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AZ Dave, isn't there a 712 for sale in the calssifieds on this forum? The seller is even in AZ, Lake Havassu or something.

As others on the forum have pointed out, there is a very active Pinz community there in Arizona so attending one (or several) of their events will be a great way to get some first hand advice on going either the 710 or 712 route. I've been very pleased with my 710 (which I did purchase from Thilo) and I like the fact that I can more or less keep up with highway traffic.

There are certainly other source for these rigs in your part of thr world. From the posts, it sounds like the 712 is even more capable off road but that's hard to imagine given the capabilites of the 710.

Having access to a group of current owners is a great resource that you should take advantage of.

In either case, welcome aboard!

I looked at the 712 and 710 and did test drive both at T-Lo's.

When I finally had the money together I learned that I had a dealer about 90 miles away...Expedition Imports in Vallejo. I liked both dealers a lot but settled on EI since they were close to home and Scott knew the ins and outs of getting them licensed properly in California.

My plan was to get the 712 with the 10 foot bed, I am in the process now of building a slide-in camper. A local Truck body builder is fabricating the basic box and I will finish the rest.

I use mine as a pickup a lot, hauled 3000lbs. of retaining blocks with no real effort, just lost about 5 mph on the steep grade home. So the slide-in suits my needs the best.

As far as speed, I bought a rebuilt 710 transfer case that Scott installed, this gives me an easy 55-60 cruise on the highway. I lost some of the low end gearing but my intent is not to do serious rock crawling, instead more off-road camping. I think that performance will be fine since I don't plan to carry the weight the the Swiss specified for the 712 to carry anyway.

So.... 712 handles fine on the highway at 55-60, can carry sustantial weight, has a large bed for loads and camping space, does get around in rough terrain very well and.... It looks really cool!

Downside - buying 7 new tires or 6 sets of brake shoes at once. I don't feel that the total cost for maintenance is that much higher if you do all of your preventative maintenance on the drive train.

Best of luck!

Thomas E. - 712M
Sonora, CA

Thanks to all of you for your very helpful input. I didn't notice the 712 in az I will check it out. Thanks Andy

I just attended the SWPA meeting last night. VERY informative and helpful. Thanks Mike. Seem like a really great bunch of guys (and one lady, I noticed....if I ever meet a single, attractive girl with a pinz, I might have to re-think my anti-marriage policy). Got lots of my questions answered and think I know what I will buy. I am going to go on a drive with them soon so I can judge the difference between them, see what I like best, and go from there. I did notice one thing though, seems like quite a few people there had both a 710 and 712. So that may be the answer, If you can't decide just get one of each. I don't think my bank account would appreciate that option as much but I sure would. Anyway, I will figure it out after the trip and go from there.

My 712 is in Havasu ..... and I will be out there August 18th to 22nd..... so if you want to test ride .... come on down.....
Email me mv2lhc AT yahoo DOT com or call me 94nine 436 335nine



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