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I have some concerns about mounting a rooftop tent since I heard that the RTO in some states in India, disallow roof top carrier on personal vehicles. That's such a bummer for me. I was banking on the tent being on top of a thar.:unhappy

Does anyone have any info on how to circumvent it?

Happy weekend.

Another progress update: Got a call from PPS Mahindra that a Thar is available against a booking cancellation. Yay !! :coldsweat But I'm not taking it up!

Been doing some research on the possible launch of Toyota Hilux in October 2021. It has an awesome and interesting track record as a overlander and expedition vehicle.

https://youtu.be/a1o9glHTmyI

The hilux will be ideal for my needs and hopefully has none of the compromises made by Isuzu.

I suppose you can endorse the same in RC, there been some discussion on this on forum earlier too. You can check on the same.

Can you please elaborate on the compromises by Isuzu in regards to your needs/overlanding?

I would add the Mahindra XUV and the Scorpio to your list. I have driven the XUV 500 extensively in the mountains in both Uttarakhand and Himachal and have also covered Bhutan on it, with family. Long distance rides get extremely tiring after a couple of days hence your vehicle needs to be as comfortable as possible and a lot of people say that the Thar is anything but. Buy a new Mahindra and get extended warranty along with RSA and most of your vehicle troubles are over.

The main grouse I have with Isuzu is their pricing for the Z-Prestige model. In Bangalore it adds up to 31.6 lakhs. This much for an older model is not acceptable. Though I haven't personally driven it offroad/extensively. My "google research" from overlanders' feedback has been:
1. Very average highway manners when bed is not loaded.
2. Not the best off-road performance in its class (i.e., 4x4 read beds with read diff lock and traction control)
3. Lack of latest ICE and cheap plastics in the cab (for the price).
4. Isuzu pushing an older model on us.
5. Lack of dealer network. ( I hear parts are always on back order)

for a recent review of hilux vs V-cross Please do see : https://youtu.be/wxy4jBnKMX4

Regards

Yes these are competent options (along with Jeep Compass, XUV700)

The reason I ruled them out was to keep only ladder frame chassis vehicles in the final list. The off-road/rough road capability of a Ladder frame gives me better confidence.

As for Scorpios, Im not finding good second hand one with automatic and 4x4. The new version is not out till early next year I guess.

regards

UPDATE : Found a very good roof top tent provider.

https://www.nomadadventuresoverland.com/

Spoke to the owner and he was very helpful with information and his experiences with the tents. Their hard-shell tent seems to be a winner.

See a recent review: https://youtu.be/pfI4ICReZzk

Where exactly do you want to go in this vehicle and how many days a year would you use it ? Considering that you are in Bangalore it will take you at least three days to touch the Himalayan foothills and three more days to go back from there thus limiting your outings. Having spent a fair bit of time travelling to the rough parts in Uttarkhand and Himachal your proposed vehicle would be an overkill for most of the terrain. If however you want to spend a few months wandering about in Spiti and Ladakh then it starts to make sense. Just IMO no offense meant or implied.

You absolutely nailed the issues for overlanding based in bangalore. My plan is for hardcore overlanding expeditions for longish durations (months if needed) 😅 please do see my thread for issues you have highlighted.

Other than the northern himalayas, there are awesome places to be explored in maharashtra, mp, orissa and all over northeast.

P. S. Aiming for the sky😁, i know l, lets see.

The Himalayas are spectacular. Most pickups have square holes in the four corners of the bed just because mods are so common. Some guys actually have cranks and hangers to lift and store their bed mods right out of the pickup beds. Easy-peasy.

Isuzu has a good reputation in most of the world for quality. They have a reputation for making fine diesel motors for General Motors (Chevrolet) medium trucks. People like them. They are dependable. India does not have much Isuzu support but then, not much goes wrong with them. If I lived near a good Isuzu dealer I might buy one. Handling kind of klunky, though, IMHO.

Toyota Hillux is classy, of course, on all fronts. I may take a look at it myself when-if it launches. I have wondered why Maruti does not make a small pickup...I get the feeling that maybe Mahindra marketing cast off personnel go to Maruti either to die or to sabotage. B.D. had a lot to say about those folks, none of it good.

I do live near the trident isuzu in Hosur Road. The main reason I'm not already buying it is becuase I'm kinda pissed off at them not giving us the latest version and passing off the 2017 one with bs6 and adding 5 lakhs to the price 😕

Regards

Is this a must ? In the remote locations where you want to spend a significant amount of time simpler machines will serve you better. I would stick to the Indian manufacturers Tata, Mahindra and also Force as you are likely to find both mechanics and parts for these vehicles. Newer more advanced vehicles may need to be towed back to the nearest authorized service center in the absence of any support there.

I would avoid "automatic" transmission, if for nothing else but ease of repairs in remote areas.

An expedition vehicles is either tough (Toyota Hilux etc) or easily repaired (Indian Brands) or both.

Other than the infamous DSG failures, are automatics that unreliable? In the overlanding videos from the west (mostly from the US), one sees that a majority of the vehicles are automatic. I believe the transition will happen here too.