GTRV Astro and Tepui Pajero in Vancouver B.C.

[TooSteep]

Hello:

Newcomer here with 1st post. I've been reading the site for the past few weeks and think its fantastic. Its also inspirational: I'm now looking for a suitable 2-person adventure vehicle now that my kids are older and my wife and I have time.

There are two seemingly ready-made adventure vehicles currently listed on my local CL. I'm curious how these look to the experienced eye:

#1. A fully equipped '94 AWD Astro with a GTRV pop-top and a full kitchen:
$12,500 CDN ($9,500 USD)
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/pml/cto/5143564206.html

#2. '94 Pajero with rooftop tent and ARB:
$12,990 ($9,875 USD)
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/5125742697.html


Could someone expect either of these to be relatively low maintenance and reliable for a few years? Or is '94 just too old?

Cheers.

 

[Camelfilter]

Sorry I have zero actual experience with either.

My vote would be the Mitsubishi if you can drive right hand. Properly maintained it should have an excellent drive train, but that's the problem. I'd suggest taking any vehicle your not intimately experienced with to a reputable shop, prefferrably one you've used before, for a complete evaluation.

I had an '88 gas Mitsubishi 2 door, which was an excellent vehicle...ended up giving it away to a friend of a friend when I bought a brand new Nissan. Wish I had kept it, but didn't have garage space to work on it (new clutch).

 

[TheSweatyButcher]

I dont know much about either but there is a better deal on a Pajero in the states.

 

[Abitibi]

Or even better deal would have been my Patrol (here in Vancouver BC as well). It's still for sale but maybe not for long... Age is not an issue if the truck has been well maintained and is a good truck to start with. I also have a Pajero and they are good little trucks. I refer to my Pajero as the little Patrol's sister...

That Pajero looks nice, lots of extra but asking a lot. I know the owner of the garage where it's been serviced, I can ask about the truck if you wish. Nothing wrong with the Astro but much lighter duty than the Pajero so OK for light Offroad but won't keep up with the Pajero (which won't keep up with the Patrol )

 

[Herbie]

Well, my vote is for the GTRV, but I'm biased!

I'd love to have that interior in my van. I'll be building my own and it will cost me much more than you'd be spending. That's a pretty great price if the top and tent are in decent shape. GTRV now charges close to $8k US just for the pop-top conversion. I don't even know what they charge for a full camper conversion, probably double the asking price of that whole Van.

The AWD is very capable as-is, and can be converted to part-time 4WD with a low-range by swapping the transfercase to one from an S-10 Blazer, etc. See astrosafarivans.org and my build thread for plenty of info on that.
Lift kits are pretty cheap, should you desire one.

PM if you need pointers to other Astro/Safari GTRV goodness, but searching for posts by "Herbie" and "T.Low" on here will show you what Tom and I have been up to with ours. Lots of other Astros getting used, but I'm not aware of any others with GTRV conversions.

For historical reference, I'm betting that GTRV is also technically a "Lulu Island Camper". That's the old company name prior to becoming GTRV, and I think I can see the round medallion logo on the front of the pop-top. Mine is the same, as it was originally on a 1995 Safari.

EDIT: I didn't address your primary concern: Reliability. The Astro should be plenty reliable, provided there's no or minimal rust in the body. The engine is the venerable 4.3L V6, which is essentially the GM 350 V8 with two cylinders lopped off. Built like tanks and plenty strong. Transmissions can be similarly stout, but should be checked for condition (as I would for any auto tranny). If you're planning to wheel it you should fit a transmission fluid cooler as soon as possible. Just about everything else is solid GM parts-bin stuff. The actual rear axle is unique to the Astro/Safari due to the passenger-side offset, but the internals of the rear diff and the rest of the driveline is all off-the-shelf S-10/Blazer family stuff. Cheap and pretty easy to come by.