Truck for a dive vehicle: What is your Pick?

[Bluesman]

A great question about what kind of car to use for diving. But, what about pickups, vans and such? Some places are not easy to get to without ground clearance or 4WD. Not to mention potential room for gear in the bed and cab size comfort for the divers.
The downsides: The potential security issue with trucks without some sort of locking cover. Fuel mileage and general cost of upkeep.
Brands, size, features, please.

[cardiver]

As I said in an earlier post. You can't go wrong with a Honda Ridgeline.

[Joshua Smith]

Sprinter vans are the ultimate dive vehicle. They do require a certain level of commitment....mine is 9' tall......but since I'm a supervisor for a high-end remodelling contractor, I kind of have to drive a work rig in the first place. They get pretty great gas mileage for a 3/4 ton rig, handle surprisingly well, and the available cargo space speaks for itself.

[whatevah]

I think the best reason to consider a truck is if you will be towing a boat. If so, the weight of the boat and trailer will narrow down your options considerably.

[Sounder]

I'm surprised cardiver didn't say the new Ford F-150... or some other kind of Ford.

[mancub]

I love my Ford Ranger, and the smaller variety...Toyota Tacomas etc etc. I only ever have me and my buddy in the cab, and have dove with both a canopy and without. I mounted four tank racks on the edge of the bed so tanks stand upright...the same type that are mounted in boats sometimes. In my opinion, having a truck bed is the way to go, because I can maximize gear storage and hose outability. The tailgate is just as good or better than a bench on a boat.

Well my two cents, but I also love driving up to distant mountain trailheads and helping friends move. And towing the occasional trailer.
-Jacob

[spatman]

Sprinter vans are the ultimate dive vehicle.

i'm holding out for the hybrid version of the sprinter.

[Ken G]

I recently sold my Audi wagon for something a bit bigger. Between sets of twins, scoot, etc it had to be done. I intended to get a quad cab Toyota or Nissan but I found a Pathfinder instead. It has been truly great for everything except mileage.

[Alex]

Well if I were to do it I would go one of two routes.

1. The comfy ride great road trip version that the wife will love
Lexus LX570
They pretty much come only one way - loaded!
Nothing beats an air conditioned seat in the summertime!
4x4
Ride height adjustable

2. The screw what she thinks version
F-250 Super Duty Lariat
6.4L Power Stroke® V8 Turbo Diesel
4x4
12.5K Built Ford Tough trailer hitch receiver with 2" trailer hitch

[airsix]

That Pathfinder looks nice. I've been looking at that, the X-terra, and the Titan.

My brother just picked up a Titan crew-cab and one of the features I really like is the rear seats fold UP against the back of the cab, rather than down onto the floor. I think this is a wonderful design feature because it completely clears the floor for you to fill with cargo (they fold up REALLY FLAT). I think this is MUCH better than rear seats that fold DOWN because then all your grimy wet cargo oozes crap DOWN onto your upholstery. With the fold-up seats they stay clear of all the mess. I've steered clear of pickup as a dive vehicle because I always felt that if it's in the bed it'll be stolen, and if it's in the cab it will get everything filthy. This seems to be a good solution (in the truck category). I'm not a fan of bed+campershell because it's like storing your stuff in the back of a cave. You have to go spelunking to get your stuff out. (famous last words. I'll probably end up using a truck that way)

-Ben

ps - Ken, you mention mileage on your Pathfinder. What are you getting? My wife has a Quest van (same engine) and we can usually get 26mpg on the highway (65-70mph) on trips. That's pretty dang good for a 7-passenger van with 245hp! Are you getting less than that?

[boydski]

Well if I were to do it I would go one of two routes.

1. The comfy ride great road trip version that the wife will love
Lexus LX570

2. The screw what she thinks version
F-250 Super Duty Lariat

Alex,

That made me laugh. Years ago, I actually did dive out of the smaller Lexus SUV. It worked for a while, but I traded it in on a pickup when it started to smell like wet dive gear (aka dead fish) all of the time.

A Pete implied above, when towing a boat, the weight/size of the boat pretty much dictate the size of the pickup. My boat and trailer weigh about 7,000 lbs.

I do have a nearly indestructable, locking tonneau cover and a locking tailgate on my truck, which work well for securing all the extra dive gear that we seem to always be hauling around.

[Ken G]

That Pathfinder looks nice. I've been looking at that, the X-terra, and the Titan.

My brother just picked up a Titan crew-cab and one of the features I really like is the rear seats fold UP against the back of the cab, rather than down onto the floor. I think this is a wonderful design feature because it completely clears the floor for you to fill with cargo (they fold up REALLY FLAT). I think this is MUCH better than rear seats that fold DOWN because then all your grimy wet cargo oozes crap DOWN onto your upholstery. With the fold-up seats they stay clear of all the mess.

