Let's have a good bitch about incompetent 4x4 owners

[Kwaka-Kid]

firstly: nope, never noticed feeling odd when behind desiels or anything like that etc.. its fine by me, blow all the smoke you like, its just somthing desiels generally do .  and damn those SUV's, all i can say is that.  just friggin damn them!

but i spose there are the good drivers etc..

hey anyways

 just with dad today welded a towbar onto the front big homemade bullbars of the Hiace.. so now we can tow stuff, and push stuff! one on each end! hah! its grea,t SOO much easier to just maneuver around side of narrow driveway/house etc and dump dirt/concrete/all the odd things hoarders get for cheap/free.  and no it wont b used like that on the road! haha, drag on road, then get home, and to get around side push from front.. what  a neat idea...

jsut thought id share it - anybody heard of that before? its a detachable one too with a locking bolt so i can still get the WOF just a bit of 2inchby2inch box steel hidden welded on inside edge of big bullbars -kiwi inginuety.

[wkid_one]

I am sorry BB - but a station wagon falls woefully short in a couple of areas as I said above...I drive one every day...

• Towing ability - shite, it is just a car engine, car chassis and car suspension - sorry I would always prefer to tow in safety
• Comfort/headroom - shite....I have enuf trouble with my company station wagon on this factor, having to find the one place the seat provides me with some small amount of comfort and vision.
• No seperate rear compartment - as the 'boot' makes up part of the inside of the car - putting smelly/dirty/shitty things in there (ie Petrol for long trips) becomes slightly annyoing - give me a ute with a canopy any day.

All valid reasons to purchase a SUV........don't generalise all SUV drivers in to one pool.

 

[Dave]

then when they come to passing lanes one of the silly pricks in his diesel Teranno pulls out to pass the diesel Pajero pulling a 22ft tinny with 3 150 horse Mercs on the back,then amid clouds of black smoke only just gets past at the end of the passing lanes -

Sorry-that was probably me in my terrano-but that stupid fukker in the pajero was holding me up, and if you need to wait for passing lanes on your bike, then get a bike with some balls!

[georgedubyabush]

Originally posted by Dave
Sorry-that was probably me in my terrano-but that stupid fukker in the pajero was holding me up, and if you need to wait for passing lanes on your bike, then get a bike with some balls!

I'll admit to going three wide once or twice. Probably begging for someone to *555 me.

[Big Dog]

I agree with wkid1 there is some genuine 4x4 drivers.

Perhaps someone in the know can explain why it is that you need a class 2 license to drive a 1.5 ton truck but not to drive a 2 ton 4x4? Is this why so many independant contractors drive overloaded 4x4's instead of getting the truck they need?

Perhaps there should be a license requirement to drive a 4x4 over 1.5 ton just as you don't need a truck licence to trucks under 1.5 ton?

PS my tons may be tonnes I am not too sure and always mix them up

4x4's can be driven well and safely but some jaffa's do 20,000 kms (or less)at less than 60 km then this same jaffa takes their UAV out on the open road often for the first time. Then finds out that the car that was so perfect for the commute from Remma's to Epsom pitches quite badly on the open road. and don't know what to do about it.

I'm sure we have all had a discrete laugh at the expense of these people on 20/20 that buy $120k plus uavs because they feel safer taking their kids to kindy, and then want to cry when having been told the danger they are exposing their kids to say "yeah but I feel safer".


Oh and I have seen a bighorn do a stoppie looked funny to me but probably not to amusing to the passengers or the owner.

[marty]

the secret to not getting *555'd? (apart from riding past at 200km/h) - don't get a personalised plate.

i dunno about the wagon thing though - i've got a certed tow pak on mine (cost $100's though) and adjustable rear shocks. i'd take the wagon over the sedan all day - put stuff (surfboards kayaks MTB's etc) on the roof-rails fitted and comfortably fits 5 adults. it's not a daewoo or hyundai though. even the camry wagons are small in comparison.

guess what - it's got permanently dipped hard wired driving lights too........

a class 2 licence is now only needed for over 4500kg (that's inclusive of towing - 2200kg UAV plus 2200kg fishing boat - you're still under!) and you can drive a f-off big 6 berth camper on a car licence, but you can't ride a 100cc scooter. it's bullshit really.

