What's the ultimate camera friendly vehicle?

[Arlon Motsch]

I'm in the market for a second vehicle. I was just wondering what some might consider a "photo" friendly vehicle?
I'd consider anything from a unimog to a miata (lean strongly towards 4wd though).

Some issues to consider in my search:
1. Security for gear while away from the vehicle (really need a trunk).
2. Ease of shooting from the drivers seat.
3. Economy/long range would be nice for those 500 mile day trips (unimog is off the list).
4. ground clearance would be nice so I can pull off the road and not catch the grass on fire (ok, there goes the miata).
5. Four wheel would be nice since I live close to a fairly remote beach with a lot of soft sand.
6. Would be nice if it could double for a daily driver (currently driving a 3/4 ton diesel truck daily).

I've seriously considered things like SUV's, small 4x4 4 door trucks, Jeep, Subaru Forester and a bunch of others. Would be nice to hear what others are using for camera platforms and camera friendly road tripping.

I have to considered this camera gear in a convoluted way.. (-:}

[Jim Neely]

I'm currently driving a RAV4. It gives me the ground clearance I need for some of the roads on ranches where I shoot. My Prius was too low. (My wife is driving the Prius.)

The RAV4 also lets me haul more, too.

jn

[Chris Brennan]

I drive a Mercury Mariner (Mercury's version of a Ford Escape). It's AWD, gets about 24 mpg on the highway (with a V-6!), has a ton of room for a small SUV, and relatively easy to shoot from, assuming you're not trying to manuveur a 600mm lens inside the vehicle

[Roger Clark]

1. Security for gear while away from the vehicle

That leaves out all cars, SUVs, pick-ups, etc. You are down to a used Brinks armored vehicle.

Seriously, cars are not safe to leave gear in. Best would be to buy a security box of some sort and bolt it into the vehicle.

Roger

[Pao Dolina]

800 on the current Forrester

[Mark Theriot]

Same here (Ford Escape) - perfect solution for me.

Behind the rear seats the windows are fully tinted and the slide cover keeps everything hidden. Just as good (or bad) as a trunk in my opinion. Trust me, I can break into a trunk just as quickly as a rear hatch! ;)

One advantage of not keeping gear in the trunk is the temperature is usually somewhere in between outside and my house (gives me another transition point to better equalize temps on my equipment)

Mark

I drive a Mercury Mariner (Mercury's version of a Ford Escape). It's AWD, gets about 24 mpg on the highway (with a V-6!), has a ton of room for a small SUV, and relatively easy to shoot from, assuming you're not trying to manuveur a 600mm lens inside the vehicle

[Mike Tracy]

Good old pick up with extend cab here. Plenty of room in the rear for gear. I have fashioned a monopod mount to the trucks tool box so I can be riding in the bed while my wife drives when we are on "safari". I can go anywhere I need to get and if I am using my tripod I just toss it in the bed when moving from place to place.

[bobhandal]

Hello , I guess it depends on your location and your exploring habits. For me, one of the best "transport instrument" is a side by side 4x4 like the Yamaha Rhino, it has a fantastic 4x4 and it is quite easy to spot birds and animals from it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...DSC_0147SM.jpg

[Roger Clark]

When I drive my van on a wildlife outing, I use a little wooden stand that holds my 500 f/4 and a second camera with a shorter telephoto. They sit right by my side. I can grab them quickly for quick action. When I drive another type of car, the 500 sits in the back and trying to reach it can be difficult. So a vehicle with captains chairs in the front with no center console.

[James Shadle]

In my area smash and grab is the big security threat.
I drive a pick up with a back seat.

For peace of mind, I secure my Pelican (1620) via a 5/8 inch cable.
I run the cable under the metal seat supports and lock the cable end to the Pelican.
The locks are mounted (locked) upside down and tight. This makes it almost impossible to smash the locks off with a hammer.

Even in Florida the Pelican handles heat really well.

