Soon I plan to buy either a Delica or a Landcruiser Troopy for a trip North (seven months) and future hikes south and north. This will be used primarily for overnight trips, I have another car for the city.
My budget is 15-20k (the lower figure is preferable).
In both cases I will take the seats out of the back, put a false floor in with sliding draws.
What do you think? Have you had any experience with either?
From what I can gather (in brief).
Landy = much better off road, better reputation as motor goes, more rugged interior (not going to spoil the nice carpet with salt and sand);
Delica = better fuel economy (12-13L/100km vs 12-15L/100km), for money newer car (late 1990s early 2000s vs mid 1990s), more space, more seating options, more creature comforts.
Please put forward your respected humble opinions.
Two examples of what I would be considering (look if you can be bothered)perth.gumtree.com.au/c-Cars-Vehicles-Motorbikes-Parts-van-ute-For-Sale-1996-Mitsubishi-Delica-W0QQAdIdZ227843578http://perth.gumtree.com.au/c-Cars-Vehicles-Motorbikes-Parts-cars-1993-Toyota-Landcruiser-Troopcarrier-11seater-W0QQAdIdZ230117078
^^
Why is that?
------ I initially thought that the deli would be a better bet - but am thinking the 4x4 capabilities of the Troopy would be nice on Gibb River Rd (for example).
without going into to much detail, ask yaself this, when was the last time ya saw a troopy broken down by the road, or how about this ,did ya ever see malcom douglas getting around out bush in a deli,.
if ya go the deli get petrol not diesel,get v6,and remember all delis are inports that were made for jap conditions
and yes i know nebian and bingles will disagree ,and they have had better luck than me so maybe pm them for some good points
ya can have mine cheap lol
Ripped off....
the tittle of this thread lead me to believe i would be witnessing some kind of delica/troop carrier transformer robot battle
Dude had some "issues" with his Delica...as you may have with any car, but the point he makes of Malcolm Douglas's (RIP) choice of vehicle is true - however im not sure you will be attempting to tow boats into remote places like the Walcott Inlett and the Mitchell Plateau...Here's a photo of me christining my Delica on the way to Wedge 
- pre-road . Mine has a pretty serious lift kit and wheels, and captains chairs in the rear which swivel 360 degrees. More photos to come of some of the mod's soon 
If your thinking Gibb River Road and doing the Kimberley - Landcruiser. Or you could ride it on your moutain bike to support Police Legacy. http://www.thegibbchallenge.net.au/
Get a troopy mate.
15-20k will get you something schmick.
Lots of parts, well known in the bush.
No other better choice really
www.quokka.com.au
atleast ya can swivel the seats and watch the tide come in
I have been bogged there and pulled out other cars (including Landy's) many times. To be fair, for beach driving (not including sand dune crossings), letting the tyres down and driving style have a bigger bearing on making it through than the type of 4wd.
The other thing with jap imports you need to be aware of that whilst they have low km's they can sometimes have done very very high HOURS
Lots of them have spent a long time idling in traffic and whilst low km's they are half worn out.
One of my mates is a deisel mechanic and he bought a Surf with about 50,000 on the dial. It blew up and upon stripping it they said the cylinder and valve train wear looked more like a 300,000km motor - and this was from him and colleague who have been doing diesel fourbies, trucks and farm equip for a long time.
Ever wondered why farm equipment doesn't have an odometer - it has an 'hours' dial?
Now these guys have heard lots of similar stories from the specialist 4WD mechanics
The Deli will be sweeter to drive around town and on the highway but the Troopy will be much more capable offroad.
Having said that, for driving on sand the deli will be just as good if you know how to drive down a beach properly.
The Landcruiser and Patrol guys always take the p!ss out of my Mitsub Challenger (the kind of knobs who have a sticker saying "Toyota Recovery Vehicle" on their patrol and vice versa) but the Challenger has always gone everywhere the others have
Mark is on the money.
I have a 96 Delica. I bought it a few years ago privately. The odometer said about 80 000kms and the bloke I bought it off showed documentation that it was imported with 60 000 kms on the clock. I'm pretty sure its done a lot more than that. Small things like the wear and tear around the driver door lock indicates its been used a fair bit.
Its a diesel and it was okay till the head gasket blew. This is a fairly common issue with the 4M40 engine but not universal. However to be fair any engine thats getting over 15 years old can develop issues. So far I haven't had any trouble geting parts for it. Delicas are getting reasonably common as they appeal to so many Australians.
I've driven older Landcruisers and the Delica is a much more pleasant vehicle to drive. Its quite competent off road too. On the Delica Club forum there is a thread from a guy who has converted his Delica into a camper and is driving it all the north half of WA. Maybe head over there and have a read and get in contact with him.
if you get a troopie make sure you suss out the gearbox. they are notoriously bad for overheating. the seal between the transfer case and gearbox allows oil to pass one way (box to case) but not back, so the transfer case gets full of hot oil which has nowhere to go but out the breather hole.
most people run a bypass hose on the filler plugs between the gearbox and transfer case so the oil can return and level out. if i were you i would crack the plug and smell the oil to see if its burnt or if there are any specks of steel in it
i found all this out the hard way and a new box cost me close to 5 grand.....other than that it was extremely reliable, great to camp in, great offroad and in the sand, plus i found i could just about buy spare parts at most milk bars in australia.
