THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

HafWit wrote: If it were up to me, I'd agree with Dave Dunn that everybody should step up to the plate and get a Haflinger .

What this Greg? .... you need someone else's permission to agree with me?

Just because I'm written into every HOA in California ( and a few eastern states) as "persona non grata" , doesn't mean you can't agree with me....

Besides , it's not that the Haffy is the smallest on the road, but rather the largest on the sidewalk

What are the advantages of the Haflinger? Somewhere I saw a video of a person driving a Haflinger up a tree --when I say UP a tree, I mean just that . The Haflinger (the precursor to the Pinzgauer) is a dramatically lighter and smaller vehicle that because of these characteristics is more like an ATV or golf cart than all of the other vehicles mentioned. It is essentially an ATV with portal axles that is street legal. This gives it a fun factor that in many ways surpasses the others . I welcome you to talk to any of the other Haflinger owners who also have or have had Pinzgauers, and I think it is safe to say that the Haflinger holds a special place in each of their hearts . The Haflinger comes with disadvantages as well--for one the stock version isn't fast enough for the freeway, the brakes are even worse than those on a Pinz, and there isn't enough power to carry a significant load. But for all of those disadvantages, the Haflinger still draws far more attention than a Pinzgauer and women seem to be more accepting of it

the brakes are even worse than those on a Pinz

I don't agree with that Hafwit ... Sorry
I reckon the brakes on a Haflinger are great IF they are properly working and adjusted.
As there is no automatic adjuster on Haffy brakes (just like Pinny ones) and hence can come out of spec VERY quickly, they require a fair bit of maintenance.....but when they are working properly, they are great.
Often before returning home on a Haffy trip I re-adjust the brakes quickly..... got it down to about 10 minutes for all 4 wheels, after owning Haflingers for 30 years.

Please bear I'm not talking about what happens with the handling AFTER you hit the brakes hard on a 59" (or 71") wheelbase vehicle, but the brakes themselves can certainly work well.

....and to finish off, a couple of pics of one of our Haffy trips

Ok Peter, I'll give it to you that a Haffy's brakes are great when proper taken care for, BUT Haffy's brakes don't come close to being up to what my Pinny's brake are... even when soaked.

After a recent cv replacement and cleaning of one set of brake linings on my Swiss, on the test drive, I was amazed by the straight and nose diving stops I got, especially without the benefit of vacuum assist.

Dave Dunn

it's good to hear someone speak some true sounding opinions about the pinz brakes. my brakes are 100% GREAT. granted, they are like new and adjusted and i haven't experienced them in any other condition, but.. there you have it. and thanks profpinz - i was beginning to think i was halucinating.

Hey Dave aren't you supposed to limit your bragging to the TurboD forum

After all its not fair to compare discs vs drums. Oh well I guess having the only street legal TD in the US, we can make an exception. Some day when my pinz is done I'll make it over to check out the PinkCow in person.

Miles

Two tests:
1) Make a river crossing and slam on the brakes

2) If you have Maloyas, take a run down a rain soaked road and hit the brakes

IF your truck stills stops for either, you're hallucinating

Miles
No brag, just the facts
I only stated my Pinz stops better than a Haf and my Haf stops....

But I get it now. It's ok for you guys to beat up on a Haffy.... but noooo, The Pink Cow can't pick on you.... typical school bully, can dish it out, but can't take it.

has anyone else here noticed any type of hallucinating while driving a pinz?

Quietness?
Passing traffic on the highway.
Never being asked if it's a Hummer.

Oh, back when I had a 710 and a 712.... no disillusions here.

Peter and Dave,
I appreciate both of your comments, however, I would still not rate my Haflinger's brakes as all that great even with proper adjustment. They do work, but by no means do they allow you to stop on a dime. I've been doing some road testing recently to get an idea of what the vehicle's safety limits are so that in a situation when it matters, I have a real expectation of what the vehicle can do. With the engine located in the rear and essentially nothing of consequence in front to protect the driver and passengers from PSI (passenger space intrusion) in a frontal impact, the braking distance is of primary importance. There have been people who have modified their Haflingers to achieve much greater horsepower and speed, but with the stock brakes, I'd be terrified to go anywhere I might encounter other fast moving vehicles or the choice inanimate object that gets in my way. At slow speeds on the trail, I would agree that the brakes are adequate.

G'Day Hafwit,

Hmm...I've never been worried driving a Haflinger.

In the mid-late 70's it was my only car, and for 3 years I drove it everywhere......I remember when I was at Uni we used to have half the final year Industrial Design students in it every morning (4 out of 8 ) for the trip into the city, so if we have had a serious accident I guess we would have been a bit worse off as regards designers today (One of the guys we used to pick up is the guy who designed the Chevrolet Lumina SS coupe ... an Australian Monaro)....you can see the Haflinger had a profound effect on his designs

I've clocked up nearly 60,000 km in my SWB Haffy over the years, the longest single trip I've done in a Haffy is about 2500 MILES but I'm still here to tell the tale.
We drove home from the finishing point of that trip in 24 hours non-stop....two driving doing about 80 kph all the way but it was virtually all on highways with other vehicles flying along at 100-110 kph.

Providing a Haffy is in good nick, you stay in the slow lane and don't try and pass anything other than joggers and cyclists, I'd have no hestitation in taking one anywhere.

Greg
After Calico and I reinstall the All Traxs, come take a ride in my Haf.
What tires are you running on the street?

I just took a short trip in the Haf with the Bobcat tires, a far cry from the All Trax in stopping, but these tires are not for the road. The lugs are not even and during stopping, there is not an even contact of the lugs and the road, causing slightly erratic steering.

Dave Dunn


Peter, there is a minimum hp requirement for the interstate highways, along with minimum speed..... I am also in the process to map a route from my place to San Bernadino for the Haf .... I wonder if I could map a route to Calico ?

Peter, there is a minimum hp requirement for the interstate highways, along with minimum speed..... I am also in the process to map a route from my place to San Bernadino for the Haf .... I wonder if I could map a route to Calico ?

Ahh....That does somewhat limit your driving.
Fortunately, there is NO such restriction on ANY Australian road / highway ..... Even to my knowledge in the Northern Territory where there are no speed limits outside the cities.
Maybe I could come up with the "Worlds Fastest Haflinger" and test it there! ... What do you think Dennis?

BTW, I was thinking after my last post I should have mentioned that my Haffy and most of those that we do / did trips with, have 48 mph hubs (35 and 42 mph hubs were also available)

I did know a guy who along with his wife traveled through Outback Australia for 4 months in the early 70's in a 35 mph Haflinger.
They are divorced now.... Maybe they had time to talk on the trip, but not in later years!
No that can't be it, you can't really talk in a Haflinger

Dave,
I switched out the lug tires that were on my Haffy when I got it. I put on some Fiat 13 inch rims with Nokian Hakkapellita 165/70/R13 mud/snow tires in order to make it more user-friendly on the road and yet retain some reasonable tread for light offroad travels. There was a huge improvement in both driving comfort and braking with the new tires, but I still find the brakes to be weak when stopping from higher speeds (30-40 mph). Jim had just serviced my brakes including sending out the shoes for resurfacing, thus I would assume they are performing as best as they can. I should be picking up my other Haflinger soon and will be able to see how it compares when I start putting it through its paces.