Old Hindustan Trekker

[Bertoko]

Hello,

can anyone tell me the year and history of this Hindustan Trekker? I spotted it in Udaipur this summer. Thank you!

[akshay4587]

used to be common sight sometime back but somehow suddenly vanished now
AFAIK it used to come with 30-35bhp engine

[Sudipto-S-Team]

With time and age an ugly thing also becomes a classic. But the Trekker is a rare exception to this practice. No matter how old they get, the ugly Trekker will never get the status of a classic and will always remain an obnoxious vehicle.
These vehicles can still be seen in rural Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand etc.

[khanak]

Wasn't the trekker an open vehicle? I remember seeing an ad for the trekker with an off white trekker in it.

[headers]

Hi guys, Have owned th vehicle from 1982 to 1995. The mahindra commander is infact a copy of the trekker, but cuter.

The engine was the 38BHP HM engine which now powers the Diesel ambys as the HM+ engine. The HM+ engine is a slightly revamped Trekker engine.

The vehicle was not a great looker, but definitely a reliable goer, if not pushed. We have travelled the whole of south india in the vehicle. One should stick to 70kmph. Pushing over 70 would make the top hose go bersek.

We initially had the vehicle in stock form and later built a body over it. Will try and hunt for some pics to post here soon.

Cheers

[karlosdeville]

If Im not mistaken you can still buy one brand new. I see only a couple in regular use in Pune, and they too belong to the HM dealers. Here are some brochures.

[dinar]

Have heard HM reintroduced these couple of months back with the ISUZU diesel, and face lift. they had ADs in the paper saying the cheapest diesel engined car in India.
It has the underpinning of Ambassador.

[egangsta]

Here are the pics of 2 Brand New Trekkers which are reduced to scrap. Both are parked at the dealers Godown. Issue began when the person left the dealership of HM and picked up some other company. End result, company was not ready to take them back nor was the dealer interested in selling them. Along with these 3 Trekkers there were 4 brand new Ambys. Now they cant even be sold as scrap because of the dispute between the company and the dealer.

[Blue Thunder]

Multi Utility Vehicle Trekker

I dont know if the info in the website above is current : BUT, what I see there is utter crap : the 38HP Amby engine mated to the 5-speed Isuzu gearbox : what a waste !!!

[swathyd]

As a person born in tvpm i have seen a lot of trekkers in my childhood. My neighbour had a trekker, he used it as a taxi. Still trukkers are used in rural tvpm. It was part of the lifes of people in tvpm before two and a half decades. I think kanyakumari dist. also has some trekkers left. They carried 15-35 people at a time. All those memories have become part of nostalgia for the people of tvpm and kanyakumari .

[headers]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Multi Utility Vehicle Trekker

I dont know if the info in the website above is current : BUT, what I see there is utter crap : the 38HP Amby engine mated to the 5-speed Isuzu gearbox : what a waste !!!

BT,have a heart, that vehicle has nostalgic memories for me! Inspite of all the abuse, it used to give 14-16 kpl. Now do you call that crap?

Originally Posted by swathyd

They carried 15-35 people at a time.

Yeah, and in comfort..We had infact modified the front suspension to coil springs over the existing torsion bar setup!

Infact, I'd love to own one for offroad use as it is pretty stable. With our offroad gurus on the forum, i'd like to start another pet project!

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by headers

The mahindra commander is infact a copy of the trekker, but cuter.

I dont think it is this way. Mahindra had a tie up with American Motors or Chrysler to manufacturer Jeeps under that name. The Mahindra Commander is mostly a similar design of the American CJs. I wont be surprised if it was the other way that the Trekker was infact a copy of the Jeeps

[Aditya]

Those who ever had the opportunity to travel in a Trekker will know how much more comfy it was compared to the other people carrier of its time, the Mahindra Jeep.
It was an ugly vehicle and the current models which are shown on the website are even uglier. However, given the correct treatment, I think the old Trekker could have the potential to be a lifestyle vehicle.

[kavesh55]

There is one parked opposite Agripada police station, have been seeing it for close to 3 years now.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

... BUT, what I see there is utter crap : the 38HP Amby engine mated to the 5-speed Isuzu gearbox : what a waste !!!

Originally Posted by headers

BT,have a heart, that vehicle has nostalgic memories for me! Inspite of all the abuse, it used to give 14-16 kpl. Now do you call that crap?

headers, I did not want to sound offensive or rude there : I was not referring to the Trekker vehicle as a whole (when I said 'crap'). I was referring to the idea of mating the existing underpowered 38HP engine to a modern day 5-speed Isuzu transmission : now that is a waste (and very short-sighted on the part of HM). I would have expected them to offer the Trekker with the Isuzu diesel engine as well : now that combination would be serious competition to some of the other people-movers currently available in the market (especially in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities).

Originally Posted by headers

...Infact, I'd love to own one for offroad use as it is pretty stable...

The RTV from HM may be a better at off-roading, if it was offered in 4x4 . It has a good approach and departure angle (similar to the Mahindra FJ 470 van). The minimum ground clearance is 230mm.

RTV

.