have Sierras in our club do the Melbourne to Cape York and back trip. We have a couple of them do the round Australia trip. I have done melbourne - Broken hill - Innamincka - Flinders ranges - Melbourne trip. numerous trips from Melb - Mildura area and back. High country trips etc.

Yes you can tour in them as long as you pack appropriately and take your time. A mildly modded Sierra with 2 people can easily accomplish touring with everything you need packed in. The one thing that will hold you back is remote touring where fuel capacity and water capacity can be an issue.

[Ole Grizzly]

A great way to tour with a Sierra is to join a club and share equipment while on a trip, saves lugging around every thing by yourself. A roof basket is ideal for extras, like an outboard plastic fuel tank..20 litres..lay flat, fantastic, and even a square 20 litre coloured water container ( colour helps to keep algae away) will fit up there next to an additional spare wheel. Just remember you have changed the centre of gravity with the extra weight on top. Any more up there and your in for some problems.
But , it's great to get out there....heck, it's a holiday not a race so enjoy yourself. Cheers

[GRPABT1]

Well I haven't done any real long distance touring...yet. But to put another perspective on it, a ute chop could help. My SWB flat bed ute fits a shiteload more stuff than even I could have imagined with careful packing of course. And that is with the spare on the tray and a roll cage.

Just some of the stuff I carry is. 6 man tent, 20 meter tarp, table, fold up chairs, BBQ, Gas bottle, Gas lights, 2 60 litre water buckets, 2 plastic jerry's, shower and enclosure, 20L poo bucket, 20L fishing bucket, rods, reels, Cast net, Torches, Queen air mattress, pillows, Blanket, air blower, battery fan, food for a week, picnic hamper bag (cutlery etc), clothes and all my recovery gear.

As long as you don't have kids it's very feasable. Although I wouldn't want to drive very long in the stock 1.3L motor let alone the 1L. My GTi motor makes up for alot.

[Highway-Star]

I don't do 'touring' as such, but done a few camping trips.

I dont recomend taking 4 camping in one, done it, can work but is not very easy. Needed to tow a trailer. Believe me, 4 blokes, and a 6x4 trailer full of camping gear and a 100% stock Sierra, SUCKS! It takes 1/2 an hour to get to 100km/h. Another problem is, when I have this much weight in my car, the springs bottom out on almost every bump. This is with wieght under the maximum allowed. It is a reflection of how soft standard Sierra springs are, and how useless the secondary load leaves are.

I think 1 or 2 people who know how to travel light, the car could work great, maybe just a few minor upgrades before you go on to many long trips. Replace the seats, standards a terrible, look at some aftermarket suspension, that improves comfort, and might be suited to any extra weiht you will be carrying. Maybe something for a long range tank as well, Just be carefull I can't use any of the aftermarket tanks due to my Hayman and Reece Towbar.

Maybe the LWB would be better for touring, more room, the longer wheelbase gives better comfort. Also I don't know if its out of your budget still, but maybe a Jimny, few more creture comforts, better potential for load carrying, and a slightly more responsive engine.

[PJ.zook]

I just went around tassie for 10days in my zook, it went great. I would recommend rear drawers though to stash everything nicely. Fridge on one side, swag on the other, everything else fitted in the drawers, behind the seats, and two jerry cans in the passenger footwell.
So a sierra will tour, i wouldnt go thru central australia though, as parts would be hard to find i would imagine when compared to parts for 80's etc

[croatian4x4]

did you do your own draw set up?? if so pics/hints/tips would be appreciated via pm

[mr green]

back to the question again, i did Tamworth cape york Tamworth(7000km) in 2 weeks and a run to fraser and back but this with a near stock car with bit higher springs, shackles, buggered lockright and bald 31s that rubbed on everything. after the rear coils, gti eng, spoa front ute chop i never whent any further than 100km from home. point being super mods don't always make for super tourer but i am about to start my dual cab sierra with comfort and touring in mind & not just this hard core go nowhere bs
jason

[moose]

I just went around tassie for 10days in my zook, it went great. I would recommend rear drawers though to stash everything nicely. Fridge on one side, swag on the other, everything else fitted in the drawers, behind the seats, and two jerry cans in the passenger footwell.
So a sierra will tour, i wouldnt go thru central australia though, as parts would be hard to find i would imagine when compared to parts for 80's etc

I,ve said it b4 ....................so here we go !!

I,ve done ..........
melb-adelaide-marree-cooper pedy-ayers rock-alice-Mt isa-cairns-bris-melb !!

ALSO done ............
Melb-cape york-melb

Also done
melb-broken hill-innaminka-flinders ranges-adelaide-melb


so over all ,they can be used for touring !!

best advice ........ get your diffs laminated (strengthened)

Moose

[muppet_man67]

just because they can, doesn't mean they are the best vehicle for it. I think for outback touring or round australia, cape york etc where there are lots of kms on the highway I would favor a Vitara with a winch. For touring the victorian high country/dividing range I reckon they are great.

[j-top paj]

just because they can, doesn't mean they are the best vehicle for it. I think for outback touring or round australia, cape york etc where there are lots of kms on the highway I would favor a Vitara with a winch. For touring the victorian high country/dividing range I reckon they are great.

i would favour a larger more comfortable car.

ot bagging zooks or anything, but they are just a little small to carry stuff in.

[GRPABT1]

It's obvious that a larger car would be better suited but that wasn't the question.

[St Jimmy]

i am currently looking to buy a sierra but i am having second thoughts
due to wanting to do some touring?

my queston is ?
are sierras capable tourers n how far can u get in them


or would i be better of buying a swb deisel bundy/patrol wanting to spend around 6k

as far as you want to go but remember its a small 4wd so it wont be as comfortable as a big one as long as it is reilable you will go around aus . but a long wheel base would be better for touring . boner

[TheOtherLeft]

Agreed. This is a tech section not the for sale section.

[sierrajim]

1. This is a tech section NOT A FOR SALE SECTION

2. This is a tech section NOT A PISSING CONTEST

3. You could tour on a motorbike, so its quite obvious you can do it in a Sierra, everything comes down to compromise. Sierra's lack fuel range , storage space and carrying capacity.

As Moose posted earlier, he's done it.

What sort of touring do you want to do? Weekend trips or long distance outback trips?

[Toecutta]

If you dont have a Zuk yet, get a LWB, put some good 30" tyres on it , good lights and a longranger tank and you will have a top little touring rig