[Big Dog]

I don't know what state but a freind in the 90's had to get a truck license in order to drive a 2500 kg camper over 20 ft ( so any thing bigger than a maui). but wasn't too hard to get (international car license plus a driving test in the vehicle desired for a temporary limited). Apparently americans though have to get a ht.

[Motu]

So,the SUV owners are getting in a huff hey,it's not about the vehicles,it's about the drivers.I have a diesel van - it's gutless as,but I know my place....I want to get past that Pajero pulling the boat,but I hang back and give the more powerful vehicles a go first - if they don't...then I have a shot at it.It's just being considerate of other road users - something these 4x4 drivers are severely lacking in.

[Coldkiwi]

but Wkid, you said it yourself... get a UTE! double cab utes are the sensible alternative in so many situations for towing and carrying stuff on the road and still have a reasonable dirt track capability without being over qualified and under stable.

hmm.. how many Ford Explorer owners thought they were buying a nice safe tank before they found out they roll quicker than a skyhawk?

 

 

[wkid_one]

I am looking at a Nissan Navara 4WD at the moment, coz of the three tonne tow rating.......as for wagons towing - depends entirely what you are towing....anything over 1.5 tonnes - and a car won't foot it in an emergency situation - not enuf weight regardless of whether the trailer is braked (different if hydraulic - but most are passive ram brakes if braked at all).

Also - towing with front wheel drive wagons/cars is useless - your drive wheels should be at the rear nearest the tow point again for safety reasons.

NZ is presently in the process of revewing its towing laws due to the inappropriate vehicles (and drivers) presently towing on the road.

One thing I do hate, and agree with Motu about, is drivers WHO KNOW THEY ARE slow - not giving faster traffic a thought and allowing them to pass safely!

[wkid_one]

On the same topic - check this out

Call for emissions to be tested as part of WOF

06 September 2003




Just 10 per cent of cars in the Auckland region are responsible for over half the carbon monoxide pumped into the atmosphere from the region's fleet, according to a new study released yesterday.




The Auckland Regional Council, which commissioned the study by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, says the study shows emissions testing should become part of warrant of fitness checks.

Over 40,000 vehicles were tested in a month-long study measuring pollutants from the tailpipes of vehicles at 16 sites throughout the Auckland region.

It is estimated that vehicle particle emissions cause 250 premature deaths every year in the Auckland region, and air pollution levels regularly exceed World Health Organisation standards for carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.

ARC air quality manager Kevin Mahon said the results highlighted the need for New Zealanders to tune their vehicles regularly. Well-cared-for cars came out in the top 20 per cent regardless of how old they were.

Imported vehicles, which make up half the Auckland fleet, had lower emissions on average than New Zealand-new vehicles.

ABOUT FECKEN TIME

[marty]

Originally posted by Big Dog
I don't know what state but a freind in the 90's had to get a truck license in order to drive a 2500 kg camper over 20 ft ( so any thing bigger than a maui). .

when the new land transport act came out in 1998 they upped the weight limits for a class 1 (car) to 4500kg combined. any driver with a licence issued in a country as a signatory to the geneva convention can drive here for a year without any special test. after that they can apply to go straight onto their full NZ licence

[Coldkiwi]

BTW... I reckon the best way to not get hauled up following a *555 call (I must be a menace on the roads if I've thought about it) is to get a highly unmemorable personalised plate... something like 6S3E4 .... try recalling that while you fumble for the phone! adjacent letters and numbers can be recalled by thinking of them as abbreviations.. but if you mix'em right its harder to recall! (ie SE 634 is easy!)

 

[Redstar]

did you Know this the average SUV weighs in at 2 tonnes I know mines that plus now add a boat trailer and a haynes hunter and thats another 3 tonne yah we have 4.7 tonne oh dear we need a class 2 licence otherwise all insurance bets are off!

thats a bummer!

I still say that the movement against SUV it similar to the assalt on bikers politically correct tossers who like to spoil your fun.

[Kwaka-Kid]

heard of a guy once with a numberplate that was readable upside down or somthing, cant fully remember the story, but along same idea in a way, saving money.. he could park anywhere and get parking tickets for a number plate, which was really his turned upside down or somthing a rather, have to ask the old man about that one again.

anyways i really hope you dont get *555 calls rich! ride sensible and ride safe.