OMG!! Who is driving a diesel 4x4 now?

I'm now commuting in a 4.5 litre turbo diesel Land Cruiser!
No I am not selling the Prius, the Land Cruiser is my work car, I need the Cruiser for towing the 3 tonne boat I need for work. I also am allowed to drive it home. I no longer commute across the city but now I commute about 70km each way, 55 of that on a freeway at 110km/h.
I'm now a Marine Safety Officer at Murray Bridge, South Australia.

The Prius will see a lot less use now though.

 

Will post pics soon.
It is a 100 series 4.2 litre 6 cylinder turbo diesel and the company provides fuel.

Not had a chance to check consumption yet, I drive a twisting road to and from work so it wont be great.

More soon, work time now.

 

It has non independent axles front and rear, yes, locking? No.

Here is a picture taken with my phone, I forgot to take my camera, sorry about quality. The "tinny" on the back of my car isn't the patrol boat, they can be seen in the shed behind. We are using the "tiny" to place navigation buoys in the river because we are running so low on water.

I'll post some idea of mileage soon, I have been really busy with work, as you might have noticed by my lack of input on PriusChat of late.

 

I'm not sure if I would be allowed to put any stickers on the car like that, but if I can I will, just not for a few months. The Land Cruisers are getting pretty old as government vehicles go, they are all 100 series not the 200 series. Unfortunately Toyota have priced the 200 series too high for us to be able to justify their purchase as they exceed the luxury car tax threshold, but we were able to get the department to stick with Toyotas after showing the purchasing group how bad the Landrovers were to drive with a 3 tonne boat in tow. Now we will get Toyota Land Cruiser Troop Carriers as replacement vehicles.

This job is not all drifting about in boats, there are still the endless meeting and mindless data entry (statistics, statistics, statistics) as well as paperwork to be done. Then there is mixing concrete for maker buoy anchorage, placing those buoys, and mapping their location. About 2/5 of the time is in the boat, that's when I go hunting, but my quarry isn't some fury animal, but silly people doing silly or dangerous things. I really wish they would stop doing those things.

Catching fish? well that isn't really something people like to see governement workers doing in a government boat. People are funny like that.

 

Things grow on the bottom of moored boats and it's hard to secure them against vandalism. Enforcement vehicles/vessels tent to be a target. It is also quicker, and uses less fuel to trail a boat to a location up or down stream, or even into the ocean than to motor on water. These boats are fast but not that fast. By keeping the boat on a trailer we can deploy almost anywhere within 100 kilometres in about an hour.

 

I've never had a pure office job except short periods acting in higher duties <edit> and 12 months running a mechanical workshop but I still got my hands dirty sometimes<end edit>. I hated it! I want to be out doing something, I don't want to be an administrator. The coal face is my place. It is a great job, I love it and I think as I learn more about the way to do the job I'll enjoy it more and more. Mostly, I like dealing with the people in boats, truck drivers and taxi drivers can be a real hassle. Truckies get angry and taxi drivers beg and plead, I hate that more than anger!!