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Our Adventure Vehicle: "Koopa" the '98 Trooper

6K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  shaggydoink 
#1 ·
Hi, My name is Tiffany.
I posted this in the outdoor life category but will post here too as a place to update as we improve our ride.

My hubs, Zac and I went to Moab for the first time back in October for our 3 yr anniversary. We instantly fell in love with the area but were bummed out that we couldn't go down any of the 4x4 roads in my 08 Toyota Rav4. On the long drive home from our awesome 4 night trip, we started discussing the possibility of purchasing a used 4WD vehicle to make into our "fun car". We wanted 4wd, enough space to sleep in it, and something in the 2k-4k range.

We looked at used cars feverishly for 2 weeks and then found a perfect match with 160k miles on it. This is "Koopa", the 98 Isuzu Trooper.


We removed the seats, built a very simple bed platform and inserted long plastic drawers. A full-size futon mattress fits perfectly back there and we fold it in half while driving. I sewed some curtains for it (poorly) and hung them with bungee cords and hooks screwed into the plastic. For cold nights, we use silver bubble wrap insulation in the windows which kept us very warm on our trip to Canyonlands, Needles District where it got down to 9 degrees.

While in Canyonlands, we did our first 4x4 road, the Colorado River Overlook trail by the visitor center. We definitely want to add a lift in the near future but Koopa did just fine on this trail as-is.






 
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#8 ·
I like that green color of your Trooper. I think that is a very functional sleeping quarters. The go pro shots are great. I love the landscapes in the Southwest and I wish I hadn't waited so long in life to get a 4 wheel drive to explore in.
 
#9 ·
So I drove Koopa to the airport and left it for two days. Started driving it home when I got back and smelled oil burning. Thinking it was a car in front of me I didn't worry about it until I got home (at 1am) and saw the engine was smoking.

Turns out, the oil cap had cracked and flew off. So the entire time I was driving home from the airport oil was sloshing and spilling out onto the engine, battery, and everything else.

Thought I'd share. I like problems I can diagnose just by glancing under the hood.

Also- turns out we need to replace the radiator. Debating whether or not to do this myself.
 

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#10 ·
At least you didn't have to pull the valve cover to get the piece out.
 
#12 ·
Like the green color and pictures. Thanks :D
 
#13 ·
Just a quick update from our most recent road trip to Monument Valley, UT.

the pups hanging out in the back while we took some shots of the road to Monument Valley, UT


speaking of pups, we figured out we needed to put a barrier in so they don't try to get into the front seats. We used a net which we can also clip things to if needed. in between us is a "purse pouch" Purse Pouch which has been great to throw things in like gloves, large water bottles, phones, etc . . .


found a gorgeous free (i guess?) campsite behind Mexican Hat Rock in Mexican Hat, UT:


Koopa watching the sunset at Goosenecks State Park:


added some lights in the back. It makes it cozy and romantic and surprisingly, provides plenty of light to read by:
link to string lights


PS- in the above image, you can kind of see the black hanging cubby shelves hanging in the back window. These are removable closet shoe organizers that I cut short. It helps to have clothes where you can reach them when you're inside the camper.

and a few images to show how things really look after camping a few nights. We try to start out well organized but things get a little crazy :)


Finally, Monument Valley :

 
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