Wicklow in Winter.

Have a 2.5 2003 Isuzu Crew Cab pick up, forerunner of the DMax, fitted with a Carryboy hard top on the back, and with 245/70 BF Goodrich AT tyres on it, I have yet to find a place where it won't go in the snow, and even though it's a heavy vehicle. it is (still) good for mid to high 30's miles per gallon on "normal" driving around the Meath/East Coast area. The weight of the hard top is significant, and I don't think the rear end would be as stable without it, due to the lower weight.

I got used to snow driving in South West England, where we used to get occasional significant snow on the high Exmoor moorland, with very poor snow clearing services, so being able to get through was important. Here, it's been even more the case that effective snow clearing only happens on the most major N roads, and anything else is below a low priority.

During the 2 recent winters where we had regular and significant snow, I was out and about most days doing deliveries for my daughter, (a florist), and I never had a situation where I was concerned that I might not be able to get to places, even the remote ones on the higher ground north of the airport, which got a lot more snow than some areas due to the "isle of man" shadow effect, which dumped a lot of snow over a very narrow band of land on a regular basis. Yes, I used 4wd a lot those years, but only to make sure that the front end went where I wanted it to, which it did very reliably.

chillin117 wrote: »

I am buying the Izuzu. I got it for 3600. He is replacing the clutch as it was due one. There is a bit of meat on the tyres but I will replace them next month. It was not a working jeep and there is 74k km on it. Will post a pic. Thank you all for the solid advice.

Sounds OK from here, there are only a couple of things to watch out for on them when it comes round to time for the CVRT, the first is the rear spring shackle bushes are notorious for wearing, but cheap enough, (change the bushes and the shackle to make the job easier) and not hard to replace, I've had 2 back silencer boxes break the pipe close to the box, the only thing this affects is the smoke test for the CVRT, and the rear tub wheel arches are a weak spot for corrosion, it's not visible externally, but can be a fail if they have gone far enough.

One gotcha that might be worth mentioning is that if you remove the fuel filter and the body to change the filter,(it's easier than trying to remove the filter in situ) as the hoses age, it's very possible for the original Isuzu quick release clips to not have the strength to ensure an air tight fit, and as the pump is sucking the fuel from the tank, a small air leak will make for hassles, it will start, and run, but when you put your foot down to accelerate, it won't, and will miss like mad. Had it happen twice now, the first time it took some tracking down, the second time, it was simpler to replace the hoses and the clips to ensure that it was good. a cheap non return valve just before the filter body will also make it a lot easier to reprime the thing after the change of filter!

Best of luck with yours, it should be ideal for just about anything that Wicklow weather can throw at it.