Need a new vehicle

[DetectorGuy]

No worries Freediver, I also am looking for a vehicle for a dive gear transporter. Right now my wife drives the Duramax mostly and on weekends when I want to go diving, she wants to take the horses across the state and go riding with her friends. My other truck is a "company vehicle" and (especially in this economy) I think people would call my company and complain if they saw it at the lake or pulling a boat. Now that I joined the sheriffs department dive team, I did speak to my company and they would be fine with me using it for "official dives" ("Stewardship" is one of the five main company values). Where do I draw the line between "called out dives" and "training dives"?

I am thinking a used CJ7 Jeep or better yet an older CJ5 Jeep with a hard top. The CJ5 is just something I have had my eye on for a while and they are getting more and more rare. Two people and their dive gear would max out this little vehicle for a dive transport but the thing would still pull a small boat too. There is a sweet CJ5 on craigslist that I just don't have time to go look at.

In my opinion, and if money were not an issue, the ultimate dive transport vehicle would be one of the 4,000 Land Rovers that were made especially for the "Camel Trophy" races. It is hard to find the actual Land Rovers that were prepped by the factory for these grueling races and harder to find one that has been restored to mint condition. Talk about a "go anywhere" truck... The terrain that these things can traverse is mind blowing. There are a lot of replicas that were a grocery getter and then "cosmetically altered" to look like the real deal. Some of the biggest advancements in vehicles (and everything for that matter) have come from: Military, Racing, or Space technology. I try to look past the consumer reports a bit, and get down to brass tacks and see where the vehicle evolved from and what assets I think are important.

I know a very active diver who uses a full sized van for a dive transport and it works out VERY well. It will carry everything you would ever need for a day of ice diving/vehicle recovery. A rolling dive locker if you will.