not cheap to run though- 90 litres of diesel gets you about 500-550km
Agreed Stamp - they do need that bypass hose between filler holes. Somebody does a kit for them I think? Any mechanic could make it up easy anyway
Agreed Moby - one thing I forgot is parts for the Delica - really easy to find and they are Pajero running gear and many bits in common with Triton
- pre-road . Mine has a pretty serious lift kit and wheels, and captains chairs in the rear which swivel 360 degrees. More photos to come of some of the mod's soon
Pentecost River crossing on this years Gibb River Mountain bike challenge - no Delica's in site...couple of tojo's though 
No it won't need the same momentum as an X-Trail.... the delica is a more a real fourby
Most (they are all induividually optioned i think?) Delicas have Hi and Low range, selected from inside the cab (no need to lock the hubs) and it has a central differential lock also. I have spoken to a guy on the deli site that lives in Kalgoorlie and he just bought another one for his travelling north up thru the goldfields and kimberley (up the center!) for his work as a psychologist. He pointed out to me the issue with the radiator overflow bottle (plastic deteriorates and should be monitored or replaced) also a bash plate should be retro fitted to prevent the oil filter being damaged and wrecking the motor instantly. So there are a few pro's and con's - but somehow i dont think im helping much..
Delicas are sick! Me and the handbrake hired one in broome and 40 degree days did`nt ag it at all. Thrashed it to.
I drive a Patrol (GU 4.2T) and the mitzy was way more comfy,
But remember, if you took a landy or patrol bush for 6 months it`ll come home in good nik still, do the same to a mitzy and it`ll be a different story!
i have a 100series cruiser cos of the sheer number of kids i have to cart, but have used troopies for work alot, I just cant see how you could compare one to a delica when comparing 4WD 's.
If soft sand is your main place of worry then tyres and a difflock will make a troopy just about unstoppable. look for a 4.2 deisel. dont worry about a turbo, thats just bling.
If the model is the first of the 5 stud drive trains you need to have a look at the history of the vehicle. The engines are fine , but if the vehicle has been worked , the gearbox main shaft can snap internally after 100,000 kms.
vehicles used by underground contractors routinely have the gearboxes stripped out every 100,000kms and overhauled 
$6,000 please.
. the slightly older 6 stud units are kinda bulletproof
If delica were that popular they would use them for underground mining! If its not a cruiser its a peice of snot!
Ever heard of the two-way drill?
Easy to connect the speedo cable and roll back the kilometers.
I looked at some Japanese imports 10 years ago (Nissan Terrano) and they had some seriously suspect kms for a 10 years old car. Like 40.000...it stopped being believable.
So I bought a 10 years old diesel Pajero. The same engine as in Delica.
The engine died at 240.000 kms, and the replacement cost me $6000.
Then the diesel fuel pump died ($$$), ...and I'm now hearing the turbo...
Should have pushed it of a cliff instead...
But the Delica Spacegear. The big one... Sooo nice and desirable...
Troopies are often retired mine vehicles, and rust badly due to the mineral exposure.
These engines should be good for at least 500.000kms at least (if maintained).
Mitsubishi vehicles are really nice to drive.
Troopie is like a truck. Simple and resilient.
Deli's speedo is electronic so it won't run backwards... you need a computer program and a special cable to do that [}:)]
Regarding which is better, if you mainly want it for 4WDing, go the troopy. If you mainly want it because it's a van, go the deli.
I'm quite happy with my deli, but then again I only occasionally put it in 4WD so ymmv.
Its a lot easier to find Troopy parts in the NW than it is to find Delica parts. Also most mechanics in the NW could fix a Troopy with their eyes closed wheras the Delica being an import you may have problems finding someone to look at it.
I know the question is Troopy or Deli.....but......
I travel a fair bit with lots of gear and a couple of years ago was discussing the same thing with a friend, Troopy or Deli?
I wanted something that would go well offroad but that I could sleep in.
I was going to go the Troopy for the toughness and offroad ability.
I ended up just pulling the very back seat out of my seven seater Nissan and making a false floor setup that I could put gear under. So it is still a 5 seater normally then when I fold the normal backseats forward I can extent it out to make a bed.
I usually only have the swag or the mattress in not both as it had in the photo.
When I go on longer trips (like the 3 week NW trip that I just got back yesterday from), I remove the rear seats completly so I can fit an icebox for drinks inside one side door and the waeco for food in the other. Because the floor dips down where the seat was, I can access both with the bed still in place.
I think because of the accessibility due to the side doors it actually ended up working better for me than a Troopy would have.
My friend ended up getting the long wheel base Deli that we set up with a false floor/bed as well.
We also wound up the torsion bar front end and did a bit of 'modifiying' around the front guards with a grinder so we could fit some 10.5 x 31's under it.
It has acres of storage room inside and went extremely well on the trip.
We did a lot off off road stuff in some pretty boggy sand, and whilst not quite as capable offroad as my Nissan (which has a lift kit and 12.5 x 33's etc) it was definitely no slouch in the soft sand and it was only the clearance over the real rough boggy stuff that it struggled with.
As for fuel consumption we haven't done the actual figures but for example on one leg of the trip my 4.2 Diesel used 64 litres where the 2.8 diesel Deli used 50 litres,
I did have all of the boards on top and we were going into a strong headwind though.