[Roger Clark]

James, I have something similar. I bought a metal box, to which I added a thick U-bolt and secure it in the car with a bicycle cable, about 1/2 inch cable.

I heard a story of a photographer in Yellowstone: he put is supertelephoto and other gear in the trunk of his car after photographing some wildlife. He then drove to a restaurant and went in. The gear and several weeks worth of images were stolen.

Roger

[Jim Buescher]

Some other advantages to using a van, especially the kind with sto-and-go seating is that you can fold up all the seats, stretch out and take a nap during the slow times, you can slide the doors open on either side and shoot using the van as a blind while using a full size tripod and not having to stick the lens out a window, and there's plenty of room for a large heavy-duty tool box to secure your gear, all accessible without having to leave your vehicle. Some of them even get decent gas milage.

[Arlon Motsch]

My wife had a Dodge caravan and traded in on a Ford 500 a few years ago. We're still kicking ourself for that move. Top of my list right now is a 4x4 tacoma 4 door truck (04 or earlier with a 2.7l 4 cyl and manual trans). I could make that go to a lot of the places I like to visit. My current truck is great but it's just too heavy and has ZERO off pavement ability. It has plenty of room and I shoot a 500mm out the window a lot but I can't even pull off the shoulder of the road with it.

[philperry]

I cannot really give an independant view on this Arlon as I confess I am a Toyota dealer. That said the Toyota Prado land cruiser (not sure if that is also the American name) is a great diesel automatic 4x4 with a double-size fuel tank as standard. It certainly covers your points 2 to 6 very well indeed. Security is less related to a particular vehicle (or country it seems - I thought South Africa was bad, but you guys seem to have a big problem in the USA as well). Your trunk (in the rear) is a good idea.

[Garry Gibson]

I have a Ford F150 a 2009 4 door 4WD. It gets 19 MPG.
Plenty of space in the front to shoot and the back seat is huge so my full
Pelican 1610 can sit flat on the floor.

I have a fiberglass topper on the back which locks and the tailgate locks.
It could be broken into, but it would take a crowbar and a lot of whacks
to break off both locking corners. So far I have felt very safe, though
I am thinking of adding the bicycle locks to the Pelican Case.

[Kevin Hall]

Phil, unfortunately Toyota does not offer any models with a diesel in the US at the present. They may introduce one as an option for their full size pickup (Tundra) next year. It's a shame, I've often admired the diesel powered Hilux 4 door pickups in Peru - great machines.

I second the minivan option, I usually build a machinegun nest at the tailgate of mine with a tripod and 3d tarping to hide my movements. Depending on where I am able to park I also do the same with the side doors. It's an excellent mobile blind.

[Phil Liew]

I am on to my second Ford Ranger 4x4 pickup here in Malaysia. A 2.5 litre common rail injection diesel engine. Slapped a canopy behind and built myself a set of drawers that runs all the way to the tailgate that are also lockable. Both the EF800s go in there with the camera bodies.

The space is airconditioned to help with the tropical heat. I run a second Optima deep cycle battery to feed an inverter that can drive a small microwave oven and an Engel freezer.

Shooting from the car I use either a bean bag or home made door mounts that will fit a Wimberly II gimbal. Nothing flash but it works for my wife and I.

[Andy Biggs]

I have a Toyota FJ Cruiser, and I think it is the perfect offroad vehicle. The downside is its gas mileage. It could be much much better. I miss my old 4Runner that I had for 170,000 miles, but the newer models keep getting more and more expensive and farther away from what I want to use the vehicle for: offroading.

With this being said, I think any 4x4 vehicle will make you happy, but you have to get over the security of your gear. I am a huge huge huge fan of Truck Vault. You can find them online here: www.truckvault.com. I had one in my 4Runner, and still had room to put my 2 greyhound dogs in the back. If I purchase another one, I would get their Magnum version, which is a bit taller than their standard one. This will enable you to put your camera bag in one of the drawers.

