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

I had never even heard of a Pinzgauer until a year ago and had never thought anything about it. However, recently I find myself in the market for a new vehicle and the idea of a Pinzgauer came back to me. I have been doing research on them for the past couple of weeks. As a result I have, what I'm sure are, several commonly asked questions. If these topics have already been discussed, I appologize, but could you direct me as to what archive to search.

Let me give a little background information. I have driven a 1985 Jeep CJ7 as my everyday vehicle since 1987. No top. No doors. No air bags. A lot of sharp corners and no padding in the cockpit. Lots of road noise. You get the idea. We go camping and backpacking quite a bit and are looking for a vehicle that can be used as an everday vehicle as well as for our little out of the way adventers.

. Now
First... safety. Obviously, given the style of my transport for the last 19 years I'm used to limited safety features. Would the Pinzgauer be at least as safe a street vehicle as my CJ7?

Second... maintenance. Is it relatively easy to get parts for maintenance and repairs? Can you take them to the average garage for repairs or do you need to be mechanically inclined to even consider a Pinz?

Third...unleaded gas. I've read a bit about the need to use an unleaded gasoline additive regularly to aid in valve care. Is this true. If so, how often? I assume it's easy to find. How costly?

Fourth...general info. Any info and or advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to waste a lot more time on the research if this is just not a realistic idea.
Thanks,
Beanpole

Beanpole- I drove Jeeps most of my adult life and I am more comfortable with the Pinz. It has a lower center of gravity (my seat of the pants gauge) and handles corners better than my CJ-5's. It does handle WAY DIFFERENTY off road. It will not articulate like a normal 4X4. It will simply lift a wheel up into the air. It takes a little getting used to but once you get the hang of it, it will amaze you what it will do. It will go anywhere (within reason) that you point it. You can spend a TON of money on a Jeep and it still wont go where a stock Pinz will go. I have never driven the new coil spring Jeeps so I can not compare to those.

Second... maintenance. It is not hard to find parts. There are more than a few dealers that can help with this. I have had good luck with every part that I have needed. But dont expect to find much at the local auto parts house. I have found that the Pinz is very easy to work on. It was designed to be easy for field repair. Anyone who can work on an old VW will have no problem with a Pinz. Parts are not cheap but I have not broken much either.

Third...unleaded gas. There has been much debate about unleaded gas. I personally add a lead subsitute although not every tank. Mostly every other. To me it is cheap insurance. There is a current posting on this topic that you should read.

Fourth...general info. There are quite a few people who use the Pinz as a daily driver. I just use mine on the weekends but have taken it on a couple of 400 mile trips. It will run 55 all day long at around 13 MPG. I have found it to be quite the camping vehicle. Much more room and you can fold down the rear seats and sleep inside of it when it rains.

In short check it out. I think that you will find that you will be very impressed the more you look at it. Check out this link for some good info.
www.sdp-pinzgauer.org Good luck

Two safety "weak" points.

Head on collision, Your jeep will fare much better in a head on. The stock front Pinz bumer is garbage and I recommend changing it out ASAP.

Taillights and headlights, upgrade both. The stock stuff is to dim. I almost got creamed by a guy behind me with the stock brakelights at night.

I worry a little bit about tipping the truck while someone is belted into the rear. In my perfect safe world the passenger seats would have head rests/guards. I did some pretty nutty offroading the other day (you would have been proud Jim L.) and made the belted in kids wear helmets.

Other than that I do not regret tradeing my 83 CJ-8 for the Pinz.

skybarney,

I noticed you live in Arrowhead. I live in Irvine but grew up in Riverside and still have family there. I have many friends that grew up in Arrowhead and went to Rim High School. How long have you been there?

Also, thanks to you and Wayne Roberts for taking the time to get back to me. It's very much appreciated.

I've read a lot about the front bumper, gas tank, head and tail lights, invisible from the side at night. But nothing that can't be overcome with a little bit of work.

Just looking for a fun alternative to a 4x4 truck. That seems very boring to me. Thanks again for your time.

I have been in Crestline (arrowhead area) for five years but flying gliders here for 13.

Good luck with your decision.