-Ben

I bought a weathertech rear cargo mat to protect the back of the truck. It is rubber and catches/channels water so I don't have issue with my third row seating getting wet or dirty. Just remove it occasionally and rinse. I really like having the third row option available. Also the rear hatch turns out to be great for covering me from the rain as I gear up

I think highway I get about 20mpg

[Ken G]

That Pathfinder looks nice. I've been looking at that, the X-terra, and the Titan.

ps - Ken, you mention mileage on your Pathfinder. What are you getting? My wife has a Quest van (same engine) and we can usually get 26mpg on the highway (65-70mph) on trips. That's pretty dang good for a 7-passenger van with 245hp! Are you getting less than that?

Airsix we may have different engines as I have 270hp not 245hp. Im sure weight and aerodynamics factor in as well

[Dmitchell]

3/4Ton GMC Crew Cab works well for me. Of course, I always end up driving since there's room for everyone. I had a Dakota but the weight of my boat was killing it so I upgraded.

I do hate the 12.5 MPG though.

DM

[Joshua Smith]

Sprinter vans are the ultimate dive vehicle.

i'm holding out for the hybrid version of the sprinter.

That's pretty sweet. You could put a diessel generator in back to charge it up...........

[airsix]

That's pretty sweet. You could put a diessel generator in back to charge it up...........

[Stu]

Nissan NV200 multiuse scuba cartridge car

[Dusty2]

The only way to go is a pickup. I have a Dodge full size four door. Plenty of room and the rear seats fold up and then they have a fold out metal shelf to take whatever cargo you want to put in there. I put an aluminum plate on the tailgate so it is flat covered everything with lintrux spray on liner to seal the salt water then mounted a bed slider and a nice fiberglass canopy to button everything up and out of sight. The slider makes all the difference. My tanks are mounted in an aluminum rack that will hold 8 tanks and when I want one I just roll out the slider. Even with my 20 ft bell boy in tow it rides smooth and comfortable and the tailgate is just the right height for suiting up.

The info on the slider is here and they make them for any truck. They are easy to put in and can be removed in just a few minutes and are made in Oregon. http://www.bedslide.com/products/st_carpeted.html.

[airsix]

The slider makes all the difference.

Oooohh!
I LIKE that!

-Ben

[Alex]

Stu, nice find! That's pretty neat!

I didn't know Scuba Steve had a crime fighting vehicle.

...concept cars are pretty cool to look at. I mean I'd never own that thing and I would qualify as one of those "divers" they're probably appealing to. It would be neat to see if some of those storage concepts they're developing carry over into something like the Xterra or something.

[airsix]

It would be neat to see if some of those storage concepts they're developing carry over into something like the Xterra or something.

I don't own an X-terra but I did have a dream the other night that I bought one and put a nitrox mixing stick, O2 bottle, and a booster pump in the back of it. It was all integrated in a nice fiberglass panel.... I'm sure it would not work out so well in real life, but it was cool in my dream.

-Ben

ps - you know you are a scuba addict when you dream about installing gas blending equipment in your car.

[no excuses]

I love my dodge 4 door diesel, lots of room for four, up to six if youre real good friends . 20 mpg on the freeway 17-18 mpg around town. Lots of room for gear and again the rear seats fold up and the tray folds flat for storage. For two day or longer trips throw the camper on back (pop up, light weight) and bring my own room with me. Tows the boat and camper and u hardly know its there and still get 15+mpg, tows the rock crawler or my parents sled again with no problems. If you dont haul bigger trailers or campers its a lil overkill but if you do it works great..

[Bluesman]

Thanks to all the respondents to this thread! I was curious about what works for different people. Many of us use vehicles that we have for our work or general use.
Amongst others here I have a Dodge 4WD extended cab 4 door. It has a Cummins and a 6 speed for pulling the heavily loaded goose-neck trailers. I have running boards that really assist in getting gear over the side if needed. When I can use it, the canopy is pretty useful for storage and security. If I could change it back and forth I would just have it lower to the ground.

[airsix]

While we're talking trucks I thought I would post THIS. Pickup bed canopy that has a full-length rear door that opens like a hatchback. ARE makes them. I've seen them on the highway before but thought only the little center glass door opened. And they were on really tall two-feet-above-the-cab-ugly shells. ARE has cab-high shells (not shown in the link above) with this feature that look real sharp. I like how the bottom half of the door has the same contours as the standard tailgate so it looks pretty good all things considered (I still don't like the glass door in the center - would prefer it just looked like an SUV hatchback with horizontal window). IMHO this would make using a truck as a dive rig much easier since you don't have to reach over a tailgate, and you have a hatchback to stand under.

-Ben

[sheahanmcculla]

I would like....