[Arlon Motsch]

I'd kill for a diesel in a small pickup. If a tacoma 4 door was available here with a small turbo diesel I wouldn't be making this post. (-:} Toyota, Ford or who evers, I'd love one. I'm still waiting to see if the Subaru Forester diesel ever makes it over here as promised.

Unfortunately the US Govt. would loose too much fuel tax revenue if they ever let small diesels in the country. They have done everything possible to keep them out. No problems with the big diesels that get 15-20mpg, but a small 30-40mpg diesel would devistate their fuel tax income. Will never be allowed to happen here. They have zero incentive to see us owning fuel effecient vehicles in the US.

Have considered making my own "vault" just to fit my camera gear (I'm an OK welder and have all the tool necesary). I'd feel better when leaving it in the truck in one. I could also custom fit it very nicely to my truck or my wifes car trunk.

[Aravind Krishnaswamy]

The 4Runner is what I have my eye on these days but the price is what is keeping me away. I am tempted by the Rav4, but am afraid it won't have the height clearance I'm looking for.

[Arlon Motsch]

May not be the ultimate but it looks like it will work pretty well. Everything is a compromise and my new "camera platform" is no different. I ended up getting a lightly used Nissan 06 Xterra. It has a manual transmission so I can easily tow it behind a motorhome, 4x4 (but no Rubicon), more lockable room than a truck, poor mileage (20.mpg from our first road trip).. etc. etc.

After a few mods to make it more offroad friendly and a serious custom made aluminum storage locker to hold my long lenses, I'll be set.


I would have almost killed to get my hands on the likes of Phils diesel 4x4 Prado.. If only the US auto importers would wake up.. That woul have been the ultimate as long as I could have gotten it with a real transfer case or a manual trans.. (-:}

[Roger Clark]

Why are people so interested in diesel for a camera car? I'm assuming that in a camera car one would be interested in photographing from the car/truck. If so, as you drive up to a location, a diesel is pretty loud, and that would tend to scare away your subject. How about a new electric car? Amazingly quiet. Or at least a quiet gasoline engine.

Roger

[Arlon Motsch]

Why are people so interested in diesel for a camera car? I'm assuming that in a camera car one would be interested in photographing from the car/truck. If so, as you drive up to a location, a diesel is pretty loud, and that would tend to scare away your subject. How about a new electric car? Amazingly quiet. Or at least a quiet gasoline engine.

Roger

For me to drive 400-500 miles in a day trip isn't unusual (electric is useless for that). Right now I have a diesel truck that gets 25mpg and has a range of about 1500 miles. NO gas truck can do that. Cummins engines like mine can easily run 500,000 miles without a rebuild, no gas engine is going to do that (gas is a solvent, diesel is a lubricant). A diesel on the order of the VW TDI's pull 45-50mpg. The diesel forester (which you can't get in the US) gets 40 mpg in a 4wd. Diesel's can burn a lot of fuels other than "pump" diesel. Diesel fumes are pretty harmless when compared to gasoline fumes. There is no Biogas available. Most modern diesels are pretty quiet. Diesel doesn't explode when you have a wreck. So, versatility, economy, safety, reliability, range are just a few diesel benefits.

I'm already missing the range with the Xterra but it is fun getting back into some areas I wouldn't dream of taking by truck.. Xterra with a decent diesel and drive train to match would be an awsome vehicle for me.
You'd have to have owned a modern diesel to appreciate them (I've owned several including a diesel boat). Folks that have never owned one just don't get it.

As to electrics, I don't know if there are any with any real offroad ability. If there was one it would probably be very expensive.

[Don Kates]

With all the discussions regarding the protection of nature and the concern for the future of wildlife, I find it quite interesting that so many nature photographers drive large, gas guzzling vehicles.

[Arlon Motsch]

With all the discussions regarding the protection of nature and the concern for the future of wildlife, I find it quite interesting that so many nature photographers drive large, gas guzzling vehicles.

Considering the oil companies are some of the biggest financial, volunteer, and real estate doners to wildlife preservation projects, maybe that's a good thing.