Yorkshire Suntrekker
Posted: March 14th, 2017, 7:27 pm
Hi all - just joined, although I've owned a Suntrekker - the all-GRP, Island Plastics version for P100s, Hiluxes etc, since 1994.
I bought it about three years old from a Toyota dealer in Hampshire who mainly used it once a year for holidays in the south of france, mounted on whatever Hilux he had on the forecourt at the time. I think he was a bit sorry to finally sell it.
I collected it on a rented P100 - the hire company tried to give me a Transit pickup when I went to collect, and there was quite a runaround getting a P100 to the depot for me, but all was well in the end.
I carried it on an elderly diesel P100 for quite a while. That truck was a lovely drive, just like a Sierra, but such a fragile engine... I think I got through three or four engines while I had it, and Ford paid for three of them, fortunately. It made going away in it a real adventure; you never knew whether it would get you there and back or not! Nevertheless, it took us to Finland, Italy, France, Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland... all over.
When the P100 finally bit the dust, I got a 2WD Hilux which was great for another ten years. In the end its diff sprang a leak and I wasn't quick enough getting it fixed, and it wore out. When I sold it, I had three dealers bidding against each other to buy it for export to Africa. I expect it's tooling around in Congo somewhere with a machine gun bolted to it.
Next was a red 2WD Hilux which I still have, and I'm thinking of buying another, a 4WD this time.
The camper itself has had a few adventures too, and some extras. It's well into its second set of upholstery; in fact it might be time for a third. It gets a lot of use, and I love it, which I guess is why I worked so hard to buy it and why I've still got it after 23 years!
While I'm here, its acquired a couple of nasty scuffs, one that's punctured the gelcoat. I'm looking for someone to repair them at reasonable cost, with a reasonably-matching gelcoat finish as I don't want to paint it. Any recommendations in Yorkshire, anyone?
I bought it about three years old from a Toyota dealer in Hampshire who mainly used it once a year for holidays in the south of france, mounted on whatever Hilux he had on the forecourt at the time. I think he was a bit sorry to finally sell it.
I collected it on a rented P100 - the hire company tried to give me a Transit pickup when I went to collect, and there was quite a runaround getting a P100 to the depot for me, but all was well in the end.
I carried it on an elderly diesel P100 for quite a while. That truck was a lovely drive, just like a Sierra, but such a fragile engine... I think I got through three or four engines while I had it, and Ford paid for three of them, fortunately. It made going away in it a real adventure; you never knew whether it would get you there and back or not! Nevertheless, it took us to Finland, Italy, France, Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland... all over.
When the P100 finally bit the dust, I got a 2WD Hilux which was great for another ten years. In the end its diff sprang a leak and I wasn't quick enough getting it fixed, and it wore out. When I sold it, I had three dealers bidding against each other to buy it for export to Africa. I expect it's tooling around in Congo somewhere with a machine gun bolted to it.
Next was a red 2WD Hilux which I still have, and I'm thinking of buying another, a 4WD this time.
The camper itself has had a few adventures too, and some extras. It's well into its second set of upholstery; in fact it might be time for a third. It gets a lot of use, and I love it, which I guess is why I worked so hard to buy it and why I've still got it after 23 years!
While I'm here, its acquired a couple of nasty scuffs, one that's punctured the gelcoat. I'm looking for someone to repair them at reasonable cost, with a reasonably-matching gelcoat finish as I don't want to paint it. Any recommendations in Yorkshire, anyone?