I just got back from camping on Fraser Island Australia for 4 days in a V8 turbo diesel 75 series Landcruiser. The weather was perfect, virtually no flys, mosquitos or crowds. I don't know what I enjoyed more, the islands deserted beaches and forests, the inland tracks and freshwater lakes, or driving the 5 speed turbo diesel to places most rental companies don't allow. The Cruiser was an absolute joy to drive, with so much power and torque I only put it in low range a couple times, most of the time we were in 2nd or 3rd doing 600 RPM high range on the inland tracks. After getting bogged looking for a place to camp at Freshwater Beach the night before we went on the island and getting buried to the frame trying to help someone on the island, I figured the best technique through the soft sand was high range and lots of skinny pedal. After that the 75 series, even with skinny stock tires at 15 psi went everywhere.
I rented the rig from Sargents in Brisbane for 100 Australian dollars a day and drove it directly to Rainbow Beach. Other rental companies wanted from $150 to $200 and I would still have to get to Rainbow or Hervey Bay from Brisbane. The major rental companies don't allow the vehicles on the island, and other companies don't allow access to the west side or north of Indian Head. Sargents said as long as I obeyed the Park rules and closures, I'd be fine. I did have a charging system failure due to an aftermarket kill switch that was installed, so Sargents sent a mechanic out from Brisbane with a replacement vehicle the next morning, which was a 6 hour drive to our location on the island. It turned out a wire broke off the kill switch so he soldered it together and we were back on the trail by early afternoon. The only complaint I had was the 75 series had a metal cargo cage behind the back seat, so I couldn't fold the seat down to sleep in the back. If Toyota sold the vehicles here I'd definitely buy one! V8 turbo diesel, 5 speed, rubber floor mats, roll down windows, rear limited slip, AC and a USB port for the stereo!
