Hiace ZL good as a bike transport...

[rossrc]

Or will I spend my life looking for a tow?


Thinking of buying a new shape ZL, as although I love my Super Custom, it isn't ideal as a bike transporter - only fits 1 bike, is an auto and I've cooked the brakes when loaded up.
Question for those who have ZL's - How easy do they get stuck? Person at work says their one won't go up steep tarmac drives, even forwards and when I went for a test drive, the guy was worried we'd get stuck coming off the pavement... WTF? This surprises me, as the Super C has gone up some really steep gravelly roads no probs. Please let me know what your experiences are with these vans, good or bad

Cheers

[B0000M]

ive driven them a few times, but never attempted any off road in one - only because i havnt needed to!

one thing i'd check is the internal space, i think theyre not as long as the old ZL or long wheel base hiaces, so you may not be much further ahead in that aspect. on the bright side they seem to be higher internally than the super custom so getting bikes in and out and manouvering them inside the van should be easier.

power wise they are awesome and fuel economy they are even better.

i think your friend is over reacting, all vans are a bit shit off road, and you will get stuck if you dont know how to drive them in these conditions- which im sure by now you do.

at least the old hiaces are better in mud than commodores ay aaron

[rossrc]

Hmm... maybe the super custom had all that grip, cos it had a DRZ in the back! Got to be the equivalent of a few bags of cement

[B0000M]

Hmm... maybe the super custom had all that grip, cos it had a DRZ in the back! Got to be the equivalent of a few bags of cement

ive got a 1990 as my bike hauler, and without anything in the back its pretty shit off road, chuck a bike or 2 in and its fine.

at the end of the day if its a bit shit, put some steel plate on the floor in the back

[flyingcr250]

ive got a 1990 as my bike hauler, and without anything in the back its pretty shit off road, chuck a bike or 2 in and its fine.

at the end of the day if its a bit shit, put some steel plate on the floor in the back

my super custom is fine for my bike. its 4wd too which comes in handy

[B0000M]

my super custom is fine for my bike. its 4wd too which comes in handy

actually thats a really good point!

a lot of the new shape jap imported hiaces are 4wd, they dont look any different but they will have a little 4wd badge on them

that could be the solution.

[rossrc]

flyingcr250's just showing off The 4WD one's have to be imports from what the dealers have told me and are pretty hard to come by... espesh as I'm being fussy and would require a Regius - can take an extra row of seats in the back as well
But yeah, that would be ideal

[flyingcr250]

flyingcr250's just showing off The 4WD one's have to be imports from what the dealers have told me and are pretty hard to come by... espesh as I'm being fussy and would require a Regius - can take an extra row of seats in the back as well
But yeah, that would be ideal

i got my one for 2500 as a write off from work. my boss has a regius, the boys at work reckon he should put P&O on the side of it as it looks like a container lol

[Boosted]

i love my new hiace, ZL 3l turbo and yeh i have been stuck a few times, but you learn what the limits are... but i love mine, best vans in the world, ive had 3 bikes in the back, i rekon i could put 4....

[rossrc]

Cool. Thanks that's really good to know. Maybe I could run some sproket like spinners for extra traction in the rough!

[Boosted]

haha if you get stuck usally some people in the back help but yep deff the coolest transport for the bike

[tommorth]

new hiace is possibly the worst van to have 3 in the front of no fkn room at all if ur in the middle but if urs don't spose it matters much

[Boosted]

haha yeh but more comfy to have 3 in the front then the old ones, had a 2000 ZR nz new and you jst couldnt take a 3rd person

[B0000M]

haha yeh but more comfy to have 3 in the front then the old ones, had a 2000 ZR nz new and you jst couldnt take a 3rd person

they arent that bad,

my wife has been known to sit on the 'dickie' seat for upto 500km at a time... without stopping

it does get pretty bad with 3 big dudes in the front tho- it does help if the van is auto though when theres 3 in front

[secondfield]

Just collected a ford transit (98) from gissy'

2.4l diesel. 3 bikes no sweat in that baby, with heaps of room still for camping gear etc.... cost me about 50 bucks to drive back to wellington..

My utes up for sale if anyones keen 89' Nissan Navara big cab. Strong motor, matt black, fuck all rust, good tyres... 700$