Over here Toyota's been proving Quote:
is N. America.

I certainly have seen/heard reports that soon, very soon if not already, Toyota will be the #1 buggy maker, for all kinds of buggies, on the planet. 

Reliable is the reason why  IMO.  Quality control has not been the name of the game for the others  Sure, the Big 3 have had bigger trucks for the heavy duty crowd, including those getting bigger and bigger truck campers.  & yes, it seems there is more reliablity in those rigs, but the loss to Toyota with its strong quality control program has been very steady.  Toyota plants opening, Big 3 plants closing.   Ford announced the closure of a few this week.

BTW how long do you all keep your trucks?  My last one I kept for 11.5 years.

Thanks Mark, Ok, got that bookmarked.  I'm trying to watch Europe too.

& you're right the lite truck, many glitzy features, will sell to a certain market.  I haven't seen anything to confirm that a long bed truck will still be available in the Tundra 2007, but I can't imagine a world without it.  I remember a Quebecer calling PD's idea of a good truck 'crude'.  That chap wants small, good mileage, cup holder to suit, etc.  All of that inspite of the fact that he travels to Europe regularly. 

On the other hand I have a Dutch friend, who always buys used because of the high taxes and has recently shelled out over $1,000 euro to have LPG fuel as his primary power source.    & he let DW talk him into giving up the truck.  They both have bicycles with a wee bit of fuelled power for fair weather days.  & both are doing a lot more taxing of  'the boys'  and each other on foul weather days.

Any signs of alternative fuels in Oz?

But the interest in the hybrid vehicle is on the upswing.

I don't see a whole lot of talk amongst the big rig people about wishing they had a more fuel efficient rig, but then I don't read the Class A forums either.

I notice that (with this group at least) the 75 series L/C is a well regarded carrier of camp ovens.

Was wondering what other goodies could be found on board. I know PD has his full of "slide on camper" (plus his CO treasures) but what about the rest?

As an example with our set up, on the tray from the front end passenger side there are 2 spare wheels, 5 opera house traps, chain and block for the winch, a 12v.alternator driven by a 4.5hp Honda engine for multiple battery top up, 3 milk crates with sundry items (all full) a folding table and under the tray 2 x 90ah. aux. batteries.

On the drivers side from the front is a nice cosy spot for Peggy (pic elsewhere on this site), 60l. Trailblaza freezer full of meat/n/veg. then a 200a./240v.5kva. Lincoln welder/generator. Behind that is 10l ulp. for Honda unit (Lincoln has own 20l. tank) and some wooden blocks for "just in case". Beside this is another folding table. Under the tray is a very comprehensive toolkit, socket sets etc.

In the middle, from the front, is a wooden box with welding leads/electrodes/hood, electric drill, angle grinder, drills, spare grinding/cutoff wheels etc. On top of this in another box is a 16" Husky. chainsaw, fuel and oil, sharpener and spare chain.
Then comes the necessary stuff like cooking gear, C/O's (of course) saucepans, billies and the like, a couple of 20l. water containers (if on an outback trip) some fishing gear and a bit of room for pickup along the way.

Hanging on the front is a steel B/Bar with 9000lb. winch, some spare cable (we always get bogged a long way from a decent anchor) and a couple of good spotties for those odd late night home jaunts.

Nothing flash in the cab except a scanning uhf, inverter, laptop and a Westinghouse satphone, the D/G's of satphones using the geostat satellite 35000kms. above the Pacific so it is 100% reliable all the time.

Had to help the old girl carry this sort of load, so adapted pump up shocks on the front and Polyair bags on the back. And the truth is, with our 13' 6'' van in tow we can still average 15l./100km. But we are not speed demons, 90/95 is a good way to go for us.

See you on the road. If broke down, dont worry, we have the gear to fix it!

cheers mikel

Mike, being from across the big pond and a full continent, I would really appreciate few pictures of your outfit fully loaded.  Then I can put it all together.  I think in pictures, but I can't quite put that picture together.